This morning I left a home a few minutes early so I could stop at The Joy FM's "sticker stop". This is the radio station I listen to most of the time and the one I advertise on my car with a sticker. I started listening to them more than 15 years ago when I moved to Bradenton. The Joy FM plays contemporary Christian music by such artists as Casting Crowns, Brandon Heath, Mark Schultz, Francesca Battastelli, Amy Grant, Mercy Me, Third Day, Josh Wilson, Mandisa, and many, many more. The songs are uplifting and, more times than I can possibly list here, have spoken to the deepest part of me at just the right time and in just the right way. There have been times when I was in the deepest despair that I heard a song with a message of hope, times when I was feeling great joy when a song said just what I was feeling, and so many other times in between. The songs are only part of it, though. The people on the air are real and share their lives with the listeners - the good, the bad, and the ugly - in such a way that they feel more like friends than just a voice on the radio. Listening to Dave, Bill, and Carmen on my way to work each morning I have laughed so hard I thought I was going to drive off the road and cried to the point I had to pull over. They make me THINK with some of the topics they discuss. The Joy FM also does great work in the community - local, state, region, and world. They involve the listeners in such outreach projects as providing turkeys to our local communities in November, collecting gift cards to send to those affected by the tornadoes in Alabama and victims of Hurricane Katrina, building houses for victims of the Tsunami in India. It's a radio station, a family, a ministry, and so much more. By the way, Atlanta-area folks - the Joy FM expanded to the Atlanta area in December (93.3). And those of you out of the listening area - there's an app for that! Check it out at www.thejoyfm.com. Happy listening!
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