This Holy Week.

The remembrance and celebration of Christ’s journey to the cross and his resurrection are what make this week holy.
We, as an Easter people, carry this holy week within us all year long.
But it’s good, so very good, to take time and ponder the passion of our Savior.

The word, passion, comes from a Latin word meaning “suffering.”
That certainly puts things into perspective.

Over years, though the word “passion” has evolved into more, it’s not difficult to follow the origin and sense the suffering that comes with a deep, deep love for someone or even something else, a sacrificial love.

Because of His love for the world, the Father sent the Son, whose love for the Father compelled Him to offer himself as the Body of sacrifice, beaten, broken, scourged along the way; mocked and rejected by his own people.

This is The Passion.

This suffering servant is the One we venerate, the One whose suffering we embrace for our salvation.

“but he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.” Isaiah 53:5

Good Friday is good because his death means a new life for us.

The rebellion is over.
Wave the white flag, smeared in red.

“our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. we are no longer slaves to sin.” Romans 6:6

Now there is a new power at work in us,
a Resurrection power.

The Resurrection, evidence for the truth of our faith, is more than just this one miraculous fact.
It is the power to live, fully loved, a much more grace of God.
We live with hope, with eternity in our hearts.
We can, by this Spirit of the resurrected Christ within, lay down our lives for our friends.
We can love our enemies.
We have died with Christ and so we live with Him,

Now and forever.

May your holy week be infused with the Presence of our Passionate Savior.

Joe and Kim

Have Joe and Kim in your church We have some dates open this year and would love to help lead in worship in your church, in your weekly worship services, or special events. Consider “A Celebration in Worship” a worship experience event for your church, where we express our praise to God in song and testimony. As we experience the Presence of God together in our worship, it brings unity to the church family. We are scheduling these now. Kim is available as a speaker and worship leader for women’s events and is scheduling now for the remainder of 2022. She would love the opportunity to share an encouraging word with your women. You can contact us here for booking dates.

if you haven’t had an opportunity to listen the podcast, A Burst Of Hope, click on the button below. Kim is co-hosting this podcast with her dear friend, Martha Wilson of Touching Hearts Ministries, and every week there are amazing stories of hope from their guests. Everyone needs a little, or a lot, of hope!

A Burst Of Hope Podcast

Merry Christmas from our home to yours!
We can’t believe this is nearly the end of 2021
and a new year is just around the corner.

Our hearts are full of gratitude for how we have seen God at work this year
and for you, our friends, who have prayed for us, given to this ministry, and hung out with us online or in person.

Here are some of this year’s highlights:

Throughout 2021 we have led in revivals, conferences and concerts in Nashville, Hilton Head Island, Mississippi & Jackson, South Carolina as well as in many churches throughout Georgia.
We’ve seen many come to trust Christ; families restored and lives changed by the power of God’s Word and His Presence.

Many Sundays we divide up and lead in worship at separate churches.
Between the two of us, we were blessed to share in over 120 services in many different churches.
This year we were invited to be a part of 11 funerals; Joe preached in 2 churches and officiated 2 weddings.

Being in full-time ministry, we are totally dependent on God to provide through church love offerings and individual gifts.
Since we are not on staff at any church, we are responsible for our own health insurance and all other ministry expenses.
God has been faithful to provide for our every need and we thank and praise Him every day!!

We are currently serving on the Executive Committees of the Southern Baptist Evangelists as well as the Georgia Baptist Evangelists.
Joe has recently been asked to serve as the vice moderator for our own Fairburn Baptist Association.
Kim continues to lead her “One Thing Worship” women’s ministry which features a time for women to gather, pause and pull away from the rush of life with the intentional purpose of being with Jesus.
She leads worship most weeks for Touching Hearts Women’s Ministries.
Kim also started co-hosting a podcast in October called “A Burst Of Hope” and is planning on writing a book in 2022.

We are a 501 (c) 3 non-profit ministry;
Your gifts are tax deductible.
We thank you for all of your prayers and financial support.

If you feel led to donate financially, please see our “Donate” page on this website.

Donate

You can also mail checks payable to:
Joe and Kim Stanley Ministries,
PO Box 142403
Fayetteville, GA 30214
Thank you!!!

This Advent, preparing Him room in my heart, brings a new revelation of love incarnate and me to my knees. Awe and wonder fill my heart in those moments.
And then the next moment, I’m in a whirlwind of a tizzy because I’ve lost my scissors again and the internet isn’t working well, and so many of my plans are yet undone.
Angry at my Scrooge thoughts, I start scolding myself with not so gracious words.
not again….
And then it hits me.
The Word;
The Word made flesh;
His Words of truth hidden in my heart well up and begin to soften the hard places.
Run to the Word, Kim.
What’s real?
These feelings,
or The Truth?

Rescuing Grace comes for me again.

The star led the wisemen,
the angels sent the shepherds to the manger.
Who or what is leading us to the manger?
To rescuing grace?

Our weariness,
our lack,
Trouble,
Grief,
Disappointment,
Fear,
Stress and anxiety

All of it serves to point us to our need for Jesus.
the King, the babe in the manger.

The very worst
Or the very best,
All of if is an opportunity for us to run to Jesus;
to invite Him in.
The mess doesn’t bother him.

His Glory absorbs the lesser;
His Light overcomes the darkness.

My eyes are drawn away from my mess and fixed on the beauty of His Grace,
the Face of Mercy;
the Wondrous Love that came for us,
because we would never be able to make it to Him.
Love that comes to rescue us, to fill us with awe and wonder again.
Love that stays with us.
Love that brings us home.

May you experience His rescuing grace this Christmas.

With all our love and thanks,

Joe and Kim

How’s Your Recovery Going? Thank you for joining me here! I wanted to tell you about a special opportunity from our ministry coming up in the Atlanta area.  But first, I want to say with you “what a year!” There are real effects on our bodies and souls from this year of shut down and social distancing; real life residue that we still have clinging to us. Trauma does strange things to a body.  And the mind. You’re not crazy if you feel like you’re in a fog and don’t know what day it is. We’re all accessing the damage, as we start to come out from the shadows. The good news is there is rest and healing and peace for us, because the Lord is good and merciful. A verse from Jeremiah says, “But I will restore you and heal your wounds.” (Jer. 30:17) I love that. The Lord Himself promises to restore us and heal us. This pandemic may be new to the world, but nothing is new or surprising to the Father. And certainly nothing is too much for him. We can take him at his word. I hope you are finding time to rest in the Presence of our healer, our restorer. This is a time for recovery.  And what better way toward healing than to give yourself a day to rest and refresh in the Presence of Jesus? Pull away and run to the secret place where He promises shelter and refuge and healing. This is what His Presence brings. We all need to retune our ears to hear the Lord’s voice, especially now. We need to hear his healing, restorative Word deep inside our hearts. This is what One Thing Worship was created for. One Thing Worship Retreat is just that: A day with a small group of women, together in a sacred space for worship and the word; as a group, as well as private devotion, where you will have time to sit silently, waiting to hear the Lover of your Soul speak to you. One word from God can change us forever. If that sounds like “life” to you, I want to invite you to a One Thing Worship Retreat in the Atlanta area. We are keeping the numbers small so space is very limited. On Saturday, April 24, it will be my privilege to serve you in this day. You can find information on the One Thing Worship Retreat here and the registration link here  or you can contact me directly. Registration is open until Thursday, April 22.  Please pray and ask if the Holy Spirit is leading you to this vital ministry of reflection. He loves you and wants to bless you. It’s not an indulgence to give your self a day away with Jesus, it’s Life! Here’s what Jesus said to Mary when when she was criticized for sitting at his feet, listening to Him in the middle of her busy surroundings: “but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion which will not be taken away from her.” One thing; One thing vital and needful for us; Hearing God speak. What He speaks to us, can never be taken away. I do hope you are taking time to be still and let the Holy Spirit speak to you. Maybe I’ll see you on the 24th! Blessings, Kim

 

One of my favorite Bible verses is the one from Hebrews 4:16 that says,

‘Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace to find help and mercy in time of need.’

I can be a little self sufficient and not wanting to ask for help, because in my flesh, it may make me look inadequate or weak. But, when the Spirit reminds me that it is the flesh that is controlling me and bids me come and die to that, I can hear the kind, encouraging Spirit say “come to me and find rest.”

And help.

And this verse says we can come boldly.

As in  just charge in and say  “Papa, I really need help right now.”

This must bring delight to the Father when His children take Him at his word and come by faith to his throne.

I mean, what privilege, what audacity, to think we could approach the throne of God Almighty!

All and only because of Jesus!

So, the next time I don’t want to ask for help, for anything, I pray the time between my flesh trying to rise up and me reckoning it dead, to following the Spirit’s prompting to run to the throne room of grace is a bit shorter.

 

One Thing Remains

In light of all that is happening in 2020, it is clear to us that one thing remains: that is the sovereign grace of Jesus Christ who alone is our rock and refuge.

We pray you are well and experiencing the power of His resurrection life.
We pray for comfort in the Holy Spirit if you are grieving any loss at this time.
We pray blessings of good health and hope for the future, in Jesus’ Name.

Our gratitude for you who pray for us and give financially to support this ministry is overwhelming. We have been provided for in such amazing ways. Surely God is “able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think!”

We had so much fun recording our first Living Room concert in April with some of our children and grandchildren helping out! We were blessed by your response and encouragement. That link is  here for you to watch if you missed it.

In July, we led worship for a church revival in South GA. The Word was powerful and hearts were revived in His Presence.

The ministry of Southwest Christian Care invited us to sing at their Virtual Inspiration Fundraiser in August. We love this ministry  and all they do for our community.

There is more good news! We are leading worship most Sunday mornings again! Sometimes we’re together and sometimes we are one ministry in two locations but we are thankful to be worshiping with brothers and sisters in person again! There’s power in our coming together to lift up His Name!

You can follow our schedule on our website and our Facebook page.

We also are relaunching Kim’s “One Thing Worship Retreat” for this fall and upcoming year. We wanted to make it easily adaptable for small group gatherings for a one day experience.

You can read more about that here.

Thank you for taking time to catch up with us. We’d love to hear from you and how God has revealed Himself to you in this season of being “sheltered in grace.”
And please let us know how we can pray for you; it is our privilege.

We love you and “thank my God in all my remembrance of you.”

In Christ,

Joe and Kim