Oh, pleasure! You gotta love those little moments of pleasure that sneak up on you.

Like…Braedon only waking up once last night!!! He slept all the way until 3:15! That is huge for his age. 7 hours straight for him? 5 hours straight for mom? Pleasure!

Or how about…a delicious bowl of oats to start your morning. The simple fact I don’t get sick of this mixture and it makes mornings easier is pleasure in itself.

I can’t forget…my jeans fitting noticeably better than when they first did, like in the picture below. It very well could be the stretch factor of the pants but either way it feels good and gives me a bit of pleasure.

And of course there’s…Makenzie looking up at me with the biggest smile and saying the four most beautiful words – “I love you, Mommy”. Pure pleasure.

I must not leave out…getting fabulous blogging news and opportunities. Yea. That’s pleasurable.

All of those are fine and dandy. But you know what? Pleasure is temporary. Joy is what we are really after. There is a distinct difference in my opinion. Pleasure comes in moments…joy is an overall descriptor of our demeanor, our lives. If none of the above happened – if Braedon slept terribly all the time; if Makenzie pitched temper tantrums hourly; if this blog hadnot grown at all since it started– if none of that existed, I would still have joy.

I would have joy in being a mother and loving my children. I would have joy in the physical health I have, regardless of shrinking sizes. I would have joy in the chance to share my thoughts and connect with others through blogging, no matter where it leads. I would have joy in the blessing of having food available to nourish my body.

For awhile there I confused the two. Or at least I thought pleasure and joy were interchangeable. I would pursue actions that brought me temporary joy (aka pleasure) – binging on sugary treats, partying too much with friends. physical experiences with guys I didn’t care about, spending money, etc. I would feel any number of things in the act of pleasure: satisfied, desirable, powerful, exciting. Then, I would come crashing down with nowhere else to go than seeking temporary pleasure again. I didn’t have JOY in my life.

I certainly still like eating dessert, having a drink with friends, “connecting” with my husband, or buying a cute new outfit. Now, though, they are simply moments of pleasure that add to a life full of joy. No longer do I need to turn to pleasure for a short term high in an attempt to pretend to have what I lack. Pleasure = good. Joy = great! They are both worth experiencing, but NOT worth confusing. I don’t know what path brings joy into your own life, I just hope you know that is where your focus should lie.

Question of the Day – What’s something that brings you pleasure? How does it fit into overall joy? And do you think there’s a difference between the two?

**This post is part of February’s Self Discovery Word-By-Word series. Check it out if you would like to participate with your own post!

I owe all of you so much gratitude for the numerous comments, emails, tweets, Facebook notes, etc you have sent out to me this week. Each supportive message on my mothering, positivity, blogging milestones, and more still touches me just as much as my very first comments – from people like Julie, Krys, Janetha, Lisa, Mellissa, Naomi, and Lindsey. With as much thanks as I have for all of you, today I must express my appreciation for someone else. I like to give credit where credit is due, after all.

I want to thank God. I thank him personally every day, but I want to do it publicly here today.

You all commend me on my ability as a mother. It’s not wholly me. It’s Him working through me. I must turn to Him for patience to remain calm when we have our little moments during the day – toddler temper tantrums and some baby gas fussing. I use Him for guidance on how to manage my time to be there for my children as well as my husband and other priorities. I will pray about basically everything when it comes to my family. I know I need Him to get through each day with as much grace and love as possible.

You all congratulated me on FFF reaching its first year and the path it has taken during that time. I 100% could not have done it without God. As many of you realize, blogging is a vulnerable task. It’s putting yourself out there for the world to see. It opens you up to hurtful comments or emails about your life and who you are as a person – like being selfish for continuing to blog  with a newborn. True story.

I continue to blog because I truly feel “called” to do it. I believe God gives us passions for a reason and sharing myself here is truly a passion. It humbles me to hear that my stories and musings can inspire, help, or strengthen another. I credit God for giving me the heart and the ideas to continue giving my all here.

You all thank me for sharing so openly and doing things like embracing my body so publicly. Let me just say, posting a picture of yourself in a bikini one week after giving birth is no easy task. It would be easy for me to nitpick away at my body or focus on where I want to physically be in the future. Then, to turn around and put it online instead and feel confident about it?

That strength can only come from one source. I’ve learned how much He loves me. If He loves me how can I deny loving myself and viewing myself as beautiful? That belief is the root of my confidence. That belief pushes me to hopefully bring others to appreciating their bodies more as well.

Today, I publicly say thanks. I have to do the work, but its only possible with Him.

Question of the Day – What do you want to say thank you for today?