October 18, 2025 • 30 mins
This interview is powerful we find ourselves getting stuck in life’s rough times. We forget to reach for God and embrace his Joy!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, hey, everybody, Welcome to the Couch Therapy Show. I
am your host, honeyvar Jordan, and we have a great
show lineup. Today we have Miss joe Anna Meals and
today we are going to be talking about her wonderful book,
Seven Keys to God's Joy. Before we even get into that,
I want to talk to her about what inspired you
to write the book, what pushed her to, you know,
(00:22):
to go through with this, and what is the message
that she wants to get across to all of us
believers on the power of being in the midst of
God's Joy and how can we possess that I have.
I have been digging in this book and I have
some questions. But before we, you know, get into my
(00:44):
little questions, just welcome to the show.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Thank you Anita having me. I was just telling her
before we started that I can't believe that I'm here,
and I'm just so excited. I honor you, thank you you,
and so I'm just so excited to be here. So
thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
You're welcome, honey, because you know, the admiration is us,
you know, equal, baby girl equal. I am grateful. Joan
and I been friends for a very I was just
thinking our kids were young. They were and your son. Yes,
we have been going through a lot of things. We
(01:24):
watched our sons grow and transition, and uh, we stay
on the prayer line behind the scenes. We're always praying
for each other. And I'm grateful your journey is one
to be inspired. I mean, we'll get into that too,
But what what made you write this book Seven Keys
you guys, available right now on Amazon, to God's Joy.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
You know, it's it's been a whole journey actually, one
of obedience. And I also have to give a shout
out to miss Honeys because I posted something on my
Instagram and she has such a creative eye. She has
such great insight and such wisdom. And it was one
(02:12):
of those things where you know, I just posted something
and didn't think about it. It was just something, okay,
like let me post this. But it's always that one
thing that you never know that could go viral or
that could you know, become something bigger and greater. And
so you saw that post, and that post was about
God's Joy, and then you were like, Joanna, I think
(02:35):
you should do something with this. I think you should
explore this a little bit more and so I remember
because I didn't remember. I mean I didn't forget.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Oh no, because you because at that time you had heart.
So those that don't know I help people brand and
really get their really their idea under the umbrella of
what it is they're looking for. And so we mapped
out everything. And the one thing I remember, I was
like the book and he was like what book? I
was like, something about joy? Yes, something about joy that
(03:10):
you need to be writing about because you exude that
and that is who you are. I was like, y'all
don't understand like her temperament, Like I think the only
time both of us really get angry is when we're hungry.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Yes, that's true. I do get angry.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
That's when we're like I think that's all women though,
Like you know that we be hungry, do pull over?
That means now, not tomorrow, not in the next ten minutes,
like find something so I need to eat. But joy,
what I saw, Joanna, just be Since i've known you,
I think i've known you over fifteen years now, is
(03:46):
you exude that? Actually? Remember I was telling you that
like the way that you speak to people, the way
that you move, it isn't a show. It is actually
who you are. I'm a hard pill to swallow.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
You either like me or you don't. It just is
what it is.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
But depending on who you are to whom you will get.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
But for joy, not that you know much.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
You know, God is still working on me. I got
a little Peter in me over here, but I do it.
It is who I am and I'm okay with that.
Some like it, some don't, and that's fine. But what
I loved about you was the joy that you always
have and how you you always have a different outlook
(04:28):
for us to say, hey, maybe you should think of
it this way or you know, but you always kept
God's joy with you. And I realized that happiness is subjective.
Happiness is a choice, and so you may not always
feel happy every day. But the one thing that you
can possess is that our God given birthright is joy.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
Right right absolutely, And so in my book I do
talk about that it is a birthright, like when we
accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior, his peace,
his joy, his love, like it comes with it comes
with the package. It comes with, like when we come
(05:07):
into accepting God Jesus Christ is our Lord and savior.
It just comes with so many blessings, but sometimes what
happens is people don't necessarily know how to tap and
so what we have to do is stay in his presence,
because the Word of the Lord says, in his presence
(05:29):
there is a full of his joy. And so I think.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
That's the key part that we miss is because we're
not always in his presence, and that's something I have
to learn. But when you are in his presence, I
don't care what trials and tribulations that you are faced with,
you can still tap into the.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
Beauty of God's joy.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
And with that joy, it just helps you maneuver through
the life's ups and downs. What life brings it also
is the attitude adjustment. Oh, it's a big attitude adjustment.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
And what you said right there about how to navigate
through life, that's pretty much or the inspiration why I
wrote this book. It's because we need God's joy. God's
joy is hope. It gives us strength. Like the Word
of the Lord says, the joy of the Lord is
(06:25):
my strength. If you don't have strength, you don't have joy.
Like joy is a strength, it is what empowers us
to keep going. I look at my late father and
my late Auntie, who both you know, love the Lord,
but for some reason they couldn't quite tap into the
(06:47):
joy of the Lord. They couldn't quite tap into the
strength that God's that God gives through his joy to
help us to get up every day and to keep going.
Because as we know, the enemy comes to kills, to
steal and destroy. But we know that Jesus Christ has
(07:07):
come to give life and life more a bunch of
abundantly and so we have to have that attitude. We
have to have that posture like I am not going
to give up. I'm going to go praise and worship
God because that does change our attitude. Even me, I
have to practice practice what I preach, even in my
own book, because you know, we're all human, like we
(07:30):
all have our days. Like yes, for the most part,
I'm very peaceful. I pretty much get along with everybody.
But I have my moments too, you know, where I
can get into my thoughts and I have to read
the word of God. I have to strengthen my spirit. Man,
I have to think about the goodness of God. And
sometimes it's just even looking up at the sky, I'm like, wow,
(07:54):
thank you, thank you God, that I am living today
that I have read in my lungs. Like one thing
that I've really learned to embrace is it's gonna sound simple,
but life, Like I truly value this life that we have.
(08:16):
I think sometimes you know, in our culture, we we
we probably don't appreciate and value the life that God
has given us. I think sometimes we can be dismissive.
But life is such a gift from God. From God,
and to be able to wake up another day and
(08:37):
say God, I'm here, Like that's a sign.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
Like God forget to something and we forget to be thankful. Yes,
not even just thankful, just grateful for another chance to
get it right.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
Another chance to get it right God.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
Is That is what I have been wrestling with is
how do I enjoy today right? How do I just
ground myself and thanking God for this moment, this day
right now? Do I focus on what the enemy is
always trying to do still and destroy or do I
focus on the abundance that God has already done? So
(09:16):
we don't usually go back and thank God for all
the blessings He's already done, right because out of sight,
you think it's out of mind, But some of us
are right where we've already prayed for, and so then
you're still striving for something. I'll be grateful for what
you already have right now. Sometimes we already have all
what we need inside of us. But that is something
that I had to really sit with myself and say,
(09:39):
you know what, hold on, thank you God for today literally,
thank you for the breath that I breathe. Thank you
for the gifts that you've given me. Thank you for
my children, thank you for giving me the will to
keep going. Thank you for my marriage. Thank you for
my husband, not just the marriage, but that person in particular.
(10:02):
And what about each person whoever you have in your home.
So if you just have yourself, we'll start talking about
the attributes of yourself and be grateful and thankful. And
I think we forget to go into God's presence of things.
You go in with thanksgiving, not requests.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
Yes, that enter His courts with thanksgiving and praise. And
when I think about the Book of Songs that David wrote,
like he was, he kept it real with God. He
was like God, like my you know, my soul cries,
I'm in desperation, Like God, where are you? Where are you?
(10:43):
Like rescue me? And I resonate with the Book of
Songs so much. It is because like you could hear,
you could feel his heart. You know, things were not perfect,
but towards the end of the song he chose to
rejoice and the Lord like, God, I'm so grateful God.
(11:06):
I thank you that you did not allow your enemies
to destroy me or to take me out. Like, yes,
they were on my back, yes they were on my neck.
But I still choose to thank you. I still choose
to praise you because you are the true and the
Living God. And so I think that's a perfect example
to say, you know what, you know, maybe yesterday was
(11:30):
not the best day, but today I'm going to choose joy.
I'm going to choose to worship God. And it is
in our worship and our thanksgiving that truly changed. Like, yes,
it's attitude, but it's also spirit, Like it changes our spirit.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
Yeah, so yeah, absolutely, that's good. It is like the
little things, Yes, it is, it really is.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
It really is thanking God for our kids, even when
they get on our nerves.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
Girl, hello, hello.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
It still gets from the Lord.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
Yes, hey man, thank you Jesus, even though I can't
see it in this moment.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
Yes, me an apparent. It's a whole nother call. That's
a whole another podcast.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
But yes, and so I'm on your introduction page where
you said why we need God's joy? And there was
something in here and I did not grab my glasses,
but bear with me, so I highlighted here. But as Christians,
enduring oppression should not be the norm, right? Why did
you like you were saying that we should It shouldn't
(12:37):
be the norm for us. And sometimes I think we
are so used to getting beat down by life we
forget to look up to God. And I think you
brought into play. I mean you were mentioning your aunt
and your uncle, and I too can just if you
just think in your life of many people that are
following Christ and whom call themselves Christian, they're miserable.
Speaker 2 (13:01):
Yes that, Yes, that I think that is such a
good question. And one of the prompts as to why
I wrote this book, because when we think about Jesus
Christ and our relationship with him, he says, I am
everlasting love, I am everlasting peace, I am everlasting joy.
(13:26):
And so if we're connected to him, and we have
and if we have a relationship with him and he
fills us up. Then why are we walking around in oppression? Like?
Why are that was the question that I happened.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
Why are people who.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
Are you know, Christians? Like why are they sad? Why
are they depressed? Why are they oppressed? It just wasn't
connecting to me. It just wasn't making any sense. And
I believe this is, you know, why God called me
to write this book, because I'm sure I'm not the
only person who had this question. But I actually didn't
(14:04):
have all the answers either, and so it was doing
a lot of Bible reading correct and just connecting with
the Holy Spirit to to help me get some of
those answers. But what I believe at the core of
it is that do we really have that relationship with
(14:29):
Jesus Christ, Because I think sometimes we get so caught
up in the religion aspect of it, but we're not
really walking with him, like it can't be like one
foot in.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
And it makes perfect sense because I've also been studying this.
Jesus didn't like religion, and some of us are stuck
in it, and now you're wondering, so now you're not
following really him, you're following doctrine of the world. So
then you're wondering why you're oppressed, or you're depressed, or
you're aim we are you're upset. Yes, I understand life hits,
trust me, I do. But I'm going to tap into
(15:08):
my God given joy. That's my birthright. I have every
right to be joyous, no matter what it looks like
behind me. Sometimes I have this vision in my head
where you can see a storm behind you, but you're
walking and you're smiling, and there's a tsunami behind you.
But you're smiling. You know why, because when you look
(15:29):
to the side of you, and you look to the
other side of you, and you look to the front
of you, and if you kind of really look in
the back, you see that God is actually right there
in the midst of it all, carrying you the whole way,
you know. And there's lessons in that storm that you
need to learn or you will repeat it.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
You know.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
That's something that I've learned. I mean, I don't know
of you out there, but for me, I got tired.
I get tired of repeating certain things over and over again,
year after year. I'm just like, Okay, what is it
that I'm missing, What is it that I'm not doing?
Have if I not did my my research, do I
actually hear from God? Am I only hearing my yes is?
And not what He's actually saying? Because a lot of
(16:08):
times we always people say they hear from God. Right, No,
you're hearing your own answers, right, And I think, okay,
So speaking of hearing from God, I talk about being
connected to God's word because a lot of times we
can go into a depression by our own thoughts.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
Or the thoughts of others. For example, the other day,
someone who I love very near and dear to me,
it be your own people, right, it be your own.
And normally if something is said in the way that
it was said and as deep as it could cut,
(16:49):
I literally saw those words like reject, it's shot back.
It was like words of arrows. It was like arrows
of nignum, words that were shooting towards me. But by
the word of God. Because I know the Word of
God and know what God says about me, and I
know my identity and Christ in Christ, like those words
(17:15):
just like bounced back and they fell down to the ground.
And so a lot of times and that comes with
reading the Word and knowing who you truly like you
have to believe it like we have, like we're believing that.
So the root word is to believe in who God
(17:37):
says and so and so. Yeah, so that's how sometimes
we can become oppressed. It is because of by words,
by experiences, by you know, so many things that can
influence us. But yeah, so God really speaks through his word.
(17:58):
But are we connected to his word and do we
believe it? Because I know in a season in my
life where it's like, Okay, it's just another page, it's
just words, but like the word says, like, meditate on
word the word daily and night night, and you should
be planted by the rivers of steel. Why that's so good.
Speaker 1 (18:21):
That's so good, that's east, that's joy. I'm going to
have her read a passage in her book. It's just
so powerful to me and hopefully it resonates with you
viewers out there as well. Tap into your God given joy.
It is imperative that you do so, just for your
(18:43):
own mental stability, your emotional stability. But one thing before
we do, Joanna tapped on something that I thought was
very profound. You were saying that someone said some words
to you, right, and you visualize it like darts coming
at you but falling to the ground. That is the
epitome of no weapons that form against me shall prosper.
(19:05):
They will form, but they don't have to prosper. And
I think it's about how we receive it as well, right,
And so that was powerful because that's how for me,
that's how God comes to me vision wise, like it's
like a cinema for me, I can see things play
out and just how He gives me things, and that
(19:27):
actually is going to help me, because sometimes God gives
you these gifts you're so creative that you start to
doubt yourself and fate to realize that the enemy that's
what he does though he wants you to doubt yourself.
And why am I even doubting myself? If God gave
it to me, Who cares that I don't have the resources?
Right now, God is saying that I have it already
in me and everything else will come accordingly. Just I
(19:51):
think we forget not only to pour into the word,
because the Word will pour into you, but we forget
to walk into obedience.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
Yeah, yeah, I mean the journey that I've been on
for the last couple of years or so has been
the most difficult to be honest, and so I even
doubt it, Like you know, do I have do I
have joy? I'm writing this book. I don't have joy,
(20:21):
but I did have joy. But see everything, God like
test us, Yes, you know, he he tests do you
love me?
Speaker 1 (20:31):
You know?
Speaker 2 (20:32):
Do you really love me? You really love me? If
I take everything from.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
You, You're still gonna loves yeah, you know?
Speaker 2 (20:39):
And he tested me with joy Like you're writing this book,
I'm gonna show you what it is. I'm going to
take you through that process. And I remember because how
long has this book's been in the making?
Speaker 1 (20:51):
About two years? Because I was on you. I was like,
you started on your book and you started it and
then I was like, no, you need to finish. But
you know, like life happens, Life is life, life for
everybody m hm. Because you had to go through it
to get to this point through it because.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
Like I said, I've always had like this light. But
when God takes everything from you like he did with
the job, it's like are you still my Lord and Savior?
Like are you still gonna tap into you know? Is
the joy? The Lord still your strength? And I'm like,
ooh Jesus, But I say that to say, I remember
lying on my bed one day and I wish I
(21:29):
could remember the scripture, but I had to read the
Word over my whole body, just ask the Lord to
give me strengths. So I would like take my Bible
and I would just read the Word, and it was
like the Word of God was just feeling me up
and was just really strengthening me. And so, yeah, the
(21:50):
Word is a powerful it is It's alive and active.
But we have to choose it. We have to we
have to choose it.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
And I think we have to navigate through the Holy
Spirit for the parts of the Word that you not
understanding that moment, because that happens or you feel like
you're being sleepy, So as you pick up the book,
you gotta wake yourself. For us nothing but the enemy,
because you know, you be up at twelve two o'clock
in the morning, you're eating bomb bombs and potato chips
and jigs and and be on your phone scrolling for
(22:16):
tdays every three in the morning. But as soon as
you want to get in the word of God, oh Lord.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
I'm tired.
Speaker 1 (22:21):
I'm exhausted, you know. So it's fighting against the flesh constantly,
and so we are here in understanding that we do
fight against the flesh constantly.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
It is just what it is.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
It is.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
Well, do you mind reading that passage because it is
so good? Okay, all right, So this is page twenty,
what chapter? This is chapter one? Let me just double check, yes,
(22:54):
it is. Okay. So I'm gonna start with the second okay, paragraph.
All right, I'm gonna okay, I'm gonna start a little
bit before because I don't do it where you know, yes, okay,
(23:15):
all right, I'm gonna talk about sins for a second
because this book is inspired by Song fifty one where
David cried out to God restored to me the joy
of salvation. And at this point of David's life, the
Lord had given him everything, like he went from humble
beginnings to being risen. The Lord exalted him, and he
(23:38):
became king, and he got complacent, and he got himself
into a little bit of trouble. We know the story.
She is looking fine, I have heard right. And so
it's sin that sometimes can separate us from God, like
we're we're in a flesh, and so the more that
we depart from the presence in the rightiousness of God
(24:01):
like that can pull us away. And so here we
see that David felt the absence of God's joy, and
so David lacked the joy that only God could provide
through the continual gift of salvation. When we look at
Isaiah twelve three, it affirms with joy, you will draw
(24:24):
water from the wells of salvation. You will draw it
is in present tense. You will raw from the wells.
And when I think of wells, I think of water.
It's a life given source. So this suggests that the
wells of salvation are a life giving source, like a
(24:45):
flowing spring. So if you're not drawing from this well
supplied by the Holy Spirit, it can become stagnant or dry.
So this is the wells of salvation. So the wells
of the wealth of Salvation mentioned in Isaiah twenty three
are the same source of joy described in Isaiah sixty one,
(25:08):
which speaks of everlasting joy that provides the oil of
gladness for mourning and breaks the yoke of oppression. Because
again the Lord God Almighty send his only onanted son,
Jesus Christ, so we can break from all bondage of oppression.
(25:29):
He has come to give us oil of gladness for mourning,
and so in this broken state of David's he admitted
in songs fifty one to having a contrayte heart and spirit.
He was at a deep loss, and in songs twenty
I'm sorry, and in song thirty two through three four
(25:52):
he says, when I kept silent, my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long, for day and night,
your hand was Heaven was heavy on me. I'm sorry.
My strength was sapped as in the heat of the summer.
(26:14):
And so here we can see when David was in
a state of hopelessness. He was in a state of hopelessness.
And again he expresses himself to God and in that state,
like God wants us to come to us as we are.
I think sometimes you get caught up in the physical image,
(26:36):
but it's like really about our spirit, man, about our soul,
Like huh, Like wherever you are, wherever you are mentally, emotionally,
come to God as you are and be humble like yo,
like God, Like this is where I've been grown, David says,
I've been growning all day long. I need to draw
myself back to the wells of salvation. I need to
(26:58):
go back to the feet of Jesus Christ, fill me
with your love. Lord. I've messed Holy Spirit. I want
to draw back to that well. I think sometimes we
get so caught up in like, oh, you know save, Like, yes,
Salvation is free, but it does cost us a little
bit to have that relationship with him. Like I'm still
(27:19):
single at the moment, but I know I will be
married in Jesus Na man, you as a married person, like,
you have to have that connection with your partner otherwise
it becomes dry. And so to produce that water in
the well, you need to you know, you need to
put something. You need to put something into it, right,
(27:39):
you need to draw yourself into it. And so yeah,
that's so good. That's so good. Oh.
Speaker 1 (27:48):
I just love God and I love you Joanna, because
this book is so good it just drops them and
like you're not going to just read it once. I say,
make it a part of your studying. If you're reading
the Word of God, you can take this too and
just kind of like study so that you can tap
into it, especially those that do know me and or don't.
(28:09):
There are times that I would go in and out
of depression.
Speaker 2 (28:11):
You know.
Speaker 1 (28:12):
The devil loves to remind me of my past or
what I went through as a child, and I chose
to really just walk in God's joy. Even when my
mom passed, I chose to walk, you know, because here's
my thing. To be absent from the body is to
be present with the Lord.
Speaker 2 (28:30):
Right.
Speaker 1 (28:30):
So I don't want to harp on everyone that passed away.
Do I think about them and my memory and the
good times? Absolutely, But there there where they are. If
they believed in God, you know, we know where they are,
right and so and if they're not, you just you know,
it is what it is. But learning to when I'm
going through a lot of trials, and I have been
going through a lot of trials and tribulations which we
(28:51):
pray a lot. You know this, I tap into His joy.
I have to in order to keep my sanity. I
have to in order to be a present a present mother.
There's a difference. I have to in order to be
a present wife. I have to in order to be
a present friend, or I can't. I can't, you know. So, yeah,
(29:13):
thank you for coming on my show.
Speaker 2 (29:14):
Joy. I appreciate Joanna.
Speaker 1 (29:17):
Because I'm just thinking Joanna, but what we call her
jojo But so I'm trying not to I keep trying
to not do that on the show, but it's Joanna Mills.
Everybody seven Keys to God's Joy.
Speaker 2 (29:30):
Please please take.
Speaker 1 (29:31):
A moment go on to Amazon and purchase your copy.
We are grateful to you for being here and always.
Speaker 2 (29:38):
I want you to know what.
Speaker 1 (29:40):
Maybe I haven't told you that you are such an
inspiration to me because you love God. I don't know
whoever is around you can never say that you don't
like you are always in pursuance of God. You are
always you keep God's name continuously in your mouth, and
you are always there to uplift those around around you,
and I hope that you get that in return from others.
(30:04):
I thank you for always being my prayer warrior, the
person that I can call no matter what time it
is of the day. You have always made time for me,
and I pray to be the same for you. And
may God bestow what you give to others tenfold to
you and your son. Thank you, Thank you,
Hey, hey, everybody, Welcome to the Couch Therapy Show. I
am your host, honeyvar Jordan, and we have a great
show lineup. Today we have Miss joe Anna Meals and
today we are going to be talking about her wonderful book,
Seven Keys to God's Joy. Before we even get into that,
I want to talk to her about what inspired you
to write the book, what pushed her to, you know,
(00:22):
to go through with this, and what is the message
that she wants to get across to all of us
believers on the power of being in the midst of
God's Joy and how can we possess that I have.
I have been digging in this book and I have
some questions. But before we, you know, get into my
(00:44):
little questions, just welcome to the show.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Thank you Anita having me. I was just telling her
before we started that I can't believe that I'm here,
and I'm just so excited. I honor you, thank you you,
and so I'm just so excited to be here. So
thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
You're welcome, honey, because you know, the admiration is us,
you know, equal, baby girl equal. I am grateful. Joan
and I been friends for a very I was just
thinking our kids were young. They were and your son. Yes,
we have been going through a lot of things. We
(01:24):
watched our sons grow and transition, and uh, we stay
on the prayer line behind the scenes. We're always praying
for each other. And I'm grateful your journey is one
to be inspired. I mean, we'll get into that too,
But what what made you write this book Seven Keys
you guys, available right now on Amazon, to God's Joy.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
You know, it's it's been a whole journey actually, one
of obedience. And I also have to give a shout
out to miss Honeys because I posted something on my
Instagram and she has such a creative eye. She has
such great insight and such wisdom. And it was one
(02:12):
of those things where you know, I just posted something
and didn't think about it. It was just something, okay,
like let me post this. But it's always that one
thing that you never know that could go viral or
that could you know, become something bigger and greater. And
so you saw that post, and that post was about
God's Joy, and then you were like, Joanna, I think
(02:35):
you should do something with this. I think you should
explore this a little bit more and so I remember
because I didn't remember. I mean I didn't forget.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Oh no, because you because at that time you had heart.
So those that don't know I help people brand and
really get their really their idea under the umbrella of
what it is they're looking for. And so we mapped
out everything. And the one thing I remember, I was
like the book and he was like what book? I
was like, something about joy? Yes, something about joy that
(03:10):
you need to be writing about because you exude that
and that is who you are. I was like, y'all
don't understand like her temperament, Like I think the only
time both of us really get angry is when we're hungry.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Yes, that's true. I do get angry.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
That's when we're like I think that's all women though,
Like you know that we be hungry, do pull over?
That means now, not tomorrow, not in the next ten minutes,
like find something so I need to eat. But joy,
what I saw, Joanna, just be Since i've known you,
I think i've known you over fifteen years now, is
(03:46):
you exude that? Actually? Remember I was telling you that
like the way that you speak to people, the way
that you move, it isn't a show. It is actually
who you are. I'm a hard pill to swallow.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
You either like me or you don't. It just is
what it is.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
But depending on who you are to whom you will get.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
But for joy, not that you know much.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
You know, God is still working on me. I got
a little Peter in me over here, but I do it.
It is who I am and I'm okay with that.
Some like it, some don't, and that's fine. But what
I loved about you was the joy that you always
have and how you you always have a different outlook
(04:28):
for us to say, hey, maybe you should think of
it this way or you know, but you always kept
God's joy with you. And I realized that happiness is subjective.
Happiness is a choice, and so you may not always
feel happy every day. But the one thing that you
can possess is that our God given birthright is joy.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
Right right absolutely, And so in my book I do
talk about that it is a birthright, like when we
accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior, his peace,
his joy, his love, like it comes with it comes
with the package. It comes with, like when we come
(05:07):
into accepting God Jesus Christ is our Lord and savior.
It just comes with so many blessings, but sometimes what
happens is people don't necessarily know how to tap and
so what we have to do is stay in his presence,
because the Word of the Lord says, in his presence
(05:29):
there is a full of his joy. And so I think.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
That's the key part that we miss is because we're
not always in his presence, and that's something I have
to learn. But when you are in his presence, I
don't care what trials and tribulations that you are faced with,
you can still tap into the.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
Beauty of God's joy.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
And with that joy, it just helps you maneuver through
the life's ups and downs. What life brings it also
is the attitude adjustment. Oh, it's a big attitude adjustment.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
And what you said right there about how to navigate
through life, that's pretty much or the inspiration why I
wrote this book. It's because we need God's joy. God's
joy is hope. It gives us strength. Like the Word
of the Lord says, the joy of the Lord is
(06:25):
my strength. If you don't have strength, you don't have joy.
Like joy is a strength, it is what empowers us
to keep going. I look at my late father and
my late Auntie, who both you know, love the Lord,
but for some reason they couldn't quite tap into the
(06:47):
joy of the Lord. They couldn't quite tap into the
strength that God's that God gives through his joy to
help us to get up every day and to keep going.
Because as we know, the enemy comes to kills, to
steal and destroy. But we know that Jesus Christ has
(07:07):
come to give life and life more a bunch of
abundantly and so we have to have that attitude. We
have to have that posture like I am not going
to give up. I'm going to go praise and worship
God because that does change our attitude. Even me, I
have to practice practice what I preach, even in my
own book, because you know, we're all human, like we
(07:30):
all have our days. Like yes, for the most part,
I'm very peaceful. I pretty much get along with everybody.
But I have my moments too, you know, where I
can get into my thoughts and I have to read
the word of God. I have to strengthen my spirit. Man,
I have to think about the goodness of God. And
sometimes it's just even looking up at the sky, I'm like, wow,
(07:54):
thank you, thank you God, that I am living today
that I have read in my lungs. Like one thing
that I've really learned to embrace is it's gonna sound simple,
but life, Like I truly value this life that we have.
(08:16):
I think sometimes you know, in our culture, we we
we probably don't appreciate and value the life that God
has given us. I think sometimes we can be dismissive.
But life is such a gift from God. From God,
and to be able to wake up another day and
(08:37):
say God, I'm here, Like that's a sign.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
Like God forget to something and we forget to be thankful. Yes,
not even just thankful, just grateful for another chance to
get it right.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
Another chance to get it right God.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
Is That is what I have been wrestling with is
how do I enjoy today right? How do I just
ground myself and thanking God for this moment, this day
right now? Do I focus on what the enemy is
always trying to do still and destroy or do I
focus on the abundance that God has already done? So
(09:16):
we don't usually go back and thank God for all
the blessings He's already done, right because out of sight,
you think it's out of mind, But some of us
are right where we've already prayed for, and so then
you're still striving for something. I'll be grateful for what
you already have right now. Sometimes we already have all
what we need inside of us. But that is something
that I had to really sit with myself and say,
(09:39):
you know what, hold on, thank you God for today literally,
thank you for the breath that I breathe. Thank you
for the gifts that you've given me. Thank you for
my children, thank you for giving me the will to
keep going. Thank you for my marriage. Thank you for
my husband, not just the marriage, but that person in particular.
(10:02):
And what about each person whoever you have in your home.
So if you just have yourself, we'll start talking about
the attributes of yourself and be grateful and thankful. And
I think we forget to go into God's presence of things.
You go in with thanksgiving, not requests.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
Yes, that enter His courts with thanksgiving and praise. And
when I think about the Book of Songs that David wrote,
like he was, he kept it real with God. He
was like God, like my you know, my soul cries,
I'm in desperation, Like God, where are you? Where are you?
(10:43):
Like rescue me? And I resonate with the Book of
Songs so much. It is because like you could hear,
you could feel his heart. You know, things were not perfect,
but towards the end of the song he chose to
rejoice and the Lord like, God, I'm so grateful God.
(11:06):
I thank you that you did not allow your enemies
to destroy me or to take me out. Like, yes,
they were on my back, yes they were on my neck.
But I still choose to thank you. I still choose
to praise you because you are the true and the
Living God. And so I think that's a perfect example
to say, you know what, you know, maybe yesterday was
(11:30):
not the best day, but today I'm going to choose joy.
I'm going to choose to worship God. And it is
in our worship and our thanksgiving that truly changed. Like, yes,
it's attitude, but it's also spirit, Like it changes our spirit.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
Yeah, so yeah, absolutely, that's good. It is like the
little things, Yes, it is, it really is.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
It really is thanking God for our kids, even when
they get on our nerves.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
Girl, hello, hello.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
It still gets from the Lord.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
Yes, hey man, thank you Jesus, even though I can't
see it in this moment.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
Yes, me an apparent. It's a whole nother call. That's
a whole another podcast.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
But yes, and so I'm on your introduction page where
you said why we need God's joy? And there was
something in here and I did not grab my glasses,
but bear with me, so I highlighted here. But as Christians,
enduring oppression should not be the norm, right? Why did
you like you were saying that we should It shouldn't
(12:37):
be the norm for us. And sometimes I think we
are so used to getting beat down by life we
forget to look up to God. And I think you
brought into play. I mean you were mentioning your aunt
and your uncle, and I too can just if you
just think in your life of many people that are
following Christ and whom call themselves Christian, they're miserable.
Speaker 2 (13:01):
Yes that, Yes, that I think that is such a
good question. And one of the prompts as to why
I wrote this book, because when we think about Jesus
Christ and our relationship with him, he says, I am
everlasting love, I am everlasting peace, I am everlasting joy.
(13:26):
And so if we're connected to him, and we have
and if we have a relationship with him and he
fills us up. Then why are we walking around in oppression? Like?
Why are that was the question that I happened.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
Why are people who.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
Are you know, Christians? Like why are they sad? Why
are they depressed? Why are they oppressed? It just wasn't
connecting to me. It just wasn't making any sense. And
I believe this is, you know, why God called me
to write this book, because I'm sure I'm not the
only person who had this question. But I actually didn't
(14:04):
have all the answers either, and so it was doing
a lot of Bible reading correct and just connecting with
the Holy Spirit to to help me get some of
those answers. But what I believe at the core of
it is that do we really have that relationship with
(14:29):
Jesus Christ, Because I think sometimes we get so caught
up in the religion aspect of it, but we're not
really walking with him, like it can't be like one
foot in.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
And it makes perfect sense because I've also been studying this.
Jesus didn't like religion, and some of us are stuck
in it, and now you're wondering, so now you're not
following really him, you're following doctrine of the world. So
then you're wondering why you're oppressed, or you're depressed, or
you're aim we are you're upset. Yes, I understand life hits,
trust me, I do. But I'm going to tap into
(15:08):
my God given joy. That's my birthright. I have every
right to be joyous, no matter what it looks like
behind me. Sometimes I have this vision in my head
where you can see a storm behind you, but you're
walking and you're smiling, and there's a tsunami behind you.
But you're smiling. You know why, because when you look
(15:29):
to the side of you, and you look to the
other side of you, and you look to the front
of you, and if you kind of really look in
the back, you see that God is actually right there
in the midst of it all, carrying you the whole way,
you know. And there's lessons in that storm that you
need to learn or you will repeat it.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
You know.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
That's something that I've learned. I mean, I don't know
of you out there, but for me, I got tired.
I get tired of repeating certain things over and over again,
year after year. I'm just like, Okay, what is it
that I'm missing, What is it that I'm not doing?
Have if I not did my my research, do I
actually hear from God? Am I only hearing my yes is?
And not what He's actually saying? Because a lot of
(16:08):
times we always people say they hear from God. Right, No,
you're hearing your own answers, right, And I think, okay,
So speaking of hearing from God, I talk about being
connected to God's word because a lot of times we
can go into a depression by our own thoughts.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
Or the thoughts of others. For example, the other day,
someone who I love very near and dear to me,
it be your own people, right, it be your own.
And normally if something is said in the way that
it was said and as deep as it could cut,
(16:49):
I literally saw those words like reject, it's shot back.
It was like words of arrows. It was like arrows
of nignum, words that were shooting towards me. But by
the word of God. Because I know the Word of
God and know what God says about me, and I
know my identity and Christ in Christ, like those words
(17:15):
just like bounced back and they fell down to the ground.
And so a lot of times and that comes with
reading the Word and knowing who you truly like you
have to believe it like we have, like we're believing that.
So the root word is to believe in who God
(17:37):
says and so and so. Yeah, so that's how sometimes
we can become oppressed. It is because of by words,
by experiences, by you know, so many things that can
influence us. But yeah, so God really speaks through his word.
(17:58):
But are we connected to his word and do we
believe it? Because I know in a season in my
life where it's like, Okay, it's just another page, it's
just words, but like the word says, like, meditate on
word the word daily and night night, and you should
be planted by the rivers of steel. Why that's so good.
Speaker 1 (18:21):
That's so good, that's east, that's joy. I'm going to
have her read a passage in her book. It's just
so powerful to me and hopefully it resonates with you
viewers out there as well. Tap into your God given joy.
It is imperative that you do so, just for your
(18:43):
own mental stability, your emotional stability. But one thing before
we do, Joanna tapped on something that I thought was
very profound. You were saying that someone said some words
to you, right, and you visualize it like darts coming
at you but falling to the ground. That is the
epitome of no weapons that form against me shall prosper.
(19:05):
They will form, but they don't have to prosper. And
I think it's about how we receive it as well, right,
And so that was powerful because that's how for me,
that's how God comes to me vision wise, like it's
like a cinema for me, I can see things play
out and just how He gives me things, and that
(19:27):
actually is going to help me, because sometimes God gives
you these gifts you're so creative that you start to
doubt yourself and fate to realize that the enemy that's
what he does though he wants you to doubt yourself.
And why am I even doubting myself? If God gave
it to me, Who cares that I don't have the resources?
Right now, God is saying that I have it already
in me and everything else will come accordingly. Just I
(19:51):
think we forget not only to pour into the word,
because the Word will pour into you, but we forget
to walk into obedience.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
Yeah, yeah, I mean the journey that I've been on
for the last couple of years or so has been
the most difficult to be honest, and so I even
doubt it, Like you know, do I have do I
have joy? I'm writing this book. I don't have joy,
(20:21):
but I did have joy. But see everything, God like
test us, Yes, you know, he he tests do you
love me?
Speaker 1 (20:31):
You know?
Speaker 2 (20:32):
Do you really love me? You really love me? If
I take everything from.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
You, You're still gonna loves yeah, you know?
Speaker 2 (20:39):
And he tested me with joy Like you're writing this book,
I'm gonna show you what it is. I'm going to
take you through that process. And I remember because how
long has this book's been in the making?
Speaker 1 (20:51):
About two years? Because I was on you. I was like,
you started on your book and you started it and
then I was like, no, you need to finish. But
you know, like life happens, Life is life, life for
everybody m hm. Because you had to go through it
to get to this point through it because.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
Like I said, I've always had like this light. But
when God takes everything from you like he did with
the job, it's like are you still my Lord and Savior?
Like are you still gonna tap into you know? Is
the joy? The Lord still your strength? And I'm like,
ooh Jesus, But I say that to say, I remember
lying on my bed one day and I wish I
(21:29):
could remember the scripture, but I had to read the
Word over my whole body, just ask the Lord to
give me strengths. So I would like take my Bible
and I would just read the Word, and it was
like the Word of God was just feeling me up
and was just really strengthening me. And so, yeah, the
(21:50):
Word is a powerful it is It's alive and active.
But we have to choose it. We have to we
have to choose it.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
And I think we have to navigate through the Holy
Spirit for the parts of the Word that you not
understanding that moment, because that happens or you feel like
you're being sleepy, So as you pick up the book,
you gotta wake yourself. For us nothing but the enemy,
because you know, you be up at twelve two o'clock
in the morning, you're eating bomb bombs and potato chips
and jigs and and be on your phone scrolling for
(22:16):
tdays every three in the morning. But as soon as
you want to get in the word of God, oh Lord.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
I'm tired.
Speaker 1 (22:21):
I'm exhausted, you know. So it's fighting against the flesh constantly,
and so we are here in understanding that we do
fight against the flesh constantly.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
It is just what it is.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
It is.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
Well, do you mind reading that passage because it is
so good? Okay, all right, So this is page twenty,
what chapter? This is chapter one? Let me just double check, yes,
(22:54):
it is. Okay. So I'm gonna start with the second okay, paragraph.
All right, I'm gonna okay, I'm gonna start a little
bit before because I don't do it where you know, yes, okay,
(23:15):
all right, I'm gonna talk about sins for a second
because this book is inspired by Song fifty one where
David cried out to God restored to me the joy
of salvation. And at this point of David's life, the
Lord had given him everything, like he went from humble
beginnings to being risen. The Lord exalted him, and he
(23:38):
became king, and he got complacent, and he got himself
into a little bit of trouble. We know the story.
She is looking fine, I have heard right. And so
it's sin that sometimes can separate us from God, like
we're we're in a flesh, and so the more that
we depart from the presence in the rightiousness of God
(24:01):
like that can pull us away. And so here we
see that David felt the absence of God's joy, and
so David lacked the joy that only God could provide
through the continual gift of salvation. When we look at
Isaiah twelve three, it affirms with joy, you will draw
(24:24):
water from the wells of salvation. You will draw it
is in present tense. You will raw from the wells.
And when I think of wells, I think of water.
It's a life given source. So this suggests that the
wells of salvation are a life giving source, like a
(24:45):
flowing spring. So if you're not drawing from this well
supplied by the Holy Spirit, it can become stagnant or dry.
So this is the wells of salvation. So the wells
of the wealth of Salvation mentioned in Isaiah twenty three
are the same source of joy described in Isaiah sixty one,
(25:08):
which speaks of everlasting joy that provides the oil of
gladness for mourning and breaks the yoke of oppression. Because
again the Lord God Almighty send his only onanted son,
Jesus Christ, so we can break from all bondage of oppression.
(25:29):
He has come to give us oil of gladness for mourning,
and so in this broken state of David's he admitted
in songs fifty one to having a contrayte heart and spirit.
He was at a deep loss, and in songs twenty
I'm sorry, and in song thirty two through three four
(25:52):
he says, when I kept silent, my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long, for day and night,
your hand was Heaven was heavy on me. I'm sorry.
My strength was sapped as in the heat of the summer.
(26:14):
And so here we can see when David was in
a state of hopelessness. He was in a state of hopelessness.
And again he expresses himself to God and in that state,
like God wants us to come to us as we are.
I think sometimes you get caught up in the physical image,
(26:36):
but it's like really about our spirit, man, about our soul,
Like huh, Like wherever you are, wherever you are mentally, emotionally,
come to God as you are and be humble like yo,
like God, Like this is where I've been grown, David says,
I've been growning all day long. I need to draw
myself back to the wells of salvation. I need to
(26:58):
go back to the feet of Jesus Christ, fill me
with your love. Lord. I've messed Holy Spirit. I want
to draw back to that well. I think sometimes we
get so caught up in like, oh, you know save, Like, yes,
Salvation is free, but it does cost us a little
bit to have that relationship with him. Like I'm still
(27:19):
single at the moment, but I know I will be
married in Jesus Na man, you as a married person, like,
you have to have that connection with your partner otherwise
it becomes dry. And so to produce that water in
the well, you need to you know, you need to
put something. You need to put something into it, right,
(27:39):
you need to draw yourself into it. And so yeah,
that's so good. That's so good. Oh.
Speaker 1 (27:48):
I just love God and I love you Joanna, because
this book is so good it just drops them and
like you're not going to just read it once. I say,
make it a part of your studying. If you're reading
the Word of God, you can take this too and
just kind of like study so that you can tap
into it, especially those that do know me and or don't.
(28:09):
There are times that I would go in and out
of depression.
Speaker 2 (28:11):
You know.
Speaker 1 (28:12):
The devil loves to remind me of my past or
what I went through as a child, and I chose
to really just walk in God's joy. Even when my
mom passed, I chose to walk, you know, because here's
my thing. To be absent from the body is to
be present with the Lord.
Speaker 2 (28:30):
Right.
Speaker 1 (28:30):
So I don't want to harp on everyone that passed away.
Do I think about them and my memory and the
good times? Absolutely, But there there where they are. If
they believed in God, you know, we know where they are,
right and so and if they're not, you just you know,
it is what it is. But learning to when I'm
going through a lot of trials, and I have been
going through a lot of trials and tribulations which we
(28:51):
pray a lot. You know this, I tap into His joy.
I have to in order to keep my sanity. I
have to in order to be a present a present mother.
There's a difference. I have to in order to be
a present wife. I have to in order to be
a present friend, or I can't. I can't, you know. So, yeah,
(29:13):
thank you for coming on my show.
Speaker 2 (29:14):
Joy. I appreciate Joanna.
Speaker 1 (29:17):
Because I'm just thinking Joanna, but what we call her
jojo But so I'm trying not to I keep trying
to not do that on the show, but it's Joanna Mills.
Everybody seven Keys to God's Joy.
Speaker 2 (29:30):
Please please take.
Speaker 1 (29:31):
A moment go on to Amazon and purchase your copy.
We are grateful to you for being here and always.
Speaker 2 (29:38):
I want you to know what.
Speaker 1 (29:40):
Maybe I haven't told you that you are such an
inspiration to me because you love God. I don't know
whoever is around you can never say that you don't
like you are always in pursuance of God. You are
always you keep God's name continuously in your mouth, and
you are always there to uplift those around around you,
and I hope that you get that in return from others.
(30:04):
I thank you for always being my prayer warrior, the
person that I can call no matter what time it
is of the day. You have always made time for me,
and I pray to be the same for you. And
may God bestow what you give to others tenfold to
you and your son. Thank you, Thank you,
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