Journal of Joy ~ Freedom Dance! ~ August 2-6, 2000


​©Jennifer Lynn Easton Joy​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ / שמחה איסטון לין ינייפר
Women on the Frontline Conference ~ Tennessee, USA

August 2, 2000, Wednesday ~ After work on Tuesday, I drove from Corvallis, Oregon to Battle Ground, Washington (about a 3 hour commute in good traffic) to stay with my daughter and her family, a brief sweet interlude before she took me to the airport on Wednesday for my flight to Nashville, Tennessee. My dear friend, Joyce Breazeale is flying me out for the "Women on the Frontline" Conference and I am very excited for this opportunity to learn, to worship corporately and spend time with Tennessee friends, whom I so dearly love. She is also an HGRM Advisor and has given many hours to helping me write ministry documents and put things in a more professional order, an amazing gift. 

Tennessee is known as the Volunteer State which means that Tennessee is filled with givers, people who genuinely enjoy giving which is purely delightful for this native Oregonian. It is the custom and the culture of Tennessee to be kind, generous, giving and pleasant. And truly they do it so well. 

Joyce made the arrangements for me to stay in a hotel near Nashville where her employment office was located, and the conference was taking place. For this I am truly grateful. 

August 3, 2000, Thursday ~ We went to the Tennessee River and the Kentucky River to pour out "HIS Remnant Bride!" Holy Anointing Oil! It was my first time to cross the border into Kentucky. I was very grateful for this opportunity as the LORD had asked me to pray over and bless HIS Rivers in 1985, and it was my heart to continue doing what HE had asked. After our day of pouring out Holy Anointing Oil! and praying over the States of Tennessee and Kentucky, Joyce dropped me off at the hotel for a couple of hours of rest and relaxation before the evening conference.

While I was at the hotel changing clothes for the evening, I received a phone call from my Dad, letting me know that he had been diagnosed with liver cancer and the doctors thought he had about 60 days to live. The news was a shock but then again not a shock as I had noticed Daddy's energy and strength had not been the same the last few months. The phone call was brief as emotion filled his voice and I could easily tell none of this was easy for him and he was still adjusting to the shock of it all. I promised him my prayers, my love and that I would see him Monday night.

Immediately, I took time to seek the LORD...HE confirmed that HE was taking my Dad home. How was I going to live without the one person who truly believed in me, blessed the call of God on my life and loved me unconditionally...this I did not know. I asked God for two things ~ one is that Daddy would not be in pain and two that he would not be ill, as I could not stand to see him suffer the way my sister Susan did when she died of ovarian cancer in 1997. 

When Joyce came to pick me up for the conference, she offered to fly me home early, but I declined as I remembered that when I said "Yes" to God, HE promised to take care of my family as I was being sent to minister to HIS family. So, I stayed based on a promise of God.  

August 4, 2000, Friday ~ The day was filled with the "Women on the Frontline" Conference and I truly loved the learning opportunity and being with friends. It was good to have this time to adjust to the news of my Dad. It was good to be surrounded by love. We shared lunch with a group of Tennessee friends, and I tasted okra for the first time. Not sure I will have okra again but a table of Tennessee friends...any day of the week....would be pure joy.

August 5, 2000, Saturday ~ The final day of the conference and I am go glad I came and so glad I stayed. The fullness of this experience is best described as "Freedom Dance" and a loving God who imparts freedom to those seeking HIS face, to those lost in the world, to those hurting, to those in need, and to those not even knowing what they need. I witnessed HIS Hand of LOVE bring freedom to HIS own from the shame, guilt, fear, confusion, pride, anxiety and infirmities.

​God provided me with the privilege of meeting one true shepherd, worshiping with others and being taught by others. These are gifts I shall cherish. 

We shared lunch at the Cracker Barrel today...one of my favorite Tennessee restaurants which we do not have in Oregon, yet. It has an ambiance that truly describes the joy, happiness, abundance and pleasures of Tennessee. I truly enjoyed the sweet fellowship of other believers, fully recognizing that only GOD could orchestrate such divine encounters.

August 6, 2000, Sunday ~ My beautiful daughter graciously picked me up at the airport and then after a brief visit and hugging my first born grandson, Elijah who is 3 months old, I drove home to Corvallis, Oregon, as work awaited me in morning and I would be driving to Eugene, after work to see Daddy. I could not begin to imagine what the next two months would hold, I only knew GOD would be with me and that I was counting on the prayers of the HGRM Prayer Shield, family and friends more than ever before.