SPEAKING JOYFULLY
18 Ways to Love Our Neighbor without Spending Money
©Joy Dunlap https://joydunlap.com To truly love our neighbor isn’t about gifts or money, it’s about compassion shared, time extended, the you-matter-to-me moments that demonstrate care. It's a matter of our heart. Sometimes showing love for our neighbor means holding...
Chopped Trees and Calvary
©Joy Dunlap https://joydunlap.com My heart sank. I’d been expecting it because of the signs I had seen, but nothing prepared me for what I saw. Hundreds of tall trees had been chopped down a few blocks from me. What will rise up is difficult to envision, and it’s...
Parade of Delight
©Joy Dunlap https://joydunlap.com A parade shows up at our place each spring. Like marching musicians playing a variety of woodwind instruments, birds swoop from tree to tree singing their various songs. The cacophony of their varied calls somehow transforms from...
13 Timeless Passages to Welcome 3-23-23 Palindrome
©Joy Dunlap https://joydunlap.com Every day comes with wonder, but some dates such as 3-23-23 arrive with a twist - as palindromes. When a date is the same whether we read it backward or forward, it’s known as a palindrome. March 2023 boasts 11 palindromic dates;...
The Stone with Power
©Joy Dunlap https://joydunlap.com Yes, I kissed the Blarney Stone. Not because I believed that stone would do anything (which I don’t) and not because I believed it has any special power (which it doesn’t) but because I wanted to experience it for myself. To see this...
Four Women with Meaningful Impact
©Joy Dunlap https://joydunlap.com The words and lives of many women throughout time have pointed others to the love of God, and the peace and joy found by trusting and walking with Him. Like water flowing in a forest stream shaping the banks and the rocks, feeding...
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...