Life Is Good! Not perfect, just good!

Have you ever been at a stage in your life where you're completely content? Mind you, being content doesn't mean things are perfect, it just means you're satisfied with where you are in life right now. That's where I am...and hope to stay for a while. Yep. Life is good, but that doesn't mean that things are perfect. Now when I say things aren't perfect...well...let me give you an example of a few days last week...

Tuesday - Started off pretty hectic. I had arranged an appreciation luncheon in the name of our executive director (at work). I had arranged food, rooms...all the stuff an assistant usually does. I went to the room an hour before the luncheon and all was well, however, the room looked a little blank. I quickly realized the tables had no centerpieces. I ran back to my desk, whipped up some centerpieces, grabbed my laptop for some music and went back to the business dining room. People began to arrive at 10:45am (the start time was 11:00am). The luncheon was a celebration of a job well done by a task force. Their direct supervisors were invited, as well as the current and soon-to-be executive director. EVERY SINGLE supervisor had accepted the invite to the luncheon and then suddenly the day before, I got my first cancellation. The day of, I got 3 more. No worries, that means there will be at least 6 other supervisors present. To make a long story short, 3 supervisors showed up, as well as the current and soon-to-be executive director. How very disappointing. I'm told it is readily accepted for leadership to accept invitations and not show up. UNACCEPTABLE! You loose credibility and the trust of your direct reports. Whatever! The food was "da bomb". We had bar-b-que chicken, collard greens, macaroni and cheese, black-eyed peas, cornbread and peach cobbler. There wasn't ONE person who didn't go back for a second helping. It was great!

Wednesday - I wake up and I can't place my left foot flat on the floor. It appears to be more comfortable standing on my tippy toes. Oh no! The last time I had this sensation, I had torn a tendon in my foot. I immediately called my podiatrist and took the first appointment they had available. It just so happened that it was at 9:45am, so I left immediately. As I was driving, I envisioned another possible surgery (YIKES!) OR the Dr. would give me an anti-inflammatory and tell me to stay off of it for the rest of the day. Well...the Dr. prescribed an anti-inflammatory, a steroid if that didn't work, a walking boot for the next 2-3 weeks and off my feed for the rest of the week.

Thursday - The morning was very uneventful. That afternoon I had another Dr's appointment and then I had to go by the church office. Returning home after about 3 hours, to my horror, I walked in and saw where our dog, "Choco" had vomited in the living room...but wait a minute...there's something else on the floor! Gross! "Hershey squirts"?!?? It looked like the 5lbs Chihuahua, "Paquito" had hershey squirts! I gasped in horror only to find out there was a trail of vomit and hershey squirts that went from the living room, down the hall, through the master bedroom, through the master bathroom and inside my walk-in closet. I began to roar, the dogs panicked and I banished them to the ONE clean room in the house. After cleaning up the mess, I walked back to the ONE clean room in the house only to find that in the amount of time it took me to clean up the mess, "Choco" had vomited AGAIN! This time I banished them both outside (yes, in the cold...but not for long)! After I cleaned up THAT mess, I happen to look outside only to see that the hershey squirts came from the BIG dog, not the little one. Our dog was obviously sick. I called the vet and they wanted to see him right away. So...me and my very awkward walking boot, a 55lbs dog and a ziploc of poop, go to the vet. The vet couldn't find a thing wrong with him but gave me an antibiotic and an anti-vomit medication...oh yeah...and prescribed a combination of rice, applesauce and soft dog food for him to eat 3-4 times a day. By the time I finally got back from the vet, I was exhausted and just collapsed.

So as I said before, "Life is good, but it doesn't necessarily mean things are perfect."

A New Thing!

Today I stopped to think about how awesome God really is. Since eternity, He has yet to run out of ideas for creating "new things". My finite mind can't grasp it...he does new things...he renews things...people...lives...minds. His mercy and his grace are unsurpassable. What an awesome, loving God to choose to save such foolish humans...and he loves us none the less.
This year "feels" different. Things are no longer going to happen "as usual". The body of Christ better have its ear to "...hear what the spirit is saying to the churches..." like never before. I since things speeding up...really fast...there's no more time for messing around. Time is of the essence. Not only does the Holy Spirit allow you to feel it but nature is screaming in its own way:

1. Huricannes
2. Tsunamis
3. Typhoons
4. Global warming
5. Wild forest fires
6. Epidemics (e.g. the bird flu, AIDS)
7. Melted snow caps
8. Collapsing icebergs
9. Rivers drying up
10. Water levels raising (e.g. Venice, Italy sinking)
11. Animals on the verge of extinction

What have we done to this earth that God has given to us? Just something to ponder...