A WOMAN'S TEARS....

I saw this on my friend Green Eyes' blog and asked her permission to use it here. I love the message, how it speaks to a woman's heart. No credit was given to the author, and it's unknown to me.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

A little boy asked his mother, "Why are you crying?" "Because I'm a woman," she told him. "I don't understand," he said. His Mom just hugged him and said, "And you never will." Later the little boy asked his father, "Why does mother seem to cry for no reason?" "All women cry for no reason," was all his dad could say. The little boy grew up and became a man, still wondering why women cry. Finally he put in a call to God. When God got on the phone, he asked, "God, why do women cry so easily?" God said, "When I made the woman she had to be special. I made her shoulders strong enough to carry the weight of the world, yet gentle enough to give comfort. I gave her an inner strength to endure childbirth and the rejection that many times comes from her children. I gave her a hardness that allows her to keep going when everyone else gives up, and take care of her family through sickness and fatigue without complaining. I gave her the sensitivity to love her children under any and all circumstances, even when her child has hurt her very badly. I gave her strength to carry her husband through his faults and fashioned her from his rib to protect his heart. I gave her wisdom to know that a good husband never hurts his wife, but sometimes tests her strengths and her resolve to stand beside him unfalteringly. And finally, I gave her a tear to shed. This is hers exclusively to use whenever it is needed. You see my son," said God, "the beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman must be seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart - the place where love resides."

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Barb, Addie, Lauren, Tammy and several other fellow bloggers have posted recently about their varying feelings and experiences with blogging. Many are feeling overwhelmed, trying to post every day, read and comment on their ever-expanding blog rolls, and respond to comments on their own blogs. Opinions about blog nettiquette span the spectrum. Some bloggers have hard and fast rules they follow, for others, it's anything goes. I have commented on some of my friends' posts, but I don't think I have ever just blogged out my feelings regarding this subject. I'm sure some of my feelings and practices will change with time and experience, but for now, here is how I feel about blogging. More or less. Other than what I forget to include or think of later, that is.

I blog first and foremost for myself, then my family, then my blogging friends, in that order. Some bloggers are very prolific and may post multiple times in a day. BooMama and Tammy come to mind in this category. Some may only post once a week or less. I fall somewhere in the middle for the most part. I may blog twice a week or twice a day, all depends on what there is to blog about or what's happenin' in Diane's little world. I'm perfectly happy with that. Sometimes I want to see how everyone responds to what I've posted, so I wait a day or so before posting again. I will confess, though, that most of the time I wait a day or so because it takes that long for me to come up with something new to post about. If you like what I write, I love to see your comments. Who doesn't like compliments or to feel affirmed when someone agrees with your opinion on a matter of great importance, such as whether to put sugar in cornbread or not? (Read the comments, too.) But if you don't like my writing, that's perfectly fine, just click on that little red X in the top right corner of your screen. If you comment on my posts, I'll try to comment back if you ask questions or something you said tickles my fancy. I just told Barb that I'm getting so many comments at times it's hard to find time to answer each one. So, if you comment and I don't comment back, it's not that I don't read each and every comment, it's just getting overwhelming trying to respond to each comment every single time. Most of the time I reread your comments several times. I LOVE your comments. But, I don't get all bent out of shape if your URL shows up on my Sitemeter and you don't comment. Many times I have time to read your posts, but not to comment. Or, I may not have much to say about a particular subject, so I just move on to the next blog. Doesn't mean I don't like you anymore or I'm offended for some reason. Hey, I just didn't comment, okay? Please don't be offended, and I'm not offended when you do the same thing here. I understand totally. I know from my Sitemeter that I have several people who regularly lurk and read my blog, but don't ever de-lurk and comment. That's perfectly fine with me.

I also read a few blogs where the language is a little salty from time to time so I don't have them on my blogroll. I like to keep my blog family friendly, and I'm planning on joining a family friendly blogroll soon. Some blogs have salty language, but I don't want it on my blog. I don't go to their blogs and preach to them, so I appreciate that they don't cuss on my blog.

On a different but related note, I have had a few bloggers surf in and leave comments and when I paid a courtesy return visit to their blog, I encountered some things I don't agree with. To make this clear, I'm not talking about my regular visitors and those on my blogroll, but a select few from time to time. In those cases, I don't comment on their blog. If they comment on mine, I'm polite, but I don't return their visits. I don't want to offend anyone at all, so I won't say what those things were that I disagree with, but it's my prerogative not to visit their blogs. I don't want to offend, but at the same time I don't want to give anyone the impression that I agree with or support some practices and lifestyles that are out there. If you don't like my blog, just move on, and I reserve the right to do the same with some blogs out there.

For the most part, almost all of my experiences blogging have been good ones, with the exception of dealing with Demon Blogger. When I don't enjoy it anymore, I'll quit or modify my blogging someway until it's a positive experience again. I have a few blogs on my blogroll that are inactive now. I'm going to do some rearranging and drop some of those. In no way do I want to offend anyone, but life is all about change. I will add a blog here and there, and drop a blog occasionally. I don't do this arbitrarily, with the intention to hurt, but to tailor my blogging to my liking, no other reasons. I have just about all on my blogroll now that I can keep up with and say grace over. I don't want to do like a few bloggers have done and get so overwhelmed that I just throw in the towel and quit blogging altogether. That means I'll have to do some blog housekeeping from time to time, and maybe take a break here and there.

For now, though, I love blogging. I love all my blogging friends, both s0me newfound friends, and some who've been with me from the first. I appreciate ALL of you, and you add so much to my life. I'm thankful for each of you and that God has allowed us to cyber-meet. I hope to meet many of you In Real Life. Who knows, even a year ago I would have never dreamed that I would become so close to some of you through a computer, of all things!

May God richly bless you and yours, and may He meet all your needs. May you love and be loved, my dear family and friends.

I love you. :-)