Corner of Joy

When I started this blog a few months ago, I had a few ideas of what I wanted to accomplish. First, I wanted to be connected with other Christian woman. Second, I wanted to be able to be a source of encouragement to others. And Third, I wanted to document this incredible stage of my life.

As a quick introduction, my name is Amy Joy, I am 24 years old and live in the beautiful mid-west with my amazing husband. We got married in March 2011 and I am just so happy to spend every day with my soul mate.

I am the youngest of 4 children, with two brothers and a sister. I cherish my family more than anything and you will often find me on the phone with a sibling, one of my nephews, a parent, or an in-law. I am a non-denominational Christian; I follow Jesus as my savior and my light.

Let me tell you a little about myself and my journey. I was an exchange student for 1 year in Finland when I was 16 and lived in the most amazing little town just 4 degrees south of the Polar Circle. During that year I was given the opportunity to travel to 10 different countries, experiencing so many different things, and seeing so many great sites.

I returned to the USA and decided I had not had enough travel. I went on another exchange year and this time I ended up in Brazil, again in a tiny little town. I learned to speak Portuguese fluently and also, unfortunately, fell away from my relationship with Christ during this time. You can read about this in my testimony post HERE.



A beautiful brook in Brazil that I hiked to



I moved to Turkey after that and lived in Istanbul where I studied at a prominent Turkish university. I loved Istanbul so much! I lived there for a few years, and it is in Istanbul that I found Christ again (which you can read in my testimony post above). I realized after finding Christ that I needed to be around Christians again. I returned to America just over 3 years ago and have slowly been rediscovering Christ since then.



Exploring an underground city where Christians used to hide in Turkey



I am now not only a Christian, but I am living a Christian life. That was a big mistake I made before; I professed to be a Christian and didn’t really let that change anything in my life. Now I realize that there is no such thing as a secular life, and that Christ really needs to be present in everything I do, see, and watch.

I found my soul mate two and a half years ago. He is an amazing man and we often joke that we have the exact same sense of humor. When nobody else laughs at my jokes, he does! We were long distance until we were married in March 2011. In fact, March 2011 was the first time we even lived in the same state! I moved away from my family to start a new life with him.



Our engagement photo



My husband accepted Christ last year and has been walking with me as we seek to live in the Lord. We have been working through Jim Sammon’s Financial Freedom Seminar together and have found it to be an amazing source of encouragement to live by Christ in EVERYTHING, not just our finances!

I graduated from college last year and am now working full time. We are using this time as an opportunity to get out of the student loan debt I got myself into, as we do not have any children yet to care for. We are living simply and trying to be content with what the Lord has provided for us, while trying to use his resources wisely to get us out of debt.

This is a time of such change and such joy in my life! I hope to let this blog document the amazing joys Jesus has brought into my life. I have a reason to be happy every day because I have been found again, and it is such an amazing feeling. Corner of Joy is a place where I discuss the going-ons in my life and how Christ is guiding me. I endeavor to make Jesus my lifestyle, and I hope to be able to encourage other women in their lives with Jesus.

I blog about some of my very favorite things: cooking, sewing, crafts, Christian culture and quotes, and other things that touch my life. I also blog about life in general, as every day is a blessing in its own way.

I am looking to use my blog to encourage others as well as to receive encouragement from other Christian women. I hope you take a peek around and leave a note. I look forward to meeting you!

In Christ,

Amy Joy