Stuff about...
Me:
My name is Melody L. Menezes. I'd like to call myself a 'simple' person but at times I can be pretty complicated. I was born (on Bastille Day), brought up and still live in Mumbai, India. This year I saw my 30th Monsoon ;) I love life, love to experience new things and make new friends. Am also very sentimental, so I don't forget the old ones - and throwing out cards is something I just don't know how to do!
Ultimately, I desire to reach heaven & have my God tell me that I fulfilled the mission for which He placed me on earth. To this end, I try to be as good a person as I can & to follow His Will as best I know how. Though I often fail miserably at this, I believe He knows my heart & that through His Grace, I can stand up & try again.
My signature is Phil 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"
People whom I love:
I'm a very 'Family person'. Have been blessed to be born into a great family. Still stay with my mum & dad. My elder sis & my darling brother-in-law are happily settled in the land down under.
Also have three doggies who are very much part of the fam; Tammy (black Labrador), Snoopy (a talking Dalmatian) & Tanner (an Alsation & our naughtiest doggie to date!).
My extended family consists of 2 Grandmas, tons of aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces & nephews. I'm also the proud Godmother of two darling girls. All aforementioned are spread over the world: many here in Mumbai, then some in Goa, Mangalore, all over U.K, Canada, America, Australia and Singapore (hope I haven't missed any!).
My friends & family mean the world to me and I much rather have someone hurt me than hurt someone I love. I have school & college friends whom I'm still very much in contact with, though most are married (and with kids!) and across the globe.
I discerned my vocation to be marriage and am confident that my God of the impossible will send Mr. Right at the right time!
My interests:
I love to read! Very often read more than one book at a time. Favorite fictional author: Jane Austen (book: Pride & Prejudice). Love collecting books and own all Jane Austen's works (mainly through the patronage of the elder sis, thx!), all of Merlin Carothers (full marks to him!) and many more. I like buying books rather than reading lent books as it gives me a chance to highlight etc. & refer back when I want. As a result, I'm blessed with a great library at home.
Like almost everybody I know, I love music - playing, singing, listening or dancing!! I play the piano/keyboards and also sing (though I'm not sure anyone wants to listen!). Listening to music is also great, as is dancing! I never drink or smoke but I still manage to "get high on life " (am often quoted on that one, lol). Love almost all kinds of music (don't like Rock & Acid & other 'trippy' types). Recently some of my music (lyrics & composition) was put on a CD called "Rain on Me". More about this here .
Another passion is writing. Have been putting pen to paper since as long as I can remember. When I was a little girl, the only person I would let read my stuff was my Grandmother. She usually pulled me up for lying to her that I wrote the matter in question, which I would then take as a compliment on how good she thought my work was. I didn't ever send any of my stuff for publication till I started writing spiritual articles, which I felt led to share. Till date have been published in several publications including the 'Tabor Voice' (several times), 'The Examiner' and 'Divine Light'. Maybe one day I will hide out in a log cabin, somewhere I can hear birds in the day & see stars in the night (I simply love to look up at the stars!) and just write, write, write.
My Faith & Ministries:
Was born, brought up & raised Roman Catholic . But it was in April of 1996, during a Charismatic Retreat, that I started to understand and appreciate my roots. Have been growing (or trying to, at any rate) in the Spirit ever since. And since I believe spirituality is about having a relationship with God, I'll always be learning, always be walking...
After my initial retreat I joined my parish prayer group, which gave me much spiritually, in terms of quality teachings & also life-lasting friends. Was there for 6 years after which I joined Tabor Divine Retreat Ashram and was there for 2 years. Being in full-time-ministry at Tabor was perhaps one of the greatest learning opportunities I've had in my life - as well as a chance to see the Holy Spirit at work first hand.
Been back in Mumbai 4 years and now divide my ministry between my parish group and the Divine team where I lead Youth Retreats once or twice a year. I also continue to write freelance for many spiritual magazines in India as well as for this site's column 'Melody Writes'.
Glorify God:
Glorify God was started in 2002, initially to help me keep my friends updated on my life at Tabor Ashram, since I rarely (if ever) had time to answer the tons of email I got. The index page of the initial Glorify God was my blog. Glorify God was also the place I stored & shared all the Christian Articles I wrote.
Gradually I realized that Glorify God had become 'Melody-centered' and not Christ-centered' as I had envisioned it. However being at Tabor with no full time web administrator to help, there was not much I could do about it.
Then the Lord Jesus Christ who loves to surprise me, worked in His trademark wondrous way! Through the site, got to know of a Colin Coelho [who passed away Jan 2005, may God bless his soul] who referred me to his son's friend Ajay D'Souza.
After I left Tabor I met Ajay & we started work on the new design. With Ajay's considerable expertise, we redesigned Glorify God. I had already moved my blog to another URL & was determined to have complete Christian (& 100% Catholic) content on Glorify God. Content now includes great Testimonies, Christian Articles, Book Reviews, Music & a Tabor Ashram Survival Kit. The index page also runs my column called 'Melody Writes' which is updated monthly, a Salvation Prayer (called 'A Free Visa to Heaven') as well as various Christian tid-bits (also updated regularly). The new site was up & running by 6th Dec. 2003 (I met Ajay for the first time on the 16th Nov). I also recently added a whole Pro-Life Section. AND you'll also find a lot of Seasonal Resources, like the 'Stations of the Cross Meditations' during Lent etc.
Also new on the site was The Glorify God Community. In the first two months, membership was approx. around 20 members & posts on the community were about ten times that number. The Community functions as an online family that discusses various issues from Apologetics to Current Affairs. 'Family' members have described the community to be place where they learn & prayer together. As of one member put it: "I always find myself learning & pondering as a result of others' posts, which I think is a healthy way to grow spiritually"
On the 6th Feb '04 (two months after redesign) Fr. Martin K., Director of Delhi Divine Retreat Center (also a part of the Divine Ministries, like Tabor) blessed the site & along with another team member, we prayed in tongues for the site to be a blessing for all the visitors & community members. The very next day Glorify God received the St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church 2004 Catholic Website Award for Personal Web Sites. Shortly after that we were awarded The Mary Pages Award 2004-2005 and the 2004 - 2005 'World Web Award of Excellence'. All these awards & subsequent ones received are displayed on our Awards Page.
Committed to glorifying our Living God through this website, Glorify God promises to offer more & more content as it grows.
Page Updated August 2008
To Contact me, click here.
