joanna's Comments

Joanna muses : Book review: David Platt- Radical Together

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 01:21:42 +0000

Thanks Diane!

Joanna muses : 13 things I learned on mission

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 13:58:36 +0000

Thanks Frank :)

Joanna muses : The adventures continue: Mission trip #2

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 08:36:03 +0000

Thank you so much. I really appreciate your prayers!

Joanna muses : Book review: Carolyn Weber- Surprised by Oxford

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 12:57:01 +0000

Yes, it is a true story. Sorry, should have made that clearer in my review

Joanna muses : What I learned talking to strangers summer adventures update

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 12:53:52 +0000

I agree. Hearing stories of how God has been at work in other people's lives can help us hold on while things are still tough for us

Joanna muses : What I learned talking to strangers summer adventures update

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 13:28:54 +0000

Thanks Adam! Baptisms are definitely a great time to have people share. It is fantastic that your church is baptizing so many people!

The Blazing Center : Police Log From My World Of Danger

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 12:11:44 +0000

Based on the responses scrawled in below, I'd say it's probably not be an overly effective method. Makes for some interesting reading though as some people write long responses or have multi-part conversations, all in graffiti.

Ron Edmondson : Brag Friday: Share Your Blog

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 12:09:43 +0000

I write at http://www.joannamuses.com/ . Lately I've been writing about things like how to deal with disappointment, how we know God loves us and what I've learned from reading Jonah and Habakkuk.

The Blazing Center : Police Log From My World Of Danger

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 05:27:40 +0000

Glad people don't report bathroom graffiti on my campus or the police would spend their entire time dealing with it because there is so much of it. For a while we even seemed to have someone who thought graffiti was a good evangelistic method as bible verses and C.S Lewis quotes would appear on the backs of the doors.

Joanna muses : Dealing with disappointment

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 02:06:51 +0000

I think I end up whining a fair bit of the time too! I think making sure like Hannah that we keep worship as a priority helps stop it turning into a whiny pity party. I also find praying good things for people who've gotten what I'm disappointed about not having is helpful. Eg. praying for friends starting new jobs while my job hunt is still unsuccessful. Helps get the focus off me, reminds me that God does bless people and helps me remember that blessings often come with challenges.

Joanna muses : Dealing with disappointment

Tue, 8 Nov 2011 12:06:38 +0000

Thanks for your kind words! I agree disappointment is a topic we don't often address in the Christian community. There is quite a bit written and said about Christian responses to serious tragedies and suffering. However, there seems to be a lot less on how to deal with things that aren't serious enough to be tragedies but nonetheless are disappointing and hurt. While a lot of the positive thinking statements that get applied such situations are at least somewhat true, they don't necessarily help people deal with the pain well.

Ron Edmondson : 12 Top Blog Posts of Some of My Favorite Bloggers

Fri, 4 Nov 2011 13:06:40 +0000

One of my own that people seem to have liked lately is "How do you know God loves you?" http://www.joannamuses.com/2011/10/how-do-you-kno... Some posts from other people I've enjoyed lately are http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/how-to-serv... http://www.jonacuff.com/stuffchristianslike/2011/... http://www.theblazingcenter.com/2011/10/whats-wro...

Joanna muses : How do you know God loves you?

Sun, 30 Oct 2011 10:49:28 +0000

The "us" I'm intending to address here is Christians. Obviously many of the points would apply to non-Christians too.

Joanna muses : How do you know God loves you?

Sun, 30 Oct 2011 10:38:07 +0000

Could you clarify your question a bit more? Was there a particular sentence or verse you were asking about?

Joanna muses : How do you know God loves you?

Sat, 29 Oct 2011 12:34:53 +0000

It is indeed an amazing love! Thanks for commenting. :)

Joanna muses : How do you know God loves you?

Sat, 29 Oct 2011 12:32:49 +0000

Thanks Jeff!

Joanna muses : Longing for that day

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 23:13:12 +0000

Thanks Eric!

Joanna muses : Longing for that day

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 11:36:58 +0000

Glad you're finding the posts helpful! :) I think that is a good way of looking at it. It is so easy to fall into pride about our spiritual progress and think we are able to be so much more self reliant than we ever could be.

Joanna muses : Longing for that day

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 11:34:01 +0000

I agree that the heart change is most important. I've also had times where I have made what I thought was great progress in my behavior and even times when I thought God have might set me free from the struggle without much effort on my behalf. Unsurprisingly, without the heart change, things always find their way back in some form. Without dealing with the heart issues, it becomes like one of those whack-a-mole games, frantically trying to knock down the things that keep springing up. Thanks for reading and commenting!

Joanna muses : God isn't a vending machine

Sun, 16 Oct 2011 04:52:04 +0000

Thanks for visiting Niki! I think you are right that getting to know God personally is the key. The more you love someone, the less you are likely to try to use them for your own purposes.