Joy Let Loose

June 2, 2017

Friday Fun (It’s the Little Things): Fancy Progressive Dinner

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The weekend is here, which means it’s time for Friday Fun on  Joy Let Loose! This week I was remembering a Fancy Progressive Dinner my husband and I were part of many years ago. And I thought, “Why on earth have we not done that again?!” Because it was REALLY fun!

So because I want to do it again, I want to share it with you and invite you to think about doing it too! 

Fancy Progressive Dinner

Fancy Progressive Dinner

First, start by planning out your guest list. Who would really get into something like this? Is there a family you are trying to get to know? Add them in! This will work best with about four couples (or families) who live relatively close to each other.

Then, create your invitations digitally, or on paper.

Here’s what you might want to say:

It’s time for some Friday Fun!

What: Fancy Progressive Dinner

When: Friday, _________

Where: All of our houses!

  • Family #1 provides their home and the appetizers from 5:30-6:15pm
  • Family #2 provides the main course at their home from 6:30-8:00pm
  • Family #3 provides dessert and coffee a their home from 8:15-9:15pm
  • Family #4 provides their home & munchies/games from 9:30-end.

It’s going to be Fancy! So let’s pull out our best dishes and put on our fanciest clothes for a night on the “town”.

The Menu

Next, work together with the other people (a week or two in advance) to co-ordinate your menu. You want to find items that complement each other well, but also have options that work for everyone. Once the items are finalized, create menu cards to display on each table. I’ve created a sample menu you can use if you like it!

Download the PDF free!

The set-up

A while back, I posted about Family Traditions. Several of them could come in to play with this Friday Fun activity, including helping your kids learn how to properly set the table, and having conversation starters at each house. After all, it is never too early (or too late!) to learn proper etiquette, and the safety of friends’ homes is a great place for that. Also, spills and broken dishes are always forgivable; lifelong lessons need practice.

Spills and broken dishes are always forgivable; lifelong lessons need practice. Share on X

For other awesome life skill lessons for kiddos, check out Skill Trek!

Other ideas

There are as many ways to do a Fancy Progressive Dinner as there are people to dream them up. Get creative! Here are just a few ideas to start you off:

  • Base your evening on a Roaring Twenties theme, complete with swing jazz, mint juleps, and Gatsby-inspired fonts.
  • Follow an Indian theme, including flavorful curries and sweet punjabi lassi.
  • Make it a black-tie night, and make all of your decor black & white.
  • Incorporate a mystery party that requires numerous locations.

The possibilities are endless!

Fancy Progressive Dinner Follow-Up

Finally, it’s always a great idea to follow up a dinner party with a proper “Thank You!” And in this case, where several families had to open their homes and provide part of the meal, I’d suggest it is a definite must! Allow leftover menu cards to double as Thank You notes, and pop them in the mail 1-2 days after the event. Because the more you can show people value, the more they are built up. And the more people are encouraged to open their homes and build community, the more they will desire it. After all, it’s in the little things that we often discover joy. And it’s in community that we best let our joy loose.

It’s your turn: Have you done a progressive dinner before? What ideas do you have? Leave a note in the comments below.

Elizabeth Joy

 

 

Posted in: Friday Fun, Weekends
Tags: , , , , , ,
May 12, 2017

Friday Fun: It’s the Little Things (Write Thanks)

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It’s Friday!! Yay! Which means it’s time for Friday Fun, because it’s often the little things in life that bring us  joy. In our first edition, we looked at my joy blend, and last week we looked at how to actually sing our thanks. Let’s stay on a roll with the theme of gratitude, and plan to write thanks this weekend.

Friday Fun – Write Thanks

It’s the Little Things (Write Thanks)

Who do you have in your life that you could thank for something?

  • A parent for their constant care?
  • Or a teacher for challenging you to learn?
  • A pastor who introduced you to Jesus?
  • Or a friend who holds you accountable?
  • How about that one person in your life who causes you to belly laugh every time you are together?

Most of us have people in our lives who have had a much more profound impact on us than they realize. Can we really ever thank them enough?

Challenge

So for today’s  Friday Fun, I’m giving you a little challenge. And it’s an easy one! AND I’m providing you a method to make it happen. 

In a world that is saturated with technology, sound bytes, text speak, and messages in 140 characters or less, when was the last time you wrote a note? Do you remember those things? (Once upon a time, people wrote hand-written notes, in their very own penmanship, to thank someone else.) When was the last time you sat down to write thanks to someone for the way they have invested in you, or brought you joy, or heard what you were really saying, or comforted you, or…(fill in the blank). 

You really have no idea what your words of encouragement & thanks could do. Share on X

Well, now’s your chance for Friday Fun. To help you out, I’ve made two free printables for you, so you can write thanks either as a letter or a note. All you need is some paper or card-stock, an envelope and postage (or better yet, hand-deliver it!)

Download the Notecard   or   Download the Letterhead

Will you take me up on this challenge?

Learning to be thankful, and to express it, is a valuable life skill we can teach to our kiddos too. Why not take the challenge today with your kids? For more awesome life skills, you can also check out Skill Trek!

Let me know how your thankfulness is going in the comments below.

 

Elizabeth Joy

Posted in: Friday Fun, Weekends
Tags: , , , ,
May 5, 2017

Friday Fun: It’s the Little Things (Sing Your Thanks)

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Sing Your Thanks

Not that long ago, I wrote about how Your Joyful Heart is a Weapon to Fight for Your Joy. We can do some serious battle in song. I’m a musician, so this comes naturally to me. But sometimes it is difficult for people to actually connect the dots, to tie their story into the lyrics they are singing. It takes practice to get beyond the melody, and get in to the meat of the words, allowing them to begin to be your own life song. It takes practice to sing your thanks.

So for this week’s edition of Fun Friday, I want to help you sing your thanks. I want to help those of you who have trouble relating real life to the songs you sing on Sunday morning. This weekend, a fun (and valuable) goal for you can be to find your song. And then to sing it. Loudly!

What’s Your Theme?

So what should you sing about? Well, first you need to figure out what your current life theme is. Start by asking yourself some questions, and take time to really answer them.

  • What is going on in my life right now?
  • What are my areas of celebration?
  • Where are my biggest needs?
  • What hurdles am I facing?
What’s His Character?

Now that you’ve asked yourself some probing questions, try these:

  • What do I know is true about God’s character?
  • Where do I need to see Him work in my life?
  • Where have I seen Him work in my life before?
  • Why should I trust Him?

Then start searching out some study materials about the characteristics of God you have seen at work lately, or that you really need to see now. Narrow it down to one or two qualities of God’s character.

Find Your Jam

Then take that theme into a song search. If you want help searching songs by theme, check out Praise Charts. Their detailed list can help you narrow down some songs before searching your music player for them. And whether you want to use Spotify, SiriusXMEdit, Apple Music, Amazon MusicEdit, or another method to listen, what you want is to find a song that matches your current life theme. 

Now Sing!

Once you’ve found a song or two that fits your current situation, put it on repeat! 🙂 It takes time for songs and stories to harmonize! What do you hear? Is this your song? Pray through the lyrics and allow God’s Spirit to speak to you about how He is moving in you. Study how your life is woven in its storyline. Sing it as a petition, and sing it in dependence. Allow Him to remind you what to thank Him for, and declare it as your own praise. Sing your thanks, and sing it loud!

So if you decide to trust me here at  Joy Let Loose, and to find your jam for Friday Fun, you can spend the whole weekend singing your thanks. Because song is so powerful, I believe you’ll enter next week a little more joyful, and a little more confident in God’s character. Your joyful heart really is a weapon to fight for your joy. And it’s Friday – so fight at the top of your lungs!

What’s your jam this weekend?

Elizabeth Joy

Posted in: Friday Fun, Weekends, Worship
Tags: , , ,
April 28, 2017

Post ID595

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Friday Fun: It’s the Little Things

(My New Joy Blend!)

Today’s a great day for a joy blend. It’s a little cool and dreary outside. The Friday tornado siren practice is back in full swing for the season. If those things want to scream out this morning with their warning rehearsal, I think maybe joy should outdo it. What do you say?

Friday Fun

Today I’m introducing to you Friday Fun. The topic of joy, and pursuing a joyful life can (at times) be daunting and large. There are just so many things in our world that try to drown out our joy. So, diligently chasing after the joy we were designed for is a big deal. And I’m okay with that. (Hence, articles like this and this!) But much of our joy can be found in the little things too. The little things we sometimes overlook. The small moments we sometimes are too rushed to perceive.

Enter Friday Fun! What if, each Friday at  Joy Let Loose, we simply slowed down to look at one little thing that can bring joy to us during the coming weekend? After all, joy is found and expressed in laughter and little moments. So, on Fridays, be watching for ideas for activities or recipes, conversation starters or gifts, home ideas, getaways or games. 

 

 

Joy Blend

Over the last several months, I’ve been learning much more about essential oils. I launched into a new world when I got a diffuser for my birthday last year, and then started to do my research. I fell in love with Young Living Essential Oils because of their Seed to Seal guarantee. Because I can count on the quality of their oils to exceed industry standards, and because I have begun to notice significant improvement in my own overall wellness, I’ve joined an awesome team. What a joy to discover a group of people who are also pursuing joy and wellness, and whose heart it is to encourage people along the way. If you’d also like to join this team with me, click here to start your journey with us! As soon as you are enrolled with your starter kit of oils, we will link arms, and walk this road together!

But on this dreary Friday morning, I discovered an awesome new  joy blend  that I think is one of my new favorites. In each of my diffusers, I used 6 drops of grapefruit, 4 drops of Citrus Fresh, and 3 drops of peppermint.

  • YL GRAPEFRUIT Essential Oil is widely popular for its many benefits, including helping with digestion and hunger. As an aromatic, it is reduces anxiousness,  improves focus, and has a positive impact on mood.
  • YL CITRUS FRESH essential oil is often used to help aromatically with mood, and to freshen up the atmosphere.
  • YL PEPPERMINT, as an aromatic, increases energy, and helps improve focus.

Definitely worth trying out this Fun Friday! 

Joy Blend on the Go!!

We are house-hunting these days. Now, I love house-hunting, but when you look at dozens and dozens in the span of a few days, sometimes you start going a little squirrelly. And I decided yesterday that I need some joy on the go. So I picked up something like this! It’s an itty-bitty essential oil diffuser for my car. I’m taking joy on the road with me now as I house shop ’til I drop. The verdict is still out on its effectiveness. But on its trial run last night, I’d say it was helping! 

Thanks for joining me for Friday Fun! It really is the little things, and Fridays are for staying simple and light. My new joy blend is wafting through my house as I write, and I hear the levity in my homeschool teens’ moods even now. So I think it’s working. 🙂

Have an awesome Friday, and a joyful weekend!

Elizabeth Joy

 

Posted in: Friday Fun, Joy sightings, Weekends
Tags: , , , ,
March 3, 2017

6 Joy Scriptures to Memorize This Month: Renewing My Mind

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I’m setting a new goal with 6 joy scriptures to memorize this month to renew my mind. This week has been crazy. Just nuts. And my mind has been all over the place. (All over the place is not a good place.) So today I know I need to be extra intentional to focus and fill my mind with good things. On the journey toward  joy a primary area to be proactive is in rearranging my thinking. But I simply can’t do that on my own.

Do Not Conform

Paul tells us not to conform to the pattern of this world – not to copy its behavior and customs – but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2).  We tend to think about whatever we fill our minds with. So, how do we renew our minds?

We tend to think about whatever we fill our minds with. Share on X

If we take in a lot of crime drama, we may find we tend to be frightful and suspicious. When we take in a lot of sexualized music or video, we may find we tend to be lustful. And if we read or listen to a lot of profanity, don’t be surprised if our thoughts – and then our words – become (*ahem*) colorful.

Renew Your Mind

But if we take in an abundance of Scripture, I think we’ll find we tend to encounter the world in a Christlike way. Philippians 4:8 describes exactly what kinds of things are worthy of our thoughts. 

 

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. (Phil. 4:8)

 

So, on this journey toward  joy, I’ve decided on 6 joy scriptures to memorize this month in order to renew my mind. And I’m confident that these three verses from the Psalms and three from the New Testament will fuel me for  joy.

Would you join me on this journey? Here is a free resource I created to help us all jump in!

 

Another resource that has helped me in the past is Beth Moore’s Praying God’s Word Day by Day. She helps to pinpoint specific passages that focus our daily attention in a devotional format.

What is your plan to renew your mind? Share your journey in the comments below!

Elizabeth Joy

Posted in: Journey, Soul care, Weekdays, Weekends
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