Faith, Joy and Jim: A home overflowing with Christmas love
For over 15 years, Joy, Jim, and their family have opened their home and hearts on Christmas Day, inviting anyone they know who is in need or alone to join them. Some years it might be 15 extra guests; other years, 50. Joy makes dessert while Jim cooks a full traditional meal. Their daughter Nikki chooses a theme each year, making decorations, individual place name cards, and handmade gifts for their guests.
Opening their home for a crowd at Christmas – and on many other occasions – is part of a life of authentic faith in action for Joy, Jim, and their family. And they just love doing it!
Jim, 80, a retired pharmacy manager, served as a volunteer chaplain with Salvation Army (addiction) recovery services for 30 years, supporting and building friendships with many who had lost family connections and were facing huge challenges in life.
Joy, who is in her 70s, supported Jim for years in his chaplaincy role while also serving as a court chaplain herself. She currently works as a funeral celebrant and regularly preaches and leads worship at the couple’s local Salvos church.
Many Christmas guests, many stories
“We started off cooking a Christmas meal at The Salvation Army Miracle Haven recovery service [which later amalgamated with another Salvos service] when Jim was volunteering as chaplain there,” Joy explains.
“Then we invited some of the men to our home because some of them had never been to a typical family Christmas. Some had lost all their family connections. Others had reconnected with their families but couldn’t go there for Christmas because of the alcohol (and Joy and Jim’s home is alcohol-free)."
The couple continued to meet people who needed friendship and community at Christmastime through their ongoing connection with the Salvos, word-of-mouth, and simply by chatting with people locally.
“More and more people came every year,” Joy says. “Not all were in recovery – some had lost their husbands or wives or were having their first Christmas without someone.”
Christmas laughter and tears
The couple understand that faith, love, joy, community, and connection truly matter, especially in the lives of people who have lived with great pain, isolation, and struggle.
They have seen first-hand many times what a difference connection can make, especially at Christmastime.
While Christmas Day at Joy and Jim’s is full of the sounds of eating, laughter, and chatter, some guests who have had tough lives become emotional after sitting down to their first-ever family Christmas. Others become teary upon seeing their names lovingly written on a handmade place card or after receiving a small handmade gift.
The joy, love, and laughter are especially moving and important for those experiencing their first Christmas after losing a loved one.
If you are alone this Christmas, or want to connect more deeply with the community, why not enjoy Christmas at your local Salvos.
Every year, Joy, Jim, and their family go all out to make Christmas special for their guests.
As Christmas 2023 approached, Joy and Jim briefly considered using paper plates for the first time instead of their fine china. Joy was working long hours, and Jim was, and still is, battling cancer.
Despite these challenges, they decided that their good Royal Doulton dishes would once again grace the Christmas table. They simply couldn't bring themselves to cut corners on a day they wanted to be truly special for their guests. It remains, as always, a labour of love.
For Joy and the family, Christmas is a very special time of year.
Joy explains, “It’s a time when people are often nicer to each other. It’s a time when community spirit seems more apparent than at any other time of the year. Above all, we celebrate Jesus’ birthday. Without his birth, we wouldn’t have his death and his gift of forgiveness.”
A story of enduring love
Joy and Jim’s love story began when Jim, a passionate Christian and lifelong member of The Salvation Army, asked Joy out to a Sunday school picnic.
Joy met Jim during a difficult time in her life and wasn’t a Christian then. She initially declined his offer, thinking a Sunday school picnic was quite "uncool”. However, divine intervention changed her mind. While in her car one day, she heard a clear voice urging her to "go to Jim." At that very moment, Jim was praying with a friend for someone to share his life with, desperately hoping that person would be Joy.
Joy recalls, “I always believed there was a God, but when I heard that voice, I knew it was God. That’s why I know God is real.”
Joy married Jim within a few months and has passionately followed Jesus, worshipping and serving with the Salvos ever since. She later discovered her own Salvation Army connection through her grandmother, learning that her great-great-grandmother was the first Australian Salvos "soldier" (member).
Overflowing love for Jesus
Joy tells their Christmas story with warmth and humour, but she becomes most animated when talking about her love for Jesus and faith in God. She not only has her own miraculous healing story; she has seen great answers to prayer in her family.
“At one stage, our granddaughter was given days to live and needed an organ transplant. The men from the recovery service had gathered to pray; they were in tears at the idea of Jim [potentially] losing his granddaughter. There were so many prayers. A donor came in at the last moment, and the doctor said they had ‘never, ever seen that before’,” she shares.
“The miracles were just amazing. We have a wonderful God!
“I am a shocking singer, but I still lead worship at church. I’m not a great cook, but we feed lots of people. What I do I have though, is a real gift of faith. If I live to be a thousand years old, I just couldn’t love Jesus more than I do now. I genuinely love him with all my heart!”