Discover joy in the hard places

Welcome to the blog of JP Mills where you will find encouragement and belonging through reflective journaling and poetry.


Joyful Ruins

Discovering joy in the hard places


  • Hypocrisy

    Hypocrisy knows no bounds It is part of you and it is part of me I can waste my energy judging yours or I can hate myself for mine but for what it is worth if we are all hypocrites the only true step forward is to learn and give grace to learn Continue reading

  • Loved with Imperfections

    Loved with Imperfections

    Nature is full of imperfections yet we do not hold it against her The broken leaf or withered flower is still nature still worthy of existing and bring cared for But when we look at imperfections in ourself or others we seem to forget all of that We turn towards judgement and jump to conclusions… Continue reading

  • Each of us is like a Phoenix For living life at all involves many deaths and no matter how death touched us we rise again To know this that living can be as painful as death sometimes makes the sorrows hopeful because through death we will become anew Continue reading

  • Deserving

    The other day I jokingly said you don’t deserve me That was not the voice of confidence but fear and insecurity The truth is you do deserve me and I deserve you And deserving is a stupid work It signifies earning I did not karmically earn you nor you, I Instead we belong with one… Continue reading

  • Choosing Beauty

    Choosing Beauty

    I want to spread beauty everywhere Not because I am beautiful though I may be but because I see beauty in nearly everything It is a gift I will say to see beauty in the beast or to notice the treasures in the dirt but it’s also a choice I make I choose beauty because… Continue reading

About Me

An obsessive journaler who loves meeting others along their journey and giving them a hand to hold through pieces of writing. I write about the heartbreaks of life and the joys, the ups and downs, and I often learn my greatest lessons and miracles from nature.

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