Category Archives: Purpose

It Can’t Rain all the time

Posted on September 24, 2018 by journeywithmercy

Sorrow is a part of life. Death, divorce, strife, rejection, shame, and abuse are prevalent during these last days. It’s always sad when someone dies, particularly someone viewed as a hero in one’s eyes. I had just watched a Christian … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, Agape Love, Alone, Aloneness, Art, At risk youths, Beautful, Beauty, Believe, Brandon Lee, Broken Hearted, Changing Lives, Childlikeness, Children, Christina Fougnie, Civil Rights, Clancy, Comfort, Compassion, Death, Divine, Domestic disputes, Drama, Dreams, Embrace, Emotional Expression, Epic, Ethreal, Faith, Faithfulness, Friendship, Gentleness, God, God's Grace, God's Love, God's Presence, God's Promises, Goodness, Grace, Graciousness, grief, Healing, Heart, Hero, Heroism, Homeless, Hope, Humility, Hurting, Injustice, Inspiration, Inspirational, Intimacy, Jane Siberry, Jefferson Moore, Jesus Christ, Joy, Kindness, Life, Life Change, Loneliness, Love, Love of Jesus, Making a difference, Matters of the Heart, Meaningful, Mission, Music, needy, Outcasts, Overcoming, Pain, Priorities, Promises, Purpose, Relationships, Rescue, Revelation 21:4, Sacred, Sadness, Saving Lives, Second chances, Serve, Service, Serving, Society, Solace, Sorrow, Soul, Struggling, Tears, Tenderness, Trusting God, Truth, Unconditional Love, Valor, Valuable, Valued, Values, Veterans, What matters most, Wisdom, Worth, Worthwhile | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Childlikeness is to be cherished

Posted on August 28, 2018 by journeywithmercy

Children are naturally outgoing. They enjoy laughing and their hearts are merry as they reach out for connection. That’s how God wired them. Having someone value you and treat you like you matter and that you have worth is a … Continue reading →

Posted in Acceptance, Accuse, affection, affirmation, Alone, Aloneness, American Culture, Anti-Bullying, Approval, Arrested Emotional Development, At risk youths, Beautful, Beauty, Behavioral Health, Being fit enough, Being Liked, Believe, Belonging, Broken Hearted, Bullying, Calling, Celebrating, Celebration, Challenge, Change the World, Changing Lives, Cheer, Childlikeness, Children, Comfort, Common Purpose, Compassion, Conformity, Cooperation, Demoralization, Demoralized, Desires, Destiny, Devalued, Direction, Disapproval, Discord, Discredited, Disdain, Division, Dreams, Embrace, Emotional Expression, Encouragement, Enrichment, Exclusion, Extra Mile, Faithfulness, Fear, Friendliness, Friendship, Fulfillment, Goals, God, God's Commandments, God's Glory, God's Goodness, God's Grace, God's Kingdom, Goodness, Grace, Graciousness, Groups, Happiness, Harmony, Healing, Health, Heart, Helping Hands, Identity, Importance, Important Endeavors, In Agreement, Included, Inclusion, Inspiration, Inspirational, Intimacy, Jesus Christ, Joy, Judging, Kindness, Life, Loneliness, Love, Love of Jesus, Loveliness, Lovely, Making a difference, Making an Impact, Matters of the Heart, Meaning, Meaningful, Meaningful Life, Meaningful Purpose, Mental Health, Mental Illness, Mercy, Ministry of Reconciliation, Mission, Obedience, Open Doors, Outcast, Overcoming, Passion, Passionate, Pay it Forward, Peace, Peacemaking, Penalization, Priorities, Purpose, Qualified, Reconciliation, Rejection, Relationships, Respect, Saving Lives, security, Serve, Service, Serving, Shame, Shun, Social Norms, social skills, Society, Strife, Support, sweetness, sympathy, Teaming up, Tears, Tenderness, Therapuetic, Togetherness, Troubled, Trust, Trusting God, Understanding, Unity, Unspoken Rules, Valuable, Value, Valued, Values, Vocation, Welcome, Well-Being, Wellness, What matters most, Wisdom, Worth, Worthwhile, Worthwhile Endeavors, Write off | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Poor need encouragement not a lecture

Posted on February 27, 2018 by journeywithmercy

I am just so infuriated and disappointed at the lack of compassion and grace the evangelicals who claim to follow Christ have by blaming the poor for their situation. Based on my research and with hearing other Christians speak, they … Continue reading →

Posted in Acceptance, Accuse, Accused, Achievement mentality, Advocacy, affirmation, Agape Love, Alone, Aloneness, American Christianity, American Culture, Behavioral Health, Broken Hearted, Calling, Change the World, Christianity, Common Purpose, Compassion, Condemnation, Cry for Help, Degraded, Demoralization, Demoralized, Depending on God, Depression, Devalued, Difficulty, Direction, Disapproval, Discouragement, Discredited, Disdain, Division, Double Standards, Economics, Empowerment, Encouragement, Exclusion, Financial Difficulty, Giving, Giving up on someone, God, God's Commandments, God's Love, God's Will, Grace, Hard Work, Have Nots, Healing, Heart, Heartlessness, Help, Helping Hands, Homeless, Hope, Humility, Hurt, Hurting, Important, Included, Inclusion, Injustice, Jesus Christ, Judging, Life Change, Life Transformation, Loneliness, Love, Love of Jesus, Low Income, Making a difference, Making an Impact, Meaningful Purpose, Mental Illness, Mercy, Middle Class, Mission, Need, needy, Obedience, Opportunities, Overcoming, Pay it Forward, Penalization, Performance Mentality, Poverty, Priorities, Prudence, Purpose, Quality of life, Rejection, Serve, Shame, Shun, Social Norms, Society, Struggling, Support, sweetness, Tears, The poor, Thrive, Thriving, Troubled, Trust, Trusting God, uncaring, Uncategorized, Unconditional Love, Understanding, Unity, unloving, Valuable, Value, Valued, Values, Want, Wealth, Well-Being, Wellness, Wholeness, Word of God, Worth, Worthwhile Endeavors | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Homeless man overtaken by the love of Jesus

Posted on February 9, 2018 by journeywithmercy

Mercy and I went to a Presbyterian church in Vienna Virgina where they were housing some homeless for the night. We visited with other volunteers in the Veterans Moving Forward program. Mercy and I will eventually be visiting veterans in … Continue reading →

Posted in Acceptance, affection, Agape Love, Beautful, Belonging, Celebrating, Celebration, Cheer, Christianity, Comfort, Compassion, Delta Society Pet Partners, Divine, Dogs, Embrace, Faith, God, God's Glory, God's Goodness, God's Grace, God's Love, God's Presence, Golden Retriever, Goodness, Grace, Healing, Homeless, Hope, Inclusion, Inspiration, Jesus Christ, Joy, Kindness, Love, Love of Jesus, Loveliness, Lovely, Matters of the Heart, Mercy, Miracle, Music, Outcasts, Pet therapy, Purpose, Serve, Service, Serving, Solace, soothe, sweetness, Tears, Tenderness, Therapuetic, Therapy Dogs, Unconditional Love, Unity, Valuable, Veterans, Veterans Moving Forward, Wellness, What matters most, Worth | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Comfort in the midst of conflict

Posted on October 24, 2016 by journeywithmercy

I was taking Mercy for a typical walk as the sun was setting. We went through the playground like we have so many times before. There is a group of kids that often come out to pet Mercy. She had … Continue reading →

Posted in Accuse, Advocacy, Agreement, Anti-Bullying, Arguments, Boys, Bullying, Calling, Change the World, Children, Comfort, Conflict, Cooperation, Counseling, Disapproval, Discord, Displeasure, Division, Dogs, Domestic disputes, Fear, Golden Retriever, Harmony, Healing, Human Animal Bond, In Agreement, Judging, Ministry of Reconciliation, Mission, Paradise Lost, Peace, Peacemaking, Pet therapy, Purpose, Reconciliation, Strife, sweetness, Therapuetic, Therapy, Therapy Dogs, Uncategorized, Unity | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Striving to be enough?

Posted on July 2, 2016 by journeywithmercy

Often times I struggle to be fit enough for some things. I often feel degraded then rejected and excluded from what is important to me for messing up even with those things I am passionate about. I have been dealing with a … Continue reading →

Posted in Acceptance, Accomplishments, Accuse, Accused, Achievement mentality, Achievements, Advocacy, Agreement, American Culture, Animal Assisted Therapy, Approval, Authenticity, Autism Awareness, Being fit enough, Believe, Belonging, Bi-polar Disorder, Burnout, Calling, Challenges, Christianity, cliques, Closed Doors, Cohesion, Common Purpose, Compassion, Competence, Competition, Cooperation, Degraded, Demoralization, Demoralized, Depending on God, Destiny, Devalued, Difficulty, Disappointment, Disapproval, Discord, Discouragement, Discredited, Division, Dog Training, Dreams, Driven, Empowerment, Encouragement, Enrichment, Exclusion, Faith, Fulfillment, Fundamentalism, Giving, Giving up on someone, Goals, God's Glory, God's Love, God's Presence, God's Will, Good enough, Grace, Growth, Guidance, Happiness, Harmony, Healing, Health, Health Care, Heart, Hope, Human Animal Bond, Identity, Important Endeavors, Included, Inclusion, Inova Fairfax Hospital, Jesus Christ, Judging, Leadership, Light, Luke 10:38-42, Making a difference, Making an Impact, Matters of the Heart, Meaningful, Meaningful Life, Meaningful Purpose, Measuring up, Mental Health, Messing up, Ministry of Reconciliation, Mission, Mixed Messages, Opportunities, Overcoming, Passion, Peacemaking, Persistence, Pet therapy, Prayer, Purpose, Qualified, Quality of life, Reconciliation, Rejection, Relationships, Relaxation, Respect, Second chances, Seeking God, Serve, Serving, Setbacks, Shame, Social Norms, Stress, Strive, Struggling, Success, Teamwork, Thriving, Togetherness, Trust, Trusting God, Understanding, Unity, Values, Vocation | Leave a comment

Persistence pays off

Posted on April 19, 2016 by journeywithmercy

After a few setbacks, Mercy and I are back in the saddle. God was dealing with me for a while, purifying my heart and humbling me. Back last November, I decided that I would let my Therapy Dogs Inc., (now … Continue reading →

Posted in Access Ministry, Accomplishments, Agape Love, Animal Assisted Therapy, Assessibility Summit, Autism, Autism Awareness, Behavioral Health, Believe, Belonging, Calling, Career, Challenges, Change the World, Children, cliques, Closed Doors, Comfort, Compassion, Competence, Confidence, Counseling, Dealing with Reality, Depending on God, Depression, Destiny, Determination, Difficulty, Divine, Dog Training, Dream, Dreams, Embrace, Empowerment, Encouragement, Enrichment, Faith, Faithfulness, Fulfillment, Future, Goals, God, God's Glory, God's Goodness, God's Grace, God's Kingdom, God's Love, God's Presence, Golden Retriever, Goodness, Grace, Growth, Hard Work, Health, Heart, Hope, Human Animal Bond, Humility, Identity, Important, Important Endeavors, Included, Inclusion, Inova Fairfax Hospital, Inspiration, Jesus Christ, Joy, Kindness, Leadership, Liberty University, Life, Life Change, Life Transformation, Light, Love, Lovelyness, Making a difference, Making an Impact, Meaning, Meaningful Purpose, Mental Health, Mercy, Ministry, Mission, Obedience, Open Doors, Overcoming, Patience, Pay it Forward, Peace, Persistence, Prayer, Priorities, Purpose, Pursuing, Reassurance, Righteousness, Seeking God, Service, Serving, Setbacks, soothe, soothing, Special needs kids, Struggling, Success, sympathy, Tenderness, Therapuetic, Therapy, Therapy Dogs, Trust, Trusting God, Uncategorized, Unspoken Rules, Valuable, Worth, Worthwhile, Worthwhile Endeavors | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

God is directing me on a new path

Posted on November 9, 2015 by journeywithmercy

I know I have not written in a long time. I have suffered some setbacks with Mercy since my last post. Mercy has needed more training to renew her skills and manners lately. Needless to say, life has been very … Continue reading →

Posted in Acceptance, Animal Assisted Therapy, Approval, Arrested Emotional Development, At risk youths, Autism, Autism Awareness, Believe, Bi-polar Disorder, Calling, Career, Challenges, Cohesion, Comfort, Common Purpose, Compassion, Competence, Comrade, Confidence, Cooperation, Disappointment, Dog Training, Dogs, Dreams, Encouragement, Faith, Fear, Goals, God, Grace, Hope, Hurt, Love, Mental Health, Outcasts, Purpose, Rejection, Respect, Second chances, Setbacks, Shame, social skills, Stress, Struggling, Support, Understanding | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Giving the mentally ill access to healing and a future

Posted on July 9, 2015 by journeywithmercy

I have been trying to find a psychiatrist to help my husband overcome his broken heart for so many years now, but to no avail. The latest one we tried, which I was really counting being the one who could finally … Continue reading →

Posted in Behavioral Health, Broken Hearted, Calling, Compassion, Destiny, Division, Exclusion, Have Nots, Health Care, HealthCare Marketplace, Hurting, Love, Meaning, Meaningful Life, Mental Health, Middle Class, Passion, Purpose, Support, Troubled, Valued, Worthwhile | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Where I stand today- Closed Doors

Posted on April 1, 2015 by journeywithmercy

I know it has been a while since I posted any updates. I am still aiming to find opportunities to share Mercy and the love of Jesus with other people, particularly children. We visit an assisted living facility on a … Continue reading →

Posted in Acceptance, Advocacy, Autism Awareness, Believe, Calling, Cheer, Christianity, Closed Doors, Comfort, Common Purpose, Compassion, Cooperation, Destiny, Disappointment, Discouragement, Dogs, Dreams, Faith, Fulfillment, Future, Goals, God, God's Glory, God's Kingdom, God's Love, God's Will, Golden Retriever, Grace, Healing, Hope, Inclusion, Jesus Christ, Love, Mercy, Open Doors, Opportunities, Patience, Promises, Purpose, Rejection, Serving, Thrive, Trust, Unconditional Love | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment