How do you want to go out?

Pat was in his 60's. In the middle of a bunch of amazing activities. Brokering deals. Volunteering. Developing property. Snap. Gone.

I asked hubby - he said "as long as it's fast and painless." Me? Snatched up like Ezekiel. You? How do you want to "go"?

To Pat

Today, a member of our congregation suffered from an aneurism. He and my husband had been working together to coordinate some city planning activities. I'm very sad for our loss, but I trust that he is going to a better place.

I don't know his current status, but it wasn't looking good 6 hours ago. I hate sounding like I'm anticipating a fatal outcome. Doctors have been wrong before. I trust God's infinite wisdom and timing.

We are His.

Desperate for Flowers

I'm at work, wishing I was at home working in the yard. And not just because this has been a long day of dealing with folks not doing what they've said they're going to do.

Then Sings My Soul - Say, by John Mayer

To really appreciate how powerfully this song hit me this week, picture me drifting off to sleep at the end of a long and emotionally challenging day. I'd been praying for the spirit of wisdom to guide me to a response. To help me navigate as an apostle. To be a witness to God's love and mercy. To humble myself and give glory to God. "How?" I asked. And I felt the spirit with me and listened. On the radio a song played, repeating (almost) endlessly "Say what you need to say." And the spirit added, "with love, from the heart." You can read about it in this week's Thirst for Wisdom and Cafe Chat.

Say, by John Mayer

Take all of your wasted honor
Every little past frustration
Take all of your so-called problems,
Better put 'em in quotations

Say what you need to say [x8]

Walking like a one man army
Fighting with the shadows in your head
Living out the same old moment
Knowing you'd be better off instead,
If you could only . . .

Say what you need to say [x8]

Have no fear for giving in
Have no fear for giving over
You'd better know that in the end
Its better to say too much
Then never say what you need to say again

Even if your hands are shaking
And your faith is broken
Even as the eyes are closing
Do it with a heart wide open

Say what you need to say [x24]

Frants - Will the last one to leave please turn out the lights

First, this sign appeared on the vending machine at the end of our hallway. Someone decided it would be more efficient to have fewer snack machines. This is not really about what is efficient for the average employee. This is not about being able to grab a convenient snack when you're working through lunch. This is about a bean counter somewhere crunching the numbers on their end (the service provider) and deciding their bottom line was better served with fewer snack machines. Will they run the numbers in a year and determine that their margin was reduced because fewer snacks were sold as a result of less available tempting noshes? Probably not.
Then, soon after, this sign appeared on all of the bathroom doors. "A New Way of Office Cleaning is Sweeping Across 'The Company'..." How exciting? This is just the sort of message that really gets you feeling good about your situation. Who wouldn't love a housekeeping service that is more personalized, efficient and environmentally friendly? Who knew that what they really meant was that all employees would have to empty their own waste baskets. No joke. There are now centrally located trash cans in the main hallways and everyone is expected to make the trip from their cubicle to the main trash cans. And they cut the hours of the housekeeping staff. Stay tuned. I'm sure I'll soon have photos of overflowing waste baskets in the cubes of the slovenly.

It warms my heart to know how much 'The Company' is looking out for us. Not every employer would be so sensitive to our needs.

Another case of "after"

Saturday I rolled up my sleeves and went to battle with the dust bunnies (well, really "against the dust bunnies" and clutter that had taken over my office.

I'm not really thinking the photos here can do justice to the sights and sounds and scents that are my newly refreshed zen-like retreat.

The Lavender reed diffuser is a delight. The candle from IKEA contributes to the sights/scents with a slightly tropical aura.

The plants which greet my distracted gaze further the feeling of a retreat from the world.

I fiddled with the waterfall and it once again contributes to the wellness of my world.

Then Sings My Soul: “Thank you” by 33 Miles

This perfectly captures where I'm at right now. "Thank you" by 33 Miles.

I'm a sucker for faith videos that capture teen-adoration for God. I loved the song before, and even more now.

Thank You, by 33 Miles
What if in morning when I wake up
Even before I fill my coffee cup
I said thank You
Thank You

What if I look at the day and the hours ahead
And before I move forward I bowed my head
And said thank You
Oh I said thank You

What if I looked at my life in a different way
Took a little more time to stop and pray
I know it would change all the moments in between
So here I go

Thank You for everything
Thank You for loving me
It don't even matter what tomorrow brings
Well I will sing my

Thank You for sun and rain
For what You give and take away
For all Your goodness I will always say
Thank You
Oh I'll say thank You

What if I lost everything that I had
I could smile and somehow still be glad
And say thank You
Thank you

'Cause life is joy, life is pain
But the prayer on my heart will never change
I say thank You
Oh I'll say thank You

Frants - this just irks me. Probably for no good reason.

I come into the office building the same way every day. One of the sights that greets me is this charming poster. I'd rather not be too liberal in criticism of my benefactor's marketing. I'm posting this image here as my little way of saying "Bleh! I don't like it!"

Ed: "Irk" may not be the right word (I'm not always good at naming my feelings). Maybe it's "vex" or "perplex" or "befuddle" or "bemuse" or "baffle" or "I wish they would take it down because I can't figure out how this is supposed to sell more product or inspire." What is the reaction they're looking for, anyway?

I should have mentioned this poster is almost as big as a single bed sheet.

For those who just visited and saw the "before," here's "after"

Our downstairs living room is "beach" theme, but the bathroom was not (sorry - I forgot to take photos of "before"). I finally bit the bullet and redecorated the bathroom. Although the Baptismal reception at our house Sunday should have motivated me to finish the project before company came, such was not the case. I finished the day after everyone left. The fun side was getting my Mom and sis's input during the weekend.

My crafty (in an artsy way) Mom helped with the 3 shadowboxes. These were nude, but I spray-painted them white. The photos are from Puerto Rico, my back yard and Florida.

The photos here really don't do 'em justice. You'll just have to come visit to appreciate the clever ambiance of our guest bath.

Al strikes again...well, maybe "strikes" is too strong a word

This morning as I went about my business I came around a corner and was startled by a visitor. The good news was that this visitor was alive and breathing. In light of the last 3 (yes 3) dead guests, I'm delighted to say that this latest conquest was not conquered. No, he was trying to blend in with the background. He sat still while I ran to get my camera, but disappeared into the laundry room soon after.

Al, oh Al....Look how you nap so innocently. Did this little froggy wear you out? I worried for a minute that Mr. Froggy spit poison at the killer cat because the frog appears unscathed and Al seems whupped.

Surprise # 2 came when I fixed my morning tea and turned around to almost step on the visitor. As you can see, Mr. Froggy was nice enough to clean out dust bunnies from under the washing machine. You gotta love a visitor who jumps in and helps with the housekeeping!

No pun intended.

Loving hubby jumped in and scooped up our guest and dumped her unceremoniously outside into our delightful backyard....for Al to chase again on another day.

Hopeless Diamond

In another blast from my past...back in the days of LV community theatre.

"The Curse of the Hopeless Diamond" dinner mystery:

Wordless Wednesday

Rumors

From the Lago Vista Player's production of "Rumors" (circa 2002). What a hoot that was! I'm going to use this in my next staff meeting. I think the team will get a kick out of this, eh?

Happy Easter!

A season for celebrating beautiful things.

And the promise of things to come.

Praise God for his Son! Alleluia!

Frants - Professional Spelling Errors

I'm introducing a new theme-day for this blog. I don't want to get into a bad habit of whining and complaining but sometimes the world throws things my way that are just worth sharing. Whether the light cast on these things is positive or negative, well I'll leave some of that to your judgment. It's one thing when we make typos in our day to day activities, but it's something else altogether when we find items at the store that have been mass distributed with spelling errors. "The Lord is my ligth..."

'Tis Spring

I needed to enjoy the flowers today.

The season's second kill

Yesterday was a day of highs and lows. The first half of the day (getting ready for church, going to Sunday School, church itself) was as good as it gets. By afternoon, however, I was in a bit of a funk. One of the funk-contributors was the aftermath of Al (aka "the killer cat") and his evil ways natural desire to please us with his prowess.

He laid this treasure outside of the sun room door, then meowed and meowed and meowed to be let in. I wish I knew how to respond to discourage this behavior in him. I know he's a cat and he's doing what comes naturally, but I am not looking forward to spending the summer dealing with dead animals. Here we can see the shriveled corpse of a frog (probably the 1st kill, set free and didn't make it, if I had to guess).

Here is the Killer Cat lurking, waiting. I watched him stalk a bird, quietly slipping into the dwarf bamboo that grows near the would-be-(will-be-when-it's-put-back-together) pond. I shouted "Al, no!" and the sparrow was spared, but it's only a matter of time. His instincts are strong.

I guess I should be grateful. With Spring here, he has quit attacking me as I walk blissfully through the house, unaware that I'm being stalked by the Killer Cat.

Maybe an "angst" post

Classy? You bet. (Not)

This is on the rear window of the car my daughter's boyfriend bought for my daughter. We suggested goo-gone.

In the end (no pun intended) I think she finds the message to her liking.

Then Sings My Soul: "I'm Letting Go" by Francesca Battistelli

This process has been going on for weeks. You can read recent posts here or on my other blog and know that I'm struggling with letting go of the old and embracing the unknown. There is comfort in competence.

I'm Letting Go

My heart beats, standing on the edge
But my feet have finally left the ledge
Like an acrobat
There’s no turning back

Chorus
I’m letting go
Of the life I planned for me
And my dreams
Losing control
Of my destiny
Feels like I’m falling and that’s what it’s like to believe

So I’m letting go
This is a giant leap of faith
Trusting and trying to embrace
The fear of the unknown
Beyond my comfort zone

Chorus
I’m letting go
Of the life I planned for me
And my dreams
Losing control
Of my destiny
Feels like I’m falling and that’s what it’s like to believe

So I’m letting go
Giving in to your gravity
Knowing You are holding me
I’m not afraid
Feels like I’m falling and that’s what it’s like to believe
Feels like I’m falling and this is the life for me

Liberal Arts! Fine Arts! So much better than real life!

I spent the day watching one act plays at a UIL competition. Comedies. Tragedies. Teenagers playing old people. Irish, Scottish, British, Amish and New Jersey accents. Some well done. Some unintelligible.

Work has been a total buzz-kill this week so it was an absolute delight to lose myself in the darkness, spending 45 minutes at a time in different worlds, different times, different contexts.

Then, an hour waiting for the judge to finalize his results, sitting next to a 3rd grader who was fascinated by the potholder I was crocheting. Who told me all about his field trip to Inner Space Caverns. Who didn't need me for anything. No escalations, no demands, just friendly chatter. In the end, his parents thanked me - presumably for tolerating him, but I gave them my heartfelt thanks. In this day and age, it's nice that they allowed their young son to visit with a stranger (even if only in the seats right in front of them).

Ultimately the 8 hours spent at the UIL competition was the high point of my week.