Yes, this post is a shout out

to the fabulous Alicia.

I just can't help it.
this is the best, and i'm pretty sure our life's goal will now be to make her/my plan (see this post, and my comment to it) work out. and soon.

*sigh of contentment*


*eye-rolling of knowing-it'll-be-hard-to-make-happen (and doubt)*

Anticipation

i have fridays off. starting tomorrow. continuing through (most) of july and one week into august.

i am very excited.

this week it is long overdue. i need it more than i know. which is funny to say, cuz i know i need it, but need it even more than that. oops, i just said that.

plans for the weekend (sat & sun will be VERY busy):
clean house. desperately need to. hope to see my bro on friday. we'll see if the plans work out. rehearsal on saturday afternoon. followed by the wedding of two dear friends. followed by their reception. which promises to be awesome. followed by sleep. followed by early call on sunday morning. followed by a meeting after the 11:00 service. followed by a connections bbq at church with friends. then exhaustion will set in and i will crash. monday is memorial day, and i may see family for breakfast...but again, we'll see if plans pan out. the only other plan on friday and/or monday is to rest, read my Bible (beginning a study of Philippians), and REST.

wish me luck.

In case you were wondering...

My day off was wonderful!

It was a little more...um...busy? yes, busy than I originally thought it would be, and involved more running around, but was still spent with my dear, dear friend, and was fabulous.

We got Starbucks (always necessary), ran a few errands (at Target, of course, along with a couple other little ones), and then hung out at her house a bit before heading out for a little stint at the mall (something I haven't done for quite awhile). Good times, my friends. Seriously.

Now, if I had been doing all these things by myself somewhere, it would have been exhausting, tedious, too much in one day. But with my amazing friend, it was fun. We laughed, we have new jokes because of it, we have more insight into how we are each doing right now. We got to enjoy each other's company while doing the things we needed/wanted to do that day.

Getting side-tracked from the "original plan" (which was hazy at best) had no effect.
The excitement paid off. There are still not adequate words to express how much I enjoy time spent with this friend. Love it.

Encouraging

So, as my last post could be perceived as negative, and I'm sorta having a rough day (still), I've decided to post some of the items that are scattered around my desk at work, which are supposed to help me be encouraged, and remember why I do what I do.

Some are verses, some are quotes, some are poems, some are thoughts...
Here it goes:

"But You, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, & the One Who lifts my head." Psalm 3:3

"Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done with love." 1 Corinthians 16: 13-14

If you remove the idea of God [i.e. there is no God] there is no reason to live.
(a monk in ... I can't remember where...Germany or Austria, maybe?)

If someone really knows God, there is no reason for disquiet.
(same blind monk.)

peace. it does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. it means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart. (unknown)

"Be still and know that He is God." Psalm 46:10 ("my" verse from my mom)

I follow a leadership blog from a former teacher/coach of mine (read it here) and there is a post about the magic of leading that I have printed and stuck on my bulletin board because it encourages and inspires me as I work through each day and circumstance.

I find encouragement that at work, every so often, people just drop absolutely everything in the middle of crazy times just to pray over someone or something that is going on. It is truly great to work with other believers. However, as I have not always had this in my life, I learned what it really means to pray without ceasing. I often find myself talking to God in my head (or even out loud) about whatever is in there.

every situation: good or bad. funny or sad. hard or easy. scary or just because. Trust me, talking to God "all the time" is easier than it sounds, and it helps you to realize that He really is there all the time with you. I leave you for now with one question to ask yourself constantly. I have it written in a place that I see everytime I leave or enter my desk area (which happens quite often in the course of a day).

Are you following His plan?
It's the best one there is.