Author Archive: spiritofjoy

Windswept – February 2016

O taste and see that the LORD is good;
happy are those who take refuge in him. —Psalm 34:8

One of God’s greatest gifts are the five senses God has given us to take in and enjoy all that God has made.

January 29, 2016 No comments

Happy New Year! This seems to be the time of year when many of us think about what was and what may come, and we resolve-sometimes successfully and sometimes not so much-to try to “better ourselves”, quite often in the area of living a healthier lifestyle.

January 4, 2016 No comments

Windswept – December 2015

What are you waiting for? When have you longed for the dawn? Waiting – for all kinds of things – is part of our human condition, isn’t it? We wait for longed for events, for births, spring-time, reunions, and promotions. We also wait for test results, an illness to pass, for a loved one’s forgiveness, for conflict resolution, for the gentle death of an aged love one. When will the dawn come?

December 3, 2015 1 comment

Windswept – November 2015

“Because of God’s Great Mercy” is the title of Spirit of Joy’s stewardship emphasis this year. We begin the emphasis by remembering all that God has done for us. God has created us and made us God’s own people. God has chased us with goodness and mercy through our trials.

October 30, 2015 No comments

Spirit of Joy has a New Website!

The new website is up and running!

October 13, 2015 No comments

Windswept – June 2015

KING DAVID: OLD STORY; OUR STORY (Newsletter Excerpt) One of the more complete—and complicated—human stories told in the Bible is the story of David. Scripture passages like the one above from a sermon by St. Paul teach us that David was a man after God’s own heart. Accounts of David’s life told in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) also make it very clear that David’s heart was not always aligned with God’s. […]

June 1, 2015 No comments

Windswept – May 2015

CALLED TO SERVE (excerpt) 13 teens and 3 adults from Spirit of Joy will be embarking on a trip to Detroit, Michigan the week of July 14-19 to take part in the triennial ELCA National Youth Gathering. Our group will be 16 participants out of 30,000 who will be descending upon Detroit for 5 days of worship, education and service work. The days will be long, the nights of sleep will be short, and the trip will prove to be a challenging experience that will help us grow on our faith journey. […]

May 1, 2015 No comments

Windswept – March 2015

THE WAY OF THE CROSS (excerpt) Religion was in the news again last month, and most of what was reported was not good. A mosque near Bethlehem in Israel was set on fire. A man was sentenced to die in Saudi Arabia because he renounced his faith in Islam. Global harassment of Jews has reached a seven-year high. At the time of this writing, Islamic State (ISIS) militants had abducted at least 220 Christians from Assyrian Christian villages in northeastern Syria. The actions of ISIS have become a weekly, if not daily, horror show. We find it impossible to imagine that any religion, no matter how twisted, could motivate its adherents to commit such violence. The truth is, […]

March 1, 2015 No comments