Hey Joy,
There’s this guy that I’ve been watching for a number of years. (Creepy.) He’s really quality, but he’s also in a very serious relationship with someone. And the kicker? We have to work together every day.
What do I do? Read more
As a single woman in my thirties, my current M.O. is to go out with pretty much anyone at least once. A new-ish friend asked if I would go out with a guy she knew, and while he looked slightly older, I didn’t know he was a solid two decades my senior.
Taking a bite of my pizza, I heard him ask the age old question, “What’s your favorite movie?”
“Hook,” I said.
Surprised, he shot back the very question I was thinking, “How old are you?”
“30. And you?”
“50.” Read more
Hi Friends!
Have you enjoyed this series with Normie Baby? (Another nickname that he doesn’t know I call him in my head.)
In the opening of this season finale you will hear how much of a nightmare I am after I’ve done too many videos in one day. I can barely complete a sentence.
AND THEN NORMIE MAKES ME VERY UNCOMFORTABLE WHEN HE FLIPS THE TABLES ON ME. Read more
Want some first-hand stories of people who have gone through The Illumination Project? I had so much fun reading the answers to the questions I asked Crista and Sydney.
Who are Crista and Sydney, you ask?
First they were amazing interns for Love and Respect Now, and then my parents and I decided to keep them. I am so grateful for the energy and efficiency these two women bring to Love and Respect, but beyond all that they believe in the work whole-heartedly.
(Either that or they are really good liars.) Read more
Hey Friends,
I wanted to tell you something.
If you have been part of the Love and Respect Now community for a while, you might remember a little over a year ago when I announced I was getting married. Then I said I was kidding, and told you I was having a baby. After making you adequately annoyed by my endless string of lies, I told you I had just signed a book contract, and then proceeded to dance around my cemetery to Disney tunes like a fool. 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
If nothing else, please just watch the first 25 seconds of this video. 
If you stay for longer, you’ll find out that red flags are not the only relationship flags on the table.
Yes. Read more
Hey y’all,
I can say that because today’s guest is from Nashville. Plus, I just love saying y’all.
IT MAKES SO MUCH SENSE, Y’ALL!!
Annie has a new book hot off the press. The words she’s written about me below are far too kind, but they will give you a feel of how her latest release will inspire you.
Also, since it’s just us here, I wanted to give you an update on something. Read more
Does this guy look new to you? Make sure you check out the first and second Tuesday with Normie. If you already know him, you can check out the next episode HERE.
_______
I’m not one for writing post with lists like, “5 Ways To Become a Broadway Singer.” Truly. I was honored to know that even Christianity Today noticed I’m not a big list-writer. (They also called me a “Relationship Maven,” so obviously they didn’t call any of my exes as references.)
But the way things shook out in today’s chat with Dr. Norm Thiesen all boiled down to two great questions. Read more
Hey Joy,
I recently watched the video “Fear and the Tick-Tock of my Girlfriend’s Baby Clock,” where you mentioned not playing savior for the person you’re in a relationship with. I feel like I dropped the ball on this one with my first girlfriend, because when we broke up she told me I was smothering her. If I ever date again, how do I find the balance of being best boyfriend without playing savior in the relationship? Read more
Hi-ya friends!
Summer-fun discussion got going as people weighed in on THIS video I posted recently. A few (good) men said that maybe the guy didn’t want to be “official” because he was scared or had past wounds.
So this new video explains what I would say to a guy who is trying to be honest and say he needs time and isn’t ready to commit. Read more
Andrea Lucado and I connected a few years ago in Nashville, after Rachel Cruze (Dave Ramsey‘s daughter) gave me the idea of connecting with other “daughters.” If you don’t know who Andrea’s father is, he’s written a few books (and by “few” I mean, like, 100).
What connected us was our author-pops*, but what solidified our meeting was smoked sausage. Read more
This time I am talking to Dr. Norm Thiesen about a shift in our generation–how we’ve moved towards being so “honest” about marriage being hard that we forget to talk about its benefits.
Because unmarried people keep hearing the horror stories instead of the stories of success, it feels to me like one more contributor to the growing delay of marriage. Read more
Joy,
I have been friends with a guy for over three years. For the last 8 months, we have been officially dating. He has met some of my family, but he has not told any of his family or friends about me–nor does he think that’s a problem.
We are really good together when it’s just the two of us.
I want to go public with our relationship, but he doesn’t. I feel like he is hiding me. Read more
Well Hello Hello!
I’ve been told that one should never explain a joke, but just in case you have never been to a bookstore, the following series is a spin-off on the book, Tuesdays with Morrie. Read more
Hi Friendlings!
I feel like it was JUST my birthday a second ago, when Stephanie and I were downing Maple Bacon Bars and blowing out candles.
While downing donuts alone this year, I had a couple thoughts. I want to give YOU two things for my birthday, and ask you for one. May the odds be ever in your favor. 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.
Why do we have weddings? Is Happily Ever After real? Is it possible to help our friends stay together forever?
Since it’s “wedding season” and this is a post I hold near and dear to my heart, I felt it was time to share this baby again. Last week, I was contacted by two different friends telling me of their friends whose marriages were Read more
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
Hey Joy,
Women [in westernized societies] are becoming more educated than men. How is that going to impact the future of marriages?
– Jonathan
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.
Hi Friends!
Aukelien van Abbema is someone who, unfortunately, I haven’t been able to meet. We do have mutual friends and similar hearts about relationships. The only difference is I’m in Portland, and she’s in Holland.
Should you find yourself in Holland and want to talk relationships, look up Aukelien. Should you just want to bike around and pick tulips, well I think she could help you out with that, too.
Hey Men (and ladies like me who can’t remember holidays besides Christmas and our own birthday),
Last night I overheard a conversation between my mother and brother about how Jeff Tweedy strengthened their relationship. If you don’t know who Mr. Tweedy is, he’s the lead singer of the band Wilco. If you don’t know who Wilco is, then you should probably change that fact.
I often speak about the power a daughter can have when writing a respect card to her father. So, a couple of years ago, I had my Mommacita share some ideas of how to write a simple, but meaningful, letter to your mom (that would be far more valuable than flowers).
“Do I even have time to date?”
– Joy (In my head)
Joy, Crazy, Darling,
“Do you think married people ha Read more
12