THE JOURNAL ABOUT THE JOURNAL
It started here...
I am walking on a path in the woods, a candle in my hand, when I feel something touch my feet from behind. Looking down, I see little mice scurrying around my feet. Looking back, I see a tall skinny monkey and he is leading a line of elephants. I move off to the side to let them pass. As they pass, I touch one elephant and say “Nice elephant.” I am shocked and surprised when he says quietly, “Thank you.”
And then I wake up, roll out of bed, and put on my sweatshirt, as I do every morning when it is chilly. The date is November 22, 2018, when this dream was recorded in my journal. I didn’t understand it at the time, but a few weeks later the Lord gave me the interpretation:
“You are lighting a path (candle) for what is coming behind you. It will start out as something you are just playing around (thin, tall monkey) with but what follows will be large and significant (elephants). There will be some minor irritants (mice) to begin with, but they will go away barely noticed.”
He told me this monkey was the Pure Joy Journal.
December 7, 2018
I awake early and head out for my morning walk. As I walk I am impressed upon that Jesus is sad when people walk away from Him. He asks me to go after them and tell them how much He loves them.
December 9, 2018
I see myself writing, and He reminds me how Paul wrote letters to the churches, to encourage, comfort and exhort. What I write will do the same. They will have a transparency to them that will reveal Jesus’ heart. He says “you are a new voice. It will be different than the others, but don’t let them try to change it. It will be softer, gentler, and kind.”
December 20, 2018
The vision for a magazine comes together - One evening I was paging through Chip and Joanna Gaines latest edition of Magnolia Journal. And a crazy thought came into my head…why not a fun, light-hearted magazine geared toward the Christian life… that includes stories and features that showcase the goodness of God in everyday life. With features such as traveling, missions, food, people, home and garden, short stories, children’s pages, spiritual guide and prophecy, and art! That would be cool!
December 24, 2018
Revelation 1:11 - Write in a book what you see and send it!
January 4, 2019
The joy of the Lord will be my strength.
I am on the road to Emaus and Jesus is walking with me. He is telling me things about himself and I am listening intently. He asks me to share this with others who do not know Him. How kind and gentle He is! He is sad that His reputation is so maligned and that the picture people have of Him is so distorted. This is the message that He want me to tell. He is not a hard-task master. He came so that we could be free.
I see myself standing on a stage, speaking: “I want to introduce you to Jesus” and begin to paint a picture of Jesus and to tell people who He is and how He cares for them and loves them. I hear Him saying, “I am giving you a platform for this. Because you have seen me, you have seen the Father. “ I look at Jesus’ big eyes and He is so intent and almost pleading with me, “Will you do this. Will you lay down your life for Me.”
“Oh yes, you are my delight! You are my Pure Joy!”
And Pure Joy Journal was born...
It is the platform to tell others about Jesus. From this point, I started to research and investigate. I had never published a journal or magazine before, but I’ve done a lot of things that I didn’t know how to do. And these days, it is a lot easier because we have Google and You Tube!
Scriptures like these confirmed the direction I was going:
- Habakkuk 2:3 - Record the vision and inscribe it on tablets (are not computers tablets!) that he who reads it may run.
- Psalm 96:3 - Publish His glorious deeds among the nations. Tell everyone about the amazing things He does.
- Psalm 9:1-2 - I will praise you, O Lord, with my whole heart. I will tell of all Your marvelous works. I will jump for joy and shout in triumph.