SPEAKING JOYFULLY
7 Strategies to Move Forward in Life – Top-Level Perspective
©Joy Dunlap https://joydunlap.com The view was much different from up high. Recently, a good friend asked my husband and me to join her and her husband in their football suite. While we do have season tickets, ours are closer to the field in the regular stands....
Hearts Hit by Hail
©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...
Steps to Find Strength in the Storms of Life
©Joy Dunlap https://joydunlap.com When the storms of life slam into us like lightning, and the roar in our minds takes on thunderous levels, it can be difficult to find strength. My first experience in a wave pool was something I’d looked forward to for weeks, then I...
When the World Seems Wobbly
©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...
What You are not, I AM
©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,...
Pool (of Life) Rules
©Joy Dunlap https://joydunlap.com Doing lap after lap of monotony without getting anywhere? Treading water trying to stay afloat? Drowning in despair? Whatever our state in the pool of life, whether swimming strong or barely floating, we can benefit from some key...
Name Impact
©Joy Dunlap https://joydunlap.com “Your mom wanted to name you Joy, and she was right.” My dad voiced that sentiment many times in the years after my mom had traveled to her heavenly home. As I recently celebrated another birthday, I thought about mom’s desire and...
Prey or Pray?
©Joy Dunlap https://joydunlap.com The hawk perched on the tree branch waiting patiently for its prey. Fascinated by its presence, I watched to see what it might do. My attention wandered, and in that moment of distraction, the predator swooped down and grabbed its...
Attack Analysis and Protection
©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...
The Sunflower Shows Up
©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...