Meet Joyce

One of the greatest passions and joys in my life is passing along encouragement to others through personal relationships, writing, speaking, and teaching writing. I’ve had a lot of ups and downs over the years, but I’m grateful for those who have encouraged me to persevere through faith. So I love to pass along encouragement to others.

Scariest event in my life

While doing research for an article about police chaplains, I took a mid-winter ridealong with two Minneapolis police officers from 12 midnight Saturday night till 2:00 Sunday morning as my husband watched over our obliviously sleeping children at home. At one point the officers arrested a man accused of violent domestic abuse and put him in the only space available—in the back seat with me. When the freshly handcuffed suspect bummed a cigarette off the officers, he asked me periodically to flick the quickly growing ash into the cold air out the window until he arrived at jail. All this excitement, and I had to get up early to teach Sunday school the next morning.

Most exciting time in my life

After beginning college at the age of 39 (a community college, followed by University of Northwestern-St. Paul), I attended college classes in the same time span as my college-age kids (but not the same institution, much to their relief!), graduating with a B.A. in English with a Writing Concentration and Biblical Studies.

So what’s with the pineapple?

Our kids took school field trips to a historic mansion in Duluth, Minnesota. As the tour guide went from room to room, she kept pointing out pineapple motifs carved into woodwork, staircases, and more. Over and over she would then say, “…and, as we all know, the pineapple is the symbol of hospitality.” It became a family joke, quoted often. Then, on a family vacation to South Carolina, the owners of the inn where we stayed told us that, historically, as long as guests found a slice of pineapple on their plate, they were welcome to stay. But if no pineapple appeared, it was time to move on.

So, the little pineapple house on this page is a gesture of hospitality. Feel free to come back anytime and stay as long as you like.

Background

My childhood in St. Louis, Missouri, overflowed with love, faith in God, and a lot of humor, and my decision to follow Jesus Christ became the guiding force for my life. After moving to Minneapolis, this kinda crazy kid of 19 married a quiet, brainy civil engineer, who was enough older than I am for some people to tease him about robbing the cradle. Soon an interest in writing that had budded in high school blossomed as we began raising a family. And our children learned their alphabet from my typewriter keys before I got up the courage to work on a computer.

As I was learning and applying everything I could about the craft of writing, God opened the door to publish articles and books. Then came opportunities to speak at events for women and for writers across America and eventually in other countries.

Despite much rejection along the way, I’ve had the privilege of publishing hundreds of magazine articles and stories, as well as numerous fiction and nonfiction books for children and adults. You can read some of those articles in the Adults’ Nook page.

The Joyce’s Book Nook page contains information about the most recent titles, including these:

The Fabulous World That God Made – children’s picture book
The 500 Hats of a Modern-Day Woman – humorous inspirational book
Our Heart Psalms – interactive devotional book based on the Psalms of the Bible
Write with Excellence 201 – humorous yet practical grammar book (yes, there is such a thing) for writers, editors, and all those wanting to develop personal or workplace writing skills.

See the Media Kit for more professional information.

My husband, Steve, and I still live in the Minneapolis area. We have three grown children, seven grandchildren, and one great-grandchild, who are all a joy and inspiration. I’m so grateful for Steve, who supports me prayerfully, emotionally—and in so many other ways—in this crazy life I live. And together, when not enjoying time with family, one of our favorite pastimes is reading for pleasure wherever we can set up our lawn chairs beside one of Minnesota’s 10,000 lakes—or any body of water, to be honest. This photo of us was taken at Minneapolis’s famous Minnehaha Falls.

A “few” of my favorite things

(in no particular order except the first one, perhaps)

chocolate—especially dark chocolate—for its nutritional value, of course. Ghirardelli’s 60% chocolate chips for snacking are listed on our grocery list as “Antioxidants.”
spending time with and reading to kids—especially classroom visits. Use the Contact form to inquire about or to schedule events.
traveling around the U.S. So far I’m only a few states short of visiting all 50.
traveling globally—15 countries and counting
mission trips (more than 20 Guatemalan adventures and others)
singing with our church choir and listening to music throughout the day. You might say I’m “a little bit country, a little bit rock & roll, a whole lot of gospel & classical—but not much Bach.”
Cardinals [there’s a story behind that], hummingbirds, goldfinches, and other birds that come to the feeders on our patio
needlework of all kinds

speaking and teaching writing. For more information or to schedule events, use the Contact form.
watching my hometown St. Louis Cardinals play baseball
playing Scrabble (especially Book Lovers edition) and other board games—best enjoyed with kids and grandkids
my wake-up morning tea, 4 p.m. teatime, tea with friends—tea alone or with anyone anytime. My tea cabinet? Bottom shelf: black tea; middle shelf: green and oolong; top shelf: herbal and white teas.

Fun facts

My husband, Steve, and I share the same birthday, August 31 (but not birth year).
I once swam 100 miles over the course of a year at the community pool to get a T-shirt that said “I swam 100 miles.”
I’ve had the privilege of teaching English to dozens of students in Thailand via Zoom.

Currently working on

writing new picture books
developing more classroom-visit programs for early-elementary-age children
creating a podcast with inspiration and humor for mothers and grandmothers of early-elementary-age kids. To learn when the Grandma Always Said… podcast launches, visit my contact page.

Motivation

The Bible verses I’ve memorized over the years, especially those learned in my youth, often come to mind when I need them. A long-standing favorite is “Stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58 NIV).
As my hair started turning gray, Psalm 92:12–15 (NIV) became meaningful. It says that those who seek to live for God will “still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, ‘The Lord is upright; he is my Rock.’”
Above all, my motivation comes from my gratitude to my Savior, Jesus Christ, who loves me and gave His life for me. May I honor Him in everything, as His Word encourages us all:

“Be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you”

(1 Samuel 12:24 NIV)

Visiting a first-grade classroom. Reading my picture book and using animal hand puppets to lead a Q & A.

Teaching English to high school students in a Guatemala public school.

Classroom visit in a Christian grade school in Guatemala.