Joyful Refuge

  • Encourage Yourself in the Lord

    This year my chronic health issues have increased after a mild case of COVID in early September. This resulted in my being home and isolated much more for last six months. After numerous treatments, including one in mid January that finally helped me significantly, I was so weak and had lost so much muscle strength…

  • Changing Question Marks Into Exclamation Marks

    “I can now look back and see so many of the question marks yanked into exclamation points in my life. I am so thankful that He said “no” to so many of the prayers I desperately wanted Him to answer with “yes.” – Mary Southerland This quote really spoke to me today. As I pondered…

  • Where the Red Sea Parts

    I met a new friend, who Gail, in recent months who relocated from several states away. She and her husband attend my church and have joined our small group. Gail has multiple health issues going on yet exudes such joy and as faith and obviously lives in such a way that you know she finds…

  • Three Ways I Live with Chronic Illness

    I was wondering how faith helps others to deal with chronic disease. My counselor recently shared a letter with me from an older woman who has dealt with health issues all her life. While very encouraging, I realized many of my things that helped me are different than hers. My top three are: 1. Practicing…

  • Finding God’s Path for Me in this Crazy World

    Recently I was pondering what is God’s path for my life in the midst of all this craziness of life with pandemic, divisions, racial tensions and shortages. What I ended up doing was compiling a list of verses that dealt with His directing me and helping me navigate through this life until I join Him…

  • The Clean Slate of a New Year

    The Clean Slate of a New Year

    A friend mentioned to me a couple of years ago how we have a whole new year ahead of us that is a clean slate of 365 days. He went on to say it is like a new snow before any footprints have made any paths. Yesterday, I was pondering this as we had over…

  • The Refiner’s Fire

    I believe in seasons of high pain, shattered dreams or disappointments it is so easy to think of all you want, desire and dream more than our all sufficient, all powerful, faithful, sovereign, good and wise God. So thankful that His grace and forgiveness are limitless and no matter how many times I sin or…

  • Finding Purpose in Suffering – Part 2

    Finding Purpose in Suffering – Part 2

    “The very thing we are afraid of, our brokenness, is the door to our Father’s heart” – Paul Miller Suffering is painful and we often feel broken in the midst of it and wonder when it will ever end. Reminding ourselves of God’s divine purposes in suffering helps us endure and find hope. This blog…

  • Finding Purpose in Suffering – Part 1

    Finding Purpose in Suffering – Part 1

    This blog post is my biggest take away from the women’s conference I attended in Colorado Springs last weekend where Nancy Guthrie was the speaker. I only was able to attend Saturday and each of those sessions were grounded in the Word of God and both convicted and encouraged. The last session “Trusting God with…