Growing a Joyful Heart Even in Difficult Seasons with Karen Whiting and Pam Farrel
<p>Are you feeling weighed down and searching for more joy in your life? Well, you’re in the right place! Welcome to another uplifting episode of Fierce Calling! This week, Doris Swift invites us to explore and rediscover joy — what joy truly is and how we can reclaim it, even in life’s toughest seasons. Doris is joined by two extraordinary guests: Karen Whiting, a prolific author, speaker, and certified writing coach, and Pam Farrel, beloved for her wisdom on relationships and joy, and co-author of more than 61 books alongside her husband Bill.</p>
<p>Together, Pam and Karen share their personal stories of facing adversity — from health crises and loss to everyday struggles —while living out their message of “choosing joy.” You’ll hear Pam’s powerful testimony of transformation and perseverance through illness, and Karen’s gentle wisdom born from raising a family across the country and sharing joy through creativity and kindness. The conversation delves into their collaborative devotional, <em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Growing-Joyful-Heart-Devotions-Accepting/dp/161715590X" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Growing a Joyful Heart</a></em>, filled with practical ways to cultivate, nurture, and spread joy, as well as the impact of biblical and historic joy-givers.</p>
<p>If you’re craving encouragement and ready to let the “Jesus joy” overflow in your life, don’t miss this inspiring episode. <strong>There’s even a special announcement about their upcoming Joy Challenge </strong>— so get ready to connect, reflect, and rediscover the source of true, lasting joy.</p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">We’re Talking About This Amazing Book & More!</h2>
<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Growing-Joyful-Heart-Devotions-Accepting/dp/161715590X" target="_blank" rel=" noreferrer noopener"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="283" height="425" src="https://dorisswift.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/91RZNX0HUlL._SY425_.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-42805" style="width:158px;height:auto" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dorisswift.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/91RZNX0HUlL._SY425_.jpg?w=283&ssl=1 283w, https://i0.wp.com/dorisswift.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/91RZNX0HUlL._SY425_.jpg?resize=200%2C300&ssl=1 200w" sizes="(max-width: 283px) 100vw, 283px" /></a></figure>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Florida Women’s Ministry Leadership Conference mentioned in the intro:</h2>
<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><a href="https://25wmlc-fl.heysummit.com/" target="_blank" rel=" noreferrer noopener"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="644" height="644" src="https://dorisswift.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/WMLC25_DS_S-644x644.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-42769"/></a></figure>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Episode Highlights and Takeaways …</h2>
<p>00:00 “Surrender What Steals Joy”</p>
<p>07:53 “Women: Multitasking by Design”</p>
<p>09:26 “Joy, Communication, and Devotion”</p>
<p>12:23 Choosing Joy Amid Change</p>
<p>17:54 “Finding Joy in Memories”</p>
<p>20:55 Sprinkling Joy Through Seasons</p>
<p>24:19 Sharing Joy Through Crafts</p>
<p>25:44 Streams of Joy Amid Struggles</p>
<p>29:28 “Transformed by Jesus’ Love”</p>
<p>31:26 Medieval Monks’ Quirky Scribbles</p>
<p>36:07 “Teal Tuesdays: Choosing Joy”</p>
<p>38:17 “Sprinkling Joy in Daily Life”</p>
<p>43:51 “Sharing Christ’s Love Together”</p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Connect with Karen!</strong></h2>
<p>You can connect with Karen, join the JOY CHALLENGE, and find her books and resources mentioned in the show, here:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.karenwhiting.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">www.karenwhiting.com</a></p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">More About Karen!</h2>
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><a href="https://dorisswift.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Karen-Whiting.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="644" height="637" src="https://dorisswift.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Karen-Whiting-644x637.png" alt="" class="wp-image-14637" style="width:147px;height:auto" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dorisswift.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Karen-Whiting.png?resize=644%2C637&ssl=1 644w, https://i0.wp.com/dorisswift.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Karen-Whiting.png?resize=300%2C297&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/dorisswift.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Karen-Whiting.png?w=670&ssl=1 670w" sizes="(max-width: 644px) 100vw, 644px" /></a></figure>
<p><strong>Karen Whiting</strong>, a freelance writer and award-winning author of more than thirty nonfiction books, loves to let creativity splash onto the pages as she writes. Karen’s newest books <em>Growing a Peaceful Heart </em>and <em>Growing a Joyful Heart </em>help people live above the negative news and difficult circumstances to embrace God’s love.</p>
<p>Karen also writes books to equip families and help them and their children thrive. Karen is a certified personality trainer, certified children’s ministry coach, and AWSA certified writing and marketing coach. She loves to guide people to move forward in life and God’s calling.</p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Connect with Pam!</h2>
<p>You can connect with Pam, join the JOY CHALLENGE, and find her books and resources mentioned in the show, here:</p>
<p><a href="https://www.love-wise.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">love-wise.com</a></p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">More About Pam!</h2>
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><a href="https://dorisswift.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/473097836_1178540257222408_2188963237293048038_n.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="644" height="640" src="https://dorisswift.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/473097836_1178540257222408_2188963237293048038_n-644x640.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-42808" style="width:157px;height:auto" srcset="https://dorisswift.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/473097836_1178540257222408_2188963237293048038_n-644x640.jpg 644w, https://dorisswift.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/473097836_1178540257222408_2188963237293048038_n-480x477.jpg 480w" sizes="(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 644px, 100vw" /></a></figure>
<p>Two phrases sum up Pam’s approach to life:</p>
<p><em>Choosing Joy!</em></p>
<p><em>One ordinary woman connected to the extra-ordinary God can make difference!</em></p>
<p>These sayings captured Pam’s heart because they sum up her experience. “I am the first-born daughter of an alcoholic father with severe rage issues. I often thought our family would make the headlines but for all the wrong reasons. When I was 8 years-old, however, a family friend saw the chaos we were living in and invited us to attend church with her. There I saw what real love looked like.”</p>
<p>Having discovered peace and focus in her life, she is motivated to help women everywhere uncover their potential through a life of confidence and courage.</p>
<p>Her writing career began shortly after she began attending church as a child. She wrote her first book under a tree on her family farm. As an adult, she has published more than 40 books including the best-seller <em>Men Are Like Waffles, Women Are Like Spaghetti</em>, 7 <em>Simple Skills for Every Woman, Becoming a Brave New Woman, Devotions for Women on the Go!, Got Teens? </em>(co-authored with Jill Savage), <em>52 Ways to Wow Your Husband; Red Hot Romance Tips for Women</em>, 10<em> Secrets for Living Smart, Savvy and Strong</em> and most recently <em>Discovering Creative Bible Study Experience books: Discovering Hope in the Psalms, Discovering Joy in Philippians, Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament – release date October, 2019 and 2 future Discovering books</em> (co-authored with Jean E. Jones and Karla Dornacher).</p>
<p>Pam is an engaging and energetic leader who has impacted women’s lives with her experience as an international speaker, Director of Women’s Ministry, radio co-host, newspaper columnist, pastor’s wife, youth leader, and mentor.</p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What Threatens to Steal Your Joy?</h2>
<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter is-resized"><a href="https://dorisswift.com/book/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1511" height="1601" src="https://i0.wp.com/dorisswift.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_8449.jpg?resize=644%2C682&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-41725" style="width:330px;height:auto" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dorisswift.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_8449.jpg?w=1511&ssl=1 1511w, https://i0.wp.com/dorisswift.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_8449.jpg?resize=283%2C300&ssl=1 283w, https://i0.wp.com/dorisswift.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_8449.jpg?resize=644%2C682&ssl=1 644w, https://i0.wp.com/dorisswift.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_8449.jpg?resize=768%2C814&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dorisswift.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_8449.jpg?resize=1450%2C1536&ssl=1 1450w, https://i0.wp.com/dorisswift.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_8449.jpg?resize=610%2C646&ssl=1 610w, https://i0.wp.com/dorisswift.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_8449.jpg?resize=1080%2C1144&ssl=1 1080w, https://i0.wp.com/dorisswift.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_8449.jpg?resize=1280%2C1356&ssl=1 1280w, https://i0.wp.com/dorisswift.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_8449.jpg?resize=980%2C1038&ssl=1 980w, https://i0.wp.com/dorisswift.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_8449.jpg?resize=480%2C509&ssl=1 480w" sizes="(max-width: 1511px) 100vw, 1511px" /></a></figure>
<p>Check out Surrender the Joy Stealers: Rediscover the Jesus Joy in You 6-week Bible study rooted in John 15. You can find more info at <a href="https://dorisswift.com/book/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://dorisswift.com/book/</a></p>
<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter is-resized"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Surrender-Joy-Stealers-Rediscover-Jesus/dp/1649499248" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img decoding="async" src="https://i0.wp.com/dorisswift.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Now-Available-100-%C3%97-100-px-Instagram-Post-Square.png?resize=644%2C644&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-41954" style="width:347px;height:auto"/></a></figure>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Let’s Stay Connected!</h2>
<p>Find my free resources including Fear Fighting Bible Verses, Simple Tips for Sharing Your Faith, Surrender the Joy Stealers, <em>Step Out of Your Doubt and Into Your Calling ebook</em>, and more on my dorisswift.com <a href="https://dorisswift.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">homepage</a>!</p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Love Fierce Calling?</h2>
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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Need a Speaker for Your Next Women’s Event? Now Booking for 2026! </h2>
<p>Check out my <a href="https://dorisswift.com/speaking/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">speaking page,</a> grab my flyer, and let’s talk about me speaking at your next women’s event…</p>
<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter is-resized"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/dorisswift.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/IMG_9742-2.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="640" height="554" src="https://i0.wp.com/dorisswift.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/IMG_9742-2.jpg?resize=640%2C554&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-41703" style="width:412px;height:auto" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dorisswift.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/IMG_9742-2.jpg?w=640&ssl=1 640w, https://i0.wp.com/dorisswift.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/IMG_9742-2.jpg?resize=300%2C260&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/dorisswift.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/IMG_9742-2.jpg?resize=610%2C528&ssl=1 610w, https://i0.wp.com/dorisswift.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/IMG_9742-2.jpg?resize=480%2C416&ssl=1 480w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /></a></figure>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Thanks for Listening!</h2>
<p>I hope this episode encouraged, inspired, and challenged you to cultivate community, live and walk in the value, purpose, and worth God gave you, and take action where your passion, compassion, and conviction intersect.</p>
<p>If you’re looking for a speaker for your next women’s conference, retreat, luncheon, or workshop, reach out and connect with me on my speaker page at <em><a href="https://www.womenspeakers.com/florida/edgewater/speaker/doris-swift">https://www.womenspeakers.com/florida/edgewater/speaker/doris-swift</a></em> </p>
<p>Let’s have a chat about your next event!</p>
<p>Stay tuned for more amazing content and remember to check the show notes for all the links mentioned.</p>
<p>Thank you for being a part of our community. We are grateful for your continued support and encourage you to embrace the unique gifts that make you magnificently you.</p>
<p>I hope you’ll join me next time when I talk with another guest who is taking action where her passion, compassion, and conviction intersect …</p>
<p>Until then friend, have a blessed week, and I’ll talk to you soon.</p>
<p>With love and joy, </p>
<p>Doris</p>
<p>P.S. Don’t forget to follow us on social media for bite-sized wisdom and inspiration from Doris and our incredible guests! </p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Transcript</h2>
<p>Doris Swift [00:01:55]:<br />What is threatening to steal your joy? What is it that feels so heavy right now that you could barely stand? God has a plan and his plan is to surrender it. Surrender it to him. It might be a prodigal, it might be a relationship, a marriage, something with your job. So many things. We have so many amazing blessings, but there are so many things in our life that threaten to steal our joy. I’m Doris Swift, author of the award winning six week Bible study Surrender the joy. Rediscover the Jesus joy in you. And it helps women rediscover the overflowing ever present Jesus joy within.</p>
<p>Doris Swift [00:02:40]:<br />Using personal biblical stories I share how you can identify your joy stealers. Surrender them to God, Reawaken the joy within and share the joy with others. You can do it on your own or with a group. Check it out, friends. Surrender the joy stealers. Rediscover the Jesus joy in you. It’s available on all the online retailers. It’s time to take your joy back.</p>
<p>Doris Swift [00:03:09]:<br />Welcome back to the show today. I am so excited to have two of my friends joining me today. Karen Whiting has been on the show before and Pam Farrell, I think this is her first time on so we’re happy to have her.</p>
<p>Pam Farrel [00:03:24]:<br />I’m so happy.</p>
<p>Doris Swift [00:03:25]:<br />This is exciting.</p>
<p>Pam Farrel [00:03:25]:<br />I’m so joyful. Yes.</p>
<p>Doris Swift [00:03:27]:<br />We’re going to talk all about joy and you know, things have been heavy lately and, and so joy is just the perfect subject to talk about. It’s a fruit of the spirit, it’s given to us by our lord and so we’re going to talk about that and I’m going to introduce you to my friends. Karen is the mother of two daughters and three sons including rocket scientists. And I think Karen, you’re a mathematician as well, correct? So yeah, this is a really cool family. She’s the grandmother of two, 15. Is that still the same? Is that still the right number?</p>
<p>Karen Whiting [00:04:01]:<br />No, we got a new baby a few weeks ago, actually 17 now, so.</p>
<p>Doris Swift [00:04:07]:<br />Wow, that’s awesome. And so she, yeah, she’s raised her children from Hawaii to New York, in Michigan to Florida as her late husband served in the U. S. Coast guard. And she’s the author of Golly. She’s up to like 34 books or more. She’s in the process of writing more books that are in the editing stages and she’s an international speaker, a certified writing and marketing coach and former television host. And Karen is a joy and I have personally met her in person and also have done book signings alongside of her and it’s just Just a fun gal and such a blessing.</p>
<p>Doris Swift [00:04:47]:<br />And Pam is so joyful. And her and her husband Bill are the authors of More than Golly. They’re up to 61 books. Right. Pam and the Ferals are co founders and co directors of Love Wise, an organ to help people connect love and wisdom and bring practical insight to their personal relationships. So they do a lot of conferences and marriage type retreats and things like that. And the Pharaohs make their home aboard boat that is cool. Decked in.</p>
<p>Doris Swift [00:05:19]:<br />And you’re docked in Southern California.</p>
<p>Pam Farrel [00:05:23]:<br />We are. We actually are two places right now because we’ve been caregiving for a decade. And so inland. Currently getting Bill’s parents house ready for the market. And we have our boat 30 minutes away. I’m missing the boat. It’s like instant joy when you step on and ahoy. It’s awesome.</p>
<p>Pam Farrel [00:05:43]:<br />Yes.</p>
<p>Doris Swift [00:05:44]:<br />I just think that’s exciting and adventurous. And also your book, that’s been like just an icon for decades that I’m like, I met the authors of this book, you know, which is. Men are like waffles, women are like spaghetti.</p>
<p>Pam Farrel [00:06:03]:<br />Like spaghetti. Yes. Yes. We call it the gift that keeps on giving. I mean, was a gift that when God gave it in a counseling setting, like this couple came in and they were like ready for divorce. And Bill said, well, how can I help you? And the husband says, well, go ahead. And the wife just started talking from subject to subject to subject to subject to subject. And the husband looked at Bill like panicked during the headlights.</p>
<p>Pam Farrel [00:06:32]:<br />And Bill said, okay, think about the way her mind works. How God designed it is like a plate of spaghetti. If you follow one noodle around that plate, it touches pretty much every other noodle on the plate. And he’s like, what do I do? He said, just listen. And so for the first time, probably without interrupting, he just listened. She talked for 55 straight minutes and then leaned back and said, oh, that was great. Okay, if I’m like spaghetti, what’s my husband life? And Bill said, oh, yeah, we’re out of time. Bill had no idea.</p>
<p>Pam Farrel [00:07:07]:<br />And so he’s like, okay, I’ve done the research scientifically. Men compartmentalize. I know that Genesis 1:27 says men are that God made us male and female. So Lord, I need a compartment of food with compartments. And my boys popped up that toaster waffle. And yes, the title was Born Perfect.</p>
<p>Karen Whiting [00:07:31]:<br />That is awesome.</p>
<p>Doris Swift [00:07:32]:<br />And it’s. It’s so helpful too for someone listening right now who maybe had never thought of it in that way and can really help in Communication and understanding how, you know, how a couple might look at things in a different perspective and how. How sometimes we have, like, 50 tabs open, like, you know, a computer.</p>
<p>Pam Farrel [00:07:53]:<br />Yes, just look at your computer, girls. Y Most women have more than one tab open at the same time. And that’s just the way that God designed us. And it’s a good thing like, that we’re different and we complement each other, that we bring strengths, two separate strengths to the marriage, to the family, to the church, to the community. So it’s like a great thing. And we know that people have benefited from it in their personal relationships, because it’s almost 500,000 copies, not quite there yet in English, and It’s translated into 15 different languages. And we have a version for singles and for teenagers even, because, you know, we all need help in our relationships. And this brings a little bit of humor and a whole lot of practicality and the core of God’s truth.</p>
<p>Karen Whiting [00:08:47]:<br />Perfect. But differences can be, you know, unique. In my case, where my husband was one foot taller than me, six foot four. I used to be five foot four. I’m not quite that anymore. And I would be looking for things, and I’d say, where’d you put this? And he says, well, it’s right at eye level. I didn’t look up high enough. Then he did the same to me.</p>
<p>Karen Whiting [00:09:07]:<br />He says, I can’t find this. And I said, well, it’s right at my eye level. And he says, oh, I didn’t look down. And we had to realize that we had to look at the other person’s perspective. And I started saying that life with Jim is always looking up.</p>
<p>Pam Farrel [00:09:22]:<br />Oh, that’s beautiful. Oh, I love that.</p>
<p>Karen Whiting [00:09:25]:<br />So sweet.</p>
<p>Doris Swift [00:09:26]:<br />Yeah, well, right there. I mean, if we’re in the show right now, we kind of already shared a. A lot of chock full of wonderful things that people can consider and. And just remember, you know, about communication and how we think and how we’re different, but yet how, you know, the Lord created us to complement each other, and we both, you know, have certain characteristics and things that kind of help offset the others and work together and all of that. And so thank you so much for sharing those words of wisdom right from the get go. And we’re also talking today about joy, as I think I had mentioned earlier. And you all had a book that came out a few years back, and there’s been some changes. And so if you could share a little bit about the book, because it is a really hefty, good book, and it’s a Devotional.</p>
<p>Doris Swift [00:10:23]:<br />Right. And it’s got a lot of different voices that share, you know, a lot of different stories. And so if you could share a little bit about how this book came.</p>
<p>Pam Farrel [00:10:31]:<br />About, I’m gonna let Karen, because it was her initial idea. But I’ll show the two covers. This is the. This is the original. And then we have a new cover that emphasizes just a little bit differently.</p>
<p>Karen Whiting [00:10:45]:<br />Reflect wildflowers that helped Pam out while she was going through cancer treatment. So this book has four divisions for four aspects of joy. Inner joy, because that’s what we really have. That’s lasting, that’s from God. Joy in our relationships. Choosing joy because we all have circumstances that it’s a little bit harder to choose joy. But if we choose joy, then God’s going to bless us with that, with joy. Something special and sprinkles of joy, where we’re sprinkling joy into other people’s lives or maybe someone’s sprinkling joy into our lives.</p>
<p>Karen Whiting [00:11:19]:<br />So those are the four sections. There is always a devotion, but every week has a different theme. And every week has one person or event from history of joy and one person from the Bible or event in the Bible that’s joyous to give us those other perspectives because we can learn a lot, of course, from the Bible people as well as from people in history that shows joy.</p>
<p>Pam Farrel [00:11:44]:<br />Yeah. And one of the things I love about just this whole concept of growing a joyful heart. That’s like the title Devotions of Accepting God’s Gifts. God’s gifts. Joy is a gift for abundant living from joy givers, past, present, and future. And for me, you might want a little bit of a backstory. So I’m. I kind of known for my phrase choosing joy that started way back when my husband had a health issue, and it caused a change in being a senior pastor to not.</p>
<p>Pam Farrel [00:12:23]:<br />And so there’s a career change. A lot was going on. And my friends would ask me, so, Pam, how you doing? And I would answer. I didn’t know how to answer them because the answer was, like, too personal, you know, too negative. Didn’t want to ruin their day. So I said, God, how do I answer them? And he says, what kind of person do you want to be? And I say, God, I want to be the kind of person that chooses joy no matter what life sends my way. Because the word says in Nehemiah 8, 10, that the joy of the Lord is our strength. And this family needs strength right now.</p>
<p>Pam Farrel [00:12:56]:<br />My husband, myself, we all need strength. So I choose you, Jesus. I Choose joy. And so that just became kind of my motto, brand, whatever you want to call it, moniker. And that was probably 25 years ago. And I’ve written a Bible study, discovering joy in Philippians. And so I had this background of joy. And Karen came to me and she’s like, you know, we have this series, she has this series of growing a something heart, a mother’s heart, et cetera.</p>
<p>Pam Farrel [00:13:31]:<br />And she says, you kind of are known for joy. And I’m like, I would love to co author with you, Karen. You’re like, brilliant. Just hanging out with Karen makes you feel smarter. And I mean, it’s just like, yes, I would love to hang out with you and I would love to cough this book. And so we signed the contract and then I, I, I have diabetes and I had diabetes 1.5. And it’s kind of hard to manage. It’s like autoimmune based.</p>
<p>Pam Farrel [00:13:58]:<br />Well, anyway, they had given me new medications trying to get my A1C down. I went and I spoke down in Texas. Somehow I hurt my shoulder in the meantime and I was just crying in pain, it hurts so bad. Interesting. The only time I wasn’t in pain was when I was preaching God’s word, teaching these creatives, or when I was praising God and singing and worship at my friend Rebecca Freelander’s cabin where the event was happening. Well, I called my husband. I says, please meet me at the gate. I’m just in so much excruciating pain.</p>
<p>Pam Farrel [00:14:36]:<br />All came down to, I broke a rib. My backpack was too heavy. Apparently I broke a rib and everything hit a perfect storm. I had taken over counter meds that a diabetic shouldn’t be taking. My body shut down, toxicity hit. I thought I was having a heart attack. A few days later, my husband rushes me to the hospital. There’s a miracle in that nobody is in the waiting room at the er.</p>
<p>Pam Farrel [00:15:11]:<br />Like, what? That’s craziness, right? It never happens. But God went before me. And then we moved me into the icu. No, I’m the only patient. And come to find out, the doctor says, okay, you are diabetic. One doctor says, he’s a specialist of diabetes. Another doctor says, pam, you need to slow down your breathing if you think you’re having a heart attack. And the doctor says, I know what’s happening.</p>
<p>Pam Farrel [00:15:40]:<br />She’s having a dka. She’s going to go into a diabetic coma. We have to put her into a coma medically. And so they put me in a coma and I have a whole other Book about how God met me there. Glimpse of God’s glory. But get this. I come out of the coma after spending time with Jesus in heaven, having this amazing experience. I.</p>
<p>Pam Farrel [00:16:05]:<br />I am wheeled out of the hospital, and I am just so incredibly grateful. I’m like, oh, look at the sun. Look at the leaves. Oh, there’s breeze. Oh, look at the flowers. I mean, I was like, look at the grass. I was so incredibly grateful to be alive. And I came home and Bill had, like, let Karen know that I was in a coma.</p>
<p>Pam Farrel [00:16:30]:<br />And so she and thousands were praying for me. And that is where I wrote Growing a Joyful Heart. So I know, I know it was a great place to be in the Word with God cultivating joy, because joy is a choice to rejoice. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I say rejoice. It’s a verb. And so I had the opportunity to just plant myself in that verb of joy and walk out the Word because we were on deadline. So I feel super grateful that God knew exactly what I was going to need to pull me up and out and back to his path of service.</p>
<p>Pam Farrel [00:17:20]:<br />And it was joy.</p>
<p>Doris Swift [00:17:22]:<br />Wow, that was beautiful. And coming from a place of having gone through that, where people would say, how can you have this joy when you’re going through it? It’s like that makes it so much more tangible for people, you know, to see how the joy is something that we can’t just say, oh, well, we’re happy. It’s so much different than happiness. And, Karen, when this was happening and you were also writing things for the book, and what are some things that you were experiencing during this whole time as well?</p>
<p>Karen Whiting [00:17:54]:<br />Hello, Chris. When we’re writing about that and writing the joys we’ve had, we go through a lot of our memories and things, which is wonderful to do. You know, I could. I was sitting back and thinking about my daughter Darlene, who didn’t really want to learn the Alphabet because she thought D was fine. It was for dancing. Darlene and Daddy, I actually had to use bubbles to have her see which letters could blow bubbles when she made their sound and which letters did not, and take her outside and do creative things to get her to realize there’s a reason for other letters, like J for Jesus and things that she liked. And then I also was looking back at things that happened, say, when my husband was dying, and everybody said, but you’re still so joyful. You’re taking this so well.</p>
<p>Karen Whiting [00:18:38]:<br />And I said, well, we wake up every day, and if he wakes up with Me, we say. I say, oh, you’re alive. And he’s like, yes, I’m alive. And I said, yay, God. Because he was only given two to three months to live, and he lived two and a half years. So that was just really nice to be able to do. But after he died, I found. I kept finding presents he left me.</p>
<p>Karen Whiting [00:18:58]:<br />I don’t even know when he had time to go do those things. But there were times he, you know, he was still working most of that time. So I would find my favorite chocolates in the closet in. In his suit and hanging up inside the suit jacket or his. Or my hand lotions inside shoes and other things because, you know, he was a lot taller than me. And it was just kind of fun. Even when I went to light a fire, because he died in October. A month later, I realized he already stacked everything for the first fire in the Kindle.</p>
<p>Karen Whiting [00:19:26]:<br />So the tender, so dry it’ll just light off, which it did. And he did so many lovely things. So that’s part of what I was thinking back on. And as I was writing about it, and it hadn’t been that long before we started the book that I had had pneumonia and had. It had taken quite a while to recover from that. But I had been very joyful that my children had come alongside me and taking care of me and then had a big birthday party for me right after I was better because they thought, well, whatever year it is, we’re going to just rejoice that you’re here. So all of those feed into a book and you realize joy is such an important thing. I had started my journey on joy when Rebecca was little.</p>
<p>Karen Whiting [00:20:06]:<br />I kept worrying about things and I said, God, I can’t worry. And he said, well, cast all your worries, you know, as Peter. As in Peter. And then I said, but now I don’t know what to do. I’m like, empty. And he said, well, you have to fill it. And so I started filling it with joy and turning to verses on joy at that time. And so that was.</p>
<p>Karen Whiting [00:20:26]:<br />And giving other people joy because that would also fill me with joy. And I started doing all of that. And in fact, one of the big things I do when I teach women on is seven steps to replace stress and anger and anything else you have with joy.</p>
<p>Doris Swift [00:20:45]:<br />Thanks for sharing that and how sweet that your husband did those things. And it just kind of made me think about sprinkles of joy, you know, as I. As you talk about that in the book.</p>
<p>Pam Farrel [00:20:55]:<br />Book.</p>
<p>Doris Swift [00:20:55]:<br />And you know, those little sprinkles of joy that were just sprinkled everywhere and that you would find at different times and not just all at the same time, which was really special. And the fact too, that you are so wonderful with. With crafts, you know, you’re so well rounded as far as, like, ministering to women, but then also helping moms with crafts for their children. And you’ve done this internationally, and I think that is so wonderful and such a gift of sharing joy with others. And you may even be talking about joy. That might not even be the topic. It just comes through and what really, whatever your lady, you ladies are doing because of the joy of the Lord that you have, that is your strength and strength that comes through because you’ve both been through a lot of hard things. As you know, life is hard at times, you know, but seasons change and there’s joy that.</p>
<p>Doris Swift [00:21:54]:<br />And it just, it. It exists in all circumstances. It’s constant. So that’s a beautiful thing.</p>
<p>Pam Farrel [00:22:03]:<br />You just have to, like, look for it. That’s what every day at the end of the devotional, there’s a verse on joy, then there’s the devotional, and then there is a choose joy today, an application like, okay, now let’s supply the verb cultivate joy. And so, you know, both Karen and I have that determination. You know, she was a military wife and raised her kids all over the world in all kinds of circumstances. Her husband deployed or not, or, I mean, she’s just incredible. So you’ll get nuggets of great motherhood, ideas that, wow, I didn’t know that I was going to get that bonus here. One of the things I wrote is just like the things I do to cultivate joy. And, you know, in Psalms 42 says, why my soul are you downcast? Why are you so disturbed? Put your hope in God yet I will praise him, my Savior and my God.</p>
<p>Pam Farrel [00:23:00]:<br />And praise is the pathway to joy. And so sometimes you just need to, like, turn on worship music and sing along or dance or go on a prayer walk and thank God for the things you see, or drink your favorite cup of cocoa or tea or latte and just mentally thank God with every sip you take. Be creative. It’s incredible. I learned this when I was writing. Discovering joy in Philippians. It’s a creative Bible study. So there’s coloring pages.</p>
<p>Pam Farrel [00:23:34]:<br />And I came across a study that says that when you do anything creative, dance or art or crafts, you can’t think of your problems at the same time. It’s like creativity blocks your sorrows and your problems. And I’m like, I love that God made us that way. And so we give you lots of creative things to do throughout the book to do a Bible study, go back and pull out those verses on Joy or create memes. So you’re splashing verses of joy out to other people. Go out in nature. That’s one of the best things you can do. When you’re outside, you can’t help but be thankful to the Creator who created such beauty for you.</p>
<p>Karen Whiting [00:24:19]:<br />Sprinkling joy in other people’s lives. But you mentioned the crafts. Someone asked me if I wanted to go to Bulgaria this month, and I said, why don’t we try Zoom? That’d be okay, but it’s probably going to be January that I’m going to do Zoom. And she said all her moms at the orphanage and daycare and after school care and everything are really excited about my coming on to do that coming up. And that’ll be fun. But I do love to share that. And I said, in the meantime, I have a lot of crafts that are already on YouTube and they that I did through Zoom and other things, and they can watch those and that she had already gotten some of my craft books, so that would work out. But when we do this for other people and we see the children’s reaction, the mom’s reaction, whoever we’re doing something for, it really changes them and they have a lot of fun.</p>
<p>Karen Whiting [00:25:08]:<br />Or if I send them a little care package or something with things that I made, it’s just kind of a fun surprise to get. And that’s part of the joy that we like to share. That’s why the last part of the book is all about spreading joy to other people and how we can do that.</p>
<p>Pam Farrel [00:25:25]:<br />Martin Luther, you know, the great Protestant reformer, said, go to where the joy is. And so it is. Our church fathers knew the secret of it. Our biblical characters knew the secret of joy, and Karen has it right on. We gain joy when we give joy.</p>
<p>Karen Whiting [00:25:44]:<br />I talk about multiple streams of joy because sometimes this one area might be a problem, but you can’t just pause so much that you’re frozen and can’t move. And you have to think, there’s joy in my relationships. There’s joy in what the Lord gives me each day. There’s joy in what I can make and do, that there are different ways I can look and different things going on that maybe these friends right now or there’s a problem with, or this part of the family, but there’s this part and these friends that that’s still Part of my stream of joy right now. The other parts, more of a stream of prayer at the time. And I think that we all need to know that. That there are different areas that you can focus on. So when you’re having a struggle in one thing, what can you look at in a different aspect of your life that will reminds you of all the joy you have? Yeah.</p>
<p>Pam Farrel [00:26:33]:<br />Our goal is to help people not be stuck in sadness, not be stuck in self. You know that when we look out and about, there’s always reasons to rejoice. And when we look out and about, we can always find at least one person that needs encouragement and kindness and joy. And I. I think that’s like in our world right now. We all need to look. Who can I give some joy to? Who can I give some hope to? Who could I give some encouragement and kindness and love to? Because they’re all tied together. Because like you said at the very beginning, it’s a fruit of the Spirit.</p>
<p>Pam Farrel [00:27:16]:<br />And so the Holy Spirit wants us to have all that fruit working in us because it makes the world a better place. When we are lined up, you know, and in connection with the Holy Spirit, he will whisper to us, say this to that person, Write this to that person. Give this money to make that happen. And the Holy Spirit is a great guide to the path of joy.</p>
<p>Doris Swift [00:27:43]:<br />Yeah. I love how you explain that.</p>
<p>Karen Whiting [00:27:45]:<br />I was gonna say, my dad always said there’s never too much kindness in the world. And he and my husband were two of the kindest people I ever knew, which was great because that meant I grew up and then I lived as a. As a wife in a household full of kindness. And it’s sweet. There were certain things that I learned, like when we were moving and he went out to see right after. In fact, he was gone when the movers came. And I’m unpacking, and there were a few boxes I just couldn’t get to, so I put them in a closet. He came home and did he compliment me on everything around? No.</p>
<p>Karen Whiting [00:28:18]:<br />At that point, he looked and said, oh, there’s still boxes in the closet you haven’t unpacked. And I said, well, I needed to leave something for you so you’d have the joy of the moon. Right.</p>
<p>Doris Swift [00:28:27]:<br />Share the joy, as they say.</p>
<p>Karen Whiting [00:28:29]:<br />Month later, he still hadn’t unpacked those boxes. And he says, I’m really sorry. I didn’t notice how much you. But I didn’t say anything. I didn’t complain. And I also found that when I had children, if I’d Had a bad day and things were a mess. He’d come home, look, kind of look around and say, well, honey, why don’t you just sit down? I’m going to do a few things. And he’d start cleaning up, which was so sweet of him because he knew you could just look and see this was a bad day.</p>
<p>Karen Whiting [00:28:55]:<br />Yeah.</p>
<p>Pam Farrel [00:28:56]:<br />You know, that joy is super transforming. Like, if you would have known me in kindergarten, I was pouty Pam. I cried all the time. My dad was an alcoholic. Severe rage issues, domestic violence in the home that I grew up in. But my mom’s best friend, she saw the chaos that we were living in and she invited us to come to church. So my mom brought me and my two siblings to church. And there I saw what love looked like.</p>
<p>Pam Farrel [00:29:28]:<br />And I wanted to know the author of love. And, you know, instantly after receiving Christ Jesus, you’re my best friend, you’re my savior, you’re my Lord. Please connect me, lead me, guide me. So I’m talking like, you know, kindergarten, first grade terms, but what I didn’t realize is that God was going to transform me. And I went from Howdy Pam to like, perky Pam. And I would come home from church, I would skip on the way home, and I would sing all the Sunday school songs. There was a transformation because of personal relationship with Jesus. And so we pray that some people who pick this up maybe are given it as a gift during a hard season.</p>
<p>Pam Farrel [00:30:18]:<br />Maybe somebody brings it to the hospital or somebody brings it to a new widow, or somebody brings it to a teen who is just struggling with depression. We pray that they would find the Jesus who is the joy and will transform their life and their whole future like he did mine. Like he can. For every person in the audience today.</p>
<p>Doris Swift [00:30:41]:<br />Yeah, that. That is like one of the most powerful witnesses is the transformation that people see when we, you know, when we accept Jesus and he. He comes and we have the spirit indwelling us, and he lives in us, and we have his joy. As John 15 says, his joy is in us, that ours would be full. And that’s what I based my Bible study on. It’s rooted in John 15 because, you know, that is so powerful and how expressing that is so important. And. And that’s so cute that you went from pouty Pam to perky Pam.</p>
<p>Pam Farrel [00:31:17]:<br />I love that my mom was grateful, believe me. I imagine.</p>
<p>Doris Swift [00:31:25]:<br />So. Go ahead, Karen.</p>
<p>Karen Whiting [00:31:26]:<br />One thing I enjoyed about doing this book was this historic part. That way I could look back in history and see things. And one thing that was so Funny that I found as I was writing the book is the monks in the Middle Ages when they had to transcribe everything they. And they did artwork in these books. But they would get so bored or so depressed because they often had to do it by candlelight in the dark that they would make little comments and do funny little things. And so you would see that like, if they forgot a sentence, instead of having to redo that whole page or something, they would write the sentence at the bottom and draw a little ladder with monks climbing up to tell you where that. It’s just so funny to see that. Or like I was over in Barcelona, Spain, and I had never been to La Sagrada Familia, but my sister in law said, you have to go.</p>
<p>Karen Whiting [00:32:18]:<br />So we went there as my daughter Rebecca was with me and my son Michael and his family. And that is supposed to be finished next year. The longest construction project in the world started in the 1800s, but it ended up being taken over by Antoni Gotti. A goody. I think they actually say, who’s a sculptor. And he had such a vision for the church that he made it a whole celebration to the creation of God. To the point where one side the stained glass windows, on the east side where the sun would come up is all in shades of the sunrise. And on the west side it’s in the shades of the sunset.</p>
<p>Karen Whiting [00:33:00]:<br />So it was just totally creation. And the main entrance, you go into our carvings of the Nativity. And he had such lifelike creatures, the donkey and the sheep and everything. It was so. It’s magnificent. But it’ll be done next year. He just wanted to leave people with a sense of joy of creation. And looking at history and what certain people did, it’s amazing and gives us that sense of joy.</p>
<p>Karen Whiting [00:33:25]:<br />Also to think about the legacy that he left is phenomenal.</p>
<p>Pam Farrel [00:33:31]:<br />And we can leave that kind of legacy of joy in others. I mean, you mentioned John 15. I have told you these things so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. These things that will come right before that is, I’m the vine, you’re the branches. And isn’t that why we have a devotional every day? Is we want a connection with the Creator of that created us. I tell women all the time, if you hit like a roadblock in life, remember the Creator. If God could create the heavens and the earth, he can create a way through, over, under, around, or a whole new path for you to go forward. And that’s what Karen was mentioning, like this creativity accompanies joy.</p>
<p>Pam Farrel [00:34:23]:<br />And that just gives us hope for our future, that we don’t have to remain sick, stuck. Our today is not our forever. If you’re having a bad day today, God, look up to your creator, God, and ask him, lord, create a path forward. Create a moment of joy. Send kisses of joy to me that I can capture, hold on to and take the next step. Just give me light for the next step. And he’ll do that just like he, you know, made that artist so creative. He can give you creativity for your own life, for your own marriage, for your own family, for your own workplace, your own career, your own ministry.</p>
<p>Pam Farrel [00:35:08]:<br />God is in the details because that’s who God is. Our wonderful counselor, Almighty God, the everlasting Father, the prince of peace, the Creator.</p>
<p>Karen Whiting [00:35:19]:<br />And one thing we want to bring to the listeners here, you’re that are going to be listening to this is we are going to be starting very soon A Joy Challenge October 14th. When as everybody’s listening and we feel like we’re together with them, they can join in not only on that joy challenge, but they can get a reduced price for the ebook with the new cover on it and share that with friends and, and they can also find other ways they can sprinkle people. How do they go around, over, under? Do nature tie into creativity? And if they miss some of the memes we do ahead of time, our joy launch book Facebook page, they can go there and go back and read all of them ones, whether they’ve seen every day or not at that point.</p>
<p>Doris Swift [00:36:06]:<br />That’s right.</p>
<p>Pam Farrel [00:36:07]:<br />And once a week we’ll be doing a live. Mine will be look for the wildflowers last in 2024, after getting all healthy again, I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. So I decided, okay, I’m going to choose joy and every Tuesday I’m going to do teal Tuesday. Teal’s the color for ovarian cancer. So all the way through chemo, all the way the months after chemo, I’m going to get on and I’m going to share God’s joy, his hope that even when the hardest diagnosis, the hardest news comes to your house, there’s a way forward. And so I’ll be doing teal Tuesdays. Mine’s look for the wildflowers, which was something that one of my friends said to me right after I finished chemo. We’re in this big group and Gary Meacham, wonderful Bible teacher, she was teaching about the Wadi quilt, which is that rugged road that goes from Jericho to Jerusalem.</p>
<p>Pam Farrel [00:37:06]:<br />It’s dangerous and it’s hard. And she’s like, a lot of us have been on the wadi quilt and she started sharing examples. And then she looked up at me and she’s like, Pam Farrell, you have been on the wadi quilt and God has a message for you. He says at the top of that, your wadi quilt, there’s a field of wildflowers, girl, look for the wildflowers. And I’m, I knew instantly that that was God’s message for me to help me as I come out of this cancer journey, that I’m to look for the wildflowers, those seeds of joy that I can then hand over and plant in somebody else’s life. And so, and Karen has one that she’ll share. We’re turning it into like a four week journal. It goes with the book Growing a joyful Heart.</p>
<p>Pam Farrel [00:37:56]:<br />It helps you get in, have a place to journal, have a place to do some creative artwork if you feel like it. And then Karen, she has another four week journal. So you could actually spend eight weeks really learning how to plant joy and cultivate that joyful heart. Karen, why don’t you tell them about what your theme is?</p>
<p>Karen Whiting [00:38:17]:<br />Yes. Sprinkles of joy. Ideas of ways to sprinkle joy in people’s lives. And pause to think, how did someone sprinkle, how did God sprinkle joy into my life today? So that you can blessed, be blessed and bless others during that whole time. And I think that’s just so much fun to, to do and to think that yes, we can have joy, but with having two journals, eight weeks, well, two months worth, okay, 30 days each, that gives you not only 30 days is also the number of weeks we have in here is 30 weeks. You can do one day for one week that you’re reading in the book if you want to, but after two months, you’ve had enough time to develop a habit of how to have joy in your life, how to choose it, how to fill your life, and how to fill other people’s lives with joy. And I think that’s a really good thing to do. Plus, we have a special gift for people who join us so they can find out when they join in.</p>
<p>Pam Farrel [00:39:14]:<br />Exactly. And we’ll be giving like fun things away all during that four weeks. We’ll be cultivating joy together, both Karen and I. And so the easiest, easiest way to be a part of this wonderful joy challenge is to connect with us on our websites. Mine is love wise, that just picture that connection, the intersection of love and wisdom. So love-wise.com is mine. And then Karen, here’s his name. Right, right.</p>
<p>Karen Whiting [00:39:44]:<br />Karen Whiting.com. whiting, like the fish, which is a great Christian symbol, so not too hard to try to remember. I always grew up near the water. I’m still near the water on the eastern side of Florida. So.</p>
<p>Doris Swift [00:39:57]:<br />Yeah, only like, what, 30 minutes from me. 30 minutes south of me.</p>
<p>Pam Farrel [00:40:01]:<br />Yeah.</p>
<p>Karen Whiting [00:40:02]:<br />We met up for lunch at times, which has been great fun. And we need to do it again.</p>
<p>Doris Swift [00:40:06]:<br />Yes, we do. We need to do it again. And. And we’ve done book signings at one of the local Christian bookstores. And fun, too. And so this. This has been amazing. And thank you for sharing about the joy challenges you have coming up.</p>
<p>Doris Swift [00:40:22]:<br />And I think it would be fantastic for women to gather together and do it together and just, you know, find joy together and how intentional it is. Like when you were talking, Karen, about. About the stained glass and how that was done with such intention, like this. This was on this side because this is where the sun comes up. And, you know, all of that is done intentionally. And how throughout our conversation today, talking about being intentional about choosing joy, and the fact being that God is the source of our joy. And that is something that is very encouraging to someone listening right now who is going through a difficult season, which is probably a lot of people listening right now that that is going through. You know, there’s.</p>
<p>Doris Swift [00:41:03]:<br />There’s always something going on, but yet we can find joy in all of it. And as you were saying, Pam, about being intentional about choosing joy, and Karen, you were talking about streams of Jo joy. So these were all amazing things that are going to help the listeners today and to also share and sprinkle joy as well so that they don’t keep it all to themselves, you know. So thank you for sharing how the listener can connect with you. Do you have any final thoughts that you might want to share?</p>
<p>Pam Farrel [00:41:32]:<br />Hey, I have a prayer that’s in our devotional, and I’d love to pray it if that’s okay. It’s for all of us who need joy restored in our life. And that’s pretty much everybody right now. So let me pray real quick. Dear maker of heaven and earth, remake me, Remold me, renew me, rejuvenate me, reactivate me, rehabilitate me, Repair me, repurpose me, Rearrange my priorities, Reconcile my spirit to yours. Revolutionary lies my life with your presence. Reconfigure my steps to walk closer to you. Reconstruct my life so it represents you better.</p>
<p>Pam Farrel [00:42:17]:<br />Redirect the compass of my heart so that you are my true north. Reorchestrate my world so that my heart sings your praise. Recount your faithfulness to me so I may follow hard after you restore unto me the joy of my salvation. Amen.</p>
<p>Karen Whiting [00:42:36]:<br />Amen.</p>
<p>Doris Swift [00:42:36]:<br />Thank you for sharing that, Karen. Do you have anything else that you might want to share before we quickly.</p>
<p>Karen Whiting [00:42:42]:<br />Say think on different scriptures and joy like Hebrews 10:24, let’s consider how to encourage one another in love and good deeds. And you know, because that’s where we bring joy into other people. And that particular day that uses that scripture says choose joy. Today is buy or make cards and send them to friends to sprinkle joy in the. In their day. Because whenever it arrives, it’s going to be a surprise.</p>
<p>Doris Swift [00:43:06]:<br />I love that. Amen. Thank you for the prayer, for the final words and in the devotional. It’s just amazing because of those little boxes that you share that are practical ways that people can actually put into practice. Like you said, it’s a verb and, and very simple things. Not difficult, hard things, not complicated things.</p>
<p>Pam Farrel [00:43:27]:<br />Just not expensive things. Try to be free or nearly free.</p>
<p>Doris Swift [00:43:32]:<br />Yes, you can just implement into your life. And you know, like you were saying, Karen, as we continue to do that, it creates a pattern, you know, and in our brain too. It actually physically changes our brains and, and creates a pattern, a pattern of joy. So thank you so much.</p>
<p>Pam Farrel [00:43:49]:<br />Thanks for having us.</p>
<p>Doris Swift [00:43:51]:<br />Well, I hope to have you both on again sometime because this has been amazing and look forward to more books that you have coming out and I know there’s going to be more. And so friends, thank you so much for listen today and we are just so excited to share the love of Christ with you and that today you did not listen to this message by accident. And if you could share it with others as well, we would so appreciate it. And I hope you’ll join me next time when I talk with another woman or women who are taking action where their passion, compassion and conviction intersect. Until then, friends, have a blessed week and I’ll talk to you soon.</p>
