Lifestyle

There Is A Time for Resting and A Time for Blooming

February 24, 2019February 23, 2019 LauraJoli LookingJoliGoodLeave a comment

There is nothing in nature that blooms all year long. So don’t expect yourself to do so either.

I’m a bit of a perfectionist. I like to do everything I can the absolute best I can. Sometimes I need a break! Recently I have allowed myself to be in a time of winter. A time to reflect and plan and grow roots instead of flowers. It hasn’t been a fun time for me. I haven’t enjoyed it, I hate winter, I prefer spring and summer, but it’s been a necessary time. Winter will end soon and it’ll be spring again and then the warm days of summer.

The lows of winter are necessary in order to truly enjoy the highs of spring and summer. ❄️🌷☀️🍃

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

1 To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

²A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

³A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

⁴A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

⁵A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

⁶A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

⁷A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

⁸A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

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Lifestyle

I Choose Happiness

January 27, 2019January 21, 2019 LauraJoli LookingJoliGoodLeave a comment

Psalm 34:8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!

Proverbs 10:28 The hope of the righteous will be gladness, but the expectation of the wicked will perish.

Hebrews 12:1-2 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

I would love for you to follow me on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook. You can find me as Looking Joli Good on all four.

Lifestyle

It Is Well – Kristene DiMarco and Bethel Music – You Make Me Brave

January 6, 2019January 5, 2019 LauraJoli LookingJoliGoodLeave a comment

Grander earth has quaked before
Moved by the sound of His voice
Seas that are shaken and stirred
Can be calmed and broken for my regard

And through it all, through it all
My eyes are on You
And through it all, through it all
It is well

And through it all, through it all
My eyes are on You
And it is well with me

And far be it from me to not believe
Even when my eyes can’t seeAnd this mountain that’s in front of me
Will be thrown into the midst of the sea

And through it all, through it all
My eyes are on You
And through it all, through it all
It is well

And through it all, through it all
My eyes are on You
And it is well
It is well

So let go my soul and trust in Him
The waves and wind still know His name
So let go my soul and trust in Him
The waves and wind still know His name
So let go my soul and trust in Him
The waves and wind still know His name
The waves and wind still know His name

And it is well with my soul
It is well with my soul
It is well with my soul
It is well
It is well with my soul
Oh it is well with my soul (’cause of who you are)
Oh it is well with my soul
It is well with my soul
It is well
It is well with my soul
It is well
It is well with my soul
It is well
It is well with my soul

And through it all, through it all
My eyes are on You
And through it all, through it all
It is well LordAnd through it all, through it all
My eyes are on You
And it is well with me

Songwriters: Kristene Elizabeth DimarcoIt

Is Well lyrics © Bethel Music Publishing

I would love for you to follow me on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook. You can find me as Looking Joli Good on all four.

Lifestyle

The real #topnine

January 1, 2019January 1, 2019 LauraJoli LookingJoliGood3 Comments

All around Facebook and Instagram #topnine pictures are being posted.

All the while, neither Facebook nor Instagram has any idea what events made up my 2018.
▪️
No algorithm can tell about visiting with my Grampa as he looks at me but doesn’t know who I am.
▪️
Sitting in a hospital with my beautiful grandmother hooked up to monitors and machines. She has been taking such good care of my failing Grampa for so many months that her heart is breaking in more ways than one.
▪️
Or being by my Grampa’s bedside as he takes his last breath. Instagram doesn’t know what it feels like to have to call my mom to let her know that her Dad is in Heaven.
▪️
There’s no amount of likes that can explain what it is like to hear only a few weeks later that my other grandfather has cancer. To see he has gotten so thin that he looks like a shell of himself…
Knowing exactly how to take care of him, yet having no idea how to take away the panicked looks on everyone else’s faces. Not knowing how to care for everyone else once he is gone. Needed to be taken care of myself.
▪️
No top nine can explain the knot in my throat as I watch the flag being handed over to my weeping grandmother as she is thanked for my grandfather’s service to our country. 🇺🇲
▪️
Instagram doesn’t know about the ups and downs of loving an elderly dog that has started having seizures, or that she means more to me than most people I know. No matter how much I wish, nothing that I can do will prolong her life.
▪️
Algorithms don’t keep track of what it feels like to see people that you have cared about as long as you can remember fight and tear each other apart. It doesn’t know what it feels like to be disappointed in people that have been looked up to and respected for years as they criticize the people that are closest to you.
▪️
Social media prefers the smiles, the bright colors, the happy faces. Those are going to be the pictures that get the most likes. While Instagram can come up with a #topnine based off of how many times my pictures were liked, the moments that mean the most to me, the ones that made the deepest impressions from 2018, those didn’t ever make it to social media.
▪️
Here’s my own top nine, the good the bad. The tears, the smiles. The lessons. The losses and the gains.

Through it all, through it all
My eyes are on You
Through it all, through it all
It is well
Through it all, through it all
My eyes are on You
And it is well with me

~Kristene DiMarco and Bethel Music

I would love for you to follow me on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook. You can find me as Looking Joli Good on all four.

Lifestyle

“What About The Things You Can’t Change?” A Devotional by Anna Light

May 27, 2018May 27, 2018 LauraJoli LookingJoliGoodLeave a comment

I really enjoyed this devotional by Anna Light entitled “What about the things you can’t change?” It spoke to my heart and I wanted to share it with all of you!

Psalms 37:4 Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

“We can’t change another person’s heart. We can’t change the past. We might not be able to change or control our circumstances. But do you believe, in His divine understanding, that God has placed you in this life with your issues, relationships, and station, for a specific reason? Could He be using those things that are out of our control, to teach us absolute trust in His perfect plan for our lives? God doesn’t waste anything. He doesn’t waste a hardened heart, tough circumstances, or things outside our control. What might He be showing you through the things in your life that you don’t like, but cannot change?”

Isaiah 55:8-9 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.

9For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

“Another question to ask ourselves: are we enduring the things we can’t change or embracing them?

There’s a big difference between enduring and embracing and the difference is in our attitude. Enduring means we do just enough to get by while embracing elevates us from survival to thriving, even in the midst of our hardship.

When we choose to embrace instead of enduring, nothing might change in our circumstances, but the change will be in our heart. He can use those unmoving circumstances to soften our heart, which might not have changed otherwise.

Psalm 37:4 can help us understand this idea a little better. “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Growing up I always thought that meant if I did all the right things I would get what I wanted… only later did I learn the true meaning of the word “delight.” The Hebrew word translated “delight” literally means to be delicate. It carries the idea of being pliable and soft. So when God says to delight ourselves in Him, He’s saying, “Let Me mold and shape your desires. As you delight in Me, your desires will become My desires. What I want will be what you want.”

Is He asking you to dive into what He’s given you so that through the things that cannot be changed become the things that change you?

Mark 11:23-24 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

Lord, there are some things in my life that I do not like, but I have no power to change. Show me what it is I can do to change my attitude and mindset. I want a heart of flesh, molded and shaped by your loving hands. Help me trust You even when I don’t understand what I’m going through. I place this difficult, unchanging situation in Your hands and ask that Your will be done.”

I would love for you to follow me on Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook. You can find me as Looking Joli Good on all three.

Lifestyle · Love and Life

Happy Mother’s Day, 2018!

May 13, 2018 LauraJoli LookingJoliGood4 Comments

I have been blessed with two wonderful, sweet, loving, healthy children. I have also been blessed with a wonderful, loving, and healthy mother!

I never knew just how much I was loved by my mom until I became a mother myself! Being a mother is the best and most important job in the world. It is also the hardest and most rewarding thing I have ever done.

I appreciate all that my mom has done for me throughout my life. Happy Mother’s Day, I love you, Mom!

Happy Mother’s day to all you moms and if you are not a mom make sure you call your mother to tell her that you love and appreciate her!

I would love for you to follow me on Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook. You can find me as Looking Joli Good on all three.

Lifestyle

The Harsh Reality of Love

January 19, 2018January 19, 2018 LauraJoli LookingJoliGood12 Comments

My best friend has been sick recently…

She’ll be 12 soon… Despite my deepest wishes and blatant denial of reality, I do know that she isn’t going to live forever.

I know the reality of the situation, yet still, the thought of losing her makes my heart hurt, real physical pain, the type of pain that grabs your throat and makes it hard to take a breath. The type of pain from wanting to fix something so badly, yet being powerless to change anything.

Some might say “She’s just a dog.” But that is where they are wrong. She is not just a dog. She is my constant companion, my biggest fan, and most loyal friend. She has been by my side for the majority of my adult life. She greets me as if I am the most important person alive and listen to me talk as if everything I say is the most interesting thing she has ever heard.

Yes, she is a dog, but that doesn’t make her any less important to me, she is my best friend, and I love her!

So, while no, I cannot prevent the inevitable, I can enjoy every moment that I still have with her.

I would love for you to follow me on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook. You can find me as Looking Joli Good on all four.

Lifestyle

We Need To Do Better!

January 13, 2018January 13, 2018 LauraJoli LookingJoliGoodLeave a comment

do better! Be better! | lookingjoligod.blog

I am not a political person, I am not looking for a fight, argument, or a big discussion. I am just so tired of unkindness being the normal thing.

Evil prevails when good men stand by and do nothing! I don’t know what to do personally, but something needs to be done!

Just because someone has a different point of view, perspective, or culture does not give us the right to disregard, look down on, or ignore their presence.

Just because we disagree with what someone else believes doesn’t mean we have a right to treat them insensitively or with anything other than love and kindness.

There’s so much anxiety, unrest, and strife in our world! We have made things all about which side we’re on, you against me, us against them. I’m right, so you are automatically wrong.

When it comes right down to it, we are all people, we are all imperfectly flawed. We all make mistakes.

We are all different. These differences are what make us special. These differences are not what makes us weaker or less than.

It often seems hopeless, as if bad people are getting rewarded, and it seems that hate will win. In the end, doing the right thing is still the best thing to do and being kind is still worthwhile.

So while I cannot change a lot of things about the world, I can be kind to those I interact with. I can smile at, and acknowledge those around me. I don’t want to stand by and do nothing!

What can we all do?

Be a friend.

Smile.

Be kind.

Get over your self, get out of your own way!

Choose happiness, choose joy!

We need to do better! Be better! Be kinder!

I would love for you to follow me on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook. You can find me as Looking Joli Good on all four.

Love and Life

30 Days of Giving Thanks! Day 28, 29, and 30

December 1, 2017 LauraJoli LookingJoliGood1 Comment

November 28: I’m thankful for Mondays off of work. It is so nice to be able to have a day off at the very beginning of the week to get things ready for the rest of the week! Plus, it’s always nice to not have to work on Monday!

November 29: I’m thankful for audiobooks to enjoy on the ride to and from school with my children. We have listened to so many great books on our 30 min ride to and from school. It is a great way to make being stuck in traffic fly by!

November 30: I’m thankful for enough. It really is true that being grateful turns what we have into enough. Focusing on what I’m thankful for these last few weeks has really helped me to be more aware of all the things I already have.

I would love for you to follow me on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook. You can find me as Looking Joli Good on all four.

Love and Life

30 Days of Giving Thanks! Day 27

November 27, 2017November 26, 2017 LauraJoli LookingJoliGoodLeave a comment

November 27: I’m thankful for exercise. I love the way a good workout makes me feel. My muscles might be sore and I may feel tired, but my mind is always clear and my attitude improved.

I would love for you to follow me on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook. You can find me as Looking Joli Good on all four.

Looking Joli Good

Kindness is beautiful!

Tag: love

There Is A Time for Resting and A Time for Blooming

There is nothing in nature that blooms all year long. So don’t expect yourself to do so either.

I Choose Happiness

It Is Well – Kristene DiMarco and Bethel Music – You Make Me Brave

The real #topnine

“What About The Things You Can’t Change?” A Devotional by Anna Light

Psalms 37:4 Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

9For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Mark 11:23-24 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

Happy Mother’s Day, 2018!

The Harsh Reality of Love

We Need To Do Better!

We need to do better! Be better! Be kinder!

30 Days of Giving Thanks! Day 28, 29, and 30

30 Days of Giving Thanks! Day 27

There is nothing in nature that blooms all year long. So don’t expect yourself to do so either.

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Psalms 37:4 Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

9For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Mark 11:23-24 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

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We need to do better! Be better! Be kinder!

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