Jesus Through Joanie

A few years ago, during a regular team meeting, my boss at the time spoke about being a brand ambassador for the company. If you aren’t familiar with what a brand ambassador is, it’s a person (often times a celebrity for large well known brands) who represents and advertises a company, supports its offers and acts as the embodiment of the company’s corporate identity through words and actions. That morning, my boss told us that anytime we wore the company logo, carried a travel mug, coffee cup, backpack that included the logo we were representing the company. Not only that, but anytime we tagged the company in our social media…

The above quote recently captured my attention on social media. Why? Well, perhaps because I’m the girl who lives in the fantasies of my own mind most days and the idea of being romanced makes me feel all tingly inside. I love romance! But not the kind of romance found in Hallmark movies. That’s fake. The kind of romance that leaves you feeling pursued, that leaves you feeling excited, that reveals the mystery of the Lord’s love. The kind that lingers on the edges of your soul and produces those butterflies in the pit of your stomach. The best kind of romance is the romance of the Lord’s everlasting love!…

“How can I ask God to do anything for me, when I made the wrong choice? I just don’t feel like I can ask Him for His help when I’ve already gone too far.” As I read the text on my phone, my heart ached for the person who’d sent the message. The text exchange continued and was riddled with self-loathing and negative self-talk from my friend, who had fallen to the temptations in their life. A couple of emotions arose in me as we texted: hurt, that they would speak about my friend (themselves) like this. And anger, that the enemy had deceived them into thinking they were too…

It was the title, huh? It drew you in. There is something about the combination of the words that send your mind spiraling into the oblivion of wonder. Wondering things like:

This is the fourth and final message in a series about following Jesus. You can see each of the first three parts here – Part 1, Part 2, Part 3. I encourage you to go back and read those first. In the last post, we reflected on what the cost of following Jesus is. Counting that cost in our decision is so important, but I don’t ever want us to count that cost without always counting the rewards. Although, the rewards are really too numerous to count, aren’t they? Reflecting on what the rewards of following Jesus are, I was feeling a bit overwhelmed at exactly what to share. My…

Matthew 4:20 – ‘And they straightway left their nets, and followed Him.’Mark 1:18 – ‘And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed Him.’Luke 5:11 – ‘And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed Him.’John 1:37 – ‘And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.’ When I read the gospel accounts about the moment Jesus called His first disciples, it’s a bit perplexing for my mind to fathom leaving everything behind to follow an unknown person. It’s a story from four different perspectives of what happened in those moments, all with the same underlying truth. An introduction (in some way) And then…

Compassion: sympathetic pity & concern for the sufferings and misfortunes of others. Psalm 86:15 But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth. I love scripture that describes the character of God. It reminds me who He is. Especially in the moments that I fail to remember. Let me be clear, it’s not that I have really forgotten who He is. Rather, it’s that my heart isn’t recalling His character and all the times He has shown me that character, in the midst of circumstances that I believe to be insurmountable. How He has opened the doors at just the…

Reflecting over 2019, I find myself coming back to one concept over and over again. Give yourself some grace! I said it many times during 2019 as a way to ‘preach’ to others, but failed to truly live it out in my own life. It’s quite sad actually, because I know I’m not alone. How many times have you come up short and beat yourself up? Does your number echo something ridiculous like…5,489,225? Yeah, mine too!! Some of the ways I’ve beat myself up this year: (just a few) Wasn’t a great friend: I’m such a lousy friend; I don’t deserve friends Didn’t lose the weight: I’m so fat –…