POSITIVELY JOY: Healing Hearts After Divorce

Season 3 Episode 15: Don't be scared, but we're talking about EVIL on the show today with the Rev. Dr. Leah Schade. It's part of our occasional series on how pop culture represents issues of faith and religion. We discuss "The Exorcist," "Evil" and "Sabrina the Teenage Witch." OK, it might be a little scary, but fun. Check it out!

  Have you ever felt hopeless? I have many times, in the past and recently, too. In fact, just this past week. But this time, instead of succumbing to my hopelessness and allowing it to overtake me, I listened to the God of Hope. Photo by Bradyn Shock on Unsplash  

Lori Morrison is a private investigator and a woman of faith. Her podcast, "The Unlovely Truth," is the intersection of both of these passions. On her show, she reviews true crime books with guests who can discuss crime and faith. 

Season 3, Episode 11: Welcome to 5-minute Mondays, where  I share some encouragement, motivation, and honesty in just five minutes! Today I want to talk about weakness. What does weakness have to do with finding God’s joy? Everything! Even though no one wants to be thought of as weak, and most of us would prefer to be strong, there is a relationship between the two.

Season 3, Episode 10: People come to Christianity in lots of different ways. And the place they come from can be just as varied. But finding Jesus is a blessing, no matter where you’ve come from. For Jenasa Staples, it was a New Age life of chakras and other practices that  she believed was helping her. But one night, a video call to worship transformed her life. 

Season 3, Episode 9: Michaela S. Cox is a 7-time published author who has traveled her journey of 38DDD to go from tribulation to thriving. What is 38DDD? It's not what you think! Michaela talks about her lifelong disability of legal blindness; divorce at 26; and the death of her beloved husband at 38.

Season 3, Episode 9: Welcome to the launch of a new segment:  5-minute  Mondays. It's where  I share some encouragement, motivation, and honesty in just five minutes! Today, I want to talk to you about being full and satisfied, from the book of Ephesians. Paul talks to the church about how to find true contentment and satisfaction through the Holy Spirit. 

Season 3, Episode 8: Suzanne Eller is a best-selling author, the co-host of The More Than Small Talk podcast, and is a joyous woman. Her saying - "joy is more than a feeling, It's a knowing" - goes perfectly with the Positively Joy podcast. Her book, "JoyKeeper, six truths that change everything you thought you knew about joy," will help you understand the true nature of God's joy, even while you'...

Season 3, Episode 7: This episode is completely unexpected! Creator and director of "The Chosen," Dallas Jenkins, dropped in The House of Joy, my Clubhouse room, last Friday. Dallas shared more wisdom and but also interacted with members in the room. The audio quality is, well, "special," but listenable. Be sure to listen to my previous podcast interview with Dallas at positivelyjoy.com. Photo cap...

  Season 3, Episode 6: Classic Rock group Pink Floyd called the feeling “comfortably numb,” in their song that talked about being anesthetized to get through life. The funny thing is, you don’t know when you are numb to God. You don’t realize how your feelings, once so sharp and bright, like a burning flame, become cooled and dulled to the senses. It’s so easy to slip out of the light into numbnes...

Season 3, episode 5: Amy Wicks of Simply Wholehearted is a certified Enneagrams coach and helps Christians learn more about themselves to become better-functioning people at home, at work and even at church! I'm a 3-wing-2. Don't know that that means? Listen!

Season 3, Episode 4: Lois Hollis battled physical and mental pain for years, but she learned that often the underlying condition is shame and guilt, which partner together to push us down. Hollis also says shame and guilt do not come from God, and that we don't have to own them. Her video and a free resource is available at loishollis.com Takeaway quote: "(Shame and guilt are) not of the human con...

Dallas Jenkins has created a different kind of series about Jesus. And, Jenkins said, he’s “obsessed” with making the experience authentic and intimate for viewers. I spoke to Dallas at the National Religious Broadcasters convention in Texas. We had a great conversation but the audio was noisy, being on the conference floor. Still, his message is important and worth listening. And, when he talked...

The Positively Joy podcast takes you on a journey to discover that JOY IS NOT A FEELING, IT’S FAITH. Today's episode comes from the  Spark Media Convention and we hear from three podcasters on why they came and why they do what they do. We are in Season Three, and this season has taken the podcast into the vantage point of what joy is. I’d like you to listen to each episode this season through the...

Positively Joy is BACK with all new shows for Season three! Still seeking the joy of God in all seasons of life, this season, we will take an occasional look at how pop culture represents the Christian faith with the Rev. Dr. Leah Schade. Today: Cobra Kai. Upcoming episodes include comedian Michael Jr. and Dove-award-winning group The Erwins. NEXT WEEK: "The Chosen's" Dallas Jenkins! Enjoy our bra...

Day two of these conferences are really turning it out! Day 2 of NRB and day 1 of the Spark Media Podcast Conference. I will be podcasting live from these different events all this week and I hope you stay with me and learn a lot about Christian media.

Check out day one of the Christian Media Conference with me this week in Grapevine, Texas. I’ll be talking to Christian luminaries of the media world. Walk the set of The Chosen! I’ll be broadcasting all this week from the conference, as I countdown to the launch of season three of the Positively Joy Podcast this Thursday!

This is a real throwback, an early one all the way from season one when I was still calling this podcast Finding Joy. It's the one where I tell a story of a surprise visit that returned a dose of kindness in a very unexpected way. Listen to hear how my name ends up in Scripture. I hope you have been enjoying these throwback episodes. Season 3 is coming soon, bigger and better! 

Happy Memorial Day! Today's episode veers off our regular focus of finding Joy. Today, we remember Memorial Day and the men and women of the armed forces. But for those of us who had a father who didn't fight, our hearts hold different memories. (PHOTO: from left, my mother, a family friend, and my father, circa the late 1940s, early 1950s)

I've gotten to know Liz Bullard since we first met in the podcasting world last year. She's another force of positivity, and a great writer, too! Check out this Throwback Thursday interview of Liz about her life and why she created her podcast, Coffee and Convos.  

Throwback Thursday! As we come into wedding season, we throw back to  season 1, episode 7: Photographer Jaleccia Ates shares her insights about joy and the experiences of a single, saved woman and finding joy amid the stress of life and work. Photo Credit: Ariel C. Burns Photography

It's a weird one, but here goes: You know God is working when you can learn about the Fruits of the Spirit -- most notably Joy --  through a dog named Lemon and a Mr. Bill dog toy. But that's how God works sometimes, and I love Him for it. Listen for a lesson from Paul's letter to the Galatians, not just about the Fruits and walking in the Spirit, but to abstain from walking in the flesh. We're ta...

Writer Becky Wade's new book, "Let It Be Me," released this week. Wade shared with the Positively Joy podcast how she got started writing ... and it wasn't in Christian fiction! But when the Lord led her to this, she knew immediately it was her genre. Wade offers a FREE novella, "Take A Chance On Me,"  on her website, beckywade.com. Join the Positively Joy Facebook community as we begin a new book...

Becky Wade is a Christy and Carol award-winning author of heartwarming and humorous contemporary Christian romances. "Let it Be Me" is her new book, released today! She’ll talk about the book, her family and faith walk, and also how God led her into writing Christian Romances. You’ll come away inspired and encouraged. Tune in Thursday for another great episode of the Positively Joy podcast! Subscr...

Pastor and former coach Tom Mullins has a message: Get on offense. What does that mean? Well, have you ever felt like you were on a moving sidewalk? Not walking under your own power, just moving forward. Just going, not even toward an object or destination. That’s what’s it like to live “on defense.” Today, I reflect on Mullins' message. And be encouraged -- there's a way out.