Thursday, October 24, 2024

October 23, 2024 1378.the Oberg Family. 1379.Kevin S. 1380.Marlon&Kris. 1381.Kobee S. 1382.Deanna H. 1383.Tammy Miller. 1384.Patrick&Erica Burger. 1385.Tess N. 1386.Promise

 Ladies we had another great night……it was busy but good.

Last Thursday Nate and Marci came and we did a quilt and prayed for 

1378. the Oberg family from Howard…...their 15 yr. old daughter Audrey passed away.



Last night we did quilts and had a great time of prayer for

1379. Kevin (friend of son, Roger)fighting prostrate cancer.


1380. Marlon & Kris Wiebe…Kris donated one of her kidneys to Marlon… 



1381. Kobee Sherman, a young man from the Viborg/ Hurley school district. Kobee has been fighting cancer for 1½ years and is having one of his legs amputated on Oct. 28th



1382. Deanna Howe (Sandy M. sister) with medical problems….. 


1383.  a happy quilt for Tammy Miller CEO of Madison Regional Health System who is retiring 



1384. Patrick & Erica Burger who will be pastoring a church in DeSmet 


1385. Tess Nelson fighting the battle of breast cancer  


1386. Promise, a 5 year old foster child staying with Nate and Marcie for 10 days. 




Remember our mission is all about the prayers so may we continue to reach out to people that need our prayers.  There are many so keep your ears open to anyone that we can bring just a moment of joy to.

There are 5 Tuesdays in Oct. so we won’t meet until Nov. 12th and then again the last work night of 2024, Nov. 26th…….another year almost gone.  We will have our Christmas brunch on Dec. 7th.  There will be no work nights in Dec.

Thanks Holly for the good treats.

Remember each one of you is important.  It takes many hours to make a quilt so thanks everyone whether you work at home or here.

Choose Joy in the fact that we can reach out to a few people.

God is good.

Love, Joyce


(..just read this in a book and thought it was good.)


The proper function of Man (or woman)is to live,

not to exist. I shall not waste my days

in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.

                                                                                 -Jack London- 

   


Wednesday, October 9, 2024

October 9 2024. 1371.Randy Rook. 1372.Ed Hanson. 1373.Lyle. 1374.Sally. 1375.Michelle Eimers. 1376.Nick. 1377.Danelle&Brady Balogh

 October 9 2024. 1371.Randy Rook. 1372.Ed Hanson. 1373.Lyle. 1374.Sally. 1375.Michelle Eimers. 1376.Nick. 1377.Danelle&Brady Balogh


Good morning ladies on another beautiful fall day.

We had a great night last night.

Sandy McElhatton came and we prayed for three quilts for her family & friends:  

1371. for Sandy’s brother Randy Rook who has stage 4 colon cancer… 


1372.for Ed Hanson Stage 4 lung cancer….. 


1373. for Lyle (husband of a cousin) who is suffering with Parkinson’s. 


We also later in the evening prayed and did quilts for 


1374.Sally who had a double mastectomy (friend of son Tom)… 


1375.Michelle Eimers with breast cancer….. 


1376. Joy Boon’s brother Nick who will be having a bone marrow transfusion to battle multiple myeloma… 


1377. Danelle & Brady Balogh waiting to bring their baby daughter home (2lb. 3 0z at birth but has gained to 5 – 13) 




We enjoyed having Abby Morganti and Anna Vonkeman join us.  It takes many hands and many prayers to keep our ministry going.  Each hand is so important because it takes many steps to make a quilt.  Thank you each one of you for whatever you do because it is all very special.

Our next work night will be Oct. 22nd.  We will have 2 work nights in Nov. then have Dec. off.  We will have a brunch on Sat. morning Dec. 7th unless there are too many conflicts.

Remember to each day to love one another and to Choose Joy.


Love, Joyce






Love never fails,

And now abide faith, hope, love, these three;

But the greatest of these is love.

I Corinthians 13:8, 13

Wednesday, October 2, 2024

September 24 2024. 1364.Lynda P. 1365.Brenda F. 1366.Dennis H. 1367.Julia D. 1368.Rosee H. 1369.Kelly C. 1370.Peg R.

 Good morning ladies…..it is Fall.

Last night started out slow but as the evening progressed we kept adding……..it was great to see each one of you.

We prayed and tied quilts for 

                                1364.Lynda P. dealing with many medical problems….

1365.Brenda F. whose dear husband died….

                               1366.Dennis H. dealing with some cancer…..

                

                             1367.Julia D who is dealing with West Nile


                             1368. Rosee H who broke her hip.

                                  1369. Kelly C who is dealing with unknown medical problems

                                          


              1370.Peg R. whose husband just died (Husband was Marian’s nephew)


                        



 Continue to remember these special people and remember to pray for one another.

Our next work night is Oct. 8th.

Thanks Marci for the treats.

Remember each day to CHOOSE JOY and also know that each one of you is special.

Love, Joyce

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;

his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.  Lam. 3:22-23

Wednesday, September 11, 2024

September 11 2024 1357.Dennis S. 1358.Diane. 1359.Bennett. 1360.Ruby. 1361.Amanda. 1362.Michael Peters. 1363.Wren

Oh how good it was to get together as a group last night…..we did miss August.

We prayed and did quilts for 


1357. Dennis S



1358.Diane, a friend of my daughter-in-law dealing with breast cancer


1359.the new twin babies, Bennett and 


1360.Ruby, 


1361.and for their mom, Amanda, who will be having surgery


1362.Michael Peters, who is being deployed


1363. Wren.


(If you get a chance read Wren’s article in the Tuesday  Daily Leader, “The Day I Didn’t Die)….very good.  Yesterday was World Suicide Prevention Day.  Last year 180 South Dakotans died by suicide.

Last week, I was gifted a beautiful quilt by a local group. This is  the most meaningful gift I think I’ve ever received at this job.

It wasn’t just the quilt itself, which was beautifully made by the Choose Joy Prayer Quilt Group from West Center Baptist Church, it was the sentiment and love behind it.

Election season is stressful for almost everyone, and journalists are not alone in this. This year, however, our readers and community have brightened my spirits and energized me in a way no community has before. It’s not just the quilt – which I have put in my house in a place my cats cannot easily reach – it’s the conversations I’ve had with so many of you, whether it was about local elections, mental health or general community coverage.

For that, I am thankful to all of you.

On Sept. 10, also known as World Suicide Prevention Day, I released a column I had spent months writing, piece by piece. In it, I discussed my own mental health and suicide attempt. I wrote it in hopes of showing people who are struggling that they are not alone, and to shed some light on an issue that can be easy to shove under the bed and ignore. It was a stressful endeavor, especially since I was also working on election coverage. Between thinking about these subjects all day and staying up late to think about them some more, I was exhausted.

Since the release of that column, however, I’ve received so much support from the community. People have reached out by letter, email, social media and in person to discuss my column with me, oftentimes sharing their own or their family’s relationship with mental health and suicide. This led to many meaningful conversations.

Throughout the entire writing process, and especially around time of publication, I was wracked with nerves. I could not have imagined a more positive response. It was received very well and very kindly, and in addition to those fruitful conversations, I received the beautiful prayer quilt and had my column placed with a display at the Madison Public Library.

Even though I work in the newspaper business and have a much wider platform than most people, sometimes I feel a little lost. I ask myself if I’m doing something meaningful in the community. It’s not like I need constant validation, but I think everyone feels that way in their work. They want what they do to have meaning.

The column I wrote, no matter how hard it was to get it onto the page, had an impact on people that make me happy I am here and happy I am present.

It’s also made me more aware of how I want to do what I can in this community. I really love it here in Madison. I love it when people come in and ask me questions about what I wrote, even if their feedback isn’t all positive. I love it when people ask for help regarding articles that I published. I love it when people ask me about places to get election information, whether for themselves or other people. It gives me a sense of fulfillment, knowing that what I do can matter to people and that I can contribute to making Madison an amazing place to live.

Newspapers wouldn’t exist without our readers, our advertisers, our staff or our communities, and this past month, I’ve had so many reminders about why I love Madison and Lake County.

Once again, thank you.

Wren Murphy is a reporter for Madison Daily Leader. 



I think we have a mission.  We just need to look around and see someone we can encourage.

Karen and I prayed and tied a quilt and delivered it to Dennis S. (1357) while he was in the hospital.

Thank you Marian for the goodies.

We meet again on Sept. 24th.

Remember each day to CHOOSE JOY.

Love, Joyce

 

Be Still

And know that I am God.






Wednesday, July 24, 2024

July 24 2024. 1348.Bill&Suzanne.1349.Kenzie. 1350.Dick O. 1351.Todd K. 1352.Kelly. 1353.Hallie Grace. 1354.Kaci. 1355. Amelia. 1356.Xavier

 Good morning to all of you special friends on a very foggy smoky day.

Last night we gave and prayed for lots of people:


               1348.Bill & Suzanne (cousins of Maria’s husband) who both have cancer

                                   


1349.Kenzie who is dealing with a burned foot and ankle  

1350.Dick O. who suffered a stroke


1351.Todd K. whose brother committed suicide…1352.and for the wife, Kelly


1353. Hallie Grace, TD & Sara’s new baby

1354.Kaci ( Deanna’s cousin) dealing with cancer
 

1355&1356.Amelia & Xavier, the two youngsters that Matt and Kelsey are fostering 

                                
It was a great night.  How special to have Deanna, Ella, and Cooper join us.

We will not have quilting in August…..mark your calendars for September 10th for our next work night.  That sounds like a long ways off but I think it will work.

Remember to pray for one another and pray that our mission may remain a mission.

God is good all the time even in the times when it seems like life  is hard.

CHOOSE JOY

Love, Joyce

Love never fails,

And now abide faith, hope, love, these three;

But the greatest of these is love.

Wednesday, July 10, 2024

July 10 2024. 1336. Denis&Jacqueline. 1337.Marco&Fabi. 1338.Antonio&Dione. 1339.Gelson&Luzia. 1340.Anderson&Cleo. 1341.Kamylly. 1342.Leighton Family. 1343.Donna. 1344,1345.Suzanne&Robbie. 1346.Harry. 1347.Zach



 Good morning dear friends.

I did crack the whip.  We got lots of work done.

We got quilts ready for the team to take to Chain of Love in Brazil

1336-1341. house parents Denis & Jacqueline, Marco & Fabi, Antonio & Dione, Gelson & Luzia, Anderson & Cleo….and for the girl that Joyce helps support, 

Kamylly




1342.The Leighton family who just lost their dear wife and mother




1343. Donna (from Minneapolis), Joyce’s sister-in-law, dealing with medical problems




1344&1345. Suzanne & Robbie (from SC), son Tom’s leader’s parents……Susanne dealing with dementia and Robbie the full time care giver



1346. Harry (from NY), Tom’s bosses’ dad, who suffered a severe stroke



1347.Zach (from GA), good friend of Tom’s…whose mother fell down some stairs and died





Altogether we gave 12 quilts.  Don’t forget to pray for these people and for each other.  We all need love and prayers.

Thank you Ann for the yummy cookies.

Next work night is July 23rd.

Always remember that each step is important so that makes each one of you important….isn’t it wonderful to be able to give a smile to someone who is suffering or in need.

Love you all,

Joyce

Remember it is summertime…..swat those mosquitos away 

Plant Kindness

And

Grow Love