Isn’t it wonderful that our joy is not dependent on our circumstances? Living with isolation or a chronic illness is tough. Plans change. Things happen. Yet, there is joy in the midst! I love the “joy book” in the Bible, Philippians. It takes on even more meaning when you realize that Paul was imprisoned when…

A new book brought me joy this week, What God Can Do: Letters to my Mom from the Medical Mission Field of Togo, West Africa. It is open and heartfelt. It shows the courage and faith of someone fighting chronic illness while serving on the mission field with four boys and her husband. My heart has…

This song brought me great joy this week. In our Facebook group, we posted a nursing home singing it which struck me. We need to be joyful and thankful at every stage of life! May we have joy today!

Joy. Sometimes it is hard to see in the midst of the daily mundane of chronic illness. After allergies required disposing of my extensive library including my beloved missionary biographies, God has allowed me to find missionary biographies on Youtube! These biographies challenge my faith and bring great joy to me. These stories tell of…

What brought you joy this week? I love hearing about people going through hard times that turn the hard time around and allow God to use it. Mary Reed is one of those saints of years gone by. Her life reminds us that God can even use the hard. Sometimes He even calls us through…

Happy Valentine’s Day! We focus on love today. What brings me great joy is the love our God and Savior Jesus Christ has for us. He loves us so much that He gave His life for us! As I read the Word this morning, His love flowed through the pages. He loves us enough to…

This week so many things brought me joy! My birdfeeder continues to bring joy as I watch the birds and squirrels enjoy it. I have mentioned how chronic illness has flared for weeks. God allowed an unexpected day off to get things somewhat caught up around the house. There is no way to get it…

Joy. It comes in the most unexpected places as God give us little glimpses of His care or reminds us of how much He loves us. This week, there was joy as my birdfeeder was used for the first time. Odd-looking “bird,” but it brought me joy to feed a critter in this bitter cold.…

Joy came this week in listening to stories of great Christians who were weak physically but strong spiritually. These true accounts always encourage my heart and challenge me to live for Christ in His strength each day. You may listen to them at these links: Revive Our Hearts: Word Before World Isaac Watts: The Broken…

Did you know that you can have joy in the waiting, the waiting for God to answer? We can when we focus on Jesus and trust that God knows what He is doing. A dear friend shared this with me this week. The poem is written by one of our favorite college speakers of years…