Findings: My Journey To Joy                            

This is the true story of a church in America's Bible Belt, the First Christian Church in Florissant, Missouri--a church with a meager beginning and record of steady growth for forty-nine years until the weight of sexual abuse charges against a youth minister left it, and its congregation, broken. This is a case history and analysis of those events.  

This is for the victims.—Joy S. Taylor, Author

Today is a beautiful day, because of God’s glory. “The highest glory of the creature is in being a vessel to receive and enjoy and show forth the glory of God. It can do this only as it is willing to be nothing in itself, that God may be everything.” (Andrew Murray. Humility, p 99….

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Today is a beautiful day, because God prepares us through struggle and rewards our faithful effort. “All God’s dealings with man are characterized by two stages. There is the time of preparation, when command and promise, with the mingled experience of effort and impotence, of failure and partial success, with the holy expectancy of something…

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Captive

Today is a beautiful day, because Andrew Murray continues, “Accept with gratitude everything that God allows from within or without, from friend or enemy, in nature or in grace, to remind you of your need for humbling and to help you in it. Recon humility to be the mother virtue and your first duty before…

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 Today is a beautiful day, because “not to be occupied with yourself, but to be fully occupied with God, brings deliverance from self.” (Andrew Murray. Humility, p 73. New York: Anson D. F. Randolph & Co. 1895) ‪#‎joyinverse‬ ‪#‎blessedthisdayandeveryday‬

Today is a beautiful day, because of Godly writers like Andrew Murray, writing in the late 1800’s, who tell us, “Flee to Jesus and hide yourself in Him until you are clothed in His humility.” (Humility, pp 64-65. New York: Anson D. F. Randolph & Co. 1895) ‪#‎joyinverse‬ ‪#‎blessedthisdayandeveryday‬

Today is a beautiful day, because Jesus told his disciples, “Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:1-3 NIV) ‪#‎joyinverse‬ ‪#‎blessedthisdayandeveryday‬

Today is a beautiful day, because God’s ways are not our ways and some we may think come first will end up last, and vice versa, on the day Jesus sits on His throne. (from Matthew 19:30, Mark 10:31 and Luke 13:30 ESV) ‪#‎joyinverse‬ ‪#‎blessedthisdayandeveryday‬

Today is a beautiful day, because people will rule over us and exercise authority over us, but whoever wants to be great in Jesus’ eyes must serve as He came to serve and give His life as a ransom for us. (from Mark 10: 42-45 NIV) ‪#‎joyinverse‬ ‪#‎blessedthisdayandeveryday‬

Under Beauty

  We’ve all heard the urge for us to stop and smell the roses, to take time out of our overloaded schedules to see the beauty around us. I concur whole-heartedly with the importance of pausing to do that, but do I recognize the full story behind all that I see? I had to get…

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