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Hey Friendlings,
Almost every single time I have signed off on an Ask Joy email or post, I’ve ended it with the words, “From My Heart.” The reason I use these words is because they’re true.
I care deeply for Read more
Joy,
My friend and I have been “the last singles standing” for a while now, but she just started dating someone. Honestly, I am feeling a little jealous now. How do I keep hanging out with her without becoming the “crazy, jealous friend”? Read more
I have been married for three months now. My husband is very clean and I am fairly neat, but since being married I have kind of chilled out in that area. In fact, compared to my husband, I am lazy.
What can I do? I don’t want to make him feel like he got cheated by marrying me. Read more
Joy,
Many of my divorced friends had wives that cheated on them. From a woman’s perspective, what warning signs should I be looking for during the dating process that would be indicative of a woman that might do that? Read more
Are you loving Normie as much as I am?
In this episode we opened with us reliving the time I was trying to be HI-LAR-IOUS, and gave myself third degree burns.
And then things got real. Read more
Hey Friends!
So I asked a bunch of you what question you would want to ask your father, or something you appreciated about your pops. Ironically many of the responses came from people whose fathers had passed away.
I realized that sometimes it’s not until we have lost someone that we start to reflect on the things we really felt or wanted to say.
Recently my brother sent me a picture of Jackson, my 3-year-old nephew, photocopying one of his storybooks. My brother realized the reason he was doing this was because he had seen my brother making photocopies from one of his own books. Children watch and copy.
My friend, Tim, knows the patterns he lives out will be the standard his daughters will grow to expect from the future men in their lives. This is my favorite part about this post. As I think about my future sons, or even my friends’ children who are watching me, I hope the model of how I treat and speak about others is something worthy of being copied. Read more
Hi Friends!
Just in case you missed it, I’m going to start hanging out with ya’ll!
My father and I recently had our Google+ hangout sesh numero dos. My lovely mother couldn’t sit down to join us because she was busy filling Easter eggs… excuses excuses.
When I was in college, my parents sold my childhood home (and all of my childhood dreams) when they moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan. Though it’s only an hour away from where I grew up, the news still threw me for a loop. Read more
Today I am guest posting over at my friend, Preston Yancey’s blog, as part of a series about “the beautiful, mangled Church.” He’s featuring over 50 amazing writers, so be sure to check out the entire conversation, which is entitled At the Lord’s Table. Enjoy! Church: Starring a Simple Cast I respect people who have intellectual reasons for walking away from the church. Not because I agree, but because I can empathize and grapple with questions, too. But then I dig deeper, and usually the …
Can Guys & Girls Be Friends? Introduction Can Guys & Girls Be Friends? Question #1 Can Guys & Girls Be Friends? Question #2 Can Guys & Girls Be Friends? Question #3 Caveat corner: Do not read my words below and use them as an excuse to open an unhealthy door you know you shouldn’t. In my work I’ve found that it’s often the people who need to be separated from their exes who are the ones finding all the excuses in the world to BE friends with their …
How do I forgive people who have INTENTIONALLY hurt me? Made me suffer? How do I forgive evil? Will they get what they deserve? God will bring justice. Right? “Lord, help me to want to forgive.” This was the bold prayer of my friend who grew up with parents who were in a cult. They subjected her to every type of sexual and sadistic abuse you can think of. This friend came to mind during two lectures I heard during my recent trip to Oxford. …
Ask Joy What if you thought the guy was right and believed that God orchestrated the meeting? But he’s now walked away, after one-and-a-half years? My Response People have free will, which means we won’t always understand why they do what they do. Regarding God’s orchestration, the mystery becomes intertwined with our limited human understanding. It’s a deeper theological question of whether God dictates everything we do or whether He works in the midst of human beings and their choices, be they good or bad. People will …
Have you ever been confused by the opposite sex? Hurt by a relationship? Felt fearful of marriage? I have too. I find myself wanting to validate and name my pain so I can bring clarity to the confusion. MEN ARE TO BLAME. Peter is passive. Alan is abusive. Darrel is stuck in delayed adolescence. Willy only cares about work. Billy never asks any girls out. What is wrong with him? Johnny has asked out every girl in the office. What is wrong with him? …
Ask Joy I just got out of a bad relationship and am afraid to date again due to the fact that I’m not a virgin anymore. I’m afraid that the next guy I meet won’t forgive me for my past mistakes. My Response Philippians 3:12-16 Paul reflecting on his life’s purpose even as a sinner: “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I …
Ask Joy I cheated on my girlfriend after 15 months of dating. We were planning on getting married. After I confessed to her she didn’t want to see or talk to me again. It has been 3 weeks since and we have talked a few times and I actually got to see her two times this past week. She came to my house one time for some stuff and ended up not taking any of it. Then Friday we went to a function and dinner …
Ask Joy My boyfriend just broke up with me again. He’s had a rough past with his family and some trust issues. He admits and KNOWS that I love him. He wanted to marry me, but felt so disrespected and was hurt, so he gave up. I’m understanding now after reading your parents book. I want to show him I understand what he meant by disrespect, but I’m also afraid it won’t help. My Answer Proverbs 24:16 says, “For a righteous man falls seven times, …
It feels like many people I talk to have already given their heart away once. And for those who haven’t, they are scared to open that door because of the pain they have seen their friends endure. With an increasing delay of marriage and an increase of serious relationships prior, I believe our generation is going to relate on the topic of “lost loves” far more than past generations. Something that can be tempting to create an identity around. Let me explain… Many of us …
I thought this blog was finished when my friend came by my office this morning. I decided to include her story. She shared how she has been hurt by our Christian community here in Portland. I asked her why and she expressed how words had been said to her in harsh ways.
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