Seth Barnes Aug 16, 2019 8:00 PM

How to Continually Surprise People with Joy

The level of our public discourse is divisive and crazy-making. Turn on the news and you'll find yourself filled with anxiety. Kailey Mattare...

Subscribe


The level of our public discourse is divisive and crazy-making. Turn on the news and you'll find yourself filled with anxiety.

Kailey Mattarella has found a way to fight back. She thought, "Wouldn't it be great if instead of reading depressing news, people found themselves surprised by random acts of kindness?"

That was the spark that caused her to start Joy Makers Project.

Through her ministry, Kailey (and her volunteers) is continually surprising people in ways that confound and delight them. She gives people gift cards. She buys them lunch. She leaves coins for them to throw in the fountain and make wishes. She shows them in simple ways how Jesus came to give rather than receive.

Joy Makers Project gives us all a good way to live, no matter where we are.

Tired of incivility? Politics and better laws are not the answer. Loving people in surprising ways is. That's what Jesus did. It's what the Amish community did after their children were killed 13 years ago. Crazy love like that changes people.

I invite you to check out Kailey's project and try it in your own community.

Comments


Comment created and will be displayed once approved.

Related Blogs

Welcoming new people into your family

Welcoming new people into your family

Our friends already knew and loved Joe Bunting (Talia's future husband). We'd ...

By Seth Barnes
Biblical wine making

Biblical wine making

Some thoughts about biblical wine making: Jesus did it. I guess that counts f...

By Seth Barnes
We never arrive

We never arrive

That's a picture of me at 21 on my journey from Virginia to Honduras - my fi...

By sethbarnes

Related Races (3)

Southeast Asia | Semesters | January 2026

Southeast Asia | Semesters | January 2026

Colombia | Semesters | June 2026

Colombia | Semesters | June 2026

Gap Year | 9 Months | August 2026

Gap Year | 9 Months | August 2026

Next article

How One Boy's Story of Survival Shows the Future of Missions

AI Generated Content

Here's a suggested caption you can copy and tweak.