JOYCE ... on perfect parenting: “I remember correcting my son, David, when he was a teenager. He did something he shouldn’t have, and I was explaining to him why it was a wrong decision, and how I expected him to act differently in the future. [...] He said, ‘Well, I wouldn’t be the way I am if you wouldn’t have treated me the way you did.’ David was old enough by then to know that I had been abused, and that I often admitted that I was overcoming behavior problems that developed from my dysfunctional past. He was also sly enough to try to use it as a cover-up for his own bad behavior. I felt really terrible for the rest of the day. [...] But in the middle of my regret- and-dread pity party, the Holy Spirit spoke to me. He said, ‘Joyce, David has the same opportunity to overcome as you did. Not everybody has to be treated perfectly in life to have good character.’ [...] What a freeing revelation that was. Immediately, I went from a fear-based mind-set to a faith-based mind-set. [...] I chose to believe [that] God can redeem my shortcomings. [...] I went back to David’s room and shared with him what God had spoken to me.”

JOYCE ... on being determined: “I just started working with a new strength training coach, and he told me that when I got to repetition 9 or 10, if I felt the weight I was lifting was going to be too much, I could use my own discretion about when to stop. I told him that if the goal was 10, I would do 10 (if there was any possible way for me to do it). I said, ‘If I quit early, you can be guaranteed that I absolutely could not go on.’ I wasn’t bragging; that is just the way I am. I had to make that decision early in life when I was being abused, and no adult was willing to help me. I had to make it again when my first husband walked out on me when I was pregnant, so he could live with another woman. I had to make it again when God called me into ministry, and I was asked to leave my church – resulting in me losing all of my friends. When my strength was gone, I finally realized I needed to rely on God’s strength. [...] Perhaps the reason God didn’t rescue me from all these difficulties was for the purpose of building that determination in me – because without it, none of us can do anything great in life. If you have big dreams, then you’ll need determination.”