I thought about writing that Scott started his new job today and then quit before he came home, but that would be just too cruel.  (Refer to yesterday's blog for the real story.)

 

However, I do find it highly annoying that my private, in-home computer technician dutifully left for work this morning...and after that I discovered my internet wasn't working!  I called Comcast and they walked me through all kinds of stuff to no avail.  Before I allowed them to take me to "the next level", I asked if I could put the guy on hold for a moment while I called my husband to ask him some questions.  Scott answered the phone and told me how to fix it in 30 seconds flat.  How's THAT for service?!

 

And once the internet was working again??....I checked and I had 17 emails.  Yes.  Seventeen.  The same number of emails that kept popping up yesterday.  Very bizarre.  (Someone suggested I go buy a lottery ticket or something.)

 

On a more serious note....I really like this quote from my last SongU.com newsletter:  "When love and skill work together, expect a masterpiece."  (John Ruskin)  I couldn't help but invent my own revision by capitalizing the "L" in Love...because, after all, God's Love is the ultimate inspiration and creative spark for songwriting.  "When Love and skill work together, expect a masterpiece."  I'm so thankful God enjoys songwriting as much as I do!

 

Signed,

Goddz Ko Ryder

 

 

 

A handful of you heard that Scott found a job recently...or at least he supposedly found a job.  He asked me DAYS ago if I was going to let family and friends know about it.  I replied, "Nope.  Not until you actually walk out the front door and head in to work."  (Oh me of little faith.)

 

But today he received the official offer on paper, and he's headed into work tomorrow morning, so I gave in and forwarded his "notice" to family and friends by email this afternoon.  As a testament to the wonderful people in our lives, I opened my email quite a few times after that to find that I had 17 email in my inbox (that was the magic number for some reason)...so many wonderful people sending their congratulations and committing to continued prayers.  (I skipped all of my songwriting friends however, thinking that you would read it here.)

 

I'll paste in what Scott wrote.  Please keep in mind that Scott is not a songwriter...he speaks succinctly and gets to the point.  If BEV had written the email, it would have been lengthy and earned the reputation of "too much information"...probably much like my blogs.  There's much to be said for economy of words, however.  (Songs are only 3 1/2 minutes long after all!)  I think I could learn a lot from Scott in that regard.  Anyway, here is Scott's missive for the day:

 

 

 

Scott says he's both excited and scared out of his mind, so he's not kidding about the prayers!  And considering that he's been unemployed for the last 8 months, and has been "his own boss" for the last 19 years, this will be quite a change of pace...for all of us.

 

I think that's quite enough news for the day.  I echo Scott's deepest thanks to all of you!

 

Signed,

By Nu Luhnch Boks?

 

 

 

A line from our pastor's closing benediction yesterday morning is still running through my mind.  Partly because of the line itself.  Partly because he was moved to tears by the end of his benediction and had to collect himself before he could finish.  (I love our pastor.)

 

 

Signed,

Meh Dih Tay Ting

 

 

 

Scott and I saw the movie "Amazing Grace" this past weekend.  It was...well...amazing!  (lol)  I was so moved by the passion and conviction William Wilberforce brought to his life's calling, despite times when the obstacles seemed insurmountable and he felt like giving up. 

 

I would make more observations, but I'd hate to spoil it for any of you who plan to see it.  (And I recommend you do!)

 

Signed,

Tutcht Depe Doun Inn Syde

 

 

 

Every year our family tries to spot the license plates of all 50 states.  We've never succeeded.  Nope, nope nope.  We almost always see Hawaii and Alaska believe it or not, and last year we saw Sweden on several different vehicles (go figure...must be an invasion of sorts).  Bit the East Coast tends to defy us.  One state in particular, Rhode Island, has NEVER been seen.

 

So this year we decided to embark on our quest in January, instead of in June when school's out.  We had brief family discussions of whether or not that was cheating, and decided it was NOT cheating.  (Not!  And no complaints from the peanut gallery.)  This is our 2007 attempt at The Fifty States.  Let the games begin!!!

 

I won't bore you with a complete run-down of what we've checked off on our list so far, but I WILL say that not only have we seen some toughies like Alaska, Hawaii, Delaware, Virginia and West Virginia (which is a state we've actually only spotted once before this and was one of only two states we missed last year).......but.......drum roll ladies and gentlemen...WE HAVE SEEN THE LICENSE PLATE OF RHODE ISLAND!  There it was, innocently parked in front of Maria Callenders.   Proudly proclaiming itself the Ocean State.  Truly a beautiful sight to behold.

 

Now I know this may seem trivial to you, but we're all feeling pretty excited about this!   Yup, yup, yup!  We can practically taste success, and it's only February 23.  Plus, since Jordan will be headed off to college this fall, it's kind of like one of those "last hurrah" family vacations that people seem to take before the big break-up.  (I know, I know.  You're thinking to yourself, "The Herremas seem to be easily amused.")  You may be right.  But it will sure cost less....

 

At any rate, I think it's a sign.  2007 is gonna be a very good year.

 

Signed,

Wee Schall O. Vur Kum

 

 

 

Speaking of small....

 

(Wasn't that a clever segue from yesterday's blog to today's?)

 

I've always heard that no two snowflakes are the same.  Considering the vast numbers of snowflakes which have graced (bombarded) the Colorado landscape this winter, that's saying a mouthful.  But when I have passed along this astonishing bit of trivia to my children over years past, they inevitably challenged me with "How do you know that?"  (Translation:  My teacher knows everything.  You don't.  So how can I trust your information?)

 

Therefore I was pleased to read the history of that tidbit this past week.  And not only because I like to be right about things (which I'll admit I do), but especially because it reminds me what a CREATIVE GOD we serve, and that he cares about the TINIEST DETAILS of everyday life.  Nothing is too small or insignificant to bear His mark.

 

Wilson A. Bentley, the "snowflake man", was born in the late 19th century and coined the phrase, "No two snowflakes are the same."  Bentley spent nearly fifty years of his life devoted to the study and photography of snowflakes (wow!).   He took 5,000 (count them folks...FIVE THOUSAND!!) photographs of snow crystals...which caused him to observe:

 

 

No one design was ever repeated!!!  That's more than amazing if you ask me.  No two snowflakes alike.  No two songs alike.  No two songwriters alike.  No two life journeys alike.  ...  I don't know about you, but I'm suddenly humbled by the vast creativity of our God. 

 

You know what?  I'll bet he has an idea or two he's willing to share today (songwriting-related, ministry-related, LOVE-related, and a whole lot more!).  Let's make sure we're listening....

 

Signed,

U. Neek!

 

 

Sometimes I find “myself” hard to figure out.  Just a couple of weeks ago I felt so totally comfortable with who I was…thrilled to be doing what I was doing, confident in the fact that God was in charge and handling the details of life, looking forward to each new day, and just basically “at peace” with the universe.

But then this past week I was at a polar opposite.  I found myself stressing about things.  I thought I had finally finished a cowrite, only to discover that maybe it wasn’t so finished after all.  Feeling fear about approaching the next cowrite with a brand new acquaintance, because it’s a style I’ve never written before.  (Usually I’m invigorated by that kind of challenge, but I found myself doubting my abilities.  I don’t want to disappoint my new cowriter after all!)  And I just basically found myself shutting down emotionally.  This, of course, doesn’t simply mean I shut down emotionally in my songwriting.  It means I also shut down emotionally for my family.  This is not a good thing.  I become quiet and…well…sort of glum.  Sad.  And even though they sometimes don’t even notice the difference, I still do.  I’m missing out.

However, there were a few sentences in a recent devotional that have helped me…at least a bit…and I’m hanging on to them as I slowly crawl out of my foxhole.  The Bible verse was from Zechariah 4:10, “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin.”  The devotional was entitled “Small deeds count”.  Small.  Are you starting to get the picture?  I’m feeling a bit insignificant right now, which I realize may be exactly where I need to be.  …  Anyway, later in that same devotional reading, in talking about a courageous assembly line worker (during World War II), I read these words:  “He couldn’t end the war, but he could save one plane.  He couldn’t do everything, but he could do something, and he did it.” 

So that’s it.  Small deeds count.  And the Lord rejoices even when I’m only able to accomplish small beginnings, because in His hands they become valuable…maybe not where I can see it…maybe not in the ways I had hoped or planned…but they still count.  Why?  Because they’re for Him.  In God’s economy, nothing is wasted.  Nothing is small.  Not even me.

I’m claiming God’s promises on that one.

Signed,

Een See Ween See

 

 

We (and the bank) owned the building where our business was located.  As most of you know, our business of 16+years went under last June.  Technically that doesn't mean we couldn't continue to operate this tiny office building, right?  But unfortunately we haven't been able to keep all of the office suites rented as of late, so the cash flow was going in the wrong direction (which really doesn't work out very well when you're also unemployed).  So we decided we needed to sell the building.

 

Yesterday we closed on it!  We received part of the money immediately, and we'll get the rest in a couple of years when the Buyer finishes converting all of the suites to office condominiums and sells them.  I'm thankful that Scott had the foresight to pursue this piece of real estate years ago when our business was having "good years", and we thank God that we were able to find this Buyer.  (He's a Christian and also a friend-of-a-friend, so that's a nice way to go.)

 

This eases our financial difficulty for the moment, although of course we would prefer to have Scott employed and to be living within a balanced budget (whatever THAT is!  Maybe we should ask the governement?).  For the record, Scott seems to have some fairly hot job prospects going right now, so we hope and pray one of them turns into a sure thing in the next couple of weeks.

 

Many thanks to so many of you who continue to pray us through this quagmire.  Right now I'm reading a wonderful book called "A Grace Disguised:  How the Soul Grows Through Loss" (by Gerald L. Sittser).  Often we want to just get through loss as quickly as possible (loss of a loved one, loss of health, loss of a business) and return to "normal" life.  But instead, this book talks about how we need to embrace loss and let it become part of our very selves...part of who God is making us to be.  The first sentence reads, "This book is about catastrophic loss and the transformation that can occur in our lives because of it."  (The author lost his mother, wife and young daughter all at the same time in a family automobile accident.)  There are no quick fixes.  No easy answers.  Just a journey that is massively painful, but also familiar and comforting in a strange way.    I highly recommend it.

 

So we not only sold our building, but I'm completely sold on what God is doing in our lives...even on the difficult days....

 

Signed,

Pay In Thuh Bilz

 

 

 

Today my Believing Mirror and I went out for lunch (the Mirror named Scott).  It's Valentine's Day after all! 

 

All it takes is a little financial difficulty to change the way you celebrate a holiday.  We agreed on no gifts.  We agreed not to buy cards.  Instead Scott sent me an ecard featuring our favorite character, Hoops and YoYo.  And I dug a card out of the drawer that had a little teddy bear sitting at a table with a cup of tea or something.  (This made Scott laugh, because teddy bears are NOT us.  We're way more contemporary and graphic arts in our taste for greeting cards.)  But he still appreciated what I wrote.

 

We didn't spend money on dinner out.  Instead we went to nice little cafe for lunch and shared an entree, which was still enough food given the size of portions we Americans tend to eat normally! 

 

Plenty of time for conversation and catching up on things.  We talked about his job search...how he was feeling about it, the discouragement, the incredible amount of time it takes, the wondering.  And we talked about my songwriting...what it means to live and "act" like a songwriter on a day-to-day basis, even in the here and now of not knowing what God will eventually do with it.  I was so blessed to know that he's totally behind me, not only emotionally, but also financially when I need it (in spite of the unemployment issues), and in lots of others ways too...like when I have an online class during dinner so he has to take charge of the meal and dishes.  Or when I spend hours in the studio recording a piano/vocal, which means he has to run interference upstairs with the family.  Or when I travel, which means he has to play Mr. Mom.  I couldn't do this without him!!  Not to mention that his song critiques are "right on" more often than I care to admit.  In fact, in a recent SongU feedback class, the instructor made a comment and I responded, "My husband said the exact same thing about that spot, but I blew him off."  THAT made her laugh!! 

 

For some reason, the lack of money made Valentine's Day even more special than it usually is.  Communicating our hearts simply had to be enough...and truthfully I don't think we missed the other trappings at all.  (Well, I think Scott may have missed the traditional little Valentine's hearts with the words on them.  That's one of his favorite candies.  Maybe we can buy some for half price tomorrow!)

 

I greeted each of my kids this morning with a hug and "Happy Valentine's Day!  I will always love you!"  Somehow that seemed to mean more to them this year than usual as well, and each one gave me a tight hug in return. 

 

So I'm feeling very blessed tonight.  One of my best Valentine's Days ever.

 

Signed,

Awl I. Nead

 

 

 

 

I don't remember where I first found that quote, but I like it.  Today that quote reminded me of what Julie Cameron ("The Artist's Way" and "Walking In This World") calls Believing Mirrors.  Believing Mirrors are people who "mirror back to you" what you truly are deep inside, in those remote places that others rarely see.  They believe in you, and they believe in your dreams.  They encourage you just by reminding you of who you really are, even when other people don't quite understand you, or question you.  I guess my take on it would be that they know the song in my heart, and they can sing it back to me when I have forgotten the words.

 

I have a variety of people in my life who are Believing Mirrors of the "purse-size" variety.  And I do appreciate them and the role they play in my life.  I need them and thank God for them.

 

But I also have two Believing Mirrors in my life who are the full-length variety.  In them, I can see the total Bev Herrema...from my shoes to my hair, all at the same time...and I can often see my very heart reflected in them.  My full-length Believing Mirrors are my husband Scott and my sister Judy.  I'm not sure they understand just how important they are to me, but I do try to tell them from time to time.

 

Thank you, Scott!  Thank you, Judy!  I love you both.

 

And I sincerely hope and pray that anyone reading this blog has a Believing Mirror or two in their life as well.  If you don't, it's time to go out shopping for a mirror!  But make sure you don't settle for one until you find just the right size!  It's worth the effort.

 

Signed,

Ree Fleck Shun

 

 

 

Yes.  At last.  After a long and lavish search, the Herremas are the relieved owners of Nintendo Wii.  Yes, it meant that Scott got up at 5:30 a.m. to stand in line for a ticket, but he was a real trooper about it.  I think he gets the Great Dad award of the month, and Blake gave him a good long "squish" when he got home. 

 

Personally, I'm just happy I can stop calling my list of ten phone numbers each day. 

 

Wii are very happy.

 

Signed,

Know Morr Fone Kallz

 

P.S.  Have you seen those pictures floating around the internet of Wii remotes (Wii-motes?) stuck in the screens of television sets?  (Use the safety strap!!)  This is definitely a more active way to play video games.  My 9-year-old was so out of breath this morning from "playing tennis" that he had to sit down, catch his breath and then get a big drink of water.  And watching the teenagers "boxing" each other is pretty hilarious.  Sure wish my video camera was operational....

 

Kind of a rough day, but I don't think it was one big thing.  Maybe a conglomeration...

 

Maybe it was the fact that I didn't get up early enough to write my morning pages (journaling).  I rarely miss that.

 

Maybe it was my Christian Songwriters Group meeting.  I brought a song to be critiqued that had already received quite a bit of feedback from SongU.com classes and evaluators.  I'd already done some rewriting and thought things were in pretty good shape.  But some of what I heard this morning was in direct contradiction to what I had heard previously.  I know that happens.  And I know I just have to make my own decisions.  But it was extra frustrating to me today.

 

Maybe it was because Blake (9 years old) had his first round of a basketball tournament today, and they lost...which was very unexpected since his team was at the top of their flight.  The next round of games is being played at Denver University, but now they've been eliminated.  Blake felt bad.  I felt bad.

 

Maybe it was because Scott installed a new indoor/outdoor thermometer at our laundry room window.  (I broke our old one when I was cleaning some windows.)  Actually, the fact that he hung it was like a gift, because it's been on the honey-do list for a long time.  But I failed to tell him where I wanted it hung, and I was gone to my meeting when he did it.  So now that it's ended up in a place I don't like, I'm feeling petty and small and ungrateful and selfish.  (boo hiss)  To my husband's credit, he graciously said it didn't take that long and he would gladly move it sometime.  (Yup, yup, yup.  I feel petty and small.)

 

Actually, lots of really nice things happened today too.  But there are just some days I seem to want to ignore them.  So I'm not going to list them for you.  (Nope, nope, nope.)

 

However, I DO remember reading something that Patricia Heaton said (the wife on Everybody Loves Raymond).  She had been talking about a time when she was frustrated because she was an actress, but no doors were opening for her.  "I was completely frustrated with God for giving me a talent that He was refusing to help me use."  And then these are the words I loved:

 

 

Of course, let's all take not of the fact that she went on to play Debra Barone, so it's obviously a happy ending!!  But I still love what she said. A reminder to give up any illusion of control and trust God fully.

 

I think I will choose to end my day on that lovely note, rather than the sour one that was playing earlier on....

 

Signed,

Ree Mine Dehd

 

 

 

In case anyone's interested....

 

Pandemonium means "wild and noisy disorder or confusion."  Ever wonder where that came from?  Here is its origin:

 

In Paradise Lost (1667), John Milton named the capital of Hell "Pandaemonium."  It's Greek for "all demons."  In Book IV of the poem, "All Hell broke loose," demons from Hell are scattered onto Earth, creating all kinds of chaos.  So the town the demons came from became synonymous with disorder.

 

I'm not commenting on my day or anything. 

 

Signed,

zzzzzzzzzzzz

 

P.S.  Speaking of pandemonium, Austin turned 15 today.  Stay off the roads.

 

 

 

My sister called and left a message.  "Do you have a recording of Take Me to the Heights?  Our church may want to use it for an event coming up and I can't find a recording anywhere that has vocals."  Uhh.  My initial thought is that she's dug up yet another praise and worship tune that I haven't heard of.  It happens more and more these days as I'm not in charge of worship at our new church.  So I'm starting to write off her message as something I won't be able to help her with yet again, and then she says the thing about not finding a recording anywhere "that has vocals".  That seemed wierd.

 

So I tuned back in and listened to the rest of the message.  I started getting the feeling that she totally and thoroughly expected me to know what song she was talking about.  And finally, by the end of the message, it became clear to me that this must be a song I had written!  But really.  Take Me to the Heights?  You would think I would remember that.

 

Wouldn't you?

 

Umm....

 

Heights.

 

Oh yeah!  NOW I remember!  That was something like 6 or 7 years ago.  My praise team was hired to lead worship for a CSI convention being held in Colorado Springs (Christian Schools International) and they commissioned me to write a song to fit the theme for the year.  Their theme verse had something to do with Moses climbing to the heights, and all the stuff he could see from there.  Vision for the future and all that.  And it turns out the hotel had huge windows all along the front of the banquet room facing Pikes Peak.  Talk about a view!!  (And since we started setting up at 3 a.m., we had some beautiful scenery to enjoy as the day dawned.)  Considering all that, I'd say Take Me to the Heights wasn't such a bad choice after all.

 

That phone call was 4 or 5 hours ago. I still can't remember how the song goes.  Really I can't.  Not even once blip of the melody.  But if it doesn't come to me while I'm sleeping tonight, I'll just have to dig it out of a file somewhere tomorrow.  You can only allow stress like that in your life for so long before it drives you bonkers.

 

Signed,

Al's Himerz

 

 

 

Every evening at dinner time, each family member shares something from his or her day.  Tradition.  Considering there are six of us, that can sometimes take awhile! Contributions range from the hilarious to the spiritual to the mundane, but they almost always stimulate conversation.  I guess you might consider each story to be a "side dish" of sorts...tasty or dull, it doesn't really matter.

 

Today, for my turn, I shared something my Aunt Nelvy wrote in an email.  First some background:  Apparently Uncle Stan has had a "spot" on his lungs for quite some time...years in fact.  But it's grown, and it's now been diagnosed as active, and treatments are about to begin.  They're 230 miles away from the appropriate facility, and this will be a long haul to say the least.   ....  Okay, so the way of the world, the way of our hearts, is to fight against disease with everything within us, no matter how old we are.  That's normal.  That's being a human being.  We barrage the doctors with questions, and search out the newest treatments, and somehow react with amazement that serious illness could actually touch THIS particular person...as if we are not living in flesh and blood bodies which are destined to return to dust. 

 

Please don't overreact.  I'm not saying there's anything wrong with these responses.  Originally, we were not created to die, and so it's natural to fight against death and decay.  I truly understand that.

 

But when I read the following words from Aunt Nelvy, I did a double-take and had to re-read it.  They struck me as unusual...and inspiring...and comforting somehow.  These are the words my Aunt Nelvy wrote, and that I shared with my family tonight at dinner.

 

 

Wow.  I have a lot of people in my life these days who are fighting cancer.  I would consider them to be young.  They have children at home, etc.  But as I reread Aunt Nelvy's words, I found myself hoping and praying that I will have that kind of acceptance, trust and grace someday if I'm "older" (however you might define that) and am diagnosed with a serious illness.  I pray that I will see, in the years of my past, a life fully lived.  And that I will be at peace in the Lord.  (Actually, that would be a good prayer at ANY age.  Hmmm.)

 

A hard balance to achieve.  A hard balance to live.  I'm thinking this entire concept is much more than a "side dish" after all.  It's more like the main course.  But perhaps a "casserole" kind of main course, since there are so many tastes and textures to absorb in one bite.  I'm guessing it may take me a lifetime to figure this one out....

 

Signed,

Fude 4 Thawt

 

 

 

Four turn-arounds in my day:

 

For one thing, I was just in an owly mood this morning.  Maybe I was tired, but I think it was more than that.  An attitude problem.  But then, as I was journaling, I remembered hearing recently about how that kind of mood will disappear if you spend time thanking God.  So after two pages of "meanderings", I filled the next two pages with "Thank You, God, for ______."  Yup, it worked wonders.

 

I also found it stressful today when Scott and I visited our old office space and contemplated WHERE in the WORLD we were going to put all the STUFF, since we have to be totally vacated in less than a week.  Scott is a pack rat.  I am not.  Enough said.  ....  Actually, I have more to say.  We discussed, we brainstormed, we disagreed, and we procrastined the problem for now.  Later when we were home, I said that I just couldn't "leave the subject" until we sat down and prayed about it.  So we did.  To my shame, I really didn't expect much to come of that other than perhaps a sense of peace, and maybe more balanced discussions and decisions in the days to come.  BUT...as we speak, Scott is at the office to meet someone who called tonight and might want to buy some of the modular secretarial furniture.  !!!  And he said that tomorrow someone else is coming to look at the large, wooden credenza.  !!!  (I was amazed when Scott told me.  But Scott calmly made some tongue-in-cheek comment about me praying, and that it looks like I'd better keep it up.)

 

Also, I've had two songs this past week that just don't quite want to come together in terms of their rewrites.    I can find rhymes.  I can find options.  (Much like one of my NSAI friends who will write something like 40 verses to a song before choosing 2 or 3.  Okay, not TOO much like him.)  But that's not the same as finding THE rhyme.  THE option that I've been searching for.  ....  Well, miracle of miracles, shortly after dropping off Blake at BB practice, I found a line that seemed close.  Close enough that I called home and left myself a message.  And then when I got home I sat down and "played" some more until things suddenly clicked.  YEA!!!  I called Shelby over and read it to her, since she's one of my in-house evaluators, and she agreed that this rewrite hit the mark.

 

I was so happy that I almost pulled out the other song to see if I could have similar success.  But instead I decided that I would choose to end the day feeling creative and successful and powerful.  (Song #2 will just have to simmer until tomorrow.)

 

And last, but not least, my friend Paul was hospitalized all last week with unbearable pain, nausea, etc.  They found additional spots of cancer on the spine and did radiation.  But Friday night he came home, and he is doing the very BEST he's done in a long time!  Praise God!  Great appetite.  Very little pain.  Good spirits.  And absolutely no intentions of dying.  (In fact, he continues to be dumbfounded that some people think he's actually going to die from this.)  It was wonderful to read their blog tonight and feel the joy shining through.

 

In fact, I'll end with the quote they posted. 

"Hope is hearing the melody of the future.  Faith is to dance to it now.”          Richard Alves

Signed,

Doo In Thuh Chah Chah

 

P.S.  Scott just walked in the door.  They bought ALL THREE secretarial units!  I'm not sure which I'm more excited about...the check in my hand, or the fact that the furniture is getting picked up tomorrow!  We still have 50 boxes ordered for all the other junk, and there are large pieces that defy boxifying, but I think I'll just let THAT problem "simmer" until tomorrow...along with my rewrite.

 

 

 

Another Saturday has come and gone.  There was so much to do.  Yes, some of it got done.  Yes, an awful lot of it didn't.  This poem helps give me perspective.

 

[Disclaimer:  I did not write this.]

 

If your nose is held to the grindstone rough

and you hold it down there long enough

soon you'll say there's no such thing

as brooks that babble and birds that sing.

Three things will all your world compose--

just you, the grindstone, and your darned old nose.

 

I think it's time to go play for a little while before bedtime....

 

Signed,

Thuh Trooooth Hertss

 

 

 

Sometimes you just really have to make a conscious choice of what you're going to think about.  What you're going to dwell on when you're running that last errand, or trying to fall asleep at the end of a hard day when your mind is still spinning.  Take today for example.

 

Option 1--Think about the fact that Scott got rear-ended in Denver's latest snow blitz.  (Not his fault, so no money out of our pocket.  But of course there will be the inevitable inconvenience of having it repaired which will take five days.  And yes, I'm very aware of the fact that no one was hurt, and I'm giving thanks for that!)  While Scott waited for the police, I headed out in the storm to pick up Blake from a friend's house.  And while I braved the storm I prayed extra hard for the driver who caused the accident because it was a 17-year-old girl.  Poor thing.  I kept wondering if her parents were being supportive as she called them on her cell phone with shaking hands, or if they were reading her the riot act.  Accidents are a pain...for everyone involved.

 

Option 2--Think about the kind words I received today from an evaluator.  In closing, he/she wrote, "Nice to hear from you again, Bev.  You're a talented writer and have fresh ideas."

 

Talented!  Fresh ideas!  :-)

 

Of course, this evaluator has probably written those exact words hundreds or even thousands of times, and who knows how many times he or she wrote those words even just today...but I'm going to soak them in nonetheless.  This reminds me of Proverbs 25:  A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.

 

Hopefully I'll take time to pass out a few golden apples today as well....

 

Signed,

Smy Ling.  Simm Plee Smy Ling.