"Be especially careful when you are trying to be good
I'm not an Apple groupie nor do I subscribe to the notion that we should be. But I'm also on a mission to find GREAT customer service. Today, I found it...with Apple. We all know what happened to my first iPhone; but something else happened to my second iPhone. I dropped it on its head & the on/off button got jammed up inside. I couldn't turn it on anymore. MeeGee suggested I take it to the Apple store. He (being an Apple groupie) even went as far as predicting they'd replace my busted one (at no charge). Shah! Right! As if! He was right. I walked in to this store, went up to their customer service station (neatly coined as the Genius Bar), where an Apple "genius" assisted me. The next few moments were ethereal, celestial and almost mystical: the genius gave me a brand new iPhone at no charge!!! Y0! HERE YE, HEAR ME...if you are into things like environment, collaboration, potential or right-thinking, you've got to visit an Apple store. It is an experience worth experiencing; it's an experience worth duplicating...wherever you are leading.
My lungs are acting up again. Thankfully, after 25 years of dealing w/ them, I can tell this time isn't serious. Just annoying--as soon as I bring it up in the toilet (too big to just use a tissue) my bronchi fill up again & I'm back at the toilet. AGH! So today I wasn't in the mood for difficult people & I just wanted to accomplish the mandatory and go home. I went to our impt. mtg. at Panera Bread. [Sidenote: we were probably Panera's biggest client today as our bill included snacks, beverages and lunch for 10 people over a span of 4 hours!] Mid-meeting, a Panera Bread associate came to our section to clear our trays. It was then that pitiful-hacking me asked the assoc. if he could refill my coffee. In front of everyone, he informed me that they don't do that and that I could help myself to the coffee. Whatever. A little later, I walked up to their cashier counter and asked (ironically) the same associate if he could please give me a cup of water. He informed me that I could help myself to water at their soda station. Maybe this guy was a punk. Maybe I'm just sick and being a baby. Maybe you could help me decipher.
Oh happy day! Andy can finally reach the pedals on his Fisher Price Action Sounds Trike. Poor kid was "Fred-Flintstoning" it for awhile, but now, his stubby little feet can touch the pedals and go! He thinks he's all that & proved that by challenging me to a race today when we went out to get the mail. (yes, I let him win)
I was so honored when I was asked to speak at the Celebrate Recovery Conference at the First Brazilian Baptist Church. The conference leadHer, Denise Prado, recruited me & I must say, she ran this conference with such spirit & excellence! So when I got there, you can imagine my reaction when Denise "mentioned" one minor detail: the entire conference was in Portuguese! What? Portu-what? For the first time (in my little speaking career) I would have a translator. Denise and Pastor Almeida gave me a quick tutorial on how to do so, but you know 
this had me sweating fat-bullets (so glad I wore dual-layering and extra deodorant)! But there was something in the air at this church and something in the hearts of these Brazilians that overwhelmed me with gratitude & joy. You know, the bible says, "...there before me was a great multitude...from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb." I got a taste of this when I experienced God at the Brazilian church on Friday and the same God at my English church on Saturday. But I can't WAIT to get to Heaven and experience it everyday forever!
What an unusual day. I either spoke to or heard from 10 people who are struggling. A heavy cloud has descended on people around me. It makes me sad. If you are one of them, I'm praying for you. If you are not one of them, will you pray for them? Thanks.
...and my reminder that faith believes what the eyes can't see.
In July 2004, I went to the doctor. They drew blood and did, indeed, confirm that I was pregnant. Then, they took me back to the room for a consultation. The doctor and I discussed the problems I had encountered with my first pregnancy. A few bouts of pneumonia had caused 16 days in the hospital; which contributed to fetal complications; which led to a c-section at only 29 weeks; which caused DJ to spend 3 weeks in the NICU. So after rehashing this, the doctor looked at me and said, "You are high risk....your pneumonia's have not been diagnosed, treated, or cured. You can choose to terminate this pregnancy. We can schedule it for this week..."
We're on a 4-day leadership retreat and this morning, I got up at 6am to work out. I had preconceived notions about the hotel's fitness room. Or should I say, "fitness broom closet?" When I walked in, there were 2 ellipticals, 1 treadmill and 1 stationary bike. Now I don't like stationary bikes, they're uncomfortable on your butt and bad for your posture. However, the ellipticals AND the treadmill were occupied by other guests, so I had to use the stationary bike. This was my first frustration. My second frustration was that the bike was in back of the occupied cardio equipment (see picture). So while my behind was uncomfortable, I rode the bike behind the other guests and got to stare at their behinds for thirty minutes! AGH! I hope I have better luck tomorrow!
I'll start the week by stirring up a hornet's nest and talk politics. Last night, I watched some of the Compassion Forum on CNN at Messiah College. A debate, of sorts, on faith and values. John McCain was in abstentia (hum), so it was Obama and Clinton. What I saw of Obama was very impressive. I'm not politically-savvy, so help me: the candidates come across SO well-versed....is it just lip service? I mean, gee, if every candidate says the things we want to hear, what makes one candidate better (or different) than the other? Based on what I've seen, I think I'd be more compelled to vote for the candidate who occasionally blew it. Who fumbled over his/her words. Who had a piece of broccoli stuck between his/her teeth. Who said to one of Wolf Blitzer's questions, "Gee, Wolf, I have no freakin' clue, but that was a great question!" Is it bad to want a candidate who's real vs. "perfect?"
'Member I told you about building a team? Well, here's the dealio, this team is SO different! We are single, divorced, married. We are young and older. We are from the Midwest, the South, an isthmus and an island. We are marketers, advertisers, business planners, writers. We have SO little in common that we'd make good strangers. But...Thursday night, we found 4 hours worth of reason to be a great team! The weird thing about this creative team is that we are not going to have weekly projects or even weekly opportunities to serve together. But in between the times that we do, we'll have no problem filling it with good times at Grand Lux Cafe eating Asian Nachos! Thanks, girls!
When I asked if it helped, he looked at me (with a little Cuban attitude) and said, "My headache's already gone!" So there you have it. Maybe instead of popping Advil left and right, I should just strap on a pair of goggles. What do you do when you get a headache?
When I was a little girl, I was in several school plays. In 1st grade, I was a goat in The Three Billy Goat's Gruff; in 3rd grade, I was the 2nd pig in The Three Little Pigs; and in 5th grade, I was Smee. Obviously, my acting debuts never hit Tinseltown, but I still consider myself casted & called. Every day is my opening debut because it is a new day in front of a new audience: the cashier, the homeless man, the barista, the neighbor, the receptionist....they are His audience. And I need to stand before them like it's the opening night; the big, red curtain has just been pulled; and God is spotlighting Himself thru me. If we could see ourselves this way; if we could see all people in everyday life as VIPs in the front row of His audience...we would be tearful and speechless at the ovation Heaven is offering us for the role we are playing for Him.
This is Vanessa Whitwell. I met her one time when I visited Fellowship Church. Vanessa was a key leader there. She died 2 days ago from a brain hemorrhage. She was 34. Again, I am tenderly reminded to seize today because there is no guarantee I will seize tomorrow. From all the comments, Vanessa clearly lived by seizing her todays. Back to one time....Steph and I met Vanessa one time. Eight months ago, we were in this church's lobby on a busy, crowded Sunday morning when we were introduced to this beautiful, energetic, joyful, beaming presence there. It was Vanessa. Her impression was so huge on Steph and I that we've often eluded to her as a big "who's-who" in first impression and leadership. I think what made this girl so amazing was her FIRST impression became her LASTING impression. The question that begs my honest answer is, "If someone only met me one time, would my first impression be so full of Godness that it would create a lasting impression?" This is not a bad question for all of us to ask. Please keep this church and her family in your prayers.
It is becoming a family tradition. On our family day (Friday), when my guys have shaggy do's, we all head out to the local Barber Shop. I just love sittin' there, hangin' out while my men get their buzzes and trims. Though the shop is very unpretentious, it is every bit nostalgic. They even have that red, white and blue swirly thing spinning in their window. These days, children's haircut places provide lots of bells and whistles to keep kids entertained. Not our barber shop. The only amenity they provide is a small white bucket of Dum-Dum's at the cash register. But for Andy and DJ? There's nothing better. They sit so still and mind so well 'cause they know there's a Dum-Dum waiting for them. So much about me is not a traditionalist, but everything about me loves this tradition with my little family.
Today, was video-making day with the BEST video team. Pictured here is Ian, Mo and two volunteers they've raised up, Steve and Javier. This picture was taken from my vantage point. And after hours of "take 1," "take 2"...."take 50," I took their picture. Look how patient they are! Trust me, by the time I took this, they should have been throwing the camera monitor at my head. My experience with them reminded me about a valuable life-lesson: it's not WHAT you do; it's WHO you do it with. Honestly? We could have spent the same amount of time picking ticks off a dog and I still would've had a blast. Thanks, guys!
I posted a post, went to bed, couldn't sleep, got up, deleted the post, and decided to post this instead: LOVE IS NOT A FEELING.
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