Memoir

It’s My Brother’s Fault

~ Joy ~ 4 Comments

Mud. The very word brings back memories of obstacle races, causing a smile to spread across my face. I love obstacle races–a fact that many people find surprising and weird. What’s not to love about crawling through gritty, smelly mud, rolling through shock wires, or swimming through icy water? Okay, so maybe I am crazy, but I’m not the only one to blame. When I investigated the cause behind this fascination of mine, I discovered an underlying culprit–my brother.

Wow…I look rough.

I’ve always had a streak of tomboy in me, which was mostly cultivated by my older brother Grant. Once I was old enough to tag along, I delighted in following Grant and his friends as they played army in the woods surrounding our childhood home in Florida. I wore Grant’s outgrown camouflage shirts, carried a toy shotgun, and got sap stuck in my stringy white hair as I trudged through the woods to various bunkers. By the time I was six, I had already lost a baby tooth in a playful brother-sister wrestling match. (Grant is still apologetic about that incident.) Over the years, my tomboy streak gradually diminished, that is, until this past year when it came back in full force. Once again, it was my brother’s fault. After introducing me to Krav Maga self defense, he soon had me running 5K’s with him, and–yes, you guessed it–encouraged me to participate in my first obstacle race last June. I’ve been an enthusiast ever since.

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From army games and wrestling matches to Krav Maga and obstacle races, Grant is the one to blame. However, I prefer the term thank. In fact, I think he deserves an applause..

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To my dear adventurous brother: May your days be filled with mud! :)

Introducing: Musical Mondays

~ Joy ~ 2 Comments

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I have an amazing talent for avoiding piano recitals. They terrify me. I don’t like them. I took piano lessons for about four years, had four different teachers, and was never in a recital.

My second piano teacher begged me to be in her recital. I was eleven at the time, a serious introvert, a relatively new pianist, and by no means excited at the thought of performing in front of others. Even though my younger sister chose to be in it, I happily sat in the audience on recital day.

Over the years I’ve gotten more comfortable with playing piano in front of others. I’ve learned to lighten up, enjoy the song, stumble through the mess ups, and simply play whatever my fingers decide to play. It usually turns out alright when my audience doesn’t know the song.

I realize that music is meant to be shared. That is why I strive to overcome my nervousness of playing music in front of others. That is also why I am starting Blog of Joy’s “Musical Mondays.” Every Monday I will try to share an original composition, or a piano cover of another song.

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Photo courtesy of my brother Jay at dview.us

This Monday’s song is an original composition called “Sunshine.” Here’s the MP3: Sunshine

More music next Monday! :)

Joy

Favorite Music of 2013

~ Joy ~ 2 Comments

One of the exciting things about every year is discovering new music. It’s always fun to discover a new artist (or rediscover an old one) that you enjoy. Here is some of my favorite music of 2013:

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Josh Garrels

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Josh Garrels is definitely one of my favorite artists. I first found out about Josh Garrels’ music last spring, and was able to attend one of his concerts this fall. It was an awesome time, and he was just as good (and I think better) than on recordings.

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Another band that I have enjoyed is an alternative/electronic start-up band called Loud Harp. One of the things that I appreciate the most about Loud Harp’s music is its peaceful simplicity. Their music explores the depths of God’s mercy and love in our lives. I find it encouraging and relaxing.

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Audrey Assad

 

 

Audrey Assad is one of my favorite singers of the year. Her voice is angelic, her piano melodies are beautiful, and her songs are heartfelt and encouraging. Some of my favorite songs of hers are Even the Winter, Restless, and Good to Me.

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Gungor is another band that I have enjoyed this year.  I love Gungor’s innovative style and meaningful songs. Some of my favorites songs of theirs are Dry Bones, Crags and Clay, and Beautiful Things.

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Another one of my favorite bands of the year is Rend Collective Experiment with their down-to-earth and uplifting songs of praise.  Their latest album Campfire is a masterpiece of beautiful songs. Some of my favorite songs on the album are Movements, You Bled, and 10,000 Reasons.

Of course, these are just a few of the artist and bands that I have enjoyed this year. I am very thankful for all the talented musicians God has placed on this earth. What would life be like without music? Hmmm…that reminds me of a story I wrote once. :)

10,000 Reasons: A Thankfulness Challenge for 2014

~ Joy ~ 7 Comments

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I’d like to invite you to join me for a thankfulness challenge for 2014. Inspired by the song 10,000 Reasons, I have decided to write down over 10,000 things that I am thankful for in the course of next year.

Here’s how it works:

  • Write down 29 things every day that you are thankful for (starting on January 1st).
  • No repeats are allowed. Every day you must write down new things that you are thankful for. They can be things from your past or present, but they must be something you haven’t already written.

The end result will be 10,324 reasons to bless God. I hope that this challenge will help me to appreciate God’s goodness in my life more than ever. I’d love for you to join me. :)

“The Lord’s loving kindness indeed never cease,
For His compassions never fail
They are new every morning
Great is your faithfulness.”

(Lamentations 3:22-23)

Blessings!

Joy

Land of Miracles

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Today’s “quote of the day” on www.dictionary.com touched a topic dear to my heart–Israel:

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Israel is truly a land of miracles. David Ben Gurion, the main founder and first Prime Minister of the Sate of Israel, knew that first hand.

Israel was established in 1948 and was attacked by Arab armies on the same day. With only one tank, twenty-eight scout planes, and no war planes, the odds were against this newborn state. Even the experienced British Field Marshall, Bernard Montgomery, predicted that Israel would last only two weeks, and yet it miraculously survived.

Israel is smaller than New Jersey, with a population half the size of Metro New York. It is only sixty five years old, and yet…

  • Israel’s scientific research institutions are ranked third in the world.
  • Israel is the largest immigrant-absorbing nation in the world per capita.
  • Israel has more museums, orchestras, and published books than any other nation per capita in the world.
  • Israel has the largest number of start-up companies per capita in the world.
  • Israel has the highest number of engineers, physicians, PhD’s, scientists, and technicians per capita in the world.
  • and the list goes on…

Israel is the only nation whose people have returned to its land after 2,000 years of forced exile. It is the only nation that has revived a dead language. Israel is a fulfillment of the prophecy in Jeremiah 16:15: “The Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where He had driven them. For I will bring them back into their land which I gave to their fathers.”

Imagination

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I love toddlers. One of the things I love the most about them is their great imagination. They view the world so differently from us more mature folks, and I enjoy discovering their whimsical world–full of imagination and far-fetched ideas.

I got a glimpse into this imaginary world the other day when I was visiting my brother’s family. We were eating breakfast when my two-year-old nephew Isaac looked over at me and said between spoonfuls of oatmeal, “Aunt Joy, have you seen my airplane?”

I couldn’t remember him showing me any toy airplanes, so I told him I hadn’t and that he would have to show it to me after we finished breakfast.

I was soon following Isaac as he took me to see his airplane. His little feet pounded on the floor until we were standing in front of his crib. He pointed at it and said, “That’s my airplane.” He went on to explain that that it was blue, and that it flies fast.

I couldn’t help but giggle. Imagination is an amazing thing. All I saw was a brown wooden crib, but Isaac saw a speedy blue airplane that flies during his naps.

I know that someday Isaac will no longer imagine that his crib is an airplane. In fact, he’ll forget that he ever had. Someday his calculator will no longer be his smartphone and the mound of rocks that he made will no longer be a fire. He’ll grow up, but I hope that he will always carry a spark of that childhood imagination with him wherever he goes.

My Quote Book

~ Joy ~ 1 Comment

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I love quotes. I suppose that’s why I also love my quote book with its sayings that I’ve jotted down the old-fashioned way with pen and paper. Maybe I’m too nostalgic, but I find a special delight in flipping through pages of handwritten quotes on the subjects of…

Music:
“It’s easy to play any musical instrument: all you have to do is touch the right key at the right time and the instrument will play itself.” (J.S. Bach)

Writing:
“Never use a five-dollar word when a fifty-cent word will do.” (Mark Twain)

Femininity:
“For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.” (Audrey Hepburn)

Learning:
“A mind once stretched by a new idea never regains its original dimensions.” (Oliver Wendell Holmes)

Bible: 
“People don’t read their Bibles, they read you and me.” (Brother Bryan)

Belief:
“Those who believe in God but without passion in the heart, without anguish of mind, without uncertainty, without doubt, and even at times without despair, believe only in the idea of God and not God Himself.” (Madeleine L’engel)

Courage:
“Bravely take hold of the real, not dallying with what may be. Not in the flight of ideas but only in action is freedom. Make up your mind and come out into the tempest of the living.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

And occasionally a line from a song or a poem will slip in my quote book:

“Could we with ink the ocean fill
And were the skies of parchment made
Were every stalk on earth a quill
And every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.”
(Words found scratched in an insane asylum in 1917)

So, there you have it–my quote book. :)

An Anniversary

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Today is the one year anniversary of my first Krav Maga class. Little did I know one year ago that Krav Maga was going to become one of my favorite activities, propelling me into an active lifestyle of running obstacle races and 5Ks. As I shared in my “Blood, Sweat & Burpees” post, learning Krav Maga has been a fun and challenging experience for me this year. Today I was reminded of a story I wrote a few months back about my first class. After some revising (it’s always easier to improve a story after it’s sat for a while), here is the account of my first class:

My First Krav Maga Class

My brother had been pestering me for months, telling me that I needed to come to a Krav Maga self-defense class with him sometime. I had secretly been wanting to attend a class, but was too shy to admit it, so when my dad joined him in encouraging me to go, I figured it was safe to admit it–I’d go to one class, and if I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t have to go back.

With mixed feelings of excitement and apprehension, I arrived at the class. It began with a work-out portion that was full of surprises. I was instructed to run with my hands in front of my face to “protect myself” and had to punch an imaginary attacker during sit-ups. I also learned what walking lunges were, and I did my very first Burpees.

Once the exercise portion was over, the instructor taught us how to escape from a front choke. We were told to find a partner and practice the technique. I chose the only other girl in the group, who was a fellow homeschooler that I knew. I felt horrible choking her. When it was her turn to choke me, I gently plucked her hands off my neck and gingerly threw a front groin kick, but I forgot to bring my hands up to protect my head. Suddenly, the instructor choked me from behind. I let out a startled gasp. “You’ve got to keep your hands up,” he told me. I nodded, my eyes bulging.

The class continued with more choke defenses. Although I felt terribly out of place, I had enjoyed it a bit. After the class ended, my brother came up to me and said, “Well, Joy, now you have two hobbies–piano and Krav Maga.” I shook my head and replied, “I’m not sure they go together.” He insisted they did. I guess he was right.

A Favorite Artist

~ Joy ~ 4 Comments

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I will admit it. I wasn’t exactly taken by his music the first time I heard it, but after listening to his album Love and War and the Sea in Between, I knew there was something special about Josh Garrrels’ music. It’s rare to find an artist who delivers authentic music and lyrics void of overused rhythms and rhymes. To me, his songs are just that–alive, meaningful, biblical, and powerful.

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One of my favorite songs of Josh Garrels’ is “Pilot Me,” perhaps because it is one of the first of his songs that I heard, and also because I love its lyrics and simple melody. Another favorite song is Garrels’ remix of the old hymn “All Creatures“ with a new melody and added verses on the themes of creation and redemption–a common river running through Josh Garrels’ songs.

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Josh Garrels’ music is not easily confined to a genre. His creative, unique, and unpredictable style can roughly be described as a mixture of folk, electronic, and a rambling form of rap that resembles spoken word. His music is down-to-earth and inspirational, portraying the sorrows, struggles, joys, and triumphs of life in a beautiful and masterful way.

Summit 2013

~ Joy ~ 3 Comments

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This summer I attended the Summit Worldview Conference in Tennessee. It was an amazing experience–two weeks of lectures from remarkable speakers on a plethora of challenging ethical, biblical, and cultural subjects. I was in heaven.

One of the things that I appreciated the most about Summit was its pro-learning environment. The speakers were open to discussions and encouraged us students to think about what we were learning and to ask questions. Being around so many speakers and students that were intelligent and devoted believers led to many deep conversations about God and the Bible that encouraged me and strengthened my faith.

Summit was not all lectures. I also enjoyed the numerous activities and excursions that Summit offered. I played several games of ultimate frisbee, rafted down the Ocoee River (for more details, you can read my White Water Rafting story), and spent a day at Fort Bluff. Another highlight of my Summit experience was the outstanding talent show put on by fellow Summiteers.

I also thrived in the musical atmosphere of Summit. I met many musicians and enjoyed jamming on the piano with my new friends. I also enjoyed the worship services led each night by Josh Bales.

Summit was encouraging, enlightening, and challenging. It helped me to view the world in a clearer and more beautiful light. It challenged me to not only believe, but to think about what I believe and to live it out–to influence the world and not let the world influence me. Summit was a life-changing experience that I will never forget.

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P.S. Big thanks to all of you who helped make Summit an amazing experience for me. To everyone in my small group, thanks for being so encouraging! Krystiana, you were a wonderful counselor! Hope, you were an awesome roommate! Brittany and Bridget, I loved conversing in Hebrew with you: “aten sababa!” Jenna, you were–and still are–a blast! Sarah, Missi, and Julie, thanks for being my buddies! Peyton, you’re fantastic, and everyone else–I can’t even list all your names–you were amazing!

Also, here is the link to the session video: Summit TN 2013 (You can see me for a split-second on the water slide. Or, at least, I think it’s me! :))