Consistency Over Perfection
Without opening my eyes, I twist my body, trying to crack my stiff back. I hear movement in the room, followed by the soft click of the bathroom door shutting. It's my husband starting his day.
The heaviness in my eyes weights me down as a glance towards the glowing clock. '6:16am' It feels like I just shut my eyes for bed moments ago.
Just yesterday, my best friend and I were talking about our 2025 visions and aspirations. It lit a fire within us. I got caught up in the excitement, rattling off lists of things we could do. One of those commitments? Meeting at the gym every morning at 6:15am.
But right now, the tiredness wins. I silence my ambitions for another 30 minutes of sleep.
My eyes are still closed when a gentle kiss brushes my forehead. "I love you. I'm leaving for work," Tyler whispers. His footsteps echo down the hallway, fading as he heads toward the front door.
"Leaving for work?" I uttered groggily, turning toward the clock. 7:14 AM. An entire hour had slipped by, and I was still cuddled up under the sheets. My first client of the day wasn’t until 9 AM, but the guilt of sleeping in weighed heavy. I felt like I’d already failed the day before it had even started.
But then, a familiar analogy came to mind, one I’d read in a book earlier this year:
"A plant doesn’t grow because it’s watered perfectly every day—it grows because it’s watered consistently over time."
With that thought, I threw off the covers. Moments later my teeth were brushed and I was rummaging through my leggings. I wasn't going to let one set back define my day.
In the past, I would have let a morning like this derail everything. I would've told myself there was no point in going to the gym later or shortening my workout out of frustration. But I've learned that perfection isn't the goal. It never was. Growth comes from pursuing consistency.
The next morning, I woke up to the same glowing alarm. I jump out of bed. Yet this time, my morning flowed with a sense of purpose. As I finished I sent a quick text: "On my way". My best friend hearts my message and I headed towards her direction.
Here's the truth: Its not about giving it your all every time- It's about giving what you can consistently.
What is one thing that you have been putting off because you are waiting for the 'perfect' time to start?
You don't have to get it right every time, you just have to start. Perfection truly is fleeting but habits built overtime are what truly last.
Hello Joy: Finding God's Timing in Your Calling
I feel the warmth of my husband's hand intertwined with mine. As the bright screen glows before us, I join in singing the worship lyrics, my voice rising with the strum of the guitar. My free left hand extends outward, reaching in surrender.
Our voices echoed, "Hello peace, hello joy, hello love. Hello strength, hello hope, it's a new horizon." In that moment, everything clicked— Hello Joy. This was the answered prayer I had been waiting for. The Holy Spirit brought a memory to mind, one from six months ago, when I felt a clear calling to write a book titled Hello Joy. At the time, I had set the idea aside, praying for God to open the door when the time was right. Was this the moment He was answering that prayer?
As the lyrics faded, a sense of purpose stirred deep within me. I sank into the chair behind me, grabbed a pen and started scribbling down my thoughts. For the first time in months, I felt this vision come alive again- vivid and undeniable, as if God himself was breathing life into it.
I stared back at the notes in front of me. These last few months were not God denying my dreams- it was preparation. Hello Joy was not just a book title; it was a reminder of the joy God promises us when we align our hearts with His will.
Let this be an encouragement to surrender our visions into God’s hands. Trust the nudge that He has placed in your heart and step into what He has been preparing you for. He will bring it to life in His perfect timing.
Community: How to find your people
Hi and welcome!! I’m so happy you’re here. If you clicked on this article, then you are probably exactly where I was about three years ago. 2021 I really struggled with my friend group. The people in my life did not want to see me succeed and was only there for the good times. When life got hard, I felt like I had no one. After fully surrendering my life to God, He brought a community of people to love and nurture me back to health.
I learned that there are different types of friendships. Some are for a season and others are for a lifetime. The biggest thing that I have learned is that not only did God create us to have a relationship with Him, but as well as with our friends, family and church community.
Where do I start?
Prayer.
Prayer is one of the ways that we communicate with God. Through prayer comes power, trust and authority. Bring all of your worries to Jesus. Trust that He has good plans for those who love Him.
Begin with praying and asking God to provide people in your life to pour into you and bring joy into your every day. He loves you so much. He cares about what you care about and He also desires this for you. The more that you pray, and spend time with God, the more your desires will align with His.
The Holy Spirit will lead you to your people and others to you.
How do I know that these are the right people God placed in my life?
Look at the fruits that are being bear in your friendship.
Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”
If you have a friendship that is causing a lot of confusion, toxicity into your life and leading you to do things that are against God’s Word, this may not be a friendship that is blessed by Him. God will never contradict His Word. this goes for any friendship or romantic relationship.
Proverbs 27:17 “As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.”
The people that God places in your life will point you closer to Him. They will speak life over you, encouraging, forgiving and loving you.
In conclusion,
As you continue to grow in your relationship with God, you will be surrounded by God-fearing men and women. You will feel loved and accepted. As well as lovingly corrected to help you grow bear more good fruit. Keep praying for wisdom and discernment. The Holy Spirit will help you with all things. I’m proud of you for taking the time to read this and I will also be praying over you. God is good. Trust His timing.
With love,
Amanda Joy
How to Hear God’s Voice
I want to prep you before we dive into this article. By the end of this reading, you more than likely will not be hearing an audible deep voice speaking to you in your bedroom. In the beginning of my faith walk, I would be in a conversation with a mature christian and I would hear the words, “God told me…” this was exactly what I was picturing.
My christian friend would seem so confident that the Lord told them, “…fill in the blank.” There was no doubt or convincing them otherwise. I thought to myself, “Wow, the Lord must have really spoke to them the way He did to Moses in the Old Testament.” With that frame a thinking, I thought that He only spoke to a select few of His children. I assumed He had favorites. This may be where your heart is at. What if I told you that you can hear from Him too? That He WANTS to speak to you. That in many ways He already has spoken to you, yet you missed it. I am so excited for this article to pour joy and discernment into your heart. Let’s get started!
How do you “hear” God speak?
More than half the time, the Lord speaking to you is going to be through an impression on your heart. When you accept Jesus into your life as your Savior, something additional VERY amazing happens. You now have the Holy Spirit in you to help guide you. The Holy Spirit is the direct communication to our Father. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one in three. A complex sentence to wrap your head around, we will dive deeper into that another day. For now we are going to highlight and talk about the Holy Spirit. He is speaking to you all the time. He is helping you discern right from wrong. He will begin to refine and slowly transform you.
Even though the Lord does the changing in our heart, we also have a responsibility. Its our job to obey the commands that God asks us. It does not happen over night. Yet, one day you look back to a year ago and you realize how far you have come. Jesus is a gentleman, He is patient and He is not going to overwhelm you with all these rules. He’s asking for your heart, not perfection. What slowly starts to happen is you WANT to follow His commands because you love Him so much. In the beginning, it can be tough. Your heart may not be softened towards Him and you struggle to trust.
The first step, get to know Him. Once you start to understand God’s character you will start to see how He works in your life.
How do I know it’s from God and not my own thought?
Short answer, What does the Bible say about it? Is it following His commandments? Does it represent a deep self-less love? Does it line up with the fruit of the spirit? In the future, I will go over what the fruit of the spirits are and link it here. For now, look up Galatians 5:22-26 and it goes over all the fruits of the spirit. These are characteristics you slowly develop more of as you walk in your faith. If you have a thought or idea that checks off all these boxes, its more than likely given to you by God. There are many ways He speaks to us that we are blind to. We may right it off as our own idea. Begin to pray and ask God to open your eyes to how He speaks to you throughout the day.
What do I do now that I heard from God?
What a beautiful thing! I am so excited for you and your walk with Christ. It is not an easy rode ahead yet it is one that is fulfilling. He is a God that loves His children and has plans for hope and a future. (Jer 29:11) If you think you have heard from the Lord, trust it. If you are new into your faith and still trying to understand, reach out to your spiritual mentor. A spiritual mentor is someone who has been walking with the Lord for a very long time. They saturate their time in the Word and can help you with any questions you have as you start out this new life. If you don’t have a mentor, pray for one. The Lord knows your heart and wants to connect you with other believers. Reach out to your church or a friend you know.
When you hear from God, obey what He says. Listen to Him. What He is asking is going to help build His kingdom. It’s so wonderful that we get to be apart of His plan. As you obey what He places on your heart, He will entrust you with even more responsibility.
In conclusion,
God is not asking you for perfecting. Most of my young adult life, I felt the need to clean myself up before coming to Him with my vulnerable heart. As humans, we will always have short-comings. During our walk, we will fail Him over and over. Yet, nothing will ever come between His love for you. He has a life of abundant blessings, never failing you. It starts with accepting Him into your heart. Trust the process. I am overwhelmed with joy as you continue to learn how God speaks to you.
With love,
Amanda Joy
Overthinking: How to beat it
Welcome friend. If you clicked on this article, you are I are a lot a like. I am here to encourage you that you are not alone and over thinking is a very common struggle for many individuals.
I am currently writing to you at a local coffee shop. Sipping on an iced caramel latte typing away on my blush pink and slightly worn in lap top. Today is the first day of content creating for this blog. I found myself naturally begin to overthink. I used the tools I have developed over the years to beat over thinking and begin the next adventure of my journey. This journey in life is meant to be built with community. A community that involves YOU. Together let’s start living a daily life free of overthinking!
Bring Yourself to the Present Moment
Take a deep breath and focus on your surroundings. It is very easy to catch yourself trying to make a decision based on past failures or focus on the future so much that it overwhelms your decisions in the moment.
Many things in life are successful based on small consistent habits. Before starting something, take a brisk walk and allow your mind to settle down. Breath in the fresh air and comfort yourself in knowing that nothing you do today is going to be final. You can always refine and tweak things later.
So many times I would catch myself thinking that what ever decision I made today was it. That there is no going back. If the decision you made isn’t working, you can always take different steps to get back on the path.
Count Yourself Blessings and Remember Your Wins
It is so human of us to gravitate towards all the negatives. It is time for a perspective change. Having a mindset that focuses on the things you’re grateful for will CHANGE YOUR LIFE. Period. I know it is easier said than done. Especially if this is a learned bad habit you have been doing for years. I promise you that once you unlearn this habit, you will overall live a happier life. Even if your circumstances don’t change, your heart and mind will.
Focusing on your blessing on a daily basis will lead you to a happier life. Decisions won’t feel as heavy and you will begin to do things that you’ve always wanted to do with out the worry of failure.
Talk to Yourself Out Loud
Your words have power. The tongue has the power of life and death. We will get more into this at another time. For now, be mindful have how you are talking to yourself about the situation you are other thinking. So many times I hear friend, family and clients speak down to themself so easily. They tell themselves things they would NEVER tell a close loved one. Encourage yourself out loud. It might seem silly at first. Practice positive self talk. That’s exactly what I did this morning. “Amanda Joy, you can do this. You can start a blog.” “You are such an encourage to those around you, your words can help draw out the best in people.”
Now if I started telling myself, “Amanda you could NEVER start a blog.” “No one cares. They will never listen to what you have to stay.” “You’re crazy if you think they actually care.” This would make it INCREDIBLY hard to do anything I have a heart to start. These words are exactly what I told myself in the past before I started “Cup of Joy Podcast”. We will always be our biggest critic.
In Closing
Be kind to yourself. Focus on the present moment and know that everything is going to work itself out. You are not a failure if it doesn’t work or doesn’t go as planned at first. God has beautiful and big things planned in your future. Trust in Him. Even if it is not fitting in your timing. His plan is so much better than ours.
Until next time.
Amanda Joy xx