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No, this is not a blog on the ethics of war. This is actually about a band called The Middle East and their song called Blood.
Being the daughter of, and working for the man who wrote a book on marriage titled, “Love and Respect,” has made it impossible to ignore the word respect and what it means to me. I will admit, Ephesians 5:33 is not a passage many of us women jump for joy when reading. “However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” Eph. 5:33 I have had to ask myself this question and would …
ru’mi-nate: to chew the cud; to muse; to meditate; to think again; to ponder
In April I attended a writers conference where I ran into a familiar face. I was in Michigan where I grew up and the face was an old friend from college in California. It was like being seven years old again and seeing your second grade teacher at the grocery store. Wait, why are you here? You only belong in front of a chalk board!
I remember the first time I heard Jack Johnson. It was my junior year in high school and I was visiting my brother at Westmont College. We were driving on the 101 just outside of Ventura and he put on a bootleg burned CD of Johnson’s acoustic stuff.
I knew California was going to be different than Michigan, and in terms of music, I think Jack Johnson was my first “cross over” musician.
Last week I heard the little “pop” sound on my computer and realized someone was “chatting me.” It was an old friend who had just recently broken up with his girlfriend. After e-chatting for a bit, I decided to run one of my little theories past him. He resonated with the portion I shared and said I should write it up. So here goes…
Awareness of lower-back pain can be heightened when you have to wait through a couple bands at a concert before the real band goes on stage. Surprisingly I enjoyed and haven’t been able to stop listening to the newest album from the band SeaBird that opened this week for Needtobreathe.
(Kind of a lame band name, but I love them, and I am a loyalist. Needtobreathe for life.)
I wasn’t going to post this “Ask Joy” response because I was really tired when I recorded it and I hope whoever asked the question doesn’t feel like I am un-empathetic…it’s just those lazy eyes that kick in when I am fatigued.
I promise.
I prefer real live-human-contact games over board games. Unless it’s Trivial Pursuit.
In college, my boyfriend and I bought Trivial Pursuit and after the break-up, had to discuss how we would handle visitation rights.
A video reflecting on a recent lecture I attended on how to write a Christian Romance Novel. The women were sweet and gracious, but I had a tough time swallowing some of their instructions.
Ok, I might have actually gagged a little. Read more
On Sunday my pastor gave an overview of where we have been as a church and where we are headed. The story of our journey this last year actually gave me chills.
(Maybe there was just a draft.)
The pendulum swing. Close eyed open mindedness. Love and hypocrisy. Evil and regret. False humility and genuine humanity. Cynicism of past generations. Blindness towards new repetition. Divorce after two years. His fault. Her fault. Happiness as the end all. Feelings as the determinant of truth. Fear of the word respect. Manipulation of love. Consumed by the idea of other. No sense of other. Questions with no answers. Results with no reason. An uncomprehendable God. A good God. A silent God. Loudness. Cemeteries filled with peace. …
Trying everything in my power to not laugh for this one.
Bless you boy…wherever and whoever you are. I appreciate your boldness and honest feelings in asking this question. We just happen to differ.
Oh, and I am a woman…just in case that wasn’t clear. Read more
I feel like I am being hit with all things Michigan lately. 1) On Sunday night my friend’s parents were in town from Michigan. Awesome accents. I claim I never had one, but some beg to differ. 2) Today I travel home to Michigan. 3) Unfortunately many of us saw the sad Michigan State loss to Butler in the NCAA tourney. I don’t want to talk about it. 4) Last night I saw Mayer Hawthorne perform. He is a Michigan native which is fantastic, but …
Last week my friend Lisa said, “You have a lot of people telling you about their relationships, don’t you…” I do. And I enjoy it because I am passionate about it, but it can also be hard to hear all the brokenness that is keeping people from successful relationships. I pray that being a listening ear and attempting to give advice to my friends actually helps and isn’t just another “voice to a conversation.” Sometimes we talk and converse so much that we forget to …
Just kidding, Just kidding! I know we all get our panties in a bunch at gender stereotypes, but my friend just sent this to me and I figured if you can’t laugh at this, (mocking the extremes) then your panties are too tight. Enjoy the laugh! Boys Will Be Girls The girls strike back…(sadly, not as funny as the guys.)
Sia: The Church of What’s Happening Now When I was five my dad, a pastor, took me down to his office to play while he worked. Normally I would run around the halls of the church or go in the dark sanctuary and roll down the aisle as fast as I could until hitting a pew. We didn’t get out much. This particular night though, my dad set up a movie called the Jesus film. He went into his office to work and was going …
From a single Mom: “Can men see me for who I really am, or are they always going to see me as “mommy me?”
Tomorrow I have the privilege of speaking at Pepperdine University with Dr. Ken Canfield on a fun topic.
Porn.
I realize in my “About Me” video my brother edited me saying “eating with friends” like a million times. Probably because its true. I also confess that the shot of me picking up crumbs and eating them off the ground was not staged. I didn’t even know the camera was on me. Real sanitary, Joy.
How infinite is space And who decides your fate Why everything will dissolve into sand How to avoid defeat Where truth and fiction meet Why nothing ever turns out as you planned These are things that I don’t understand Yeah these are things that I don’t understand Things I just don’t understand – Coldplay Maybe it’s our generation, or maybe it’s just my age and the realistic fact that with age comes pain and questions…but it appears lack of understanding is why many question God’s …
(Now that I think about it, maybe I like this devotional because it talks about “JOY” all the time. It was my subconscious narcissism that drew me to this book!)
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