Beloved Friend and Daughter of the King!

Sept 15, 1945 – Dec. 31, 2016

From the first time I met Joan, I knew we would become good friends. Of course, we would, Joan was friends with everyone. We met at a board meeting for Hearts Being Healed in 2012. She was chosen to be a speaker for our 2013 conference. We all fell in love with her from the first time we met her. She was an inspiration to us all. She would become a cherished board member. She also became our Bishop, our Spiritual Mama. Boy, could she pray. She was a prayer warrior. It became obvious that she was sent to us. She was a gift to Hearts Being Healed. What a precious gift!

Joan loved God and made it her purpose to love all people well. She would call everyone she met “Precious”.  She would talk about Him wherever she went. It didn’t matter what anyone thought; she was bold in her love for the Lord. Whether she was eating out a restaurant or shopping at a store, she called those she came into contact with “Precious”. She knew we were all created as precious sons and daughters of God. She made sure everyone knew that. Another thing Joan liked to do was to bake brownies and bless people with them. She wanted people to know they were sweet to God. She made the best brownies. I never did get her recipe.

Joan loved her Billy. Billy was her husband of 42 years. She loved him with great devotion and affection. The way she spoke about him was with great admiration. She praised him always. There was never a doubt they loved each other. 

Joan lived every day with intention. She was put on this earth to glorify God and she would do just that. She wanted everyone to know Jesus and His love for them. She was God’s heart for people. Joan would purchase Jesus Calling devotionals and hand them out to people she knew and met. She was God’s hands and feet. She was an example of what it meant to be Jesus to the broken hearted. Joan knew how much God loved her and her life was a testimony of that love. With the love she received, she would in turn, love others.

As Joan inspired us in her life, she inspires us in her death as we remember who she was. Her memory challenges us to live-love-well. It’s my desire to honor Joan by living life with intention and to be purposeful in my service to God and His people. I want to live the way Joan lived: bold, courageous, transparent, loving well, and with passion for the things of God. I want and hope to have the same impact on people the way Joan did. It is the only way to live. God calls each one of us to be His hands and His feet. We are to go into all the world and speak about Him to all people. We are to make His name known. Joan made His name known wherever she went.

She didn’t take for granted her time on earth. She wanted her days to count. She wanted to make a difference and she did make a difference in our lives. Joan inspired us. She inspired me. We will forever be blessed by her love for people and her love of God. 

Joan would want you to know how precious you are to God. The scripture in Psalm 139 speaks about the love God has for each one of you. Take a minute and allow this scripture to soak in. Begin to believe how precious you are. God loves you so very much. There is nothing you have done that would change the way God sees you: valuable and precious. Believe it, you matter to God!

Psalms 139:13-18

“For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand. When I awake, I am still with You.”

Precious Joan, I know we will meet again; until then our hearts ache in knowing you aren’t with us. We do, however, rejoice in knowing you are dancing on streets of gold, you are with our Father in heaven and you are worshipping at His feet. We can’t help but be a bit envious of that. 

When you think about Joan, remember to pray for Billy.  Joan would appreciate that. She would want to know that Billy was loved well and taken care of. 

Chris Cannon

Treasurer

PS, Our meetings won’t be the same without you there.