SPEAKING JOYFULLY
Forbidden Seeds and Secure Passage
©Joy Dunlap https://joydunlap.com The seeds situation reveals another reason I wouldn’t be comfortable as a criminal. My heart was pounding. I could feel the heat racing to my face as my blood pressure escalated. I realized my mistake shortly before I reached the...
How an Unexpected Gift and the Remembrance of a Grandmother’s Love Link to Lent
©Joy Dunlap https://joydunlap.com I didn’t deserve the gift but it made an impact. Clutching three books in my arms, I was in line to buy some last minute gifts to give my husband that day. Only one person was in front of me at the bookstore, and she was in a...
Wonderful Words of Love – Not Only on Valentine’s Day
©Joy Dunlap https://joydunlap.com Words of love and friendship in card art soar for Valentine’s Day! Greeting cards are the second most popular item given, accounting for about 40% of the gifts for the heart-hugging holiday. Candy leads the way at 57%, with flowers...
The Beep Goes On
©Joy Dunlap https://joydunlap.com Beep.Beep.Beep.Beep. The sound seemed to be coming from me, but I checked my phone and that wasn’t it. Beep.Beep.Beep.Beep. People in the hospital waiting room turned to look at me. Beep.Beep.Beep.Beep. What was that? Could that...
That Heart
©Joy Dunlap https://joydunlap.com I giggled with delight when a giant heart popped around the doorway quickly followed by my husband. Charlie surprised me last year with the biggest Valentine’s Day heart I’d ever received – large enough to cover my head - and my...
Hometown Church Heart-Coming
©Joy Dunlap https://joydunlap.com My hometown church wasn’t the biggest, the fanciest or the wealthiest in town. But a lot of love was there. Love for God and love for each other. The simple cross and stained-glass windows clearly identified it as a house of...
Winnie the Pooh Thoughts and Word Treasures
©Joy Dunlap https://joydunlap.com What pops in your mind when you think of Winnie the Pooh? A childhood book? An animated film? A Disney ride? For almost a century, Winnie the Pooh has been climbing into the hearts and minds of children (and adults) spreading...
The Great Cleanout
©Joy Dunlap https://joydunlap.com Under the surface of our beautiful water feature, debris can pile up causing decay. In order to keep it running optimally, an annual cleanout is needed. During the fall, countless leaves find their way in. They discolor the water,...
The Word to Focus On
©Joy Dunlap https://joydunlap.com The new year stirs the desire to set goals, to release things from the past, and to declare intentions. One activity that has become more widespread in place of those rarely completed resolutions is picking an overarching word for...
Decorating the Tree
©Joy Dunlap https://joydunlap.com Strewn about on the floor near the brightly lit tree lay a variety of Christmas ornaments. Each one carrying the memory of a place, a person, or experience. The bird in the tree painted as a childhood project with my mom. The...