Miss Joy

Please allow me to introduce to you Miss Joy, an eighteen-year-old young lady, who is currently living in Connecticut with her family. Miss Joy is one of my dearest friends that I have had the pleasure getting to know over the blogworld. I have never met Miss Joy in person, but she is a great encouragement to me in many things and I always love hearing from her.

GGM: Tell me about your childhood and family, and where you grew up?
Miss Joy: My Dad has been a pastor since before I was born, so we moved around quite a lot when I was really little.
When I was four we moved back to CT where most of our extended family lived. Every Sunday ever since I can remember we have gone to my Grandparent’s house for the afternoon. I have been very blessed in having Christian parents, Grandparents, and Great-Grandparents to look up to and admire. I have been homeschooled all my life, and we never had many friends, so I have been able to enjoy friendships with my siblings and with my Grandparents in a very special way.
My Dad always likes to try new things, so my siblings and I always had something interesting to learn about and see, from honey bees, to making maple syrup, to collecting yellow jackets and hornets for a medical lab. When I was about fifteen, God brought my parents to a greater understanding of Biblical gender roles and they started encouraging me and my sisters in Biblical femininity. At first it was hard to adjust to, as I had planned on being medical doctor, but after much prayer and many talks with my parents, I started to understand the beauty of godly womanhood. For a short time my Dad worked as a Chaplin at a private Christian school, but after a while felt that God was calling him to start a church.
He left the school, and in the years that followed we were able to see God providing for our needs in ways that we never would have imagined possible. A bill would come in, we would pray about it, and soon after we would receive the exact amount of money we needed to pay it. We never even had a late payment. And it really strengthened my faith to see how God provided for us even when it seemed impossible.

GGM: How many siblings do you have? And what is something special about each of them?
Miss Joy: I have three siblings, two sisters and a brother. I share a room with Amy who is almost seventeen. She is gifted at interacting with people, and is very good with small children. She is also an excellent writer. Josiah, twelve, is really good at building things, and likes to figure out how things are made. Kay, ten, is gifted with working with children. She loves to laugh, and is fun to spend time with. The four of us spend a lot of time together and it amazes me how I will often learn things about them that I never knew before.

GGM: What is one of your fondest memories?
Miss Joy: When I was really young my Great-Grandma, who was a writer, would make up stories to tell us. I remember sitting with her on the couch and laughing with her about a rabbit who always worried about everything.

GGM: What are some girly things you do with your mother and sisters?
Miss Joy: We will sometimes plan a special tea, where we dress up and use fancy teacups. We also enjoy making supper together, which can be really fun.

GGM: How do you spend father-daughter time with your dad? What things to do you together?
Miss Joy: My Dad takes one of us out to lunch each week, so I get a special time with just him once a month. In the summer we like to bring our lunch on a picnic, or go for a hike after. I always have a wonderful time visiting with him. Also, in September I go with him all day several times a week to help with our family business. It is fun to spend that much time with him.

GGM: What activities do you enjoy?
Miss Joy: I enjoy hiking, swimming, bike riding, reading, sewing, writing, and doing crafts. On our family day we will often go for a hike or a bike ride and it’s so much fun to do it as a family.

GGM: Your favorite dish or meal to make and serve is…
Miss Joy: One of my favorites is the Macaroni and Cheese Casserole that my Mom made up.

GGM: You are a graduated homeschool student. Please tell me what the benefits were about homeschooling and what you liked most about it.
Miss Joy: One of the biggest benefits was being taught constantly by example to follow, and trust in, the Lord. Another benefit was being able to learn about what I was interested in, and not feel that learning was a burden. I was free to learn at my own pace, and it also gave me an opportunity to learn to enjoy being with my family.

GGM: Now that you are done with your academic studies, what do you think the Lord has for your life? And what are you doing with your time now? I know you strongly believe in Biblical womanhood.
Miss Joy: I believe and hope that I will someday be a wife and a mother, and I am currently learning more about nutrition and health through a home study course. Even if I never get married and have children, I will be able to use what I’m learning for the rest of my life. I am spending more time helping my Mom now that I have graduated, and am enjoying getting to know her better. I know that no matter what the Lord has in store for me, that He wants me to be a godly woman, and that is my greatest ambition.

GGM: Who would you say has been your biggest influence and inspiration?
Miss Joy: My Mother has definitely had the most influence on me, and inspires and encourages me every day as I see that it is possible to be a godly woman and to enjoy it. My Grandmother, who I spend a lot of time with, has also influenced me and inspired me with her close walk with the Lord.

GGM: Please share which passage of the Bible has been a great encouragement to you.
Miss Joy: Philippians 4:6-7 “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” These verses have helped me so much when I was anxious about anything. Especially the reminder to present my requests to God with thanksgiving.

GGM: What advice do you have for other young ladies seeking to be pure in heart and follow the Lord?
Miss Joy: I would say that the most important thing that you can do is to read your Bible regularly and pray. What we fill our minds with determines what kind of person we will be. If you have hidden God’s word in your heart, He will bring it to your mind when you need it.

Thank you Miss Joy for taking the time to answer my questions and sharing your heart with us. I know the Lord has some wonderful plans for you and I pray that His hand will always guide and protect you as you walk in His ways. If you’d like to visit Miss Joy at her blog and say hello, you may go here: Through Jesus We Can Live For Eternity.

Blessings to you as you Grow in the Grace of our Lord!