Finding Joy Ministries

09/22/2025

MONDAY JOY September 22, 2025

WHAT’S KEEPING YOU AWAKE?

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’ s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7 NIV).

Do you have the gift of worry? I‘m having trouble sleeping lately, worrying about my heart deficiency and upcoming ablation October 17. After fighting with the pillow monster, I give up, get up, and go to the den. There, I can listen to instrumental hymns, pray for others, quote scripture, or read and write. One time, when I was in the early stages of cancer, I wrote this poem:

Another night of waking up.
I walk downstairs to my chair
And find Jesus sitting there.
I sing to him. He sings to me.
Songs about eternity.
Another night of pain—I wonder
How long will it last?
I focus on the future, instead of my past.
I listen for the upward call—to be free.
But until then, I wait on him.
Another night to strengthen me.

While lying in bed Friday night, I quoted the above verses over and over. These were my grandmother’s favorites. Three observations: 1) We’re to worry about nothing and to pray about everything. 2) Prayer is just as much about thanking as it is about asking. For example, I’m not only asking Jesus to heal my heart, but I’m also thanking him for the affliction (which can be hard at times). 3) We can live without a lot of things in life, but one thing we can’t live without is God’s peace. What worry is keeping you awake? What are you asking and thanking Jesus for this week?

UPDATE: It’s coming in 26 days!

09/22/2025

This week's Monday Joy is coming to you via Facebook. My website is having difficulty sending out Monday Joy for September 22, 2025.

MONDAY JOY September 22, 2025

WHAT’S KEEPING YOU AWAKE?

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’ s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7 NIV).

Do you have the gift of worry? I‘m having trouble sleeping lately, worrying about my heart deficiency and upcoming ablation October 17. After fighting with the pillow monster, I give up, get up, and go to the den. There, I can listen to instrumental hymns, pray for others, quote scripture, or read and write. One time, when I was in the early stages of cancer, I wrote this poem:

Another night of waking up.
I walk downstairs to my chair
And find Jesus sitting there.
I sing to him. He sings to me.
Songs about eternity.
Another night of pain—I wonder
How long will it last?
I focus on the future, instead of my past.
I listen for the upward call—to be free.
But until then, I wait on him.
Another night to strengthen me.

While lying in bed Friday night, I quoted the above verses over and over. These were my grandmother’s favorites. Three observations: 1) We’re to worry about nothing and to pray about everything. 2) Prayer is just as much about thanking as it is about asking. For example, I’m not only asking Jesus to heal my heart, but I’m also thanking him for the affliction (which can be hard at times). 3) We can live without a lot of things in life, but one thing we can’t live without is God’s peace. What worry is keeping you awake? What are you asking and thanking Jesus for this week?

UPDATE: It’s coming in 26 days!

09/10/2025

September 8, 2025

THE HERO OF OUR STORY

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

God is a storyteller. He’s writing a book about our lives and wants us to join him in our story. We each have chapters talking about our afflictions and we want to tear those chapters out. But God wants them to remain, because he is the hero of our story. Since September 2021, Debbie and I have shared one of our chapters with you. It is about our four-year journey with cancer and its aftermath. Many of you wanted to read the chapter, and with the help of Kevin Cross, we created Monday Joy. Not only did God intend to use it to clearly communicate how to pray for us, but also, he wanted to use our story to give you comfort and hope in your afflictions. As we begin September 2025, we face a new affliction that needs God’s comfort and your prayers. Just as our battle with cancer was real and sudden, we now face a challenge just as difficult—a decrease in heart function. Dr. Blatt will perform a ventricular ablation on October 17th to hopefully gain control of “a complex situation.” The ablation is now just five and a half weeks away (that’s 40 days from today!). Until then, I’ve had to severely limit my activity so as to not put any stress on the heart. We want you to be a part of the story and not only pray for me, but also for Debbie that she will have strength to carry a lot of the emotional load. We plan to send you Monday Joy every Monday morning and for you to have the scripture for the week. If you don’t already receive this email devotional, then visit our website to sign up. It’s free.

09/10/2025

Thanks for your patience as we move over to this site.

04/10/2023

A Story about a Princess

03/08/2023

Carrying the weight? We're here to lighten the load.

Dr. Mike McCrum | Counselor
678.622.8734
https://findingjoyministries.org

05/02/2022

MONDAY JOY ~ May 2, 2022

We Prayed—So What Went Wrong?

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV

On Wednesday we received disappointing news: the tumors have returned, and I need surgery right away. It seems the last five treatments were not effective in slowing down the cancer. We prayed—so what went wrong? Nothing. God sometimes puts us in situations we don’t understand. We have learned that God’s ways are not always understandable, but his ways can always be trusted. The challenge is to trust God wholeheartedly in all situations. When we were first told I had cancer, we hoped it would be a short path—that it would be killed after the initial treatments. However, the cancer turned out to be highly aggressive and it most likely will return. This will be my fourth surgery since August. It has been a hard journey; a path Debbie and I didn’t want to take. But clearly, it’s the path God chose for us. It’s probable there will be more tumors, more treatments, more surgery. When we get the pathology report we’ll find out what lies ahead and the options we face. Regardless, when we can’t understand the crisis or solve the problem we rely on God’s wisdom. When God doesn’t answer like we think he should, it usually means he’s up to something. He wants us to give up control and submit to his ways, his path, no matter what. When God is in charge, he brings good out of the unpleasant. Whatever we suffer in the end is used for our ultimate good and his glory. So, what do we do? We will keep on trusting. We will keep on believing. We will keep on hoping. We will keep on praying. We will keep on crying. We will keep on rejoicing…This week, in what situations are you needing to trust God completely?

LORD, I trust you and wholeheartedly accept the path you chose for me. Amen.

Surgery is this Friday, May 6th at 7:30 a.m.

https://findingjoyministries.org

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