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Welcome to Velvet & Steel
"Grace in her voice. Truth in her hands." There’s a story behind every sword. Some are forged in fire. Some are handed down. Mine was...

Pastor Joy
Jun 242 min read


The Storm You Didn’t See Coming
Some storms hit different. You know the kind — the ones that don’t show up on the radar. You never saw them coming, yet they hit like an F5 tornado. Those storms don’t just disrupt your life — they wreck everything. It’s the kind of storm that turns your world upside down in an instant. One moment everything feels steady, and the next you’re clinging to anything that hasn’t been torn from your grasp. Maybe it only lasts a short time, but the damage lingers much longer. We’ve

Pastor Joy
3 days ago5 min read


When Death Becomes Fire
I’ve been carrying a weight these past few days—an ache that won’t lift. It’s not frustration or burnout; it’s something deeper. I can feel the longing of the Lord for His people again. I sense Him whispering, “You talk about My fire, but you rarely come to My altar.” The altar is not a pretty place. It never was. In the Old Testament, it was soaked with blood, covered in ash, surrounded by the smell of death. The fire of God didn’t fall on lively animals fighting to live—it

Pastor Joy
Oct 253 min read


When Honor Makes Room for His Presence
There are moments when God presses pause on our noise. He lets the drought reveal what our words have been hiding—that somewhere along the way, honor slipped. We still gather. We still sing. But sometimes the One we sing about has been treated as common. And the presence that once filled the room now feels far away. Not because He’s moved—but because we’ve made room for everything but Him. That was Israel’s story too. They were still His people, but they no longer lived like

Pastor Joy
Oct 105 min read


When Betrayal Breaks You
There are wounds in life that scrape the surface, and then there are wounds that go to the bone. Betrayal is one of those. It isn’t just...

Pastor Joy
Oct 13 min read


Don’t Lose Your Virginity
When you said yes to Jesus, something powerful happened—you were washed, cleansed, and made brand new. The blood didn’t just forgive your...

Pastor Joy
Sep 223 min read


The Birthplace of Boldness, Healing, & Multiplication
Every one of us has a place where pain lives — a memory of betrayal, a moment of denial, a season of grief. For the disciples, that place...

Pastor Joy
Sep 157 min read


Don’t Settle for a Trickle
We were never meant to live on drops when Jesus promised rivers. Yet many of us settle for a trickle. We survive off “just enough,” and...

Pastor Joy
Sep 124 min read


Dropping Status, Gaining Destiny
Some stories in Scripture don’t just tell us what happened — they peel back the curtain and show us how God works. Abigail’s story in 1...

Pastor Joy
Sep 84 min read


Stop Tending Graves
There’s a dangerous trap many believers fall into: living like we were made for the grave. Not physical graves, but spiritual ones — old...

Pastor Joy
Sep 63 min read


Always Plugged Into Something
Every one of us is always plugged into something. We plug into our thoughts—the rehearsed stories we tell ourselves. We plug into our...

Pastor Joy
Sep 53 min read


The Seat That Could Have Been Yours
In Luke 14:15–24, Jesus told a parable about a great banquet. Invitations had already gone out, and when the feast was finally ready, the...

Pastor Joy
Aug 303 min read


The Test That Exposes What’s Real
Every faith looks good in the spotlight. Anybody can raise their hands in worship when the music swells. Anybody can quote Scripture on...

Pastor Joy
Aug 292 min read


Desperate Enough to Do Something Different
What will it take for you to finally do something different? How many cycles do you have to repeat before you realize that doing the same...

Pastor Joy
Aug 264 min read


Roots Don’t Lie
You can cut back a tree. You can trim its branches. You can even disguise its fruit for a season. But no matter what you do on the...

Pastor Joy
Aug 213 min read


When the Strength Slips Away
You don’t lose your strength when the battle starts—you lose it in the quiet moments when no one is watching. For Samson, it happened in...

Pastor Joy
Aug 144 min read


Take Your Shoes Off
Joshua stood on the edge of destiny. Behind him was the wilderness. In front of him—walls too high to scale, a city too strong to take in...

Pastor Joy
Aug 123 min read


Unshakable: When Faith Refuses to Move
You must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good...

Pastor Joy
Aug 113 min read


The Dash Matters
You can mark the date that you gave your life to Jesus. You may even remember the altar, the tears, and the weight that lifted when you...

Pastor Joy
Aug 73 min read


Burn the Backup Plan. Break the Box. Step Into Destiny.
Some things can’t go with you where God is taking you. Some things aren’t just heavy—they’re hindrances. And sometimes, before you can...

Pastor Joy
Aug 34 min read

"Grace in her voice. Truth in her hands."
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