About Our Story

Welcome to the Joyous Family World

About our story:  We are a 12 steppin’ family of 4.  We believe in Jesus Christ. We celebrate our recovery from life’s hurts, habits and hang-ups.  In our family it is

• it is ok to not be ok
• to give love and be loved
• to be our silly selves
• enjoy one moment at a time
• to unplug everything and play a board game
• to actually eat dinner together at a table

Our Mission is to share Jesus one prayer, one silly story, homemade video at a time.

 What About Our Story Makes Us Different?

I meant for my sojourn in Colorado to be a  brief transition from a 7 year stint in Georgia to new career.   I met, Jerry, my husband of 12 years on the Bar Lazy J Guest Ranch, in Parshall, Colorado.   When it “unexpectedly” snowed in June that first summer I rode horses for the ranch I almost loaded the car and headed back to Georgia.  Life in mountain climates is intense, possibly dangerous and awe inspiring.  God found me here or rather I turned to God in this wild place.

April 27, 2005 at 1:23 am the greatest blessing of my  life appeared. Gerald Wesley,  6 lbs and 13 oz was a pure gift from God that brought my husband and I to our knees.  The love for this new little boy overcame us both in a way we had never experienced before.  Our fat, sweet baby changed my life forever. In the midst of house building our second gift from God appeared June 29, 2007.   Elijah Nooma appeared bright eyed and sunny side up in less than 2 1/2 hours of labor and a scary ride down mountain roads.  A house on 20 acres, 2 boys, two horses, 200 chickens is just the start to God’s amazing journey.

Sheriff”s cars blocked the drive way leading to my house in the spring of 2010.

Oh God! My baby boy is inside screamed my mind.  Running in the back door I found my husband and 6 uniformed sheriffs standing in the kitchen.  A few months earlier I had spoken with the under sheriff about the newly legalized marijuana health cards in Colorado.

 “What did this mean?  What did this mean for me and my children if my husband had marijuana health card and choose to grow pot on our property?  What do I do?” I rapid fired questions at the sheriff alone and scared in his office.

What I did not expect was to pull into the driveway and find an unannounced house search happening while my sweet two year old slept.

My anger exploded as the deputy told me that everything my husband was doing was legal and there was nothing they could do to help me.  The deputy said, “It is a domestic issue, Ma’am,  If there is violence we could do something otherwise, he, pointing at my very calm husband, has the legal number of pot plants and a health card to personally use marijuana.”  “What about the baby!” I yelled and cried at the deputy.  “Ma’am, as I said we are not finding unsafe conditions at the moment, is there violence? Could you leave if you wanted or needed too?”  Anger, sadness, hopelessness, welled up inside of me.

 I felt stuck, financially I could not leave, the pot use and growth were legal, I was to helpless and hopeless to pursue anything further.

All my attempts to control my life, my husband and what happened in our house died on that kitchen floor that day.  What I did not realize was how sick I was.  Have you been in our shoes?  Have you struggled to regain peace in your life after coming face to face with your own self -sabotaging behaviors?

Why Am I doing this blog?

Late at night after the kids were in bed I would search the internet for answers.  My heart was breaking!  Our marriage was falling apart due to addiction and codependency.  I just wanted to hear that there was hope!

We are a family in recovery.  All families have hurts, habits and hang-ups.   Many families go through crisis and bust apart.  Some families seek help, turning the stinking sinking shipwreck of a family unit back over to God for healing and direction.  We are one of those families.

If  you have read the about our story page this far I will let you in on the details.  Jerry and I were both raised in Christian homes.  We tried to raise out two young boys that way too but our serious worldly addictions got in the way.  Praise God for His grace and mercy that brought both of us out of our separate pits of sin to heal us for His glory and purpose.

In our time of crisis, Lord surrounded us with strong believers who prayed, counseled and stood with us until we could stand on our own.  Now having experienced our own spiritual revival we want to share our experience, strength, and hope with you.  The mission of this blog is to share that hope and to stand with you in faith as you make life’s journey.

What You Will Find On the Blog

Recording this God seeking family’s adventure in writing, film and photo is the plan for this blog.  Jesus is always about the one, the one lost sheep, one lost coin and the one lost soul.  That is my purpose to touch the one, the one soul that needs a prayer, a story, a laugh or just a place to rest awhile.  Stay with us, we are excited to start this project and see who God sends our way.  We hope to convey:

Honesty,  the Big Book says that it is the “poor fellow who is unable to be honest with himself that will not remain sober.” (paraphrase pg 58).  I am not naturally a sugar-coateer although I am learning to think on what is ‘good and noble and true”  rather than spiraling downward in the dark ruminations of my own thinking.

Faith, God gives us a new chance each and everyday.  Sometimes I meet the day with a grumble, sometimes with grace. More and more often with trust.

Accountability, “we are only as sick as our secrets, ”  The family secret can kill us today and generationally. We are a community under Christ.  Each member like the parts the body has a role to play.

 

Our story unfolds in little chucks of time like snow falling off a roof.  Sometimes God’s hand is very clear and sometimes not visible at all.

P.S.  It is custom to take your shoes off when you enter a Colorado Mountain home so feel free to kick off your shoes and pad around in your socks through the stories, pictures, books, and silly films.  Come over here and sit by the wood stove where it is always warm and hear about our story.

Trust God, Clean House, Tell the Truth

To read my (Tanya) full testimony click here.