Living Intentional.. thanks God :)

So.. just after commenting on Justin's blog about how hard it is to go to work on Mondays.. and how I have to remember that God has a purpose in my being here (yes I am blogging while at work).. John walks in. (I have changed his name to protect his identity).

John is a 50 something phsychologist who is in the process of evaluating God. He has come and talked with me about God, Jesus, the church on several occasions. He doesn't even ask about his insurance.. just stops in to ask me a question.. always a couple months between visits and ALWAYS really good questions. This man thinks it through!

After the normal pleasantries he said "so, if this doesn't put you on the spot too much I would like to know how do you evaluate whether something is your thought or something that God is telling you?"
(Good thing I had some coffee earlier)
So.. I thought for a second.. and then we discussed it..

After a few minutes of that discussion he said he would have to think on it and that he had another question..

"How involved in everyday life, do you think God is?"
another good one that could go so many directions.. so I thought and then answered as best I could.. and we discussed it and then he thanked me for my time and said goodbye.

My point in all of this is that we can play things off as coincidence but God used this visit from "John" to remind me that He has me where he wants me for right now and that He has a purpose for me during the hours that sometimes I think I'm just making dinner for Micah or I'm just doing laundry or just working or just grocery shopping or just filling up the tank.

Do you ever stop to think that the gas attendant may not have had a single real smile all day? (I've been a gas attendant.. it can be pretty hard) When you pass a memo on to a coworker do you send it with an attitude? When your boss leaves early without any real reason do you have issues with it? (that last one is directed at ME)

Thoughts?

Just like Justin..

Justin is allowing people to ask him questions about computer stuff that I don't understand.. which I think is pretty cool. So, I just wanted to let you all know that if you ever want to understand your car or home insurance a little better.. I would be happy to share this head-full of stuff with you all :) Just ask.

THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE PICS!
It was super pretty and a lot of fun to hang out with some of our friends!

Painful comfort...

So.. our youth group discussion on pain made me think (Thanks Justin!). When we are going through something horrible.. a parent being sick, the death of a close friend, personal relationship problems, illness, spiritual dryness.. whatever.. How do we want people to pray for us?

I would venture that we would like people to pray that God would only provide relief from the pain when we have learned what He wants us to learn regardless of how long that takes.

Do you disagree? Do you agree? Do you hate my blog? Do you like frogs?

seriously.. what prayers do we really want?
and if that is what we want.. how are we praying for those around us?

What was I going to blog about..?

Do you ever get something that you really want to blog on.. and by the time you have time to blog you can't remember it? I do that so regularly! So, why don't you all just pretend I typed something really compelling and then comment on it. Sort of like a pick the ending book (I actually never liked those books).

Random:
I like soup. I am almost always interested in trying soup. If you have any good soup recipes I want them :)

We went to the Doc Marten wharehouse sale today.. people are crazy about shoes. I already knew that but this was just another confirmation that people are crazy. I bought 2 pairs and that was great.. but people were walking out with full big bags of shoes (we're talking big garbage bags!) at $30 / pair that adds up! Seriously people.. most of us are sitting in an office all the time anyway.. do you really need that many shoes?

Today is my dad's birthday.. He is 53.. a good man.. I wish he could just retire and enjoy life.. he has worked so hard for a long time.

Okay.. that's all.

Diets..

Well.. I suppose it would come to this topic someday so it might as well be now. Diets bug me because I really like food. But I also have a desire to be happy with my shape/size/weight.. So.. diets are thrust upon me from every direction.. at the bookstore, on TV, on the radio, on my computer! I would run but I can't. So, I consider them and decide that they look like a good idea and I never do anything else. No I have not lost a single pound while reading about these many scrumptuous diets. I don't feel the burn. In fact I think reading about all that food made me hungry and when I went to my cupboards and found only chips (ready to be eaten) I have probably gained weight studying diets. Bummer.

In my time researching I have come across some calculators (where I love to waste time figuring out how bad a food that I am about to eat really is!). As I find them I will post them on the left. Here is one I thought was interesting so I posted it.. click on "Find out here" under "What is this yummy worth?".

Maybe someone out there will be deterred from eating that brownie because you realize that it will take 22 hours and 55 minutes of napping to work it off.. and that sounds like too much work :)