What was your favorite class in high school? (And no, lunch doesn't count.)
French. Was my favorite college class too.
Would love to take more classes - or better yet, spend a year in Paris so I could be immersed in the language. I love the way it sounds.
Here I am again, two weeks in a row - woohoo! I probably won't get to do this next week since I only have three days in the office, but I am going to relish it today!
Notes from The Noticer:
"...a true friend holds you to a higher standard. A true friend brings out the best in you... A best friend...will tell you the truth...and a wise best friend will include a healthy dose of perspective." (p. 30)
"We grow up expecting everyone else to be just like us. And they aren't." (p. 42)
"I just think it's amazing...that a person could lose everything, chasing nothing." (p.49)
"...smart people get tripped up with worry and fear. Worry...fear...is just a misuse of the creative imagination that has been placed in each of us. Because we are smart and creative, we imagine all the things that could happen, that might happen, that will happen if this or that happens." (p.52)
About 8% of what we worry about are legitimate concerns (p.55)
"Most people spend so much time fearing the things that are never going to happen or can't be controlled that they have no energy to deal with the few things they can actually handle." (p. 55)
"...the seeds of depression cannot take root in a grateful heart." (p. 56)
Big takeaway from today's time: Perspective is everything.
A lot of you in my Vox Neighborhood are good photographers.
Not just good. Great.
Now that I oversee our church's website and various promo items, I am constantly looking for fresh, innovative, creative, original photos. On a limited budget.
Limited meaning I actually don't have a budget to purchase photos.
If you'd like to help a girl out by allowing me to occasionally use photos of yours that you've posted here or on other hosting sites, such as Flickr, would you send me a PM? I will let you know what I use, when I use it.
(I will not use photos that show any identifiable parts of a person, such as their face - I am looking for still shots, scenery, or photos with people's faces obscured - or just feet, legs, hands, etc. And if I am using a lot of your photos, it would move into a paying gig - or, I can give you a charitable contribution letter if you let me know the value.)
Gracias!
Go forth and fill your libraries with media.
Seriously, thanks to everyone for being so amazing and patient. You are the reason I love Vox.
I was just told that the Amazon Conduit will be fixed by tomorrow. I will post here as soon as I get word that it's back up and running.
I know this has been frustrating and I am sorry there wasn't more I could do to make it less so. I really appreciate your patience though.
Cheers,
I have made a decision to create "white space" in both my work and personal life. What does that mean?
It simply means taking time to notice things - to be aware.
In the context of my work, this means taking some time out each week, during work hours, to read and study and create. Rob and I found a local coffee place with free WiFi on Monday, so here I am today. I don't have as long as I'd like - the original plan was 2 hours, but I am here, and that in and of itself is a good first step.
I want to remember things I read today that resonate with me, so I am going to record them here. Feel free to tune out from this point forward.
From Leading Smart: Don Miller at Story
"We have a relationship with Scripture that is really strange. We sit down and say, "What's in this for me?" What if it's just a story about God? What if He just wants us to get to know Him?"
"Success doesn't tell a very good story. It takes a character with flaws who does good."
"The story that we are telling ourselves is almost always different than the story we are telling the people around us."
Leading Smart: Dave Gibbons at Story
"When there is personal revelation of your weakness--it more fully releases the power of the Spirit."
Leading Smart: Story Launches with Ed Young
"Everybody wants to reach people until you start reaching people."
"The question is not: "How many people are showing up?" The better question is: "Who are you reaching?"
"Change. Conflict. Growth. That's the sequence. Many people won't change. Or they do change and then stop at the conflict, and they never experience the growth."
"...you see only the sand at your feet and what you are eating that you wish was something else. I don't tell you this as a rebuke; you are very ordinary in your views...Remember, whatever you focus upon, increases." (p. 13)
"...a grateful perspective brings happiness and abundance into a person's life." (p. 13)
"When a person is negative, complaining, and disagreeable, other people stay away. And that person receives less encouragement and fewer opportunities - because no one wants to be around him" (p.14)
"Ask yourself this question every day: 'What is it about me that other people would change if they could?'" (p. 15)
...because People Matter: SWITCH | Navigating Change with Chip Heath: Session 3
" People are often not ready for change. Consider...
- moving people into the first sky-scraper
- eating the first shrimp
- UGG boots in the middle of summer
- But one change agent impacts another who impacts another who ... (you get the idea)
- New norms are formed that redefine the "win" for the person or organization"
This has been a great exercise! I am going into work with a relaxed, centered attitude.
This is a definite "rinse and repeat" activity.
Our former pastor, a wise and gifted teacher, spoke last Sunday about some hard things. I've been mulling his words for 6 days.
So many times I hear excuses from people about their behavior, and they usually revolve around the desire to be happy. The marriage didn't make them happy, so they left. The job didn't make them happy, so they quit. The church didn't make them happy, so they tried to find another one.
The problem is, especially with those who say they want Christ to be the center of their lives, is that happiness doesn't mean what they think it does. Happiness is a feeling, nothing more, nothing less, and it's such a variable one that its comings and goings can hardly be tracked or predicted. I'm learning something about that feeling, and I'm starting to realize it has nothing to do with lasting, deep-seated joy or contentment. Happiness has everything to do with situations, and nothing to do with true security.
And, to be honest, I don't really think God cares if I'm happy in the moment or not.
Perhaps that sounds sacrilegious. But I don't find a whole lot of Biblical promises about "happiness". I've read about joy. And contentment. And peace. But nothing about warm and fuzzy feelings that fade as soon as someone cuts me off in traffic or the skies cloud up or the dog pees on the floor.
I'm starting to think that what my God requires of me is obedience to His Word, and if I get all warm and fuzzy over that, well, that's fine, but I don't believe that's the reason I'm supposed to be obedient. I can help my neighbor with a glad heart or a bitter one, the choice is mine. However, if I truly want to follow Christ, I don't have a choice about helping in the first place. That's the obedience that a Father requires of His children. Don't want to put money in the offering plate? Do it anyway. Don't want to volunteer at the homeless shelter? Do it anyway. Don't want to bite my tongue when someone treats me like crap? Do it anyway. Don't want to honor my husband or sacrifice for my children? Yes, do it anyway.
It's the obedience that's important, not my attitude about it. I can choose to find joy in submitting myself to the greater will of a God to whom I've committed my soul. I can choose to revel in the idea that the Creator of the universe cares enough about my little peon of a life to want me to be the best person I can be to change my little corner of the world. I can choose to find peace in obedience. I can choose to be content where I am, because He has placed me here.
When it comes right down to it, I think God is more concerned with me being holy than in me being happy. Happiness, as I said, is so fleeting and changeable, so fickle and variable; holiness is eternal. And I believe those are the things God is concerned with, the eternal things, as He is eternal. And because He is concerned with my holiness, or woeful lack thereof, then that is where my focus needs to be also.
I'll take joy and peace and contentment over "happy" today.
Bad news. As many of you have probably noticed, the Amazon Conduit was not fixed in the last week's release. Unfortunately, there was an undetected bug that is preventing the conduit from working.
We are working on this bug fix and hope to have the Conduit back up and running this week.
I will keep you posted.
Thank you for being so patient.
Next Wednesday marks the 15th anniversary of the day the Swede and I committed to each other til death do us part. Since the actual date falls mid-week, and the Little's 12th birthday is next Saturday, we decided to go out to dinner tonight.
We aren't big "out-to-dinner" people. We will sometimes go to the local Mexican place or a pub for a bite and a drink, and we like to take the family out once in awhile, but it's never anything fancy. Suits for him and nylons and high heels for me just ruin the fun that's supposed to be part of the night out, so we tend to keep things pretty casual. We tossed around the names of lots of nice restaurants and got recommendations from people who know more than we do, but in the end we chose an old (as in really old, as in the oldest operating inn in the country ... or so the brochure says) tavern, with fireplaces in the dining rooms and real food on the menu, and had probably our best night out in years.
Our waiter, Joe, was perfect. An older guy with thick accent, he asked if we were celebrating anything this evening, and we told him it was an early anniversary dinner. After pleasant congratulations, he proceeded to to everything right, being attentive without crossing over into "buddy" territory. He gave us time to talk, but was on hand to clear and add anything we needed. Big tip, he earned it.
The food was amazing ... the Swede got prime rib, I got duck, and everything was great. There were homemade rolls, extremely fresh vegetables, and we splurged on dessert. As we were finishing up and waiting for the check, Joe came by with one more plate, lit the candle, and wished us a happy anniversary:
Such a sweet gesture. As I said, big tip ... he earned it.
Spending quiet time alone with the Swede, without the distractions of phones and kids and dogs and chores and LIFE is something that doesn't happen often, and we're ok with that. We live our lives together, raising our kids, taking care of the blessings we've been afforded, working hard to make it all work. That's just who we are and what we do. But every once in awhile, we have to take the time to separate ourselves from all of that, and just be able to concentrate on each other, have an entire conversation without being interrupted, and reconnect.
Tonight was that night.
And, as we usually do as the anniversary date rolls around, we asked each other if we'd still do it, given the chance. And we both said yes, just like we did 15 years ago.
Blog Action Day is every October 15th, when blogger are asked to post something about a single issue to show our strength and conviction as an online community. It's a great way to feel connected to the greater good, and the participation of so many bloggers to support the world's leading non-profit organizations is something you can do to help, right now. By blogging today, you're supporting some of the world's leading non-profits and sharing your voice for change.
This year's topic is climate change, and we'd love to read your thoughts on the topic. If you participate, leave us a link to your post in the comments, so we know to check out your post!
Go to www.blogactionday.org to learn more, get a badge for your blog showing your participation, and see some ideas for your post on climate change.
Can't wait to read your posts!
~ daisy
