A Rainy Day

Today was a generally blah day. It rained all day which hardly ever happens in Orlando. And I just had an overall feeling of frustration. I like it here. But every now and then I wonder what i'm doing here. Why exactly it is that I live 600 miles away from my family and my "home."

So, inspired by one of Katie's blogs, I decided to make a list of some of the things I'm happy about.

1. I live near the beach
2. We don't have many rainy days like this
3. I have a really nice roommate
4. I like my family. Even if they are 600 miles away
5. I have good friends
6. I like my job and my team and my manager
7. My cat purrs when I pet her
8. It is finally getting nice and cool outside!
9. I'm starting a good book.
10. Tomorrow is Thursday which means I can make it to the weekend

Weekend

Here is a snapshot of my weekend in Chattanooga so far.

My family likes to talk and discuss things. Sabbath we had a lovely meal by my mom and my Aunt and then we sat at the table for a good hour afterwards listening to stories and discussing different topics.



Here is Jeremy, Jenny, Charles and I at Cracker Barrel on Sunday morning.





It's my Aunt and Uncle's 28'th Anniversary!



Saturday night we celebrated my friend Heather's birthday!

Food for thought

I recently came across this verse from Titus 3:8-9

"This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.
But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless."

How easy is it to get caught up in foolish controverseries and arguments. This doesn't say to disregard the law, but neither should it be our focus. We should focus on doing what is good. On being who God made us to be. On loving others and on loving God and walking with Him each day. The rest will naturally fall into place.

Imperfection

Sometimes I just wish I were perfect. Or at least that I could pick up the phone and ask God exactly what to do in each situation. I wish I could just be happy. Have faith. Be patient. Not be sad or overwhelmed with emotions. But I'm so not perfect. And it's exhausting sometimes.

Shadows

I'm a sunshine girl. I love being outside when the sky is blue and the air is crisp and the sun is warm and soft. I enjoy hiking and swimming and just hanging out on a blanket with friends. When the sun is out, life is good and it makes sense. I feel like I can do and be just about anything.

But invariably, at some point some moisture finds itself in the atmosphere and pulls together to make big dark clouds that block or even hide the light. Then it doesn't seem so nice outside. I feel ready to get back in the car and go home. Watch some TV maybe. Take a nap. Anything to stop feeling so gloomy.

It would be nice if the sun were always out. But at least I know it's always there. Even when I can't feel the warmth. And in the end light breaks through darkness every time.

Where do you stop?

"It is good to grasp the one and not let go of the other. The man who fears God will avoid all extremes." Eccl 7:18

So my question is: how do you stay in the middle? When you find yourself too far on one side of the street...how far do you go before you start hitting the other side? What is "balance"? It is certainly something I strive for. But I also seek adventure and variety and new things. For example. I'm thinking about piercing my ears. I would really like to. It would give me a whole new genre to shop for and a new way to accessories. But. Let's say I do that, and then 6 months later I get bored and I want to try something else new. Where do you stop? Or are there really always new acceptable good things to experience and try?

Thoughts?

Mr. Lockhart's Do-Over

I read this story this morning from one of my HR newsletters and I thought it was a really good story. It's a little long, but worth the read.

Mr. Lockhart's Do-Over
Sometimes you learn important lessons from the most unlikely places. I once learned a terrific lesson about leadership from a milkman. It happened in 1954, when I was eight years old.
At this stage of my life, two important events happened at the same time—Mother's Day and the carnival. Both required money, so I had to save for months. That year I had hoarded my fifty-cent weekly allowance until I had saved six whole dollars—two dollars to buy my mom a pair of the Mother's Day earrings she had pointed out to me at a local jewelry store, two dollars for food and bus fare, and two dollars for an unlimited ride pass at the carnival. (I loved the Octopus. In fact, I loved every single thing about the carnival.)

When I got off the bus the day I set off to buy Mom's earrings and take a look at the carnival, I could hear the joyous sounds of the kid rides a couple of blocks away. But first things first—I had to get those earrings. As I approached the jewelry store, the cry of the carnival beckoned me. It was so inviting that I decided to put off buying the Mother's Day earrings and go straight for the home of the Loopty-Loop. The thoughts of cotton candy and the fun house were more than I could withstand. This, of course, was my first mistake.

I made my second mistake when I arrived at the carnival itself. Instead of going directly to the ticket booth and buying my unlimited ride pass, I moseyed into the midway where a hoard of carnies tried to get me to toss baseballs or pop balloons. I resisted any temptation to compete until I came across a booth that offered as its prize small cages containing parakeets. I had never seen such birds. They were blue and green—almost florescent—and I soon learned that you could teach them to talk.

Mom would like one of these birds way more than any old earrings! Why, just look at the gorgeous creatures! And all I had to do was throw a dime and land it on a plate—a huge plate no less. And there were dozens of plates. So I eagerly cashed in a dollar for ten dimes. The first one hit right on a plate—oh boy oh boy oh boy!—but then it bounced off. But it almost landed on another plate. This was going to be easy. After bouncing six dimes and winning nothing, I stared to get discouraged. But the nice fellow who worked the counter told me not to worry—I was bound to win soon.

And so went the two dollars I had set aside for food and return bus fare. Nevertheless, if I won, I could use the two dollars I'd set aside for the earrings and I'd be back to even. The next twenty dimes bounced pretty much like the first twenty. But once again, the fellow behind the counter was certain I would soon win.
As I clutched my last two dollars, I was tempted to walk straight to the jewelry store before it was too late, but one of the parakeets chirped, "Pretty bird!"—at least, I thought it did—and that's all it took. I had twenty more chances to buy the best present any kid had ever bought his mom for Mother's Day!

The three-mile walk home that day was a miserable one. I hadn't eaten anything, I didn't have a present, and boy was I going to get in trouble when mom found out what I had done. As I walked down the last mile of the dirt road that led home, my next door neighbor, George Lockhart, drove up in his milk truck. George got up every day at the crack of dawn and delivered milk to stores and families around town. He was on his way home. Normally I would have been thrilled to hitch a ride—you know, ride up front with a guy wearing a milkman uniform and white hat; maybe he'd even give me a fudgecicle. But not this day. I had just suffered the great parakeet debacle of 1954.

One look at me and Mr. Lockhart could tell I was unhappy. As I told him my story about the beautiful birds—I mean really, you could teach them to talk and everything!—I told him how I'd lost all my money, and he nodded knowingly but didn't say a word. Eventually, when we got to his house, he turned to me and said, "I've done you a good turn by giving you a ride home, would you do something for me? I've just had a new load of wood delivered, and I need some of it chopped into kindling." Then he handed me a large sharp ax.
All right! I'd get to swing a really cool ax and I wouldn't have to go home and face the music! Now, before you go all safety-conscious on me, let me remind you that this was in 1954. Back then eight-year-olds went to the carnival by themselves, walked long distances alone, and yes, they even swung the occasional ax. Well, I did anyway.

After a couple of hours, Mr. Lockhart reappeared, gave my stack of kindling a nod of approval, and said it was getting dark and I should go home. As I turned down the path that connected our two houses, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I looked around and there was Mr. Lockhart. In his right hand he was holding a wad of six one-dollar bills. "This is for the work you did." Then he turned on his heel and walked away.

Six dollars! At age eight, and on that particular day, it was like a million dollars to me. I could hardly wait to get home and tell Mom what had happened.
Now, let's think about what Mr. Lockhart had done. He heard the story of how foolish I had been. Of course, he knew that my intentions were pure. He realized that I had made an innocent mistake. And he knew that I had learned from the experience. And so, instead of lecturing me—something I really didn't need—he didn't say a word. Instead of keeping me from trying again, he set me up for another go around.

He gave me a do-over—and it was exactly the right thing to do. When I returned to town the next morning—six dollars in hand—I went straight to the jewelry store and bought the beautiful earrings Mom wanted. She wore them on special occasions for over fifty years. When I made my way over to the carnival, I wouldn't let myself walk within a half-block of the parakeets. I knew I'd be too weak to resist the temptation. Averting the siren call of "Pretty bird!" I bought a wad of cotton candy and an unlimited ride pass, and spun myself into oblivion.
I had learned several lessons that day. But the real lesson here is the one I learned from Mr. Lockhart about leadership.

When direct reports make a sizeable mistake, stop and ask yourself what they really need.
Were they well intended? Did they not know any better? Have they learned their lesson and what they really need now is support? Football coaches understand this. Watch what happens when a field goal kicker misses an important field goal. When the fans are jeering, booing, and threatening to hang the kicker in effigy, the coach is typically encouraging the poor fellow. There will be more kicks—maybe soon—and it's not like the kicker didn't care. At this point, what he needs is confidence, not criticism. Later you may help him work on his technique, but for now, you're going to give him a do-over.

And so, when someone messes up big time at work—or perhaps it's one of your kids who lets you down—when your natural inclination is to lay on a lecture and lay it on thick, think about old George and ask yourself: Does this person need a do-over?

Sometimes it's just what the milkman ordered.

The Pale Blue Dot

Check out this video and consider these verses from Psalms 8.

When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,

What is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?

You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.

O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Seven Wonders of the World

I got a forward this week that made me pause and think. Basically it is one little girl's perspective of the "Seven Wonders of the World." Here is her words with some pictures that I think illustrate them.

The Seven Wonders of the World

To see


To hear


To Touch



To Feel


To Laugh



And to Love

A Great Weekend

I had such a nice weekend at home.

Friday night I had a really nice dinner with some of my best friends and then had Sabbath worship with Katie and my family. It was lovely We went on my parents back porch and the stars came out as we enjoyed singing and listening to the violin and cello.


Sunday was Paul and Alicia's wedding! They got married at Whigs Meadow on the Cherohala skyway. It was a perfect day and a beautiful wedding.

Man Vs Wild

Sometimes we watch a show called "Man vs Wild." Basically this guy drops himself in hard to survive places like the desert, a glacier, or a lava field, and then shows you how to survive were you to unfortuantly find yourself in such a situation.

I ran across an article called 10 things You Need to Know on his website. It gives ideas of how to survive things like a shark attack, a snake bite, or hypothermia. Here is how you would survive the car filling with water.....


10 Things You Need To Know

When Your Car Goes Underwater You don't have to drive off a bridge to experience the terror of sinking underwater in a car. Flash floods can be just as deadly — a car could start floating away in only 2 feet of water. Either way, once the water starts pouring into your vehicle, you need to keep your cool while acting quickly. First, unfasten your seat belt. That may seem obvious, but you'd be surprised at the number of drowning victims who never unbuckled themselves. Then, before the electricity shorts out, roll down the windows. THAT'S RIGHT, ROLL DOWN THE WINDOWS This may seem a suicidal act as you sit in a sinking car. But the point is to equalize the water pressure inside and outside the vehicle. If your sinking car stays full of air, there's no way you'll be able to open the door. If you still can't get the door open and windows won't roll down, find a heavy object, say a flashlight, and break the glass. Don't try to kick out the windshield; you'll never be able to do it. Smash a side window — it breaks more easily if you hit an edge or corner — and swim out through it and head to the surface. YOUR LAPTOP WILL FORGIVE YOU Don't waste time trying to gather up valuable possessions. The laptop, the purse, the DVDs ... their time has come. Yours hasn't, if you use your head. More Things to Know 1. When It's a Bear, Don't Stare 2. When Your Car Goes Underwater 3. Staying Safe in a Tornado 4. When Lightning Strikes 5. If Your House Catches Fire 6. Out in the Cold? Avoiding Hypothermia 7. Lost at Sea? 8. That Sinking Feeling: Getting Out of Quicksand 9. Snake-Bit? 10. Taking on a Shark

So the paper's going really well....

This afternoon was supposed to be my time to work on my paper. It's going really well so far! I went rollerblading, took a shower, made lunch, finally started on the paper. Stared at it for awhile. Talked on the phone. Wrote about a page. Talked to my roommate. Started on the next page. Talked on the phone. Took a nap. Now I'm trying again! At this rate I'll be finished in no time......

Ah well. At least I'm working on it!

Brilliant Songs

So I just got Josh Groban's latest CD, and I must say that I LOVE several of the songs on this CD! The quality isn't as good on youtube, but here are links to my two favorite songs.

The first is "You are Loved" I think this is an amazing song if you think of it as God singing it to us.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnKH2kdu__c

The Second is "So She Dances" I just love this song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEGuAOHDKi0

Had a bad day......

So today I feel like that song that they play over and over again on the radio. I really just don't feel like myself today. I feel like I have very heightened emotions. So things that might only bother me a little bit, are bothering me a lot more. Ugh. I think I should go back to bed and try again.

Top Five Amusing Things at a Career Fair

1. People who say to me, "You don't have a very dark tan for living in Florida!" Hello. We do have some sort of winter here. It's not summer all year.
2. Other vendors who try to attract attention to their booths by doing things like hiring models to walk around in what looks like nothing but bathrobes bearing their logo.
3. People with a much smaller sense of personal space with strangers then I possess
   
4. Candidates who say "Orlando? Don't you guys have tons of hurricanes?" Hopefully for all of us living here that was just a bad couple years not a permanent trend!
   
5. People who say "Can I steal a pen?" Sure. Or you could just take one. You'd probably feel less guilty that way.

Nowhere to run

Every once in awhile I get the urge to make a change. I get discouraged or disappointed and I want to start over. I consider moving to Colorado or back home to Chattanooga. Because it feels like if I hit a roadblock, that I must be going the wrong way. But it seems more and more like God is teaching me to rest. Sometimes the hardest thing is to stay still. To wait on Him to make sense of things. For him to provide direction and perhaps build a bridge to an area that once seemed impossible.
I've started reading the book "Captivating." So far its been a good book, but there was one line in particular that really spoke to me. The idea is this. When Eve first took the fruit, she did it because she was convinced in her heart that God was holding out on her. How often do I make that same mistake? When things aren't going how I planned, its so easy to feel cheated. Like God is holding out on me. And so I try to regain control. I too take the fruit.

Thank God for His mercy and gentleness with our human hearts. Thank God that He has a good plan for our lives, even when we don't understand it.

Hi. I'm a doctor and a lawyer

I went to lunch with a couple of my work friends today and we happened to see a "local celebrity." For those of you that don't live here, he's an attorney that is both an MD and a JD and describes himself as such on his commercials. He says, "Hi. I'm Dr. so and so. I'm both a medical doctor and an attorney....ect..." Basically a "how would you like to sue YOUR doctor today?!" commercial. Which, if you'll permit me a side bar here, how does a medical doctor become a lawyer?? I mean really? How did you go from saving lives to sueing those life-savers? Okay, I'm done. So we saw this guy and were amused. My friend thought it would be funny if she pretended to choke on her food and then I ran away all suspicous like and she gasped out, "help me. I need a doctor AND an attorney!"

We had a good laugh about that one!

Mr. Kristen

A couple of the girls that I work with and I are listening to an audio book about how to hold important conversations effectively. One of the things we learned yesterday was that when adrenalin is flowing through your body more blood goes to your muscles groups and blood actually leaves parts of your brain. Which is why sometimes when you are emotional you say things that seem smart at the time but not so smart later, when all the blood is back in your brain.

Anyways. I discovered that I am not immune to this today when I received the following phone call.

Me: "Human Resources, This is Kristen."
Indian-accented Pharmacist: Silence
Me: "Hello?"
Indian-accented Pharmacist: Can I speak to Mr. Kristen please.
Me: (Already a bit annoyed having received an email from this person addressed to a Mr. Kristen.) "This is Miss Kristen"
Indian-accented Pharmacist: I received an email from Mr. Kristen asking me to contact him.
Me: I'm Kristen
Indian-accented Pharmacist: Something I don't remember because the blood is leaving my brain, but I think it had something to do with, can I please speak with Mr. Kristen.
Me: I'm Kristen. I'm a girl.
Indian-accented Pharmacist: Oh

Yeah. Thinking back on this dialogue, I probably should just asked what he wanted and used a deeper voice...... ;)

It's not that cold.....

This weekend I went to the beach with some of my friends despite weather predictions of below 70 degree temperatures....We thought, hey it's sunny out. It will be nice! Which, it was sunny and beautiful outside. However, we decided to play in the waves. It really didn't feel that cold at the time. But we were the ONLY people on the whole beach (did I mention that its Spring Break?) who actually got in the water! And we stayed in for a good while. Which was fun and kindof invigorating. However, when we got out it was REALLY cold. And we had drifted a very long way down the beach so we had to walk back against the wind. It took me awhile to warm up after that....

Still, it was very nice to spend time outside this weekend!

Washed Clean

Tonight I gave my lovely little kitty a bath. She was not very happy about this. But as most of you know, she is fluffly thing and as such tends to attract a lot of dirt. It was time for a bath. I hopped in the tub with her and turned on the water. It was amazing to see how much dirt came off of her. I also love how she smells and feels when it's all over.

I couldn't help but think that sometimes God must feel like that about us. He knows we are dirty and that he can make us look and smell so much better. But sometimes that involves going through the water. But God doesn't just throw us in and hope for the best. He jumps in with us and help us remove the dirt from our lives. And when we're out it's amazing how much better and cleaner we can feel.