SPEAKING JOYFULLY
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...
Why Give Thanks?
©Joy Dunlap https://joydunlap.com Thankful. Grateful. Blessed. That’s the message my lightweight, midnight blue, long-sleeved shirt carries, but the meaning isn’t lightweight at all! When we are truly thankful for the grace we’ve been given and the mercy we’ve...
What Falling Leaves Show Us – Release to Renew!
©Joy Dunlap https://joydunlap.com Fall reminds us of the value of release – of letting go. As the leaves turn colors, change is taking place and prompting action. Leaves falling show us the need to release that which once brought oohs and aahs in order to make room...
Who’s Knocking on Your Door in Costume?
©Joy Dunlap https://joydunlap.com Who’s knocking on your door – and what are they wearing? Adults, children and even pets are taking part in what’s become a widespread October costume party. Retail experts expect $2.9 billion will be spent this year for adults and...
What’s the Queen’s Tea Got to Do with Me?
©Joy Dunlap https://joydunlap.com “How did Queen Elizabeth stir her tea?” That was one question on the “Queen for a Day” interactive quiz I shared at a women’s tea event in September. I added three incorrect answers to go with the right one: In a circular motion...
17 Quotes for Hope and Growth
©Joy Dunlap https://joydunlap.com Speaking Joyfully turns five this month due to the goodness and guidance of God. Without His Word and all the Wonder He’s put in our world, it would not be possible for me to talk or write about experiencing a life that’s full. A...
Crash Confession
©Joy Dunlap https://joydunlap.com Bam! I heard and felt the hit as my head jerked back and forth. Stunned by having been solidly stopped while backing my car out of the garage, I looked in the rearview mirror. Could this day get any worse? Uh, yessss. That impact I...
Six Ways to Extend Refreshment Beyond Summer
©Joy Dunlap https://joydunlap.com As summer draws to an end, have you noticed how we talk about ways we found refreshment during this time? Vacations, reunions, explorations. Beach time, mountain getaways, overseas travel. Camps, cruises and climbs to mountaintops....
Conform in What Way?
©Joy Dunlap https://joydunlap.com The first and only Grateful Dead concert I attended found me dressed in a formal. As far as I could tell, only two of us wore evening dresses to that sold out concert in Atlanta. Being different from the deadheads just wasn’t done....