Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer (Photo Bucket)

"Try a thing you haven't done three times. Once to get over the fear of doing it. Twice to learn how to do it. And a third time to figure out whether you like it or not." That's a famous quote by my hero, Joyce Meyer. Joyce Meyer is a Bible teacher. She has a TV show, writes books, and travels around the USA and other countries preaching about The Word Of God.

Joyce Meyer's book, The Penny. (hachettebookgroup.com)

Joyce Meyer is most famous for her TV show and books. Her TV show is called Joyce Meyer Enjoying Everyday Life. On her show she travels the USA and every once in a while a different country. She preaches to crowds of people who feel they need to strengthen their relationship with God. Joyce is also an author. She has written many books. Some of these books are: Never Give Up, Any Minute, The Penny, I Dare You, and over 80 more. Over 3.2 million copies of her books have been sold. One of the most famous books she wrote is Battlefield of the Mind. One reason it is so popular is because Joyce has written many versions of it. There is a version for adults, teens, and kids. The reason having a TV show and writing books makes someone a hero is because the show and books are not for entertainment purposes, they're for inspiration. They are for making you closer to God. Joyce doesn't write for fame, but for the good of people. Joyce Meyer also has an organization called 'Hand of Hope'. The program helps many different countries in need of help.

Joyce Meyer's TV show, Enjoying Everyday Life. (Alphausa.org)

Joyce Meyer lives in St. Louis, Missouri. She lives with her husband, Dave. They have four children who are grown and have moved away. Joyce travels around a lot due to her job. Something I find interesting about her job is the way she preaches. Joyce doesn't just read directly out of the Bible, she makes connections to her life and makes examples. She does funny things like pretends to be a robot and goes around saying, "What about me? What about me? What about me?" One second the audience is laughing, the next it is clapping. Joyce can easily inspire people with this. Another thing that makes Joyce a hero is her encouraging quotes. One of my favorites is "Courage is fear that has said its prayers and decided to go forward anyway."

A cartoon drawing of Joyce Meyer. (It was on an envelope from Joyce.)

Joyce Meyer was born on June 4th 1943 and is still living today. She was born in St. Louis and is currently there. St. Louis isn't all wonderful child memories for her though. In fact, it may be the opposite. Joyce's life as a child wasn't a good one. The day after she was born, Joyce's father left to fight in WWII. When he returned three years later he was angry and an alcoholic. It was around that time when her father started sexually abusing her. When she was eight years old, she told her mother what her father was doing to her. Joyce's mother asked her father and he said Joyce was lying. Six years later her mother saw Joyce's father abusing her, but just pretended she never saw anything. At age 18, Joyce married the "first young man who showed an interest in her". He once abandoned her with nothing but a dime and pop cans. Joyce had her first child named David. A year later she divorced her husband and went back home with her parents. Things started to get a little better then. Not more than four months later Joyce married Dave Meyer and they had two children. In 1976 Joyce began to feel her heart fill up with faith. She thanked God. Joyce joined a Bible class. Three years later her youngest son was born. In 1982 she became an assistant minister. Joyce then got a radio show. Soon after Joyce got a TV show.

Joyce Meyer is my hero because she helps people get closer to God. The most inspiring thing for me is that it's amazing that someone could inspire so many other people even though she's had a terrible past. Even after all that abuse as a child and going through a divorce, she's not too down on herself. If that were me I'd be saying things like "I'm not good enough to preach to people" and "Nothing good ever happens to me." Joyce says the complete opposite. She says things like, "Stop determining your worth and value by what other people say. Be determined by what the Word of God (scriptures) says" and "Our joy does not have to be based on our circumstances." I think it is amazing how Joyce can help people even after everything that's happened to her. That's why Joyce Meyer is my hero.