tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5739107202118962075.post6581587187993196813..comments2024-01-06T16:56:17.910-06:00Comments on Musings & Meanderings: Does Joy = the Presence of GodMelaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01830964784682748651noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5739107202118962075.post-81213252386060158692013-02-23T11:14:25.285-06:002013-02-23T11:14:25.285-06:00Thank you.Thank you.Melaniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01830964784682748651noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5739107202118962075.post-25595543145680250572013-02-23T11:14:04.826-06:002013-02-23T11:14:04.826-06:00Thank you so much for this. It's just so tough...Thank you so much for this. It's just so tough when I'm trying to do this writing to help others, and am feeling so lost myself. But I think God is calling me to write my hard stuff as a means to help others. I don't know if that is self-aggrandizement, but I do know feel compelled the truth - whether it is ugly or beautiful or somewhere in between. I have found the truest support (besides my husband and therapist) through the blogging community, so thank you all for that.Melaniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01830964784682748651noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5739107202118962075.post-51907609450427633472013-02-23T11:09:26.869-06:002013-02-23T11:09:26.869-06:00Thank you for your kind words.Thank you for your kind words.Melaniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01830964784682748651noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5739107202118962075.post-66474993564575834912013-02-23T11:09:00.852-06:002013-02-23T11:09:00.852-06:00This is just so kind. It is easy to get caught up ...This is just so kind. It is easy to get caught up in pithy sayings, and embue them with authority and truth. The quote is certainly too simplistic for my life experience.Melaniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01830964784682748651noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5739107202118962075.post-27350966265896446432013-02-23T11:07:52.439-06:002013-02-23T11:07:52.439-06:00Ramblings I fully understand. Dreaming for what ca...Ramblings I fully understand. Dreaming for what cannot be only separates us from God's plan for each us. Thank you!Melaniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01830964784682748651noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5739107202118962075.post-87699180574198809982013-02-23T11:07:00.584-06:002013-02-23T11:07:00.584-06:00I want to be a voice of praise, worship, and hope,...I want to be a voice of praise, worship, and hope, but I seem to constantly be the voice of lament. The only comfort I find in this role, is that I think we need to acknowledge lamentation for fully in our world today. Thank you for your words of encouragement.Melaniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01830964784682748651noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5739107202118962075.post-18588781231513579202013-02-23T11:05:18.385-06:002013-02-23T11:05:18.385-06:00Thank you so much for this blessing through prayer...Thank you so much for this blessing through prayer. And especially for the prayer of protection. Melaniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01830964784682748651noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5739107202118962075.post-62883536243822768032013-02-22T20:56:47.514-06:002013-02-22T20:56:47.514-06:00May you be surprised by joy, may it sneak up and o... May you be surprised by joy, may it sneak up and overtake you as you see the way a puffy white cloud floats in the blue sky, the first daffodil of spring, the smile on your daughter's face...may God's great love overwhelm you and as you realize how much joy you bring to His great heart may joy come to yours.elizabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06572872315082254364noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5739107202118962075.post-19852363285494305322013-02-22T20:37:06.602-06:002013-02-22T20:37:06.602-06:00Oh Mel. I don't agree with that quote at all. ...Oh Mel. I don't agree with that quote at all. I think peace, in spite of sorrow and grief, is the most infallible sign of God. Joy is a side effect of peace, but do you think Jesus felt joy on the cross? No. No, he was miserable. He felt abandoned. We're allowed to go through these times too. It's the only way of finding our way to the cross. Just be yourself, just be broken before the Lord, and he will lift you up in due time, hon. Praying for you.Mommy Emilyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09989213786947802537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5739107202118962075.post-41198445099992665972013-02-22T14:11:05.625-06:002013-02-22T14:11:05.625-06:00Craving normal with you. This is hard, hard stuff,...Craving normal with you. This is hard, hard stuff, Melanie. Thank you for the privilege of praying with and over you. May God surprise you with glimpses of his presence and joy.Nancyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04881750571782158938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5739107202118962075.post-68867404525615452112013-02-22T10:41:21.265-06:002013-02-22T10:41:21.265-06:00I just want to say something that will help you, b...I just want to say something that will help you, but I can't think of what to say, other than Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and his theories on Joy can go fly a kite. To say that Joy is the most infallible sign of the presence of God is too simplistic for this complicated life. Robert J. Gerrytshttp://www.everyonelisten.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5739107202118962075.post-52137263603569440532013-02-22T03:04:07.843-06:002013-02-22T03:04:07.843-06:00craving normal - I get that! I often spend hours o...craving normal - I get that! I often spend hours on end pondering what it might be like to be just a little bit less of an oddball. But, to be completely honest, when I get moments of experiencing something a little closer to average, I rebel. Oddball is and always will be me, I'm afraid. It doesn't give me more joy to recognise this, in fact maybe the opposite as I resign myself to this fate. But my hope is that once I'm fully resigned I'll learn to find something lovely in the world where I live. <br /><br />Not sure if my rambling thoughts make any sense, but thanks for sharing, anyway! It makes me feel less alone.Kati Woronkahttp://www.katiworonka.com/culturtwinednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5739107202118962075.post-84534713483129356872013-02-21T21:21:41.060-06:002013-02-21T21:21:41.060-06:00oh friend. your heart here, it is so raw and so b...oh friend. your heart here, it is so raw and so beautiful. there are many scars, and they ache sometimes, don't they?<br />thank you for sharing your pain with us. although these things are part of your past, *you* are not your scars. *you* are so much more.<br />breathing prayers for you tonight. <br />Kelli Woodfordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00693942264588745151noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5739107202118962075.post-65481619302774899262013-02-21T20:47:31.318-06:002013-02-21T20:47:31.318-06:00Dear Heavenly Father: Thank You for Melanie. Thank...Dear Heavenly Father: Thank You for Melanie. Thank You for the spirit and spunk and fight You've given her, Lord; she's been through so much, and she's so strong. Thank You for her willingness to share her struggles in detail, that we might lift her up in specific ways. Continue to help her in processing her past and moving through the present into a brighter future. I pray, too, for Melanie's daughter and for the dynamic in their household. I ask that You would give the doctors wisdom and discernment to truly understand what's in the best interest of this young person, and I ask that You would work in and among this family. Help them, Lord, to support and help one another. I pray compelled to pray a prayer of protection upon this household. Please let the doors swing wide to the helpers, but protect this family from anyone who would cause further harm, even if unintentionally. Thank You for loving us. Help us to trust You, Father, and really tap into the joy that is a fruit of Your Holy Spirit. In Your precious and holy name I pray, Amen.Brandee Shaferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08960175760263515363noreply@blogger.com