Skylark hope & Joy

Faith in a Broken Mind

I have always LOVED to laugh.

I naturally saw the funny side in any situation and would just laugh through whatever I had going on.

About a year ago, I realised that those bubbles that lived inside me and created the laughter had disappeared.

I’m writing a short book, and will continue to write little blog posts so you can read more in other parts of this website, but starting Skylark Hope & Joy now (instead of when I’m feeling amazing!) is because I wanted to create something real. I wanted to walk back to laughing through my days with anyone else who wants to walk that path.

There is so much beauty in the everyday that’s easy to miss, having had migraines that have physically stopped me working and stopped me being able to rush through my days has meant I’ve been given the chance to embrace the beauty in the mess of everyday life again.

This website and the YouTube channel we’ll start to just capture little videos will highlight the beauty & the mess and hopefully help you spot the beauty in your mess too! 🌦

Your Safe Space

I want this tiny part of the internet to be a safe space; a place to hide while you take a breather, rest, recover and be restored.

*For reference and realness - this picture was taken after I made the kids come to the beach in the wind and rain because all they were doing was arguing at home! They actually worked as a team to build protection from the wind (they didn’t build the table, that was randomly there!!) and ended up not wanting to leave!!

You are wanted, accepted, loved in your brokenness…

God to Moses & Joshua (at different times): “Take off your shoes, for where you are standing is Holy ground.”

Jesus to the people around him (*people like you, and me): “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me.”

Take off your shoes… the layers of protection you put on to walk this earth. The defensiveness you wear to protect against more hurt… The fake smile to hide your sadness… The busyness to hide your loneliness… The “good” and “kind” things you do to make you feel ‘something’…

And lay them down at Jesus’ feet.

Rest, walk, learn and live with Jesus… I promise, there is NOTHING else like it.

For us as a family, some of the things we’ve walked through so far are: mental illness, grief and heartbreak, trying to remain married (reoccurring topic 🙃), miscarriage, parenting 4 Neurodivergent kids (they’re now 7, 9, 10 & 12), school (which lead to A LOT of brokenness in us) and then home educating, finding grace for our own Neurodivergent traits, starting a business, the business crashing, and the latest - buying a house and then I became too unwell with daily migraines to work!

Although this website is written by me (Lisa) and some of the thoughts and knowledge have come from mental health nursing; a lot of what is in here is just us as a family and the books, podcasts, talks, practices and music that have brought light and life into our lives.

It’s nuggets of wisdom the kids have taught me.

It’s how me and Matt have found ways through even when it hurts and is hard.

We are all about being real and all the messy goodness that comes with that. We’ve got a lot of quirkiness in this family and I’m here to embrace it and not let the darker side of this earth dampen that any longer.

HEADS UP! Laughter has always been the best medicine for me and my family, so any videos that we might post on Instagram or YouTube in the future will likely have laughing at what you might feel is at inappropriate times!!

Anyway, I’ve got LOADS of info to add to this website that I’ll just do throughout the days (but I’m not rushing, I’ve learned my lesson!) so hopefully you’ll find something that helps and decide you want to walk along with me.

Take care,

Lis x