Thoughts on things I'm thankful for

In honor of the great turkey day that's two days away, I'm making a list of things I'm thankful for:

1. My God is so big, so strong and so mighty there's nothing my God can not do!
2. My husband loves me, supports me, and provides for me
3. My parents are still with me and live close to me
4. My neice and nephew who are too cute for words to describe
5. My car-and her 125,000+ miles!
6. My friend Heather who teaches me how to be a good wife
7. My friend Jennifer who reminds me to be joyous and honest
8. My supervisor who makes work less stressful
9. My health 
10. My church
11. My family-including siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandma, and inlaws
12. My country and her heritage
13. The beauty of family-and the many forms it can take
14. God providing a job for my husband this year

"Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving. Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms." Psalm 95:2

Love, Mrs. M.

Thoughts on live with a purpose

It's the week of Thanksgiving here. My supervisor has us do a devotional in staff meeting the week that we're on call and this week is my week. When thinking about what to say, the verse in 1 Thessalonians 3 kept coming to my mind "in everything give thanks, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus". I read a few verses ahead of that one and found these little nuggets of truth:

"Therefore, encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing. But we request of you, brethern, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction, and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Live in peace with one another. We urge you, brethern, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone...Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

In these few verses, I believe we get a "to do" list of sorts for our daily lives.

• Encourage one another
• appreciate those who labor
• esteem your authority in love
• live in peace
• admonish the unruly
• encourage the fainthearted
• help the weak
• be patient 
• rejoice
• pray
• give thanks

Years ago, a man wrote a book about living a life of purpose. Many people have written such books I would imagine. How simple it is though, to look at these 7 verses of scripture to see God's will and purpose for my life!! It's so simply profound, it's scary (not scary scary, but you know, scary). So this week, as we're remembering to be thankful, let's remember to be these other characteristics as well.

Love, Mrs. M.

Thoughts on my birthday

My birthday is coming up. I have a history of having a love/hate relationship with my day of birth. That might sound weird, but it's true. While I love that I was born and am thankful for my life, because my birthday is so close to a holiday (and actually falls on a holiday every 7 years), it, at times, gets over looked. I was rarely in school and now I'm rarely at work on my birthday and because of this, people tend to forget. Not that I am mad a them for this, I mean, there is a lot going on around this time of year. But still, my day of birth often feels like another day, nothing special. I remember growing up, there was a rule of sorts in our home: you didn't have to do any chores on your birthday. It was your day to be off. It didn't matter if it was your turn to do the dishes or fold clothes. It didn't matter if your room needed to be cleaned or you were supposed to dust, on your birthday, someone else did those things. I looked forward to that! :) A sweet friend who lives far away texted me this week to ask if I had any big birthday plans, and of course, I don't. My birthday's on a Sunday, so that means I'll wake up, go to church, go to my grandma's for lunch, and then head home. However, this year, I'm excited about something. It's not my birthday exactly, but what my birthday represents- what every birthday represents: a new year.  I don't make "New Year's Resolutions" on January 1st. I did before, but not in some time. But this year, in my mind, my birthday, November 25th, represents a new year: my 28th year of life. So, I'm looking forward. The Apostle Paul said "But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God had called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." That's my prayer for this next year of my life: I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called...

Love, Mrs. M.

Thoughts on the cold weather

It's unusually cool in Texas today. Work up and it was 30 degrees on the dot. Every time it gets cold, I feel unprepared. My winter blanket is stuffed and tucked somewhere I can't find. My sweaters are stiff and honestly a little bit stinky from being in the closet for so long. I can't find my thick socks and the air conditioner is still on in the apartment. Yesterday, it was chilly as well, and I couldn't fine any socks-thick or otherwise- so while I wore close toes shoes, I had no socks on and my feet froze. Last night, I dug until I some socks and am glad to have them on today. :) I really do enjoy the cool/cold weather. It's so miserably hot over the summers, that the coolness of winter is a welcome visitor who never stays long enough in this girl's mind. Cold weather means cute scarves/gloves, warm coco with marshmallows, and plenty of cuddles with my sweetheart. He's started listening to Christmas music and asked me if I listened to it. I told him no, that I'm old school and don't listen to Christmas music before Thanksgiving. However, to be honest, if it stays cool, I might cave. It makes me long for "Frosted window panes, candles gleaming inside, painted candy canes, on the tree..."   Love, Mrs. M.

Thoughts on Apologies

When is it appropriate to "let sleeping dogs lie" and when is it appropriate to "make amends"? A situation recently presented itself where I was notified I had offended someone. This person had gone to someone, who then told someone else, who told someone else, who told me that I had offended this person. I was so shocked upon learning this, I almost chocked on the Chick Fil A sandwich I was eating. The offended had NEVER even so much as hinted at there being an issue. I was a little confused and a lot sad about this new information. I had occasion to have another interaction with the offended and did my best to act natural with no indication anything was wrong. And to be honest, I felt like everything was OK. Of course, prior to this interaction, I'd thought the same thing....Anyway, after my last interaction with the offended, I was told that it would be a good idea to reach out and apologize to the offended and try to make amends. This was beyond me. I didn't think it was necessary because number one, the offended didn't come to me to express their frustration and number two things seemed "ok" at my last interaction with them. Nevertheless, I was asked to make contact and amends. I spent time in prayer prior to reaching out and asked the Lord to speak for me. I asked that my speech be full of grace and seasoned with salt. I asked for Him to prepare the offended and then I reached out. As I expected, when the offended answered the phone, pleasantries were exchanged and our interactions seemed to me to be normal. And then I launched into my prayed over speech, apologizing for whatever I may have done that was perceived as offensive. They quickly became short, distant, and well, in my opinion, rude. They said "it's fine" and "it was no big deal" but never accepted or thanked me for the apology. It was evident that they were uncomfortable. I again apologized and got off the phone. It left me thinking: Was it better to apologize and try to make amends, or should I have let sleeping dogs lie? I personally think I should have let well enough alone, but in this situation, the decision was out of my hands. (if you haven't been able to tell, this is all a situation that happened at work). In life, what do you do? Do you make amends and apologize when you have been told you offended someone?

Love, Mrs. M.