Why "Circling Joy"?

I'm finally getting around to posting the long awaited, "why the name change?" post. It's been written for awhile now but, ya know, I hadn't hit "publish" yet.

If you aren't familiar with the book, Circle Maker by Mark Batterson, then the name change may not make sense to you. So, here's the readers digest version:

There is a legend, the legend of Honi the Circle Maker. It hadn't rained in Israel for an entire year. The people plead with the Lord for rain and when He didn't answer right away, they lost faith. Enter Honi, the rainmaker. He prayed inside his hut outside of Jerusalem. The people went and brought him into the city and crowds gathered to witness his prayers. He bowed his head, extended his staff and began to turn until he created a complete circle in which he was standing in. He dropped to his knees and prayed, "Sovereign Lord, I swear before your Great Name that I will not leave this circle until You have mercy upon your children." Needless to say, the rain fell, lightening flashed, and thunder clapped. A sprinkle to rain turned into a downpour. After being taught the power of prayer (and bold prayers at that) from Honi, the people now knew that one prayer could change their destiny. The people circled the sad, the sick, the young and old, their dreams, fears, and promises of God. {paraphrased from the Circle Maker}

I'd been contemplating a name change for this blog for awhile now but was never sure which direction I wanted to go in since this blog is a plethora of things from babies to church and from beauty to life.  For a Christmas gift, my brother Stephen bought me Praying Circles Around the Lives of Your Children by Mark Batterson. As I began to read about praying circles and combining that with my journey to finding joy regardless of the situations I'm in, Circling Joy was born. I want to be the person that circles my babies (no, there's still only one baby...but you know what I mean), my church, my passion for fashion and beauty, and my life with not only the will of Jesus but also with Joy. If we pray joy (jesus, others, yourself) on our lives, I feel we are accomplishing the will of God.

My hope and prayer for myself, and you, is that you will circle joy through times of laughter and times of pain. Circle your prayers as the people of Israel did...remember, we serve the same God and He's in the answering-prayers-business!

Oh, and if your a parent, go grab that book NOW! I'm not a reader, but this book is a must-read! It's practical for raising kids in Jesus and gives excellent examples for how to do so!