I love her and I am so thankful that she chose to fully obey God when it was crazy hard! Watching her TV program, listening to her tapes and CDs, and reading her books and magazine through the past seven years has strengthened my faith and joy and sense of personal responsibility to grow up in Christ. She teaches the very practical things that so many Christians miss or overlook because they think they "already know that." Like truly loving God and loving others, forgiving people, changing your thought patterns, taking responsibility for your choices, living with excellence and integrity, and making it through "the silent years" when you're waiting on the dreams God has placed inside you! I love that she is transparent and very honest about her past (beginning with the sexual abuse by her own father), her current failures and insecurities, and the many areas where God has helped her to overcome and live in victory!
Joyce Meyer Ministries is one of few ministries that I support (that + tithing + Compassion child). They act with great integrity and strive to meet the practical needs of hungry children around the world, along with donating materials to help them learn about Christ. The missions organization is called Hand of Hope, which I love, and her TV program is called Enjoying Everyday Life. She says that one of the greatest things Christians can do is to enjoy their daily life -- not through selfish and sinful behavior but by ENJOYING GOD and living with real peace in your heart, quickly forgiving those who hurt you and going out of your way to be kind and loving!
On that note, she even started the Love Revolution, a mission to get lazy Christians to take action and make a difference through simple acts of compassion/kindness and loving words of encouragement! I love that!! She has led many people to accept Christ, but more than that, she feels that her main calling is to help those who are already Christians mature in their faith. I LOVE THAT. I am so very tired of seeing Christians who look no different than the messed up world around us, who get more excited about partying and drinking than anything God has said to them lately. That indifference and arrogance among Christians has become offensive to me, and I don't think that's a bad thing. Those who truly love God want to grow with Him, and Joyce is an awesome example and encouragement for us... providing practical tools to help us to "press in and press on" with God!
She is most definitely a strong driver personality, and married to Dave, who has a stable amiable personality. And I love their marriage! They are cute and funny together, and it's obvious that they really love and enjoy each other. It's also obvious that they both have their own identities and hobbies and friendships, and they give each other healthy space to enjoy those things - I want that dynamic in my future marriage! She takes her calling pretty seriously, but is learning to lighten up in the right ways, and I love that. I love that she is always growing and learning new things with God... that her heart is still completely teachable!
Joyce + Dave = Awesome!
And that is my greatest desire for my future... that I would live my life in surrendered obedience and my words would be anointed by God.
Joyce and her grandson at the zoo! :)
This just scales the surface... I can't say enough good things about her, really. I can't wait to sit down and talk to her and thank her (I'm assuming that won't happen until we're both in heaven, but that's okay). Her legacy and the lives she has changed will continue long after she is gone here. I pray that I will stay strong in what I have learned through her and that I will follow God in my everyday life with the same passion, integrity, and devotion that I see in her!
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