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I am starting to re-think these whole “Ask Joy” videos….because…
1) I am running out of different places to sit in my office for the recordings.
2) I never came up with a good “sign off.” (Trust me, “Abschied meiner kleinen Freunde im Ausland!” just didn’t work.)
3) I realized hearing a short question is not how I am wired to respond. I always want to know more. I keep feeling like I am giving a million caveats of “I don’t really know the whole story.” My mind always thinks about the other person which makes all of the “what if’s” keep me from answering the question. So I feel like I do a lame job. When I was explaining this conundrum to my dad I said, “Isn’t there a verse about this kind of thing?” Of course, Mr. Walking Bible knew the answer: Proverbs 18:17 which says,
“The one who states his case first seems right,
until the other comes and examines him.”
So please, take my answers with a grain of salt…know that if I was with the person I would ask them a million more questions to get to the heart of the matter.
And for those of you submitting questions, please don’t use this as a place to get “your side” of the issue answered without being fair to the whole story.
You will probably realize that after watching a number of my videos, “seek wise counsel” is a common theme.
While it may seem habitual, I think that combined with scripture is going to give you a far better answer than I could ever give, but I will do my best with the information given. Most of the time I am trying to figure it out right along side you. Being a support to one another, whether in person or electronically is what we are called to as the body of Christ.
I by no means have all the answers, but I have experienced heart ache and my mind is always filled with questions. So…I pray I can be an encouragement if nothing else.
My heart and prayers to you…
p.s. The written thoughts above are not because of the specific question asked by this female. They are simply some thoughts I had due to a culmination of Ask Joy’s and I happened to share them in this post.
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Love and Respect (Now) is a division of Love and Respect. Please be considerate.
Good post; both parts of it. I think you gave a really good answer to this question. I know what it feels like to miss an ex and wonder if he was “the one that got away.” You start missing him and missing how you felt when with him. For me–perhaps unlike in this situation, though maybe not–I couldn’t have felt more clearly what the Lord was telling me to do and I was still tempted to doubt it, even years later.
And for what it’s worth, even if you had nothing but innumerable videos of you saying nothing but, “Seek wise counsel,” over and over, that would be worth hearing. More often than not what we need are reminders rather than more information.
With love, Nea
Val – Comparing me to Dave Ramsey is the third best compliment you could give me…after Dr. Laura and Suzi Orman. Just keep that information tucked away for compliments you want to give me in the future.
Nea Nea – Love what you shared…I just had lunch with a friend and we were saying how we all have doubts about decisions we make, married or unmarried. We can live in a constant state of “what if” or move forward with confidence and freedom. Living into the “what if’s” (if longer than to reflect and learn) keeps us bound to the past. It’s so hard not to do though…
Joy – I love these – don’t stop girl – you have a great deal of wisdom to share – and it is balanced wisdom, you cover a lot of different potential angles, and that is important for people to hear.
Don’t doubt yourself friend… God has given you the gift of discernment, widsom, and an analytical mind for a reason, and you are using it for the kingdom very effectively!
Praying for y’all – hope last night went great and hope today is even better.
More important I hope you are experiencing JOY as you speak and share… may God’s love just radiate from you and may His Peace sustain you 🙂
Just what I needed to wake up to Jenny–Thank you–truly a blessing!
Last night went well and got me really excited for this morning. I should probably be reviewing my notes instead of checking my blog and facebook right now… (-: Enjoy watching the world cup…(yes, I checked Twitter too.)
Keep pointing people to wise counsel and scripture, and important to note wise council are people that point us to scripture.
I SO enjoy your Ask Joy’s because it is wisdom not fluff. It is a direct correlation to being grounded in the word that you are able to speak wisdom, so thank you!
And…get to SB. ASAP. That’s all…
Val thinks...
Joy,
I felt like your response to this question was right on, for the amount of information that you had at your disposal. Good job! You don’t need a bunch of caveats. Makes me wonder, though, if you feel like you need to upgrade to a live call-in show, skype-style. 😉 You’re kind of like a mix between Dave Ramsey and Delilah. I love it.
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