Tiffany Joy’s “Life” category is where she publishes all non-fiction blog series, life updates, and other articles. This includes the series Dreamward Bound, Love Nerd, God Shows Up, and Tiff’s Tips. She has also posted reviews and other life updates to this category.
To read is to wonder
as writing is to explore.
I yearn to learn the story
as I read the words already written.
I yearn to learn the story
as I write the character that are give.
Yes, this is a short poem. I almost added it to yesterday’s poem, but it deserves its own post. It is legit poem and I like it. I hope you do to.
Let me know what you think.
I started to wear a band on my ring finger of my right hand. It is a spinning ring with the following inscribed on the outside, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. ” Inside it says, “Philippians 4:13” and “forgiven.”
I almost didn’t get it. I don’t wear jewelry on a regular basis and it’s pretty plan. It’s just a shiny silver band with a slightly less shiny spinning piece on top. That is it. There are no flowers, hearts, crosses, or faces. There is no quirkiness to this ring.
Still I got it as a reminder that God is with me and he is my strength. I also got it as a symbol that I will live my life fully for him.
I ordered it from Amazon in a size I thought would fit and was really happy when it had arrived. I’m sure you realize by that wording, it did not fit. It was too small. I learned that day that you should not try to it a spinning ring on a finger if the ring is too small. It does not matter how excited and happy you are to have the ring. Do not force it to go on. I did not have fun trying to twist off the ring with it spinning instead.
I returned it and got a size bigger. This was a good thing, so even though it’s a bit big, even though it’s a bit plan, and even though I do not normally wear jewelry there has not been a day that I haven’t put this ring on.
I wear it as a reminder each day that God is with me and that I can lean on him.It’s also great as a fidget tool, so that I can focus on the ring instead of nerves or loosing my train of thought.
It is true that I don’t normally wear jewelry, but this ring goes on when my glasses do and stays on all day. It is becoming as needed as my glasses, too. It calms me and reminds me of my strength.
Thank you for reading and that is all about my ring.
I am feeling like I can actually achieve my end goals this week. I published posts that I wrote on my vacation, which meant I did not need to write as much this week. Instead I was able to focus on planning, figure out new ideas, and look forward.
Out of the 5 posts that I did published this week, 2 of them really brought readers to this blog, which is great. I thought they might since the 2 posts were titled, “Meeting Mormons,” and “Elevation.” Elevation is my church so I bet people involved in that would like to read about their tribe. The Mormon post I bet was interesting because it’s an interaction post about a religion/ people group that is usually represented as negative. The people I met were really nice and it was a positive interaction.
I did write a poem, that will be published after all my vacation writings are up. I’m sure I will have more ramblings by the time I’m done publishing my vacation stuff. I might even have a short description of a web-series idea.
I do want to do a web-series, but besides the very, very basics I do not have much. I want to figure out who is willing and able before writing the actual script. Which is backwards, but I want it to help those involved have the greatest chance for success.
Changing topics, back to why I am feeling like I am moving forward with my goals, dreams, and working towards the life I really want. I sat down and revised my goals this past week and I think these will really help propel me into making some head way. The new thing I did was break down the week into different goals. Now, I won’t be trying to do everything everyday, which causes me to not really get anything done. It will be okay if I don’t edit my book everyday. It has its own day. This is basically what my schedule will look like now.
Sunday= Bible Study (God Goal day)
Monday= BJJ (health goal) and my blog.
Tuesday/ Wednesday= Acting plan (acting goal)
Thursday = Improv and blog
Friday = Book editing (writing goal)
Saturday = Call family and record kids’ videos (relationship goal). Also Acting planning (acting goal).
It’s nerdy but I am really excited about scheduling and planning. This means that I am really excited to see how I can create a plan of action for my acting career. Maybe I will even do acting stuff in the coming months.
That is really why I am feeling dreamward bound. Now here is the stuff I posted this week.
Weekly Writing Prompt
After my layover chat with the Mormons I realized I never write in detail about my church. I love it yet I’ve never wrote about it. It is so unique, authentic and loving that I believe our story should be told.
The story of Elevation has to start with the pastor, Chuckk (yes, spell check it has 2 k’s). I believe his openness to share his past, personality, and love is the reason everyone involved with the church feels safe to share and be themselves. It is a beautiful thing when a group of people can be authentically themselves as they journey towards a personal relationship with God the creator.
When there are no wall or barriers to break through you can then start to learn and grow with people on the same journey as you.
Chuckk’s wife, Andrea, of course needs to be spoken about. She is there every week setting up environment and loving people. She is encouraging and a strong Christian woman. She has become my mentor and one of the ladies who I look up to. She leads by example and makes sure everyone feels welcomed into our church.
I could go on about ever single person that is important to the church but that would fill a book and I am not up for that right now. I would most likely forget to mention the middle school leader or the grumpy guitarist. I’ll just leave talking about each awesome person for another post. Or maybe it would be another series.
I really want to focus on what makes Elevation, Elevation. The people are what is important and what gives Elevation the unique feeling but that is not the only thing. People where I start when I think about Elevation.
We believe that Church is not about the building or even the weekly service. The Church is the people who make up the community of believers we hang out with. And most do hang out either after service, during the week, or at random events. It seems like lately there are a bunch of events that people are going to and inviting other members. Elevation also organizes events, because we know that there is only so much that can be learned from Chuckk and it takes community to really grow and help others grow.
We do have service each week which is important. This is where we can worship and learn about God from a smart dude who very obviously knows God and has a deep relationship with him.
We also get to express our love for God through music which, Jeremy leads. He is also a pretty great dude. I mean he was willing to leave his home in Colorado to move to an un-churched area for the worship leader position that can only pay him as a part-time position. If that isn’t trusting God I’m not positive what is. HE also has a wonderful talent for finding great musicians.
The skill of musical people and other creative people are part of the culture of Elevation. This is also one reason I fit into this church. We are weird creative people who love God.
The mission statement of Elevation is, “Elevation exists to worship God, reach the unconvinced and together grow to be more like Jesus.” The 7 guiding values are, “Scripture-centric Teaching, Cultural Relevance, Missional Living, Engaging Worship, Authentic Community, Transformed Lives, and Focused Simplicity”
Oh yeah and we must be cool because we meet at a night club/ bar. You see we believe the actual locations doesn’t matter. We just need a space to meet in regularly. Plus, more people may feel alright going to a night club and not a cathedral or other church building.
For more information about my amazing Church you can go to Elevation’s website.
Let me know if you have any questions about Elevation or church in general; and all feedback is welcomed.
I met 3 Mormon missionaries during my layover in LA, while I was going to Virginia on my family vacation. They were going home after being on a mission for 2 years in LA. I wasn’t going to talk to them. I figured that since… well they are Mormons and that seems like a large ritualistic church with unfamiliar believes.
Still I did talk to them and it was a good conversation. We talked about how Jesus is Lord and savior, the importance of the Bible and relationship verses religious rules.
We even talked about what is done during their missions and what I’ve done when I went on a mission trip.
At first it seemed like we were trying to convert each other and explain how our way of doing it was better. LEaving though I realized that as long as our hearts are pointing towards a growing relationship with God, focus on learning the Bible and believe we cannot save ourselves (it takes the creator to fix his broken creation) then isn’t that the same? I know there are differences and I know they have an entirely other book that they use, but talking with them it seemed like a weird addition.
They did give me a copy of the Book of Mormon and I am going to at least look through it. If I find anything that pulls me away from my relationship with Jesus then I will put the book down and write about it.
Don’t worry though Jesus and God’s love comes first.
I am curious to learn what they believe and how it differs from only believing and reading the Bible.
After they boarded their flight I had a bunch of other questions for them. I might as well ask them here right?
1.)Sister Scott mentioned that she was raised and taught by her church and prayed for a relationship with God. It appeared to me that it seemed like a struggle of conformity and not a desire for relationship. My question to the 3 I meant is: Have you met or know of anyone who felt like God was pursuing them?
2.)This actually ties into question 1. While on the mission trip did you see any fruits, such as someone converting/ choosing a life focused on Jesus, a growing sense of peace, patience, love, kindness, or self-control?
3.)Going off the mission trip question. How does your life at home differ from being on the mission field? Do you act/ behave the same and still focus on the mission to grow your relationship with Jesus and become like him?
4.) Is a 2 year mission trip a mandate for a system within the Mormon church or just appears to be? Also, is the placement forced or if you feel led to a certain area of the world can you set up a mission trip there?
5.) Finally, Why was it sister Scott and elder Hash (I think that was one of the names)? Shouldn’t both genders be elders or men be brothers?
Please, know that I am asking out of curiosity and because the questions came to me after our conversation. That being said I hope you read the questions and write-up as a loving pondering from a human that does not know Mormonism, but does loves the God of the Bible.
UPDATE: Okay, so I didn’t even publish this, but instead of re-writing everything I will put this note down here. I had given the missionaries my card, because sister Scott and the elders seemed pretty cool. I was thinking that we would have an open conversation or at least an email. My card also has my website on it, so hey maybe one of them would read it or look at least. Instead I guess she gave it to someone at her church. My curiosity was smashed by that. That made it seem like I was actually just a number to her. I did not give her permission to give my number away and that erased the good conversation about relationships. It also makes the Mormon church look like a machine rather than a place where relationships are important.
I am still curious about my questions though, so if any one knows any answers please let me know. If not, oh well.
Tomorrow’s post will be about how I do church and my church, that I love and never feel like a number.
I got back from my vacation this week and hit the ground running, at least or a few days. I went to a friend’s house right when I got home, partly because I wanted to see them and their family, partly because I wanted to stay awake until at least 9. I was trying to fight my jet lag. It might have helped if I didn’t wake up at 4:30 EST and went to sleep at 10 PST. It was as if I woke up at 1:30 and went to bed at 10, or woke up at 4:30 and went to bed at 1. It didn’t help that the next day I went over another friends house then woke up the following day at 4:45 to take make roommate to the airport.
On top of sleep issues at work the first day back I had advance training to qualify for becoming a level 3 site owner. All this week I was really focused on the process in becoming a level 3. I mean this week in work was only 3 days and I was doing a simple job when I wasn’t training or taking tests, but still I think that counts as hitting the ground running.
That is all boring stuff. I should at least give you bullet points on my fun family vacation.
First I went a couple of days early, because well it is cheaper to fly during the middle of the week. I flew into the airport closest to my sister, Ducky’s house (nickname). I stayed with her and her family for a few days then drove up to the cabin in the mountains. We did stop along the way to see Monticello, which was Thomas Jefferson’s retirement home.
We then got to the cabin in the woods where we would be staying for the week. The grand total of humans that would be staying in this 3 floor cabin was 14. We also had 1 dog come. The house was 3 floors, which was helpful. This gave us enough room to have different people doing different things.
We didn’t just stay at the cabin. We went out and did something fun every day. We went to a water park, canoeing, and took a tour of the caverns that were around there. We also went to a lavender garden, went out to eat at a smoke house, and went on an adventure course. I even took 3 out of the 5 kids on a garden maze at the caverns, which was fun.
By the end of the week our numbers started to dwindle both Ducky and Cole (another sister) had to go home early, because of work. This caused a problem, since my ride to the airport was Ducky and my flight didn’t leave until a couple of days after we had to leave the cabin. What wound up happening was a bit complicated but worked. I was driven to Cole’s house, since mom had stuff she needed to drop off for her. I then stayed at her house for a couple of days, then brought to Ducky’s house and stayed there a couple of days.
I had nothing interesting happen flying home, but I did talk to Mormons while I was heading towards my family vacation. I actually wrote something about that, because if nothing else it was an interesting conversation. That will be posted later on this week.
I will actually be publishing a lot this week and next week. I think I may have 3 weeks of stuff to publish from the trip. I also have a couple of fun videos that will be published as soon as I look at them. The videos are 2 improv videos I did before leaving for vacation. I may have a video from vacation, but not sure about that yet, since it was longer, so I would have to edit it down.
There is no list of things I did this week, since I haven’t published anything in a while. Next week there will be a good list though.
I hope you have a wonderful week and thank you for reading.
I got back from my vacation this week and hit the ground running, at least or a few days. I went to a friend’s house right when I got home, partly because I wanted to see them and their family, partly because I wanted to stay awake until at least 9. I was trying to fight my jet lag. It might have helped if I didn’t wake up at 4:30 EST and went to sleep at 10 PST. It was as if I woke up at 1:30 and went to bed at 10, or woke up at 4:30 and went to bed at 1. It didn’t help that the next day I went over another friends house then woke up the following day at 4:45 to take make roommate to the airport.
On top of sleep issues at work the first day back I had advance training to qualify for becoming a level 3 site owner. All this week I was really focused on the process in becoming a level 3. I mean this week in work was only 3 days and I was doing a simple job when I wasn’t training or taking tests, but still I think that counts as hitting the ground running.
That is all boring stuff. I should at least give you bullet points on my fun family vacation.
First I went a couple of days early, because well it is cheaper to fly during the middle of the week. I flew into the airport closest to my sister, Ducky’s house (nickname). I stayed with her and her family for a few days then drove up to the cabin in the mountains. We did stop along the way to see Monticello, which was Thomas Jefferson’s retirement home.
We then got to the cabin in the woods where we would be staying for the week. The grand total of humans that would be staying in this 3 floor cabin was 14. We also had 1 dog come. The house was 3 floors, which was helpful. This gave us enough room to have different people doing different things.
We didn’t just stay at the cabin. We went out and did something fun every day. We went to a water park, canoeing, and took a tour of the caverns that were around there. We also went to a lavender garden, went out to eat at a smoke house, and went on an adventure course. I even took 3 out of the 5 kids on a garden maze at the caverns, which was fun.
By the end of the week our numbers started to dwindle both Ducky and Cole (another sister) had to go home early, because of work. This caused a problem, since my ride to the airport was Ducky and my flight didn’t leave until a couple of days after we had to leave the cabin. What wound up happening was a bit complicated but worked. I was driven to Cole’s house, since mom had stuff she needed to drop off for her. I then stayed at her house for a couple of days, then brought to Ducky’s house and stayed there a couple of days.
I had nothing interesting happen flying home, but I did talk to Mormons while I was heading towards my family vacation. I actually wrote something about that, because if nothing else it was an interesting conversation. That will be posted later on this week.
I will actually be publishing a lot this week and next week. I think I may have 3 weeks of stuff to publish from the trip. I also have a couple of fun videos that will be published as soon as I look at them. The videos are 2 improv videos I did before leaving for vacation. I may have a video from vacation, but not sure about that yet, since it was longer, so I would have to edit it down.
There is no list of things I did this week, since I haven’t published anything in a while. Next week there will be a good list though.
I hope you have a wonderful week and thank you for reading.
As you know, if you have followed my journey, I’ve been focused on doing and figuring out what I can do to get better at acting and writing. This week I realized that a few people started following my twitter (@tiffaberry). Instead of dismissing them because I didn’t know who they were, I sent them a direct message. Basically I decided to be thankful that new people found me, and curious about how they found me. I do want to know what methods of energy and work are getting me noticed, even if it is only a couple of people.
One of them responded. He didn’t know where he actually found my account, but did point me to a website for film networking. It’s called stage32. I checked it out, signed up (my profile) and uploaded my resume (TiffanyJoy [yes I see the typo, do you?]). I also added my bio and wrote a couple notes on different forums that they have. I already have 10 people in my network. I should mention that I signed up two nights and none of my friends seem to be on this. Also it’s me and I don’t have time to sit and search a database. Most of them found me after I posted the notes on the forums. Some of these people are in my area too. There are a few that are further away, but that is good too. I am glad to spread my name around with whoever wants to see or hear about me.
Another cool thing that I started is a new hobby. I apparently needed to be doing more. I am starting to create and mix music on my computer. I have a weird loop now that could almost work. I think it is pretty busy, but I’m still learning the program so throwing things together is fine for me at this point.
The good thing about this new hobby is that my roommate, Kateland, will be doing this with me. My hope is that we can create some good music, since it was music that originally brought us back together and we both love music. She loves music more than me and is the talented one when it comes to music stuff. I have been itching to try to be more musical, though, and this seems like the play to start.
Also, once I get a hold of how to work the program I may actually be able to make song people like. Who knows where this new hobby takes me. I may be on the brink of a new adventure. The possibilities are almost endless.
I just hope that this won’t fully distract me from God, acting, writing, painting, and BJJ. I mean painting is taking a back seat to the others, but it is still a hobby for me. You know what I will just not sleep. That is how I will get around having all my passions, and hobbies, and a full-time job.
Speaking of passions and hobbies, I did get to write a few things this week. I always feel like I should write more, but I am going on vacation this coming week, so should be able to write while flying at least.
Here is the list of things I published this week.
Guarding The Ladder (A Short Story)
A Healthy Week to Boost Fitness – I haven’t done this healthy week, but should take my advice.
Finally, there will not be any DreamWard Bound posts for the next 2 weeks. I will be on vacation and like leaving my computer at home. The whole being on the computer, so much for my work and blog and now music. I will be away from the computer for two weeks.
A few weeks, well maybe a month ago, a friend and I were talking about getting together a hardcore diet/ fitness plan that would last one week. This would be to boost our healthy habits and jump-start our thinking about getting healthy and staying healthy.
I did some research, forgot about it, and then did a bit more research. Through research and the knowledge I already had I came up with a little system that I will be trying out. I think this system should only be done for a week as a boost, since it is to push you to be healthier. I also don’t believe in restricting your permanent diet and fitness all at once. That has failed for me in the past. What has not failed is gradually becoming healthier and knowing why.
Before starting anything where goals and a desired outcome is involved I believe you should ask yourself two questions. That being said if you want to join me with this health boost, please ask your self the following question. 1.) Why are you doing this? What are your reasons? Write this down.
Now on to the real system thing that I made. I broke down being physically healthy down to three parts habits, diet and mixed. In this healthy boost system I am going to be focusing on 1 new habit, 2 new diet items and 1 that is a mix for the week.
The lists are as follows:
Habit
Diet
The Mixed list
I also am on pinterest and have a few boards that may help you boost your health. The first is my boosting healthiness board, where a lot of the research and ideas were pinned. Follow Tiff’s board Boosting healthliness on Pinterest.Next is my general fitness board, where I put a bunch of different exercises, work outs on and a few quotes to help me stay motivated. Follow Tiff’s board fitness on Pinterest.
The last two boards are my healthy eating and smoothie boards. These are focused on the diet part of being healthy.
Follow Tiff’s board Healthy food on Pinterest.
Follow Tiff’s board Smoothies on Pinterest.
Finally, I want to leave you with an important tip. Do not weigh yourself every day. Weigh yourself before you start and after. Also measure yourself before and after the week. Do not do it during the week. Plus the number on the scale or on the measuring tap is not what is important in the long run. The goal should be becoming healthier, not skinnier or lighter.
I hope this helps you. Let me know if you are trying this and I will let you know the end results.
Yes, I try to be clever with my DreamWard Bound titles. I am not sure if my amazingly wonderful and first class cleverness comes off in every title. Mostly I am unsure, but I miss place the cleverness most of the time. Either way I try to write clever names, but today I will let you imagine the clever name. The reason behind promoting your creativity is because I can’t seem to stay focus.
I started this blog post around noon, maybe a bit later but then could not focus so doodled some thoughts down, read part of a book, did my laundry, went grocery shopping, made sure my budget is synced correctly, and baked zucchini bread. Before each new task I sat down and thought I would add on to this wonderful piece of writing. However, it is now 8 pm and I am finally getting my words out.
Maybe I wasn’t as I thought. It is now almost 9 and I have spent most of that time on Amazon, looking for a new gi. I know I could go or should go to another site that tailors to gis or BJJ, but I get triple points if I order it on Amazon.
With all distractions pushed aside, I should tell you what went on in my life this week. That is what this post should be all about. I should just ignore how distracted I have been today and let you know how I am being dreamward bound.
The first things that was dreamward bound for this week was that I wrote 3 creative things, so posted 4 things this week. Well I posted 5 if you include last week’s Dreamward Bound.
I also started to research different acting coaches and acting groups around my area. In doing so I found a working actor, who is also an acting coach. He does online classes, which may be a good idea for me.
Most of the week was focused on my day job, but I did get some things done that has brought me slightly closer to my dreams. I think this coming week will be even more focused on my dreamward bound journey, since I won’t need to be stressing over customer’s complaints or driving myself to work. I will have at least a little time to relax or work towards my goals as I carpool.
Again I got distracted. This time it was the internet. I think I wrote all that I can write tonight, so I will leave you with a list of things I did this week.
I am a Dancing Bagel (Short Story)
Otis, The Hunter. (Short Story)
My Nightmare Mind Box (monologue)