Oh Brother

I have a couple of confessions to make. I don’t mean the kind where I fess up to misdeeds or give you a “Woe is pitiful me” speech. I mean the kind where I let you in on how I occasionally do dumb stuff.

I’d been having trouble with my phone. At least I blamed my phone for the trouble I’d been having. I’d miss calls all the time and not hear (or feel) my phone ringing. I thought the old  iPhone 5 was finally giving up the ghost. It turns out I had somehow managed to have the “Do Not Disturb” feature on my phone activated for weeks without realizing it. FYI: if you don’t want to be annoyed by late night calls or texts, DO turn on this feature, but also remember to turn it off in the morning.

I have since restored the setting and I can now answer all those very important calls from all those very important people I’d been missing out on.

Also, I found out that my hand sanitizer has an expiration date. Or more honestly, HAD an expiration date of June 2014. I was unaware that hand sanitizer could go bad. Or at least not be fresh. Side note: does expired hand sanitizer make your hands dirtier or does it just lose effectiveness?

At the end of the day, I chalk things like these up to experience gained without too much lost. If those are the worst things that ever happen to me, I’m doing alright.

I’ve learned that you have to give yourself grace and allow for the occasional stupidity. As much as you pride yourself on being intelligent, you will inevitably do something dumb that will leave you scratching your head. It will happen. Take it from me.

As for the hand sanitizer, I plan on using it until it runs out and then moving up to the 2015 edition. I figure I’m only three months late.

 

Things I Love 48: When My Job’s Done You’ll Be the One Who Knows

island hammock

“You’ll fly away
but take my hand until that day
So when they ask how far love goes
When my job’s done, you’ll be the one who knows” (Dar Williams)

“Life is dessert – too brief to hurry…”Where ever you are, be all there” is only possible with eucharisteo. Slow down and taste life, give thanks, and see God. Simplicity is ultimately a matter of focus. Eucharisteo keeps the focus” (Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are).

On the way home from work, I ran out of gas. Well, my car ran out of gas, Right in front of where I live. I had just enough power to park on the street before everything died. I’m not saying that me focusing on eucharisteo (or thanksgiving to you non-Greek speaking people) had anything to do with this, but I do think God was looking after me today. I am truly learning trust lately and finding out that my God is infinitely trustworthy.

1,491) Not running out of gas in the middle of a busy street during rush hour or in the middle of a left turn at busy intersection.

1,492) Putting in 30 minutes on the treadmill for the first time in a very long time.

1,493) Knowing that tomorrow is once again Friday.

1,494) To use a horrible pun, getting LOST in a very intriguing TV series.

1,495) A little coffee with my creamer and sugar.

1,496) Being able to go back and revisit what I wrote on this date for the past three years.

1,497) That I always forget about my paper cuts at work and only remember when I go to apply hand sanitizer. Ouch.

1,498) That God is much more patient at teaching than I am at learning.

1,499) The dream of one day typing these posts on a MacBook Pro.

1,500) Another day of having fun at my job and living in the moment rather than speculating about the future.

1,501) Black olives on just about anything (except ice cream).

1,502) Having a great ideas and brain-storming about possible blog cards for when I run out of my current ones.

1,503) Not having watched the Sci-Fi movie Sharknado.

1,504) Being young at heart (and I like to think in real life).

1,505)  All those optimistic Titans fans (including me) who hope this year will turn out better than the last.

1,506) Letting go of my expectations to find that what God gives is infinitely better.

1,507) Craving a glass of milk at 9:19 on a Thursday night.

1,508) Old books with their dust jackets still intact.

1,509) Getting yet another cat scan from Lucy. Literally.

1,510) The now 10-year old album, The Beauty of the Rain, by Dar Williams. Amazing from start to finish.

1,511) Drinking a glass of milk at 9:29.

1,512) My little iPod shuffle.

1,513) God smiling over me right now.

1,514) Just now finding out that people from roughly 120 countries (roughly as in me counting by hand) have read my blogs at some point in time since I started them over three years ago.

1,515) Having 140 followers of this little blog.

1,516) Not having to look for a job.

1,517) Shoelaces that stay tied.

1,518) Crisp cucumber salsa.

1,519) Getting so caught up in my job that I lose track of time.

1,520) My optimistic and cheerful personality.