Daybreak’s Board of Directors and Staff are honored to announce that Tonya Bailey Jones will be the keynote speaker for Daybreak’s May 7, 2026 Spring Dinner, entitled “The Joy of the Lord Is Our Strength.”

Tonya is a wife, mother, grandmother, retired Naval Officer, author, and transformational speaker. Though her professional life reflects remarkable achievement, including degrees from the University of Maryland and Liberty University, her personal journey has also included seasons of deep shame and struggle. Today, she shares a powerful message of forgiveness (including forgiveness of self), restoration, and identity in Christ.

As the author of Pearls in the Pews: Bringing Post-Abortion Healing to the Church(ed) and host of the Beauty Beyond the Ashes podcast, Tonya reaches women and men around the world with compassion and hope.

At our Spring Dinner, she will present her keynote address, “The Joy of Serving: Loving Without Conditions, Supporting Without Judgment.”

Below are a few highlights from our recent conversation with Tonya.

What inspired your keynote message, “The Joy of Serving”?

It wasn’t until I started my own healing journey that I truly discovered and experienced joy. For years, I served in different capacities, but inside I was carrying shame from my abortion experience. When the Lord began to heal my heart, I encountered a joy I had never known before — not happiness based on circumstances, but deep, sustaining joy rooted in His forgiveness and love.

When I learned the theme of the event, “The Joy of the Lord is Our Strength,” it resonated immediately. I remember the first time I experienced that joy — the lifting of shame, the freedom in Christ. That joy became my strength, and now it fuels how I serve others. Serving from a place of healing and joy is very different from serving from obligation. That’s what inspired this message.

What does it truly mean to love without conditions?

Romans 5:5 tells us that God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through Holy Spirit. We cannot love unconditionally in our own strength. It is only through Holy Spirit that we can love with the compassion, grace, and mercy of God.

To love without conditions means we don’t require someone to clean themselves up before we show them kindness. It means we don’t withdraw compassion because we disagree with someone’s choices. It means we see people through the eyes of Christ — not through their worst decision, but through their God-given identity.

Unconditional love reflects the heart of a Father who met us in our brokenness and did not turn away.

How can we support others without judgment?

Supporting others without judgment begins with remembering our own need for grace. When we understand that, we, too, have been recipients of God’s mercy, it softens our posture toward others.

It causes us to listen more than we speak. It helps us create safe spaces where stories can be told without fear. It drives us to respond with compassion rather than condemnation.

In my ministry, I have seen women carry shame for 20, 30, even 50 years because they feared judgment. When we lead with empathy instead of assumption, we become a reflection of Christ — full of grace, love, and truth. People heal where they feel safe.

How has your personal journey shaped the way you serve?

Through my healing journey, I learned compassion — compassion first for myself. I had to confront my shame, accept responsibility, grieve, and receive God’s forgiveness. That process softened my heart.

Because my Heavenly Father showed me such deep compassion, I now serve from that same place. I don’t see people as projects that need my solution. I see them as humans who may be silently hurting. I see them as God’s loved creation needing direction to Him.

My journey allows me to serve without superiority. I serve as someone who has been rescued, restored, and redeemed. And that has changed and shaped everything.

Why is joy essential to serving well? 


Serving is a beautiful opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus. But it can also be emotionally heavy. We walk with people in crisis, trauma, and uncertainty.

Nehemiah 8:10 reminds us, “…the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Joy is not denial of hardship — it is confidence in God’s faithfulness. Joy strengthens us when outcomes don’t look the way we hoped. It sustains us when compassion fatigue tries to creep in.

When we serve from joy, we don’t burn out as quickly because our strength is not rooted in results — it is rooted in the Lord.

What do you hope our dinner guests will carry with them on May 7th?

I hope our dinner guests leave with a renewed passion to partner with Daybreak LifeCare Center in meaningful ways — through serving, praying, and giving.

But more than that, I hope they leave with a deeper understanding that every act of service matters. Every prayer matters. Every dollar given matters. Every compassionate conversation matters.

And I hope they leave filled with joy — the kind that strengthens them to continue showing up for life...for healing…for serving!

We look forward to the powerful and hope-filled message Tonya will share at our Spring Dinner on May 7th as we gather under the theme “The Joy of the Lord Is Our Strength.” It promises to be an evening of encouragement, vision, and celebration of what God is doing at and through Daybreak. Event information and sponsorship / attendance registration details are below.

To help us avoid credit / debit card processing fees and ensure all of your donation goes to Daybreak, please send us a check instead of paying online. Thank you!

DINNER ATTIRE: Sunday Best / Business

Jimi Lotito

Male Mentor

"Hi, my name is Jimi. I am one of the Male Mentors at Daybreak. This is a short summary of my life and how I found my way to Daybreak.

When I was a young man around 16 years of age, I made a big mistake: I got my girlfriend pregnant. She didn't want to keep the baby, but I did. In my mind at the time, I thought it's her body, so who am I to tell her what to do. Plus, it was more convenient for me as I could go on with my life without any changes. I was selfish and thought the baby was just a clump of cells, no big deal. So, she had the abortion with me on the sideline, thinking it was nothing."