Posted by: Joy
Does it really matter what we do in the world? I mean, what difference can one person make? What if the only reason we are on the planet is to help one other person? Think about someone who made a significant difference in your life….
Here is an excerpt from my newest article in Provoketive Magazine:
Each of us has a unique place in God’s universe. We are made in His/Her image to fulfill a special part for the redemption of us ...
Continue Reading →Posted by: Joy
I frequently write for Provoketive Magazine, an on-line publication designed to engage authors and readers in conversation. Here is an excerpt from my most recent post. I encourage you to read it, then leave a comment.
Because there is at least one sin that trips us up on a regular basis, we tend to think God is disappointed in us. I know at times when I’ve been giving into a particular sin on a regular basis, I’ve thought of starting the ...
Continue Reading →Posted by: Joy
God showed up and said it was time we had a talk. Here is our conversation:
Treasures in the Dark
The darkness is thin on good days,
a vaporous black veiling my vision
needing only the breath of God to move it,
but there is no God
here.
I didn’t mean to stray,
but wandered off alone,
seeking quiet for awhile,
except I can’t find my way
back to meaning, healing
or home.
I thought you were everywhere, God,
so where are you?
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Posted by: Joy
Nebuchadnezzar had just captured and destroyed Jerusalem, taking all but the poorest people away into exile to Babylon. Jeremiah had been faithfully warning his fellow Israelites for years that they would suffer devastating consequences if they didn’t repent and return to the Lord, but they wouldn’t listen. They deserved their punishment; he didn’t. “Saint Jeremiah” had done nothing to deserve this emotional agony and destitution.
Really? God said. Try looking at your own sins, shortcomings, character defects. Jeremiah didn’t have a ...
Continue Reading →Posted by: Joy
After a year of prolific writing and the exhilarating experience of being vaulted into Amazon and Barnes & Nobles.com with my first book, the well went dry. All the excitement faded, and so did my ability to write. I felt like someone who experiences the tremendous outpouring of love and attention when the passing of their beloved leaves them bereft, then gradually everyone goes home, leaving only the presence of pain. Welcome to the wilderness, where solace doesn’t live and ...
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This is the fourth of a four part series on How To Know We’re Hearing From God.
As a child I was taught that pastors are divine messengers from God. My church said when God calls a man to preach he suddenly has a direct line to the Almighty, Who explains the Bible to him, then he tells the flock what God said. What I wasn’t taught is we all have a direct line to God. God wants to talk with ...
Continue Reading →This is the third of a four part series on How To Know We’re Hearing From God.
God often reveals and/or confirms personal messages to us through Scripture. This is no accident or an incident of good luck. Remember that God will make certain that we know when we are hearing from Him/Her if we are willing to listen.
I’m still leery at times that I might locate a portion of Scripture telling me what I want to hear, and I’ll convince ...
Continue Reading →This is the second of a four part series on How To Know We’re Hearing From God.
God wants us to know that we know that we know when He or She is speaking to us. We’re the ones that think we can’t hear – that is, until it happens to us. God’s messages to us are always very personal, and God will confirm it making us aware of things that we didn’t and couldn’t already know.
Call to Me, and I ...
Continue Reading →This is the first of a four part series on How To Know We’re Hearing From God.
The idea of having conversations with God wasn’t a part of my religious upbringing. Prayer was talking “at” God in appropriately reverent language about a limited set of topics. God talked “at” me through the Bible and the pastor. Pious Sunday School teachers could also be divine messengers, since angels don’t make house calls anymore.
But personal conversations with The Almighty? What would we talk ...
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Prepare to hear a blasphemous, un-American confession: I don’t care about Christmas anymore. God knows I used to, and I have the ornaments, lights, and Christmas cookie recipes to prove it.
So what happened to me? Did someone I love die, and I’m still in grief? Yeah, something died, alright. The celebration in Christmas. All the rah-rah, happy-happy, be of good
cheer. I’m not jaded because of commercialism these days, though I hate it. I am seriously pissed that stores are putting ...