We’re still talking all things JOY on the Dear Daughters Podcast because I want to help you bring a little more joy to your everyday life. This week we’re looking at joy a little differently because a lot is going on in the world … we’re going to talk about the search for joy in the midst of hard things.

Meredith McDaniel is an author and counselor at her practice, Milk & Honey Counseling. Meredith is a beautiful soul and she is joining me this week to talk about the desperate plea for all of us … “God, how can I find you?”

Joy almost sounds frivolous when there is so much despondency around us. When our world is threatened, we feel our fear and worry and anxiety rise. We’re often trapped inside a false reality of hope, wishing for what was … rather than facing the discomfort and acknowledging that we’re out of control. It’s then that we’re really in a position to release ourselves to joy. Because there is a hope that abides in the middle of where you are, no matter where that is, or what is happening. When we rest in knowing it doesn’t all hinge on us … that’s where freedom and joy start to enter the picture.

SHOW NOTES

• Check out Meredith’s website.
• Learn more about Milk & Honey Counseling.
• Sign up for Meredith’s newsletter and get a free Narrative Journal.
• Get a copy of Meredith’s book, In Want + Plenty.
• Get a copy of Unafraid: Trusting God in an Unsafe World.
• Read Susan Cain’s books, Bittersweet and Quiet.
• Read the Texas Monthly article here.
• Listen to DD Podcast Episode 118: Finding God in the Hard Times with my friend and 8th grade classmate, John Ray.
• Become a Newsletter Friend and get weekly-ish encouragement and know about all the fun things coming up.
• Join us Sundays at my home church, Austin Christian Fellowship, online or in-person.
• Stay at The Franklin our treasure in small town, Texas! Airbnb link here.
• Listen to more of Sara Davis Regan’s music. :)

I hope that you open your eyes to the love notes that God is leaving just for you and know that you are not alone. I pray so many things for you … that you rest in knowing it does not all hinge on you, that you see the hope in the middle of it all, and that you can hold the joy next to the hard things.