Ask Joy What happens if you meet someone when you are very young and realize you’re best friends and never want to be apart. You stay pure and you get married…Life is good for a while because you’re hanging out with your best friend. Sex is not a big deal…you have it when he wants to. But then you wake up one day and realize you have never really been physically attracted to this individual. That the sexual feelings you had for him before marriage …
Thanks to everyone who submits great anonymous questions in the Ask Joy section or directly at LoveandRespectNOW@gmail.com It has been such a pleasure to hear your hearts. It causes me to think and pray even more specifically for the concerns and issues we are all facing in this generation. Since I can’t make a video for every single question, I decided to answer some of them publicly in a written response. Some are specific, some broad, but hopefully all of them will help us as …
I love discussing things with my Dad. If it wasn’t for our unbelievable ability to tap dance, we would probably opt to do a Daddy-Daughter-Discussion at my wedding in place of the Daddy-Daughter-Dance. Thankfully that decision doesn’t have to be made just yet. However, as you may have seen the past two weeks…I was not the most Anderson Cooper-esque in my interviews…so on the same day my father helped me out with a couple “Ask Joy” responses, he decided to flip the tables and interview …
My father helps me answer another “Ask Joy” question–off the cuff. This is a pretty broad question so it’s hard to be specific in an answer. However, I think his overall challenge is very important and something our generation needs to do. We talk about community and living life together but I fear that often takes on the form of talking to people about our problems that are in our peer group…people who look, act and think like us. I’m not saying they aren’t wise …
This is my first guest blogger in the whole history of the entire universe. That is an awesome sentence. Slightly dramatic, but totally true. For my first guest blogger I chose Morgan because we have a similar heart and life. Have I looked as smokin’ as her in a wedding dress? (That’s her in the excerpt photo.) No I have not. But we both have fathers who are authors and speakers, trying to help relationships. We also work for our fathers because we too believe …
My pops came into town a couple weeks ago and I roped him into answering a couple questions I have received on my “Ask Joy” chalkboard. He did a great job…however we realized one thing. “Interviewing” him is not my gift. There are few people in the world that I am more comfortable around than my father…and yet…on this day, in front of this camera, my mind went blank. I should have taken a few pointers from Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather or Diane Sawyer before …
While directing my parents’ Love and Respect Conferences for 2 years, I often heard people say, “I wish I would have known then what I know NOW.” They would then ask, “Why did no one teach us this 20 years ago?” I thought, “We need to get this information to my generation (Gen x and Millennium) so they won’t say, ‘I wish I would have known then what I know now.’” Thus, I call my site, Love and Respect NOW. So… I do research on …
I was sent this video last week and thought it was very creative and well done. Obviously there is a difference between learning how to be alone well and how to be alone poorly. Done well, you grow and learn. Done poorly, you isolate yourself. I think this video gives examples of how to be alone WELL. Don’t deny your need for community. Find the balance. Enjoy life. Grow.
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 …
Really? Yes. This past weekend I had the privilege of speaking with my mother at a women’s “camping” retreat. It was the first time for both of us; we really had no idea what to expect. As I told a friend later, “It was the most exhausting, energizing thing I have ever done.” I was filled with an unnatural love for these women and was shocked at how loved I felt in return. Because of that, I wanted to say, “Thank you.” The Lord has …
The Ask Joy question for this week was: Do you think gender stereotypes are a bad thing? My guess is that it was on the heels of me posting these hilarious videos: HERE and HERE Oh, and Walter make another cameo. I know that’s why you watch these videos. Questions What do you think about my answer? Do you think men and women are different? Do you think it’s ok to point out stereotypical differences even if they don’t apply to everyone?
Why someone would name their child an action word, I have no idea. I’m still waiting to hear back from Tripp’s parents. However, naming your child an emotion and fruit of the spirit? Totally normal. Aside from his parent’s judgement…I have found a blog that is truly worth your time, if laughing is an activity in which you like to partake. Well, in the “blogger community” it looks like many of you have already found him. I am last to join the game. (But we …
I have not written about respect a ton on my blog. It’s obviously one of the main premises of my parent’s message and foundational to successful relationships. But it’s so easily misunderstood, dismissed or seen as archaic so I usually like to address it with someone in person. I did address it in a guest post for my friend Nish, (HERE) awhile back but haven’t since. Last night I was working on a talk that I am giving this weekend for women on the topic of …
This movie is coming out today, Friday the 13th….(If there is a black cat in front of the theater, run!) With it’s near release, I wanted to know; have you read the book? (The real reason to watch this trailer is because it has one of my current song favorites: Dog Days Are Over. Oh, and you get to see James Franco.) I read Eat, Pray, Love a few years ago when I was living in a Swiss Chalet. Sounds glamorous. Well, if you consider …
My realization that calling a guy a jerk has so many deeper implications about who I am inside. Our generation has the power to change how we view each other… …Will we?
Later this week, I am going to post a video on how I labeled someone a “jerk”when I shouldn’t have… But first… People ask if I have books I would recommend for learning about relationships. While I do think my father’s book, Love and Respect can and should be read by unmarried people, one of the books that really impacted me a few years ago was John Van Epp’s How to Avoid Falling in Love with a Jerk. Not gonna lie, the cover is a …
So in last week’s post I gave guys the opportunity to get inside the mind of a female and ask some questions. Here is my response…even to the guy who wanted to know if women could read his mind… (sorry about the “deer in headlights” opener…we didn’t have time for editing…) What do you think about my answers? Men? Women? Would love your feedback or further advice for these guys… Most importantly…keep the questions coming everybody! I love hearing your questions and attempting to answer…or …
Question: What is going on in the situations below? 1. Boy watches movie where “good girls” are always really “bad girls.” 2. Girl is told by boy on Monday, “I love you.” On Tuesday girl watches talk show about boys who cheat. 3. Boy begins dating girl on Monday who is four years older. On Tuesday boy reads article saying older girls always control relationships. 4. Girl watches movie where boy falls for girl who is mean and plays hard to get. Messages and information we receive today may be …
So no, this is not an Ask Joy where I address the likelihood of a girl getting pregnant from square dancing. Although it’s been known to happen…
First you may want to read…
Singleness and the Church: A Helping Hand May Help.
Singleness and the Church: Part II
Continuation from Friday’s Singleness and the Church: BELIEF…and the Satisfied Single.
First you may want to read…
Singleness and the Church: A Helping Hand May Help.
You should probably read this first: PART I (if you don’t, your computer will implode…)
Speaking on singleness is not something that makes me jump up and click my heels together. I enjoy talking about relationships…broken or functioning…but staring at singleness right in the face is not my idea of fun.
SIDE NOTE: I am starting to re-think these whole “Ask Joy” videos….because… 1) I am running out of different places to sit in my office for the recordings. 2) I never came up with a good “sign off.” (Trust me, “Abschied meiner kleinen Freunde im Ausland!” just didn’t work.) 3) I realized hearing a short question is not how I am wired to respond. I always want to know more. I keep feeling like I am giving a million caveats of “I don’t really know the whole story.” …
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 …
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