Author Archives: joyocala

            When we remember major events, we almost always associate it with where we were when we first heard about it.  For example:  The assassination of JFK (I was in the college bookstore my junior year of college).  The attack … Continue reading →

Is it fate that my blog turn comes up on the Fourth of July? Whatever…I will go with it!  I feel blessed and “Proud to Be An American”. If I had a dime for every time I had to play … Continue reading →

This afternoon we fly to Connecticut to visit children and grandchildren that we haven’t seen in a couple years.  I’m not fond of airports and planes, not at all.  But I am excited and anxious to see these smiling faces.  … Continue reading →

During a movie I was watching the other evening, a barnyard scene showed a child going out to gather eggs from the hen house.  It was cute, momma chicken would flutter her wings and stand slightly, or not budge at all, … Continue reading →

Don’t cry because it is over.  Smile because it happened.  …Dr. Suess The above statement penned by Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Suess) speaks volumes in its simplicity and is one of which I need to constantly remind myself. Maybe some … Continue reading →

Last week’s blog was one of my favorite original blogs, written during the first month of my entrance into this ministry activity. Writing these blogs has always been both a challenge and a joy. The personal rewards are not found … Continue reading →

Today commemorates Peter and Paul. It’s hard to find two early Christians so different from each other. Peter was a fisherman who followed Jesus and seems to have been the leader of the Twelve. Paul was a tent maker who, … Continue reading →

 ​Charity played an important role in the early Church. Justin Martyr (100-165 A D) gives a description of an early church service in his apology, and it is noted that an offering was taken that was then distributed to orphans, … Continue reading →

Thanks to Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader for the following: I’m weird; I’m into bizarre, obscure information. Numbers fascinate me, even though I failed 9th grade algebra. (I aced it in college, though – go “figure”). Even the very hairs on … Continue reading →

You may not recall this old hymn, but when I was a child, it was a favorite of mine.  It was also the last hymn in our hymnal, which somehow fascinated me.  My mom thought this was an odd choice; … Continue reading →