SPEAKING JOYFULLY
Spreading Contagion – the Good Kind
©Joy Dunlap https://joydunlap.com I often started contagions in high school. But, more about that in a minute. The contagion Covid-19 is on everyone’s minds, TVs and computer screens these days. How could it not? It’s changed our world – at least for the time...
30 Ways to Enjoy Home Hibernation
©Joy Dunlap https://joydunlap.com If you find yourself doing home hibernation more right now, here are some tips (in no particular order) to help you pass the time productively and in enjoyable ways: Tour museums virtually. Open your eyes to the beauty found in...
When “Wearing Green” Isn’t Good
©Joy Dunlap https://joydunlap.com Many of us love donning green shirts, hats, scarves or buttons on March 17, and at parties preceding it, but is “wearing green” ever not good? Green brings to mind rebirth, springtime – and, oh, yes, recycling – but some literary and...
How Dry Skin Affects True Beauty
How Dry Skin Impacts True Beauty ©Joy Dunlap https://joydunlap.com Staying too long in “hot water" can cause us to get “dry skin” – not only physically, but also spiritually. As a water aerobics enthusiast, I enjoy year-round workouts in the pool. Although I often...
Valentine’s – Romance, Religion – and the Military?
©Joy Dunlap https://joydunlap.com In first grade, I drew a Valentine for a soldier in Vietnam in connection with a newspaper contest. I don’t remember the details other than I was one of the winners and that my handcrafted Valentine had a plane on it. Hey, a lot of...
Step Back from the Kingdom?
©Joy Dunlap https://joydunlap.com People have been taking a “step back” from the original royal family since Adam and Eve did so in the garden. All the world’s abuzz with chatter about Meghan and Harry, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who, as you surely know,...
Nurture Impacts Nature
©Joy Dunlap https://joydunlap.com Nurture renewed what was nearly dead, bringing it back to thriving, growing and blossoming. A year ago, in January after the holidays, our once beautiful poinsettia had turned into barren spires jutting out of the dirt like spindly...
30+ Ways to Give from the Heart
©Joy Dunlap https://joydunlap.com Give thanks. Give time. Give truth. Give peace. Give hope. Give help. Give a smile. Give a hug. Give a hand. Give kindness. Give comfort. Give compassion. Give to someone you know. Give to someone you don’t know. Give to those...
Confrontation in the Checkout Line
©Joy Dunlap https://joydunlap.com In the self-checkout line at Target, I began to get antsy and frustrated at the woman in line ahead of me digging through her gigantic purse trying to find who knows what. One of the many checkout kiosks seemed to be open. Couldn’t...
What Masks Do We Wear?
©Joy Dunlap https://joydunlap.com Adults wear masks too, and not just as Halloween costumes. When children trick-or-treat at my house, I enjoy seeing what costumes they’re wearing. What persona are they taking on? An action hero? A cuddly animal? A popular TV or...