Comments on: The discipline of joy https://lauravanderkam.com/2015/12/the-discipline-of-joy/ Writer, Author, Speaker Tue, 17 Apr 2018 14:06:35 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.2 By: chrsitine https://lauravanderkam.com/2015/12/the-discipline-of-joy/#comment-30789 Fri, 04 Mar 2016 14:35:47 +0000 http://lauravanderkam.staging.wpengine.com/?p=5836#comment-30789 I really love this “the discipline of Joy: to know the good life is not always the easy life”
Thank for writing…

]]> By: ARC https://lauravanderkam.com/2015/12/the-discipline-of-joy/#comment-30788 Mon, 28 Dec 2015 21:24:44 +0000 http://lauravanderkam.staging.wpengine.com/?p=5836#comment-30788 In reply to lauravanderkam.

Hah! My husband and his sister used to do that – their parents had a pretty strict 2 hours of TV per week rule, so they’d get together and choose different things so they could have 4. I’m impressed that their parents even thought to have a limit way back in the 70s. I watched SO MANY HOURS of TV as a kid 😉

]]> By: Diana Watters https://lauravanderkam.com/2015/12/the-discipline-of-joy/#comment-30787 Mon, 28 Dec 2015 14:48:57 +0000 http://lauravanderkam.staging.wpengine.com/?p=5836#comment-30787 ” This is the discipline of joy: to know that the good life is not always the easy life. It is a constant process of managing expectations, and celebrating what you can. ” These are the lines I had to copy into my planner. This is the message we need to spread. Thank you.

]]> By: Jess https://lauravanderkam.com/2015/12/the-discipline-of-joy/#comment-30786 Fri, 25 Dec 2015 05:23:55 +0000 http://lauravanderkam.staging.wpengine.com/?p=5836#comment-30786 A very timely post Laura. I really needed to read this today. With the Christmas break happening I am surrounded by my husband and 4 kids until January 4th. I love having everyone home. I also like quiet:). Today was full of ups and downs. Great family moments followed by loud wailing and fist fights. Thanks for giving me the right perspective of looking at my day:)

]]> By: lauravanderkam https://lauravanderkam.com/2015/12/the-discipline-of-joy/#comment-30785 Thu, 24 Dec 2015 19:48:47 +0000 http://lauravanderkam.staging.wpengine.com/?p=5836#comment-30785 In reply to Diane.

@Diane – I appreciate it – yes, happiness doesn’t just happen. I’m glad you had a good day with your grand-daughters!

]]> By: Lina https://lauravanderkam.com/2015/12/the-discipline-of-joy/#comment-30784 Thu, 24 Dec 2015 15:22:03 +0000 http://lauravanderkam.staging.wpengine.com/?p=5836#comment-30784 This is so, so true. Thanks so much for the reminder. Happy holidays!

]]> By: Diane https://lauravanderkam.com/2015/12/the-discipline-of-joy/#comment-30783 Thu, 24 Dec 2015 14:50:28 +0000 http://lauravanderkam.staging.wpengine.com/?p=5836#comment-30783 Laura, This was a beautiful article. I rarely comment on blogs, but I was so touched by your last paragraph, that I just had to publicly concur. I so agree with the concept that happiness doesn’t “just happen;” it takes work. But the work is rewarded many times over. I often try to schedule special get-togethers with my young teenaged grandchildren. If I were going for “easy,” I would do nothing. But I really want to build relationship with each of them, so I am always on the lookout for creative ideas for doing that in a way that both of us will enjoy. Last week, I planned a tea party for all the granddaughters at a tea shop in town. It took effort; it took time; it took a drive into town on a day that I had nothing else scheduled and could have just stayed cozied up in my home. But the payback was so great! We talked, we laughed, we planned the larger family Christmas party, and we made plans for future meetings. I wonder how often other grandmothers experience that kind of joy with their grandchildren. I know I was inspired to put forth the effort on a more regular basis. Like you say, “The good life is not always the easy life.” So true. Thanks for the beautiful post.

]]> By: Lori https://lauravanderkam.com/2015/12/the-discipline-of-joy/#comment-30782 Thu, 24 Dec 2015 07:47:30 +0000 http://lauravanderkam.staging.wpengine.com/?p=5836#comment-30782 Really loved your post today!

Being comfortable with –or rather, making peace with–the reality that daily life often has moments wonderful AND horrible has helped me find greater satisfaction in those very same ups and downs! I’ve also become more content and joyful over the long haul, and less frustrated and negative about the challenges in my life.

I’d love to read the book on holding paradox. Would you share the title?
Thanks! And Happy Holidays.

]]> By: Rinna https://lauravanderkam.com/2015/12/the-discipline-of-joy/#comment-30781 Thu, 24 Dec 2015 03:56:43 +0000 http://lauravanderkam.staging.wpengine.com/?p=5836#comment-30781 The comedian Jim Gaffigan has a line that goes something like this: “I never imagined I could be fighting in the Vietnam War and eating in a Parisian cafe all in the same day. That’s how it is with parenting.” In any event, I’m glad you were able to see and enjoy the positive. Merry Christmas to you and the whole family!

]]> By: Sarah https://lauravanderkam.com/2015/12/the-discipline-of-joy/#comment-30780 Thu, 24 Dec 2015 03:50:46 +0000 http://lauravanderkam.staging.wpengine.com/?p=5836#comment-30780 Laura, I am so thankful for this blog. After a day of ups and downs with extended family, a three year old, teenagers and me feeling “off’, it’s so refreshing to know that there is space to celebrate the good moments. We enjoyed a great meal even though it was stressful to pull off and got everyone to church and home to my mom’s for more festivities. I felt tired and on edge, but we did it. And there was a lot of happy points. Thank you for the gift of honesty and reminder to release expectations that you give. I will be practicing the discipline of joy over this break!

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