The creation of Simple Joy came from a complicated place in our hearts filled with grief, heart ache, frustration, gratitude, humility, hope, and grace.

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Melissa and Lauren are two sisters living cross country from each that fought to hold close to each other when faced with the diagnosis of their Mom's cancer. In April 2018 after months of back pain, it was confirmed that Debbie's breast cancer from 5 years ago had metastasized into the bones throughout her body.

Her medical team had hope that she would be given a fighting chance of more time, but as we would learn through the spring and summer the cancer wasn't responding to the treatments. Debbie's battle ended 6 months later when she passed surrounded by her closest friends and family.

When diagnosed Debbie said that cancer way steal her time, but it will NOT steal her joy. She faced unbelievable obstacles in her fight and when most people would feel defeated, she still managed to find joy in her every day.

 

Before she got sick, Debbie lived her life in true passion of caring for others. She volunteered with her church, organizations her heart was passionate about, and shared unapologetically her passion to inspire healthier living.

After the funeral, Melissa and Lauren were faced with figuring out life without their Mom. Both are moms with little kids, busy careers, and a life full of incredible friendships. Just "going back" to life never felt right, so they stepped back and tried to figure out what they could do to lessen the void left behind after losing their mom.

That's when Simple Joy happened. After a "sister day" at a leadership development seminar our hearts knew what to do. We couldn't get the words out fast enough to each other. We can't even begin fill Debbie's shoes or replace who she was to so many people. But we can continue to share her joy for life to those she loved and those she didn't get the chance to reach.

Simple Joy is a ministry created to reach those that want to live their lives in gratitude and for a greater purpose. We want reach into our communities and showcase the big work being done by those around us. When life gets hard or confusing, we hope coming to this safe place grounds you, fills you back up, and inspires you to get back to carrying out your own great work.  Everyone has a story and we want to share the joy in yours.

Thank you for coming along with us to build a stronger community through joy