by Joy Dunlap | Oct 8, 2021 | Encouragement, Hope
©Joy Dunlap https://joydunlap.com The sky darkened and hail began to rain down on our home, clattering against the roof and deck. The unexpected storm caused pebbles of ice to puncture the perfectly formed heart-shaped leaves in my garden. I was shocked to see the...
by Joy Dunlap | Sep 19, 2021 | Encouragement, Lessons along Life's Journey, Strength
©Joy Dunlap https://joydunlap.com I tilted to the left and then to the right, unsteady as the wobbly rope ladder bridge beneath me shifted. My arm stretched forward and upward for the next rung as I tried to stay balanced. The wood and rope ladder my dad created...
by Joy Dunlap | Sep 7, 2021 | Encouragement, Lessons along Life's Journey, Strength
©Joy Dunlap https://joydunlap.com In reaction to God’s call, a challenge or circumstance in our lives, we often react with a but… I am not. Jeremiah’s self-confidence (or lack of it, I should say), showed in how he answered God’s call to be a prophet. “Alas,...
by Joy Dunlap | Aug 5, 2021 | Encouragement, Hope, Lessons along Life's Journey, Rescue
©Joy Dunlap https://joydunlap.com We’ve all experienced attacks – some physical, some mental, some emotional, some spiritual. And some – well, they end up fitting every category. They start in one area and end up affecting us in various ways. Word assaults can...
by Joy Dunlap | Jul 27, 2021 | Encouragement, Growth, Hope, Lessons along Life's Journey
©Joy Dunlap https://joydunlap.com The sunflower found its way into my hands in an unexpected way. While admiring dozens of sunflowers and zinnias at a nearby location, I mentioned to the planter how much I enjoyed them. The gardener told me all theirs had been grown...
by Joy Dunlap | May 6, 2021 | Encouragement, Growth, Lessons along Life's Journey, Love, Peace
©Joy Dunlap https://joydunlap.com Wherever I looked it seemed as if people had a mother with them. Young children giggled as they held hands with their moms; college-aged daughters and their middle-aged moms talked and shopped together; elderly women shuffled slowly...