Take Back Your Joy, with Nicole Jacobsmeyer

Has the overwhelm of life muted your joy? Nicole Jacobsmeyer says it doesn't have to stay that way. Nicole has faced one trial after another—assault, cancer, depression, and miscarriage, and through these difficult circumstances, she has discovered that joy is a gift worth fighting for. Hear her inspiring story on this episode of Grounded.

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Episode Notes

Follow True You on Instagram

Subscribe to True You’s YouTube channel 

Lies Young Women Believe online Bible study  

Take Back Your Joy book by Nicole Jacobsmeyer

“Facing the Future with Joy” podcast series

“Leaving a Legacy of Joy” article by Susan Hunt

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Dannah Gresh: Welcome back to Grounded I'm Dannah Gresh.

Portia Collins: I'm Portia Collins, and we are here each week to give you an infusion of hope and perspective.

Dannah: We sure are. Portia, I don't know about you, but I need some help and perspective. I've been reading too much in the news. Scrolling through the feed is stealing my joy. I have spoken to so many people who are feeling that same way right now.

So, if it's okay with you, I want to start this episode with something a little quirky, a little joyful, maybe, and a lot unusual, actually. It's a list of oxymorons. You know, those are the combination of words. I actually love the word oxymoron itself. I like to say it oxymoron, oxymoron, oxymoron. I love to think of them as one of my hobbies. It's a combination of words that seem contradictory, like freezer burn. 

Portia: Hmm. 

Dannah: Think about that one. 

Portia: Okay. Okay. 

Dannah: Old news. 

Portia: Good one. Okay. 

Dannah: And what about this one? That's awfully good.

Portia: That sounds like something Mississippian people say. In fact, here in Mississippi, we've got a good one that we like, how about jumbo shrimp? Especially when they are paired with grits. 

Dannah: Yeah, that's actually about the only way I will eat grits is if they're paired with the jumbo shrimp. How oxymoronic is that? I don't know if that works or not, but I tried. 

Okay, why did I bring all of this up? Because here's an oxymoron that we're going to wrestle with today, joyless Christian. Hmm, that's not one I like to consider. But what can you do when life feels overwhelming, and even though you love Jesus, you just feel like you've lost your joy.

Portia: Yeah. Dannah, you know, you know that I have been there. But I don't want to stay there. So I'm happy that Nicole Jacobsmeyer is our guest today. She has a powerful story and a passion to help women have joy—even in the midst of suffering. 

Dannah: That's my kind of girl. Yeah, can't wait to hear from her. But before we talk to Nicole, we are still missing a very important part of our Grounded trio. Erin Davis. Are you here today? 

Erin Davis: You know it. I'm not sure this is an oxymoron. But I feel like I'm a walkie oxymoron because I realized as you were talking that I still have my slippers on. I forgot to put shoes on so I'm like, dressed up on top slippers, and on the bottom that feels like some sort of representation of being an oxymoron. 

Dannah: You're showing up though.

Erin: You have your slippers, Portia?

Portia: All of the time. 

Dannah: Just to be fully honest . . .

Erin: We did not plan this.

Dannah: I’ve got my fuzzy slippers on every actually every morning on Grounded, I’m in my slippers. 

Erin: I tried to wear shoes and pants with a button on Grounded day because you know, I tried to bring my best self. But I’m still in my slippers today. 

Portia: My best self is my pajama self. 

Dannah: I can’t promise that I am going to change. 

13:28 - Good News (True You)

Erin: Okay. That's okay, especially as it gets cold. Well, I love that oxymoron game. I can stay there for a while. I'm a word girl. Can’t you tell? But I am in charge of the good news today. And I take that assignment very seriously.

So, as we're talking about joy this morning and reclaiming our joy. We knew we needed our good news correspondents. We're about to encounter a bundle of pure joy slippers on or not, whether you've had your coffee yet or not, these girls are going to wake you up. They are on a mission to help invite teenage girls to experience joy in Jesus with them. 

I'm talking about the True You  team. And if you don't know what True You is, it's a brand-new ministry. Can we just celebrate that God is still doing new things and still wooing the next generation? It's a brand-new ministry for teenage girls. It's led by some faces that might be familiar to you, Staci Rudolph, who's the lead teacher for True Girl. And if you were at the True Woman ’22 conference, you saw this girl up on stage, and Hildsy. I’ll Hildsy in just a second. Good morning, Stacey, how you doing?

Staci Rudolph: I'm good. How are you, Erin?

Erin: I'm good. Stacy do you have slippers on? Tell us honestly.

Staci: I'm more of a slides, girl. But I think it counts. Right?

Erin: Those are like fancy slippers. That's awesome. Well, Staci, why do we need a ministry for Teen Girls?

Staci: Well, it's interesting. We were just doing a pilot series, and some of the research I came across one of the statistics was actually that 57% of teen girls say they feel persistently sad and hopeless. And when I heard that, I was just like, wow, like that is deep. And we know that that's because of the lies. They're believing the lies. They need God's truth, the truth of His Word to set them free, right? 

That resonated with me because when I was a teen, I struggled deeply with depression and anxiety, and just kind of feeling like no one knew how to help me. 

So, my parents were trying to help me. Doctors were trying to help me—psychiatrists, therapists. And one of the lies that I was believing in was that I was alone and no one could help me. Can I just share a verse Not to get all teachy but . . .

Erin: Yeah, absolutely. Always giving Bible verses on Grounded always. Good.

Staci: I found I needed the truth of God's Word, and a verse that kind of set me free from that alone lie was Psalm 139:11 and 12. 

If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you. (NIV)

I remember reading that and being like, “Wow, like God is in that with me. The dark does not scare Him. He can walk me out of it. And that was truth that He used to set me free from that time. 

So, I know that the truth of God's Word is what's going to help girls experience positive emotions, things like joy. How fitting, and they need that to be set free from that depression from that anxiety. So, it's very needed. 

Erin: I’ve got a couple of joy bombs that pile into my car after school every day. Their names are Lily and Landry. I take them to their mom's after school. They happen to be teenage girls with a lot of joy, and I love being with them. But I also see how rare it is. As everybody piles out of the school, the girls with their heads high with Jesus in their heart and bounce in their step are rare. 

So, I'm so glad that you are launching a ministry targeted at helping young women get free from the lies. Now, you're not a one-woman show; you're not doing it all on your own. Hildsy Marie is one of your teammates. Hey, Hildsy.

Hildsy Marie: Hello, hello. 

Erin: We love you. You always bring joy. 

Hildsy: Oh praise God, it’s fully Him.

Erin: That’s right. Hildsy, did you have any stories in your heart of a teen girl who began experiencing joy through True You? Are you seeing some impact already, even though it's new?

Hildsy: Yes. Praise God. The first story that comes to my mind is actually from our team member Abby. Abby was one of the worship leaders for the True You, True Woman teen track. And she said her prayer was one girl . . . 

Erin: I was there.

Hildsy: Yes, you were there. And we're loving the 30-day Bible Challenge, by the way.

Erin: Good. 

Hildsy: That's exciting. But Abby said, “My prayer is that one girl really comes to the throne room. As she's sitting up there singing, she notices this girl, you know, arms crossed, mom probably sent her there, doesn't want to be there, not smiling, not singing. 

And she said, “God, come to this girl's heart, soften it.” And she closes her eyes. She's singing by the end. She opens up her eyes and this girl is jumping up and down. She's dancing, and she's smiling, singing. That is a work of the Lord like nothing that we do. He’s the softener of hearts. But really like Staci said, girls are struggling with anxiety, depression. We did a focus group afterwards. Every single girl said anxiety is what they're struggling with. And so, our prayer is for them to know the truth that sets them free for them to be disciples and to make disciples in return. We're excited to partner with God really and know that it was all Him.

Erin: Oh, I'm excited for you to have that picture of growth or arms crossed turning into girls celebrating Jesus is really what I hope this episode does for women of all ages, all around the world. Because you're right, joy is a work of the Lord. I want to see Him give us kind of defibrillator of joy in our lives. 

Staci, moms and grandmas are probably who's mostly listening to Grounded. We don't have as many teen girls watching as we want. But that's why you exist. So, there's a mom or grandma or a neighbor listening and she knows her girl is this girl we're talking about. She's dealing with anxiety. She's dealing with depression, or maybe she's not. She just needs somebody to be her ally as she walks with Jesus as a teenager. How do they get their girls involved?

Staci: Yeah, for sure. So, I think the first way is to have them follow us on social media. Like we know they're there. Personally, I don't love social media, but I'm willing to go there and pull them where they need to be because I know that they're eating up social media candy, as Dannah calls it. So, we're on there to park truth while they're on there. So, I would say follow us on social media. True You official is our Instagram. And if you go there, you'll find the link to all the other social medias. 

But if they're not on social media, YouTube as well, we just did see Season One of a video series that we're doing. We're going to be releasing that starting this week. I don't know if I can say that, but I'm excited about it. So, make sure to check that out. 

Erin: Cat’s out of the bag, now.

Staci: Yeah, it’s out of the bag. It's gonna be great. 

Then we're doing a Bible study coming up. I just want to tell you guys, like give us six weeks with your girl. Give us six weeks and will show her how to just anchor herself in God's truth so that she's not so shaken by the world, so her emotions are more stable. 

I'm going to be leading it with Dannah, Hildsy, and Abby. We're just going to be going there. We're going to be talking about some hard topics, but we're illuminating them with the truth of God's Word. 

So, it's gonna be amazing. Just a step-by-step process to identify the lies that she's believing and to give her the truth to set her free. It's based on the book Lies Young Women Believe by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth and Dannah Gresh. So good content, you know you can trust it, make sure she's signed up for that and registered.

Erin: Well, there you have it. As a parent of teenagers, I am always looking for resources to equip my sons to walk out their faith in Jesus. And here you go. That's our good news. There is something out there for your teen girl. She doesn't have to live a life of bondage of anxiety, of depression. And so that is really, really good news. Thanks for being with us. Staci and Hildsy, you are as I expected you to be—our joy bombs today.

Staci: Thanks for having us.

Hildsy: Erin, thank you.

Erin: Hey, you know, I don't have any girls at the Davis house. But if I did, and if you do get your girls registered for that Lies Young Women Believe Online Bible Study today, Dannah is going to be joining that True You team to teach, so you know, it's gonna be rock solid. And don't put it off. It starts next Monday, October 31. So, if you sign up now, there's still time for you to get your book. How do you do that? We are going to include a link in the show notes. Portia, you know, take it away.

Portia: Look, if my girl was old enough, I'd be signing her up. Okay.

Erin: Listen, she's gonna be there in a blink. 

Portia: But look in her mind. She probably thinks she's old enough. 

Erin: That threenager. 

Portia: Yes.

21:45 - Grounded with God's People (Nicole Jacobsmeyer)

Okay guys, so we have Nicole Jacobsmeyer with us today. Nicole’s life may look like it's Instagram perfect. She's married to a doctor. She has four beautiful children. But Nicole knows what it's like to walk through the valley and to feel like you've lost your joy. And so, I can't wait for you guys to meet her this morning. Welcome to Grounded, Nicole.

Nicole Jacobsmeyer: Oh, thank you so much for having me. It is such a joy.

Portia: I love it. That's exactly where we're headed to, joy. Well, Nicole, you grew up in a Christian home, and your story sounds a lot like mine. You went to church, you got good grades, you excelled in sports. But looking back, you say that you didn't know the difference between joy and happiness? What do you mean by that?

Nicole: So, I think happiness is just an emotion. It's fleeting. I really lived my life based on circumstances. I didn't have that deep rooted joy, that assurance that God is with me, regardless of those valleys, regardless of the mountain tops that I can have His presence with me through it all. I think that because I was so focused on my circumstances, then I could really determine the difference between this happiness that was fleeting, based on what I was going through.

Portia: Yeah, that resonates deeply with me. I have totally, totally been there. You know, as you grew up, you moved into a long season of trials, including assault, miscarriage, the breakup of your parents, their marriage ending, and even cancer. Can you tell us that those things steal your joy? And how did you know?

Nicole: They for sure steal my joy. I think it's so easy to read verses like James 1:2 that says, “Consider it joy when you face trials.” Or you read about the Proverbs 31 woman of how she just laughed at the days to come and she was clothed in strength and dignity. It almost feels like a tall order. 

Because when I had this rape that happened, and then I had my parents go through so much, which by the way, by the grace of God, they're still together (that's a whole other story), and then having the miscarriage and then having cancer—one thing after the next—you really have to understand where your joy comes from. Because God is calling us to have joy, it's a fruit of the Spirit. If He is asking us to do that, then it's not going to be impossible with His strength. 

And so, I needed to figure out how I can actually live this out and not be fake. We don't want any of that. 

Portia: Come on, come on. 

Nicole: But live by this unshakable foundation that only God can give. And so, I had to go to the Word in order to reclaim that joy again.

Portia: I'm so glad that you said not be fake. Because I do think that there has been this level of pretentiousness that has infiltrated where Christians think I need to push the joy out. So even if it means that I'm not really feeling it, I'm like, “No, guys, you're missing the whole point.” 

Nicole: Oh, boy. That's right. 

Portia: So, I want to dig into your cancer diagnosis. You said that your cancer diagnosis actually shook your world and muted your joy. So my question is, did you get your joy back? Take us through what that looked like? How did you get your joy back?

Nicole: Yes, so that was one of my worst situations that I could have walked through because it wasn't just me going through it anymore. I had three little kids at the time. And my husband was in his first year of pediatric residency. So, we had so much going on. I felt this responsibility to my family, as mothers should.

But then, I was going through cancer and the worst depression I have ever walked through. It was in that time of just being still before the Lord. As a very go-getter type person, now I'm confined to my bed trying to heal. I can't serve anyone, can't do anything for myself. God met me there in the brokenness, in my questions, in my frustrations, in my anger, so much anger in that season. I just had to show up as authentic before the Lord as I could, because He can take it. And He met me there. 

It was through so many verses that started to pull me out, realizing I am not alone in this while I feel so alone. And while I feel like I'm the only one going through this specific trial, I'm not and God is with me. There's so many verses that were able to help hold me—just verse after verse, story after story throughout the Word on suffering and pain, and the obedience and the humility and the worship through pain, the privilege of suffering.

We look in Philippians that says that we have the privilege of trusting God, but we also have the privilege of suffering for Him. What does that even mean? Diving in the Word is always how we can take back that joy. That's always the first step, and never doubting the character of God, the true, unchanging, good, faithful character of God. I questioned that. And so, I think knowing the Word and knowing who He is, always brings you back to Joy.

Portia: Hmm, girl, you are talking my language. I think I'm like the resident joy bomb on Grounded. It's not pretentious. It is because of the very things that you're talking about, having your heart tethered to Scripture being anchored in the Word. 

And so, I'm thinking over the list of hard things that you've experienced in your life. And I know you're going to relate to what I say next. Sometimes, as a Christian, as a Christian woman, we feel pressure to put on the happy face or to be nice to everyone at all times, like I talked about earlier that, that level of pretentiousness. And so, how does that actually impact our joy, like true joy?

Nicole: Well, I think it's honestly a little prideful. I had to get to that place of realizing, I am not going to pretend that I'm okay. I'm also not going to pretend that I have it all together, because that brings other people down with you. That's not the whole point of our lives. We're supposed to proclaim the truth, proclaim the gospel, and bring others towards Him. 

And most of the time, we can relate with other women, when we are honest and authentic and saying, here's what I'm going through. I am having the hardest time. How can you pray for me? How can I pray for you? How can we go to the Word? And just being normal, being normal Bible-believing servants of the Lord, and being able to point and equip people to the truth? You can't do that being fake. You can't do that acting prideful, like we have it all together, and we for sure don't. 

But we serve the One who is going to redeem, and He's the only one who can restore and heal and mend those broken places. So, let's just gather women and go to the one who can actually do all these things in our brokenness. 

Portia: Amen.

Nicole: I just think there's such a balance between being like fake, but then being in just like, bringing everybody down with you and your complaint. You know what I mean? 

Portia: Yep, there's two sides of the same coin. I feel like nowadays there is so much forcefulness, almost like I know this trying to reconcile the truth of God's Word with what I know and what I should be. You know, living it out. I think you hit the nail on the head. Sometimes really what it is pride, we stifle God working in our lives because we want to push it out instead of just let God be God. 

So yeah, I'm tracking with you girl. I'm ready to like shout, okay. 

Well, I want to I want to ask one more question. And this is where we really like to really think about the women watching Grounded. I know that there is a woman listening who is just going through the motions. She is struggling; she's putting on a happy face. She is that oxymoron. She's a joyless, Christian, and I just want you to talk right through the camera to her. Tell her what does she most need to hear today,

Nicole: I always go back to Romans 8:18. And it says, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed.” When we have all of our eggs in the Lord's basket, we know that we are safe. We know that He loves us more than we love Him. And that is so beautiful. If we can just give Him that glory and give Him that praise, and know that He's going to produce in us beautiful things because of the pain. That is how good He is that we can stand on those promises. We can have this eternal perspective of what is to come. That is where I have to land, and that is what keeps me going.

Portia: Yes, yes. Take us to church, Nicole. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I am grateful that you have joined us today. You have been a joy to interview. You have a brand-new book out. It is Take Back Your Joy: Fighting for Purpose When Life Is More Than You Can Handle. And we're gonna drop a link to that. Thank you for being with us today.

Nicole: Thank you so much for having me.

Portia: Well, guys, we want to continue this conversation about taking back our joy, and we want to do it with our Bibles open. So I got my Bible ready over here and I hope you do too. Dannah, come help us get grounded in God's Word.

33:36 - Grounded in God's Word (Psalm 32)

Dannah: I would love to do that. You know, I couldn't help but think as I was listening to Nicole’s sweet testimony, so many hardships, so many traumas, that my battles for joy have looked really different. I'm wondering if some of my own Grounded sisters have experienced the battle the way that I have. So let's look at it from a different perspective. 

I've discovered that there's an amazing connection between joy and wait for it, experiencing the forgiveness of Jesus Christ. I cannot help but think that there's someone listening who's lost their joy because they're refusing to walk in (and I want to say this word gently) repentance. 

You see, I'm a girl who knows what it's like to walk in the heaviness of not repenting. But today, I kind of want to use the words of King David rather than my own words to describe how that season might feel. Let me read to you from Psalm 32. You might want to open your Bibles there If not now, later on today. It reads, 

Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
   whose sin is covered.
Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,
   and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away
   through my groaning all day long.
For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
   my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah

Have you ever felt that way? Oh, that describes all too well, some of the seasons I've known. groaning all day long. I remember waking up sometimes and thinking the day was okay, and then going, "Oh, yeah, that sin. The heavy hand of the Lord.” Oh, how gentle He is to put His heavy hand on us. 

Just like a father would a child when they're misbehaving, “Hey, child, I want you to feel this.” Have you ever felt that sense of your strength just drying up. I've experienced it many times in my life. I remember the very first time I was mindful of it. I was a teenage girl walking through a season of sexual sin. I experienced that heavy hand of the Lord. 

I experienced it again when I was a young mother. I was operating as a workaholic, trying to work and care for a family. It wasn't out of a need to do that; it was out of a drive, a push, finding my value in work. I know it's weighed me down when I had friendships that were wounded by my sin, my tongue. It doesn't feel good to walk through sin.

When God is calling your heart to repent. Have you felt it? Are you feeling it now? Well, the solution is pretty easy for me to communicate. But I know before I even tell it to you that it's really hard to do. But let's keep reading in Psalm 32. 

This is verse five. If you're feeling the weight of sin in your life, this is your next step. It says, 

I acknowledged my sin You and I did not cover my iniquity. 

I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord, and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.”

Listen to me. Do not cover up your sin. Do not continue to cover up your sin. Confess it, call it what it is. Are you using pornography? Confess it. Are you struggling with gluttony and slothfulness? Confess it. Are you struggling with workaholism? Confess it? Whatever it is, repent.

You will be surprised how it unlocks joy in sometimes very suddenly. 

Let's keep reading. This is the end of Psalm 32. 

Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
   but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.
Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous,
   and shout for joy [there’s that word] all you upright in heart!”

There's that word. All you upright in heart. There it is. Right at the end of Psalm 32, David’s confession, joy. It's very often a product of repentance. And it has been for me many times in my life. 

Let me just tell you about one time more recently, at True Woman. I did a workshop and my husband Bob and I shared a really painful time in our marriage, where he had confessed to me a fierce battle with pornography and lust. 

Now through counseling through lots of hard days, I said, “I forgive you.” But really, bitterness was growing in my heart. My marriage counselor confronted me many, many months into our conversations. And he used the words emotional divorce, and that woke me up because I have never used the D word . . . and I hope that I never do. 

My heart was leaning that way though, because of bitterness. I want to say this right. Bitterness is a sin, my friend. Even if someone's hurt you deeply, even if someone has sinned against you terribly. God invites you to walk in forgiveness.

So, when I realized that sin of bitterness was overtaking my heart in my life, I first spent some time all alone in this very room, in the chair right behind me, my little home office, and I confessed my sin to God. 

Then I came to Bob that evening, and I asked for his forgiveness. I told him that in my heart had given up. I told him I was sorry, that I've allowed emotional divorce and bitterness to slip into the picture, and that my hard heart was a dangerous, sinful mess. And then I told him, I was committed to loving him better, even though he was making it really difficult at the moment. I even confessed that I didn't know how to love him well right then and there. But that I was choosing to do it, and I was trusting God's Spirit to teach me. 

In short, I repented of my bitterness, which I believe is sin, and it changed things. 

Now, I realize that might sound really simplistic to you, but I don't know the words to explain to you the night and day difference of brokenhearted Dannah before I confessed my sin of bitterness and truth-filled Dannah after I was infused with joy. 

And it was joy, not happiness, because my marriage still needed a lot of work. My circumstances hadn't changed. But my heart had. It was opened to Bob and to God in a way that I don't think it ever had been before. I was all in no matter what. I didn't have expectations for Bob to rescue me. I recognize fully that only Jesus could do it. Honest confession was the starting place for my healing and my intimacy and my joy. 

You see, repentance is often the seed that plants joy in your life. I found that it grows fast. As I was thinking about how fast, all I could think of as a lima bean, that's how joy grows. When you confess it, it grows fast and furious. You can see it moment by moment, day by day, because joy flourishes in forgiveness. 

So, if your joy is stopped up by sin today, maybe open your Bible and meditate on Psalm 32 ask the Lord what to confess and how to do it. 

You might need to start with Him, but then it could include someone else, do it. Call your sin what it is. Confess it and find out if that joy doesn't sprout and grow. You just might find yourself shouting for joy, like King David did, and like I did. 

Erin: I'm so glad you took us there, Dannah. You are such a brave Bible teacher. And that is a connection that I had kind of forgotten about. So many of you are telling us that this resonates with you. I want you to know, we pray for that for every episode, we pray that this content would hit its mark, and its mark is your heart. Some of you are identifying maybe in a new way that you have been a joyless Christian. Dannah has taken you to a really practical step to allow the Holy Spirit to poke around in that heart of yours and expose areas of sin you need to repent. 

Hey, we always want to equip you. We want to inspire you, we want to get you thinking about things in ways that line up with God's Word. But then we want to give you some really practical tools to live out the things we've talked about in each episode. 

So, get out a pen and a paper and write this down. We've got some tools that we want to commend to you on this topic of reclaiming the joy that God's given us as a gift. Here's Nicole's book again, so you know what it looked for on the shelf. I read most of it prepping for this episode, I'd say easily two-thirds. It’s really, really rich and thoughtful. I didn't realize that I had given up some pockets of joy. She's inspired me to want to ask the Lord to work in those areas. 

So, in addition to that, we want to commend you to Revive Our Hearts podcast series, the title of the series is “Facing the Future with Joy.” There's some episodes on choosing joy over fear. We all need that. Dannah mentioned the news at the top of the episode here, and the news has been stealing my joy. I'm wrestling with. Do I just stop paying attention to the news altogether? What is it that I take steps, that I take here so that my not constantly having to fight for joy? 

There's an episode on how to show strength and dignity, also tied to joy and how to joyfully laugh at the days to come, Nicole mentioned that passage from the book of Proverbs, or how do we live it out, especially when the future looks scary. 

So, we're going to drop a link to that podcast series. That's something that you could listen to if you want to drill down deeper on this topic. 

Portia: Well, I've got an article by one of our favorites, definitely a favorite of mine. You know, I adore this sweet lady, Susan Hunt.

Erin: Oh, yeah. 

Portia: The article is Leaving a “Legacy of Joy.” Here's just a little taste. Susan says, “I cannot explain how grief, gratitude, and gladness can coexist. But this I know, gospel joy is big enough to contain my grief. ‘We grieve, but not as those without hope,’ First Thessalonians 4:13. And also, we grieve, but not as those without joy. Gospel joy is a wondrous mystery.” 

Listen to that girl . . .

Erin: Wondrous mystery. I love that,

Portia: I want Susan Hunt’s kind of joy. I know it comes only from the Lord. I know you guys want it to. We're gonna drop a link so you can check out this article.

Erin: That’s an interesting thought, a legacy of joy I definitely want to pass that on.

Portia: That's when I want to leave. Mikhail and I were talking this weekend about death and what we want people to remember. And that was one of the things I want people to remember is the joy that the Lord has given me.

Dannah: We're gonna have to fight for that because in this world, you will have trouble. So, if anybody's fighting the battle with joy today, it is the human condition, the sinful, fallen human condition. We will always have to fight for that. 

In fact, I gotta read this one comment to you. Because you know, we love it when our Grounded sisters pray for each other. I think Cindy needs our prayers today. She writes, “Oh precious Grounded leaders, once again, the Lord is using you to speak life into my life. With the death of my father, husband, brother-in-law, and aunt within the last two years, my joy has evaporated. I love you dearly for this dose of hope.” That's from Cindy. 

Oh, listen, pray for her, pray for her friends. We pray for each other here on Grounded. And she's not the only person I've seen. Lots of our Grounded sisters are talking about multiple deaths these last few years. We need to lift one another up. 

But we need to do it with the expectation that joy will flood her heart. We do believe it can happen. We believe Jesus can do it. 

Can I just take a moment and pray, Erin, before we say goodbye?

Erin: Yes, please.

Dannah: Father, we lift up to You Cindy and every woman listening who's struggling with joy. I see that Rebecca has confessed sin to You this morning and said that this was just confirmation that that's what she needs to do to restore joy into her heart. 

Thank You, Father, for Rebecca, for Cindy, and for every other woman listening. Would You give her the next step for how she should walk in joy? Maybe it's to meditate on Your promises and to believe that they're true. Maybe it's to uproot the lies that she's been believing about herself or her world or You. Maybe it's to repent of sin. Father, we lift them up. We love them. We know that You love them more than we ever could hold them closely. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Erin: Amen. We really love you Grounded sisters, and we really do pray for you. It's such an honor to know what's really going on in your lives. And you know, there's something about Christian women gathering together that infuses me with joy. And so, we want to keep doing that. We'll be here back, of course, next Monday. 

We're going to think about this question. What's the difference between waiting (which we all have something we're waiting for) and waiting well? Maybe waiting even with joy? That's the topic of our next episode of Grounded.

Portia: I can’t wait. In the meantime, let’s wake up with hope together, next week on Grounded.

Dannah: Grounded audio was powered by Skype Grounded is a production of Revive Our Hearts calling women to freedom, fullness, and fruitfulness in Christ.

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