Well, it is 'back to work' Monday!

 I'm hoping for a quiet day today without a bunch of 'stuff' going on with work.  Why? Sue is still on PTO, and I still have minutes to type and board decks to put together.  That's just what I NEED to do.  I have been putting things aside as they aren't 'due' and now the list is getting longer.  I need to actually DO them and get them off my list of 'to do' stuff.  At least Sue's boss's EA is back to day (I've covered for her the past two weeks) and I won't have to worry about that.  Besides, I have training in the middle of the day with Morgan and I need to wrap my mind around that and get my mind motivated.  I think we are doing legs today.

I may have already shared this, but I bought a workout shirt that says "I want to quit but my trainer is scary", but I'm not sure if I'm going to keep it. I may send it back.  It is cotton, which is great, but it is so stiff and it doesn't stretch.  I need stretch.  I don't like my shirts fitting like a glove; my body is not built for that.  Some of you will know what I am talking about.  I know I need to change some of the sizes I wear.... some large hang - literally - on me.  When photos are taken I look like I'm all rolls under that shirt! Then I get down on myself (hence the workouts and diets).  Then I suck it up and tell myself "I'm a work in progress" and move on.  I don't like t-shirts that fit snug, for I know they show my rolls and I'm very self-conscious that I allowed myself to get those rolls.  Yep. Not a medical condition.  It's a lack of control food condition.  

And hubby did not help at all yesterday.  He went to Walgreens after we got home.  Sigh. For the first time in a long, long time, he brings me back something, hands it to me and says "you are always buying me things like shirts, shoes, things I need, so I thought I'd buy you something."  That's all well and good.  It's nice he thought of doing something for me.  But what did he hand me?  One of the very things I try NOT to buy because, well, it's me.  Oreos.  And it wasn't a small package that would have been sufficient.  No, he had to buy for me the FAMILY package.  Sigh. And I had to eat 'some' then so that he would know I appreciated his gesture.  Big sigh.  I probably ate half the one roll (of three) during the rest of the day. I LIKE Oreos.  I do.  But I can't have them sitting around.  Just like potato chips; I can't buy them.  I know me. They don't help this body get into shape.  It would have been better if he had bought me a Snicker.  It at least has protein in it.  I appreciate the thought, I really do.  But today I will put the cookies in the freezer and hope I forget about them.  I cannot put them in the pantry.  (besides, frozen cookies are good too, right?)  Sigh.

The message yesterday at church was really good.  We are still on the 'The Series that isn't a Series' series. Yesterday it was on the Holy Spirit.  A Very Good Message. I took notes (as I often try to do now.) on some of what was shared.  It was very interesting and even answered some unanswered questions. I tell you what, the Holy Spirit was present yesterday!  Whew!  As Pastor John prayed, I had goosebumps come over me as the Spirit moved among us.  Pastor John and Pastor Lindsay both speak the Bible and speak truth. I love that.  I hear they are taking a few weeks off in July.  Pastor Josh may be speaking, and I'm not sure who else will be.  

The past two nights I have slept very well.  We quit watching NCIS about 9:30p last night and headed to bed.  I slept sound - (watch shows I only woke up twice) and I did not feel my watch buzzing this morning - in fact, it buzzed for 30 minutes before it stopped - and I still slept another hour before waking up.  Yep, it was 5:30a when I awakened this morning, and I'm not sure what caused that to happen because I could have slept longer - but I opened the eyes to look at the clock.  And groaned.  I didn't want to get up, but knew I should.  And I'm running out of time so will finish this on the work computer. You know that I have something important to say in here somewhere, right?

Well, just brought up the work computer, and of course it shows that Sue is out of the office, and I knew Jen was (her boss), but I had also forgotten that Anita and Kynda are both off today as well - which means the only 'boss' I am supporting today is David.... and he rarely sends me anything.  I really SHOULD get things done today, right?  Maybe I can get this bed cleaned off today as well.  

I bought recently a metal solar owl as well as an owl 'spinner' to hang in the courtyard because those darn pigeons keep pooping all over the courtyard and occasionally on the furniture.  Got them Saturday. Put them outside. So yesterday I hear the pigeon coming out of the bush next to the house - and he just walks casually around the courtyard before walking through the fence into the yard.  Stupid bird. Doesn't he know he is not to like owls or spinners that flash light all around the courtyard when the sun hits it and he should stay OUT of the courtyard?  I'm sorry if it sends my quails away too, but I am so tired of having to clean off poop!  Still need to go to Lowes to pick up a brush to sweep the courtyard with.  Going to give it a good scrubbing. The courtyard, that is.  

But then, I read that the monsoon season is now upon us.  So in that thought, I'm going to cover up the furniture again to try to protect it some.  I just put all the covers in the garage a week or so ago - and now need to dig them back out.  Well, will do it after I get outside this morning and water the plants. I meant to do it yesterday, but didn't want to do it in the middle of the day, and by evening, I was caught up in NCIS reruns.

Proverbs 11:2:  When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.

As I sit here and think what to write as an example for the above scripture, you know what comes to mind?  The times (yes, this is plural) when I have held my head up, knowing I am dressed well and look good, and go strutting around the office or even at church (definitely not recently for either).... and I've gotten compliments on how nice I look.  I feel pretty.  And as I walk, my heel catches on the floor (and it could be a tile floor!!) .... and I stumble.  Yeah, that stumble shatters my pride in me.  Humiliating, yes.  Definitely.  I can remember wearing really high 5" heels at church one Sunday years ago (can't wear those now!!) and the pastor had everyone who could walk (what was I thinking that I could walk in those 5" heels in my 50's?) across a small wooden CURVED (like up and over curved) bridge to symbolize something... I don't even remember the message!  But I knew I looked good that Sunday!  And do you know how difficult it was to walk UP that little bridge (we are talking about 6-8 ft long and going up about 2 ft in the air before going back down) and how embarrassing for me it was to try and walk DOWN (I had to have help to get down!!) that bridge (in my defense, it was also smooth wood, not where one could have something to step on) and back on solid ground.  I held up the line as I tried to get down.  But me in my 5" heels looks good!  I gave away those heels after that episode.  One of those 'never again' moments.

Pride can get us in so much trouble.  I'm sure certain situations have come to your mind as well when you were embarrassed - either for yourself, or for someone you love.  You squirm. You try to make excuses on why this happened.  (for me, it just wasn't wise to wear those 5" heels at that age to where I could barely stand up and walk!)

..... but with humility comes wisdom.  That's true, isn't it?  When we recognize that our 'uncomfortable feeling' - or embarrassment - happens, we don't want it to happen again.  LOL The thought just occurred to me of someone going into the ocean and their swimsuit being pulled off by the water.  THAT would be embarrassing!  Or the bikini top coming untied or unsnapped while playing in the water.  OOPS!

One can get 'wise' real quick in those circumstances, right?  What about when it is a child who does something they didn't think through.  Embarrassed, they didn't even want to share what happened, but being our child, they eventually share it... and 'we' hope they learned from that experience.  I'm sure that has happened to all of us.  None want to LISTEN to us... do it all THEIR way... and then work through the consequences/results of their decisions.  Sometimes it is good.  Sometimes we can only shake our heads and go 'what?'  I'm sure I embarrassed my mother a lot of times.  And I am pretty sure that I have also embarrassed my children as a parent. (Sorry about that!)  I will always answer my children's questions as truthfully as I can.... but sometimes, answers don't need to elaborate. And I'll leave that there.

Anyway - I need to get to work (I have so much to do,ya know!) and get off here.  I pray that you have an AMAZING day!

Blessings!

Reminded again of God's love for us.

 Romans 8:31 (NKJV)  "What then shall we say to these things?  If God is for us, who can be against us?"

Have you ever thought about how much God really does love you?  Granted, sometimes we go through things in life (some by our own responses, some by others) that make us wonder if that could possible be true.  I have never doubted God's love for me, even when I wasn't following Him.  Even when I decide to do things my own way, I know that I know that I know - that God loves me.  And not only THAT, I know that God is always FOR me, just as He is for you.

How do I know this?  It's just one of those things that you become confident in as you learn into Him to know Him.  It's one of those things you learn about Him as you read His Word that tells you all about His love for you.  You DID know that the Bible is really God's love letter to this hurting world, didn't you?  He is truly a good, good Father.  You can completely trust Him, no matter what you are going through.

Right now my biggest thing is this complication, or whatever it is, from breathing those fumes last  weekend from the cleaning products.  I am still having reactions, and it's been a week today that we left.  Or perhaps it caused other things to come to light.  I'm wondering if I have developed esophagus issues, sinus issues, or even gallbladder issues ... don't know how all that can be related, but my continued coughing, blowing my nose has made my esophagus irritated, as well as my sinus area.  But the worst part is that I still will have episodes of throwing up unexpectedly (last night, sitting there watching a movie - took a sip of tonic water and voila - all over me) or being awakened in the middle of the night with raw bile in my mouth and throat to where it burns.  Probably too much information to share on here.  I'm wondering if it is my gallbladder acting up again after 12 years of first rearing it's head.  I have prayed that God will get me through this next week as I leave for Jailbreak on Tuesday.  In fact, on Monday, I plan to call my doctor's office and get an appointment set up for the followihg week.  I can always cancel if everything goes well this week, but I feel like I need to share with him what has happened since that weekend.  This stuff isn't normal.

I hear hubby still coughing as well, so am going to suggest he try to get in to his doctor and share with him a weekend of breathing these fumes (we did frequently open the balcony door and air it out, even went outside to breathe... ) and Saturday neither of us smelled any fumes - but we could have been used to it by then.  I was too sick - and sleeping all day Saturday to even notice.  It's just really weird how this is still affecting us.

I sat at the table and finished working on my week one Bible study yesterday.  I felt really good after getting into it and completing the tasks.  There were 18 questions I needed to work on for day 5 and they were questions I wanted to be honest with myself about.  I didn't want to just respond 'yes' or 'no' with the thought of 'yeah, I know that is what I should be' or 'I used to be that way'.  I wanted to look at the question from 'today'.  Where am I 'today' with that question.  Some of them were hard to write the responses to.    How would you respond to this question?

* Am I more concerned with what God thinks about my life than what ohers think? (Matthew 10:28: "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.  But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell.")

or even one of these....

* The prophet Hosea was sent to the nation of Israel.  They had turned away from God and replaced Him with other things.  What are some ways that Christians today replace God with other things?

* Is there someone you know or have heard about who has unselfishly loved another person, even though that person was not worthy of it?  How does this real-life example help you understand God's love for His wayward children?

Perhaps something to kindle your thoughts this morning and turn them towards our God who loves you so much.

Today is planned to be a quiet day.  With unexpectedly having my 'issue' last night, I asked hubby that I stay home (as he will) from church.  I definitely don't want to start coughing and something like that happen and I have no control over it.  Give it another week and let's see how my body is.  He agreed.  Depending on what hubby wants to watch, I just might watch one of the DVDs my daughter bought for me at an estate sale yesterday and dropped off.  The box of DVD's contain 50 old musicals from as far back as 1936 (black and white, I'm sure!) with Fred Astair, Frank Sinatra, and many others.  It would be fun to watch them.  Haven't watched any old movies in years.... watching the old musicals will be very entertaining to me.  Several months ago I bought a travel DVD player - which I've never used - so now I have an opportunity to watch.  I can plug in my headset, and hubby can watch his shows on TV with his headset (best purchase I have ever made) and we can still be in the same room.  Win-Win - right?

And yeah, I did end up cooking breakfast yesterday - but we didn't go out later.  We both forgot about lunch, having a snack midday, but I picked up fried chicken at Frys (which was disappointing as the skin was too salty) and added mashed potatoes and corn to it for dinner.  Guess what is for lunch today.  I may just fix us a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast this morning.  Filling and good.

So what are your plans for today?  Take some time to think about the goodness of God in your life, even if you don't acknowledge Him.  Everyone healthy?  Thank God.  Working?  God is good.  No need for anything?  God is faithful.  You woke up this morning?  Ahhhh.... see how good God is?  No matter what you do today; no matter what goes on today; no matter where you are in life..... just pause, and turn your thoughts to the One who will always be on your side.  And say "Thanks, Lord".   Grateful.

Blessings!

I should have known.....

 I had a sleepless night.  We went to bed around 9PM-ish.... and my mind was wide awake.  Not sure why unless it was 1) I slept good the night before; 2) I had green tea late afternoon, which I rarely do.  Whatever it was keeping me awake, the last time I looked at the clock was 10:40PM and I was still wide awake.  Hubby was immediately snoring once we went to bed; He always has to be 'touching' me and his hand was on my neck for awhile and I had to move it cause the weight of it made me feel I couldn't move.  He moved it to my head... and I had already taken an aspirin because I had a headache.  That didn't help any.  I finally moved out of his range.  If he had been awake he would have commented loudly; but he was asleep so other than grunting, he didn't speak.

So what was keeping me awake?  I don't know.  Could be a lot of things.  As mentioned above, it could be I got deep sleep the night before.  It could be too much caffeine in the late afternoon.  It could be I didn't exert myself in the afternoon enough to make my body tired.  Sitting all day and all evening doesn't move the body.  It could be God was keeping me awake to talk with me.  (If it was, I did all the talking!)  Or it could be hubby and I had a discussion earlier after dinner and I spoke my piece and he didn't like it.   A lot of things kept going through my mind and would not settle down.  Whatever it was, when I did get to sleep, I didn't want to get up this morning.

And I have a fun time scheduled for today!  I remembered it last night - I'm meeting my boss and a friend for lunch today at a location between my home and the far office!  My thought earlier in the week was that I'd just not go, I'd cancel.  I was heavily burdened about something and working my way through it and just felt like I wouldn't be 'fun' to be with.  But I'm past that now and am ready to meet my friends and enjoy a nice visit.  And, being with my boss, I don't have to worry about getting back to work on time as she won't be either.  It will be a 30-40 minute drive just to the restaurant for all of us.  I am getting more and more ready to get out in the world again.

Have you ever had a situation where you ask God, and you don't get an answer?  So what do you do?  Do you keep waiting (sometimes you should) or do you just barge on ahead with what you want to do?  Something to think about.

BOO!  5:30AM and I get a text from my boss that she is calling in sick today.  Which means no lunch meeting either.  I will need to jump on the computer right away and start moving her meetings.  I'm glad that on Friday afternoons I generally block her so that she can wind down the week and not have meetings.  But I do have the morning meetings I need to move as well as our lunch.  I'm disappointed, but it is what it is.  At least it isn't her that is sick; her son-in-law was taken to the hospital last night so they have been at their daughter's house all night with the grandchild.  He's doing fine; an allergic reaction to something.  But she's exhausted.  Glad she is taking the time off for herself to rest.  Which means my day today is going to be another long day.  Yesterday I had absolutely nothing on my calendar..... and I wasn't given any meetings to schedule.  Today will be the same.  Oh well!  A quiet day before the weekend is always nice.

Each and every day is in God's hands and He knows best for each of us.  I mentioned earlier that I had thought about cancelling out today's lunch...  and now it is.  I struggle sometimes with going some places that I haven't been before....being directionally challenged CAN be a challenge sometimes.  But I knew where this place was and have even been there before.  Maybe it was I just didn't want to "clean up" cause jeans/shorts and a t-shirt is basically my work attire anymore. Oh - and no makeup.  Well, it looks like I get to 'bum' through another day!

My thoughts are jumping all over the place this morning so I'll quit rambling.  Need to get on the work computer and start moving meetings before the day starts.  

Have a good day - enjoy your life.  It's the only one you have at this moment.  Choose wisely.  

Blessings!