Writing a tribute to one of the godliest women I have ever known is an honor. To have had the privilege of knowing her was a gift I will treasure for the rest of my life. I will never forget the zeal for life that exuded her the first time I met her. She glowed with a beautiful zest for God and for people. I was sitting in class at the college I was attending in Stockton California when she walked into the room and she immediately connected with all of us sitting there, wanting to know where we were from and our purpose for choosing Christian Life College. She wanted to genuinely know us. She spoke life into us that day and let us know that if we gave her class our best, we would all be straight A students. I determined that day I wanted to do that, and I did. I ended up taking all her classes throughout my four years at the college and in the end, I was a straight A student in each of her classes. She honored me with the Radiant Women’s Award my senior year and from that moment forward she made a special attempt to connect with me writing me personal letters, sending notes of encouragement or sending text messages that were always filled with a scripture of courage and strength. At her passing, I learned that she had written over 60 books and all of them edified and lifted God and His word to encourage and strengthen people in getting to know God more and to learn of his divine faithfulness.
One of her attributes that stood out the most however was her powerful prayer life. She lived every day in prayer and in consecration to God even with dealing with some very difficult circumstances in her own life. She stood on the promises of God and shared this great strength with anyone who needed it. I remember as a student sitting in her class, she would come in full of the Spirit just leaving a prayer meeting herself and speaking life into all of us into her class to be sure we were committed to prayer and seeking God with all our heart. She believed in miracles and signs and wonders and spoke often of them, sharing her testimony of what she had witnessed even that day in prayer. This left an indelible mark on my life that still to this day has nurtured my own prayer life and has kept me close to the heart of God.
Joy Haney was the closest example in my life of someone who was completely devoted to God and living His attributes to the fullest. She was sold out to God and living the Jesus way. She was ever learning, ever growing and ever nurturing her walk with the Lord. She learned to deal with conflict with a soft and gentle spirit. I remember seeking her advice on some things Jon and I were dealing with in our ministry, and she text back with “It’s all in God’s hands and He will get the last words! It’s our duty to do our best to please Him and walk in truth.” And then she left me with this scripture “Love your enemies and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest; for He is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Luke 6:35”
Thank you, Joy Haney, for leaving me a legacy to follow. One that is full of treasured nuggets of God’s faithfulness and love for His people. You lived out your life to glorify God and in the end, you left thousands in awe and wonder of our great and mighty God. A life sold out and saturated with Jesus!!

* Joy Haney passed on March 16, 2023