The Joy Podcast
A women's guide to living a joy-filled life. We are here to help women find their purpose and joy in the hard things of life by having real and raw faith-based conversations surrounding a woman's daily life. Topics include, motherhood, marriage, careers, friendships, and so much more.
The Joy Podcast
Maintaining Joy and Peace Amidst Global Chaos
When faced with the chaos of an attempted assassination on a former president, how do we maintain our sense of peace and joy? Join us on this special episode of the Joy Podcast as we unravel the complexities of finding solace amidst worldly turmoil. Katrina shares a touching moment with her 10-year-old daughter, who poignantly questions the state of our country, illustrating the difficulty of maintaining hope and strength for our children. We reflect on John 16:33, emphasizing that despite suffering, God's control remains steadfast. Through personal anecdotes and biblical wisdom, Katrina and Allison discuss the necessity of leaning on Jesus and scripture to navigate emotions like confusion, sadness, anger, and fear, ensuring a joy-filled life regardless of external circumstances.
In a world where spiritual battles are ever-present, how do we stand firm in our faith and show love? We explore the essence of "Walking in Courage and Love," focusing on the importance of operating from a place of victory rather than victimhood. Guided by Romans 12:18, we dissect the power of our words and actions, particularly on social media, and the responsibility Christians have to avoid hostility and bitterness. By loving God and our neighbors and seeking biblical wisdom, we can navigate conflicts with honor and compassion. Join us as we share strategies to lead by Christ-like example, fostering strength and joy for our children and communities, and ultimately supporting God's kingdom in times of crisis.
Welcome to the Joy Podcast, your women's guide to living a joy-filled life. We are your co-hosts, katrina Morris and Allison Jordan. We are grateful you joined us, as we have real and raw, faith-based conversations surrounding motherhood, marriage, careers, friendships and everything else in a woman's daily life that's right, ladies, Grab your cup of coffee and pull up a chair as we dive into all the things.
Speaker 2:Hello everybody and welcome to this episode of the Joy podcast, and this is, I would say, a special episode today. Right, Katrina? Absolutely. You know this is not a normal episode that we had planned on recording, but in light of the event that we saw in our country this past weekend with the attempted assassination of former president, we just felt, no matter what political party affiliation you have, we admit that these are strange times in our country and it can bring a lot of chaos. It can bring a lot of confusion, sadness, anger, all of the different emotions, and today we felt led to kind of address that from a standpoint of can we still have joy in the midst of worldly chaos? Can?
Speaker 1:we have peace Right.
Speaker 2:Katrina. So, katrina, what do you want to share with us today? We were talking about some verses and where we want to go with this today, and what do we want to share? I think?
Speaker 1:the first thing is we have to remember God is still in control Absolutely, and I know that a lot of people may look at it and say, oh well, no, he's not. How could he let things happen? And we understand that it is tragic and while one hand we have victory that the former president was not assassinated, we know that someone did lose their life protecting their family and it is a tragic event that happened, and so we don't want to minimize the grief and the sorrow that we can feel and that the family is feeling. But as women, how do we pull it together and for our children and for each other, and be supportive and understanding that you know in the Bible the Lord says in John 16, 33, I have told you these things so that in me you have peace. You will have suffering in this world, but be courageous. I have conquered the world and I think we have to understand whether you're a new believer or you are an unbeliever or whether you've loved the Lord and been a believer for 30 years, that pain is still pain and in our flesh and in this world we're going to still have pain and have sorrow, but we have to operate from a place of victory, knowing that, okay, god did tell us that we're going to have trouble and sorrow on this world, but he has overcome the world. And to know that tragedy and sorrow can also be carried simultaneously with the joy of the lord and the joy to say you know, be thankful for what you have around you and let's look at the blessings and the things that we can be appreciative of.
Speaker 1:And it is very difficult and I think for me it was made very real on Sunday. Our pastor said was just a little bit about just praying for the country and all of that. And both of my girls were in the service the big service we call it instead of in the in the youth and children's ministry and, um, my 10 year old, as we started to sing one of the songs, she looked at me and she said mama, what's wrong with our country? And it was such a profound moment for me because I don't get involved in the political world so much, especially not with the kids, but it was so real to me when she said that because her world is 10 years old.
Speaker 2:She doesn't know, and she's just starting to see some of the ugliness.
Speaker 1:Yes, and so I did address it just briefly, about what had happened and that we just need to pray for the family and, um, how scary it is and can be. And even as parents sometimes we don't want to take our kids out because we don't know what can happen. We think about that and but just for her to say, mama, what's wrong with our country?
Speaker 1:Because the pastor had said, you know, with the, you know turmoil that's in our country, and so she just grasped that, like you know, cause her country is great for her being 10. She's not experienced all of that we have to deal with, and so I think it's very important for us to not necessarily stay faced, but to stay victorious, in that the Lord is still in charge, yes, and it's going to be okay, because we, our children, look to us as strength, and we have to look to him for strength and for to cope with the things and to not allow our feelings to take over.
Speaker 2:Because, our feelings can be very well they're wishy-washy, right, I mean, I know my emotions can be all over the place In any given hour.
Speaker 1:they can be five different things Me too be five different things Me too. So you know, I think we just have to understand what place or what part do we play as? Women in this world, in this world that are going about proclaiming and trying to find joy and working, whether it be at home or out in the world, and how? What is our place?
Speaker 2:Right, because I mean, like all of you listening, today, we were all, we're all going to remember where we were when we heard the news, and a lot of confusion, a lot of shock, that here we are again. Some of us have seen this in our day, but to know that innocent lives were lost, to know that many lives were now shattered by, can this even be happening? And so how do we continue to stay joyful, how do we continue to stay steadfast in a day when things feel so out of control? And the only answer there is for this is Jesus, because when you go to scripture, he has given us everything we need to live a joy-filled life, regardless of the circumstances around us. Because, like you mentioned, I don't even know. Did you read James?
Speaker 1:We were talking about this earlier.
Speaker 2:As we were talking about some of this earlier, I'm going to read in James, as James was talking about the things that we're going to have to endure and the things that we'll face. This is in James 1, one and verse two. It says consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not like anything. And so it doesn't say if you face trials, it's when.
Speaker 2:So here we are in a time when we are all facing a trial of feeling unsafe, maybe in our town, in our country, and so the things that we? We know that these things were going to come, but God has given us everything within his word. He has promised us that he is going to be with us no matter what. His word. He has promised us that he is going to be with us no matter what, and that there is darkness in this world, but he is light, and so he's never going to allow us to go through something that he's not going to be there with us. Is there death? Is there sadness? There is all of those things, and they are tragic, but we can walk and know that we can walk in him and that he will sustain us to get through these things. But yes, like you said, how do, how do we walk forward in a world that is feeling like chaos? Well, it does start with us. We can't control everybody else.
Speaker 2:But we can. We can look and see what we can do. How can we make a difference, difference, what can we do? Because I think we all know we all get emotional when we see different things, when things make us angry and our hearts can be ugly sometimes. So we have to look and see what do we need to do to stay close to the Lord, to keep our hearts pure? And free from evil.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I think, as far as it depends on me and my flesh and my humanness, I can think, oh whoa, everything's out of control, and we can want to crawl into a hole and think, well, there's no use of of, you know, having strength and courage, and you know the world has fallen apart and it's only going to get worse.
Speaker 2:We can operate from this place of just pure defeat, and I even said that the other night I'm like it's only going to get worse, and the Lord had to stop me in my tracks and remind me that you know, what he is our strength.
Speaker 2:In Him there is victory, and, yes, we're going to see things on this earth that we should never have to see, but we do. And you know um 46 was a psalm, that it is so. It is so needed for this time and maybe with what all of us are feeling right now and just some sadness and anger and confusion. And if you don't mind, I want to read this psalm. It's short, but this one was written by Solomon. But here it is. It says God is our refuge and strength and ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear that the earth give way and the mountains fall. Into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging, there is a river whose streams make glad, the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her. She will not fall. God will help her at break of day.
Speaker 2:Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall. He lifts his voice. The earth melts. The Lord Almighty is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress. Come and see the works of the Lord, the desolations he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear. He burns the shields with fire, and it's just a reminder. The Lord Almighty is with us. That is a promise.
Speaker 1:He's never going to leave us. Oh, and that's that's where we have to, that's where we have to stay. We have to understand that our flesh and our humanness are broken and will deceive us. But he has talked about this and this is a a book that you know, some of the things are what? Three thousand years old, you know. But and I'm so right, this was not written by solomon.
Speaker 2:I I misspoke, that was not written by solomon um but well, I don't know, I would have never have fact checked that. I don't want to mislead anybody. It was not written by Solomon, it was probably by the sons of. Korah. But anyway, that psalm is so precious we are even now and, like you said, these were written so many years ago, but they are prevalent for today, absolutely.
Speaker 1:And that is where we have to stand in the victory, yes, and and allow, not allow our emotions to get the best of us. We have to stay strong, we have to be courageous and not allow the enemy to win, because we and the verse I can't even remember where it's at, because this is, I feel like I say that every episode, but hey, um, these things come to mind and I can't not say what is on my mind. But you know, we don't battle against flesh and blood, but against the powers and principalities of the evil, I mean of the world. There is a spiritual realm that is around us and it is good and it is evil and it is, um, it is god and it is the devil and satan wants us to be quiet.
Speaker 1:You know we have technical issues a lot here on the podcast we believe today yeah, we believe. Um, you know, the enemy wants to keep us quiet and so we have to look at what is happening in the world and think, okay, we can bow our heads and we can sink into a hole and lose our minds and be angry that everything is terrible.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and we can be angry and frightful and live in a bubble, or we can say you know what, lord? You've already said this you didn't say exactly what was going to happen, exactly the things that we would have to go through, but that we would have trouble, sorrow, pain, hurt, and so operating from that place of victory, not victim-ness, is where we have to stay and walk in courageously. Yes, be courageous, and on social media, I would encourage everyone to. You know, in Romans 12, verse 18, it says if possible, far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. And that's not saying you know, you have to be a peacemaker and bow down that doesn't mean you're going to agree with everybody on everything.
Speaker 1:Right, it doesn't mean that, but what it does mean is that, as Christians, we are not to be hostile, angry, bitter people.
Speaker 2:And I think sometimes we forget you know, you and I were talking about this we forget that we can hide behind our little keyboards or our screens and just type something or share a cutting remark or a meme.
Speaker 2:But that is not helpful, no, and it doesn't promote peace, it doesn't promote loving people. And you know, we have to remember that the greatest commandment is to love God. And he says love God and love your neighbor as yourself. And so when we recognize that every person has been created by almighty God, that he loves them just as much as he loves us, no matter if their sin is, I mean sin is sin. So if their sin looks greater than our sin, I remember the verse oh you remember your sin looks greater than our sin.
Speaker 1:I remember the verse oh you remember she just had an aha moment. Everybody what? Is the verse that says, take the log out of your own eye before you take the speck out of someone else's, and it's like we're always looking to what other people are doing and the hurt other people are caused and the anger that we feel. But you know, we probably cause some hurt ourselves, and so we have to look inward and we have to look in the mirror before we start looking at everybody else and what everyone else is doing.
Speaker 2:Because when we look at somebody else and recognize them as a creation of almighty God that God loves and Jesus gave his life for, then it changes perspective, doesn't mean we have to agree with that person on everything or love everything they do, just like they don't love everything that we do. But it changes things because God created them in his image, just like he created me in his image, and so I am to love God and love others. And so when I think that it's going to change how I type out my thoughts, or hide behind my keyboard and type that sarcastic comment or that cutting meme or it's going to change that, because I have to ask myself is this helpful for the kingdom? It doesn't mean we don't walk boldly and share the truth of God's word. We do. But when we do that in love and share truth, there's a difference there.
Speaker 1:And it's very important. You know, we talk about hypocrites a lot and the Bible does call us to again, in Romans 12, it's 15,. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony, um, as best you can. It also says let love be without hypocrisy. Detest evil, cling to what is good, love one another deeply as brothers and sisters, um outdo one another in showing honors. So here's the thing you know, we we have an incident that we're wanting to talk about, or that we're wrapping up talking about right now, because we want to let you know these things, we want to let you know the truth and how do we operate and how do we continue to move on. And that is loving one another, not cutting down one another. And it is rejoicing that no one else lost their life, but it's also weeping with those who are weeping, because it was a tragic situation and the and the gentleman that lost his life.
Speaker 1:So you know, we have to be present, we have to be honorable and not be a hypocrite, because being an example I think you had said this earlier, maybe we had just talked about it before is we are to be an example, and what we say on the podcast or on social media, or what you say on social media or to your family and kids, is it's going to resonate and it's going to reverberate through your family and your friends. We can lead by example.
Speaker 2:And if we're going to lead by example, I want to make sure the example I set is what Christ would have me do, and I'll only know that is if I go to his word, because that's where our wisdom comes from. That's where truth is, and he is the word. And so if I want to love others, I have to look at myself first. I can't blame somebody else over there for not loving somebody or not treating them right. I have to look at myself. And how am I treating others?
Speaker 1:And knowing that our hearts can all become so ugly, yeah, if we are not careful and grounded where it needs to be grounded, absolutely so, today, we want you to be strong, we want you to be courageous, we want you to take heart that the Lord has overcome the world. We want you to have strength to understand that you can continue to move forward and not be afraid to go out and not let the enemy win and not let what has happened cower you know, cower us down into a fetal position but, to to stand firm and be strong and courageous.
Speaker 1:That's what we're called to be, and so I hope that you have a fire burning inside of you that will allow you to press forward and press in and have a softened heart a softened heart for those who are hurting, but a courageous heart, because the world needs more truth now and more Jesus than ever, and our kids, our spouses need it, our friends need it, because we're all hurting on some different level, and especially when the world hurts God hurts, yeah, and we can remain confident to know that God is still in control, he is still on his throne, and so, all of these things that happen, we can take it to him.
Speaker 2:It hurts, we can be angry, all of these different emotions, but we can remain joyful because he is our joy and so, like you, we are all feeling all of those things.
Speaker 2:And so it's just the reminders of how does it, how do we walk forward in this? And I want to leave us with this verse in 2 Chronicles how do we walk forward in this as a nation or as a people? And I was reminded of 2 Chronicles 7.14. That says If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. So there's so many things right there that we need to do. We need to seek him. We've got to humble ourselves, seek him and turn from wicked ways, and so that is our challenge to ourselves and for all of us, and to walk forward in courage, to know that God is still in control and to love others deeply.
Speaker 1:Well we hope you enjoyed this extra episode or this special episode. We want to make sure that we equip you with. We also share our feelings and emotions and things on, you know, in our perspective. So we hope you found encouragement and we will all get through this. You know we certainly will.
Speaker 2:We are praying for all of you as we are praying for our country as well.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, we'll see you guys next week. Bye, thank you for joining us for this episode of the joy podcast. Our passion is to help you find your purpose and joy in the hard things of life.
Speaker 2:Join our conversation by liking, following and subscribing so you don't miss the next episode. We are grateful for you and would love your feedback. Please leave us a five star review, wherever you listen to this podcast.