I recently read a beautiful story about a woman at the end of her life going on her last drive. Someone was driving the car as they toured her old neighborhood and she looked out the window of the car and remembered all the old times. There were many things I could have taken from that story. But what hit me was the fact that I don’t look at the scenery when my husband drives. I don’t nap, I don’t read, and I don’t look at my phone. I just watch straight ahead and make sure we don’t get into an accident. I make sure there are no fender bender possibilities. I save us from potential chaos. I s ..read more

This past weekend, during a night where sleep evaded me, I stayed up and watched the entire Hillsong documentary. This new one, called The Secrets of Hillsong, features Carl and Laura Lentz telling their story. It also talks about the abuse by Frank Houston and the cover-up by so many in his circle. It is heartbreaking and at times very hard to watch. When I mentioned it to a friend, she told me that she can’t watch these church shows because it is a trigger for her past church hurt. To that I replied - I have to watch them. I am drawn to them. But they definitely do trigger some things. It h ..read more

Check out this week's Pop of Joy. https://video.wixstatic.com/video/c661b8_5238eea4d6134aa7b76f5c13c0f113c3/1080p/mp4/file.mp4 Need Prayer? Click the FOR Prayer link on our page or email us at: joyforministry@gmail.com Sign up for our 6 week virtual small group starting on 5/15! Click Here to join ..read more

“Mom I had a dream. I was at school and I was walking past a classroom. I saw my little buddy from church and he screamed for me to come to him. They wouldn’t let me go to him. They made me leave the classroom and I just stood outside and cried.” I was crushed when my 12-year-old son told me this dream. All he knew is that one day he wasn’t able to go back to the church where he watched the same special needs child every week for years. All he knew is one day we were welcome in a place where we gave our time, our blood, sweat, tears, and the next day we were no longer welcome. When you see yo ..read more

I will never forget the call. I was at my desk at work. I knew my husband Jason was having a meeting with his boss that morning. I looked at the clock. It was only 9:30 am. I was surprised to see him calling so quickly. “I have been relieved of my position as the Campus Pastor.” The feeling that washed over me was shock, pain, and fear all at once. “Why? I don’t understand. Why?” I think I asked “why” about a dozen times that day and in the days to follow. We didn’t know it then, but not only did that day change our lives in a practical way, but it also changed our hearts and view of how we do ..read more

There is one thing I have become convinced of since hosting a podcast and talking to women in ministry. Ministry is messy. You can’t be prepared for it. You know the Forrest Gump saying “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you are gonna get”? Well, I think that can be true of ministry. You can’t predict who will walk In the door next, the people who will sit in the seats, the pastor on staff with you. You don’t know what type of pastor's wife you will serve with and the coworker you or your spouse will work alongside. You have no way of knowing if someone will be kind or mean ..read more

Dear God, I feel so many things. Help me to choose the things I believe. I feel inadequate. I believe that I have the power of Christ. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. I feel lost. I believe that God knows right where I am. Luke 15:4-6 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and ..read more

It is Thanksgiving week and I am reflecting. Recently, my husband and I sat down for an interview with a woman who is doing her doctoral dissertation on a specific church experience that we went through. She was interviewing ten couples individually for her research. During the conversation, she told my husband and me that 45% of people who walk through this experience never return to church. I understand why. Through the past year, I have seen God use this experience and the pain that came with it to help others. It makes me so thankful that God used something ugly in my life for His good. I ..read more

Micah 6:8 says to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly. Act justly. I have a passion for justice. I seek it to a fault. If I see an injustice done it bothers me to my core and I feel the need to expose it even when it is not my place. There are times I feel regret once I fight for it. Was it my place to do that? Sometimes the answer to that is yes and sometimes the answer is no. I need to act justly. It is not always my place to hold people accountable for their lack of acting justly.  Love Mercy. I love mercy. When I think of mercy I think of ..read more

A few years ago I set out to lose some weight. I set healthy goals and established some healthy disciplines. Through hard work and determination, I lost about 15 pounds. That was my goal. I should have celebrated and been content with the results. I was not. Two more pounds would get me into the next tens number. I can do that. Once I did that, I thought, only five more pounds will get me to a number I haven’t seen since before I had kids. If I get there, I will be happy. I wasn’t. How many of you can relate? We have goals and dreams for our lives and for our ministry. They are good and push u ..read more