Ten Years

I've lived here ten years and just now. Tonight. For the first time, after months (years?) of saying "we should have a cuppa tea" my neighbour and I had a cup o tea.

She called me this morning at 7:30, and said, "Can it be today? Can we finally just get together and talk?"

Hahaha.
So after work, and after I met with my realtor (to deal with an offer) (!), I invited her over for a visit. We talked for HOURS. It was so good.

Figures.

I make a new friend 5 weeks before I have to move. (If my counter-offer is accepted and my house passes inspection.)

Maybe I won't wait so long to meet my neighbours in my next house. Why am I such a putz?

Three things I'm thankful for:

1. Neighbours who travel. And have great travel stories. Now I really want to go to Israel. Her description of who Jesus was, was inspiring.

2. There's an offer on my house. Low ball. But I countered. And we'll see what happens. If this is God's will, then I'll be moving in a few weeks. Aaaaack, I am SO going to miss this house. How many more memories can I cram in before it's all over?

3. Are you married? You should go to this. 

Focus on the Family presents Drs. Les and Leslie Parrot. 

"FIGHT RIGHT" ... A fun evening. 

Trust me on this - go. And take your married kids. 

No. I'm serious.

Go online and get tickets. You will not regret it. 

Laugh

Oh. Hello there.

I have just sat here, at my desktop computer, for TWO HOURS, watching youtube videos.
Know what?
Ellen and Craig Ferguson are seriously good interviewers.

Know what?
Steve Carrell, John Krasinski and Emily Blunt are fabulous guests.

Know what?
I have laughed like a mad woman for two hours.

Three things I'm thankful for:

1. Tonight's book club meeting. We discussed Call the Midwife - (which is also a BBC mini-series) and I highly recommend it. And book clubs.

2. A short week ahead.

3. Fridges.

Shalom,

So far, so good.

Thankful for this holiday weekend:

1. Thankful that all 4 kids joined me for dinner and a movie on Friday night. And SO thankful that Star Trek was such a fun, fun, movie to see. You should totally go. And invite me, because I'd love to see it again.

2. Thankful that I had a friend to sit with in church on Saturday night. LOVE that. And I loved the 4 hour conversation afterwards. Thankful that she was a good listener... this business of living alone? Causes me to store up all my words until I burst at the first sign of a friendly ear. Oy. Next time we meet, I WILL BE THE QUIET ONE.

3. Thankful for this afternoon's success at buying my dad 3 red shirts for his birthday. He only wears long sleeve, non-buttoned, bright red shirts these days, and I actually found THREE today at Sears. Thankful that he is totally at peace about being 77. He told me a number of times during today's visit that he was an old man. And he said it without sadness. He said it like he was surprised. "He was old? That was cool. He's fine with it."

I am thankful he knows who I am.
He knows me.

You're Jane.
You're our oldest.
You talk alot.
You're divorced.

:)

I am lucky, I know that.
I have a dad who loves me.

4. Thankful for supper with my mom tonight. Thankful that she loves my dad.
I am thankful for the legacy they are giving our family... their commitment to each other is special and unique. And I am so proud of them. This is not an easy life, and lesser people would have bailed.

5. Thankful that I could celebrate with Max and his friends as another one of them took a two year cake tonight. Everytime I go to a meeting I leave inspired. Inspired by their transparency. Their raw honesty. Their humbleness. I am in awe of the depth of their friendships. I love the way they hold each other accountable. I am so very thankful that Max is part of a community that does recovery together. I leave there, wanting that raw honesty in my relationships too. It's risky though, right? Exposing your weaknesses and vulnerabilities and pain to another person?

Shalom,

Homelessness and A & F

There's a video going around facebook and Twitter about a campaign to clothe the homeless with used Abercrombie & Fitch clothing. If you've got 3 minutes, it's worth your time. And if you've got another 2 minutes, this young gal's response is wonderfully insightful.

Yes, yes, yes, I should be preparing my house right now for the professionals who are coming over to stage and photograph tomorrow.

But the internet is so interesting this evening.

100 Questions to talk about with that person you love:

100 Questions to Ask Before You Get Married

Bethany Grow of LoveTheGrows.com adapted from

Don’t You Get Married Until You Read This! The Book of Questions for Couples

by Corey Donaldson

Sex/Romance/Love

If we eliminated physical attraction from our relationship, what would be left?

What is the best way for me to show that I love you?

If I put on weight, will it affect our sexual relationship? How?

Is it important for you to know that I'm a virgin? Why or why not?

What do I do that causes you to question my love?

What turns you off sexually?

How would our relationship be affected if for medical reasons we could not have children?

Do you think being in love means: (1) Never having to say you're sorry, (2) Always having to say you're sorry, (3) Knowing when to say you're sorry, or (4) Being the first to say I'm sorry?

The Past

Which childhood experiences influence your behavior and attitude the most?

Could any feelings of affection and romance be revived if you met a previous boyfriend/girlfriend even though you feel strongly committed to me?

Is there anything in your past I should be aware of?

What did you dislike the most about your previous partners?

If your past boyfriends/girlfriends listed your most negative characteristics, what would they be?

Do you keep letters and memorabilia from past relationships? Why or why not?

Are you comfortable continuing this relationship if there are things in my past that I am not willing to share with you?

Have you ever been involved in any criminal activities? What were they?

Did your mother or father abuse each other or you in any way- sexually, emotionally, or physically?

Have you ever been able to overcome a bad habit? What was it?

Have you ever been violent in past relationships?

Trust

Have there been times when you were uncomfortable with the way I behaved with the opposite sex? If so, when and what did I do?

What do I do now or what could I do in the future that would make you mistrust me?

Would you be comfortable transferring all your money into my bank account?

Who comes first, your spouse or your children?

Is trust automatic until something occurs that takes it away, or does it evolve over time?

Do you trust me with money?

Is it permissible for us to open each other's mail?

The Future

How are we different? Could this be a source of future conflict? Do our differences complement each other?

Do you anticipate maintaining your single lifestyle after we are married? That is, will you spend just as much time with your friends, family and work colleagues? Why or why not?

How did your family resolve conflicts when you were growing up? Do you approve or disapprove of that method? what will you change or not change to resolve conflicts in your future family?

Is there anything about marriage that frightens you?

Would you prefer to live in the city, the country, or by the beach? Why?

If I wanted to move away from our families for work, would you support me?

How would it affect you if I travel on my own frequently to (1) visit family, (2) earn income, (3) pursue a hobby, or (4) deal with stress?

Suppose we are experiencing trouble in our marriage. In what order will you seek help from the following to resolve our conflicts: (1) divorce lawyer, (2) your parents, (3) a brother or sister (4) a marriage counselor, (5) me, (6) a church leader? Why?

How will you support my hobbies?

How do you feel about having our parents come to live with us if the need arises?

Is there anything you would regret not being able to do or accomplish if you married me?

How will we schedule holidays with our families?

Children

If we are unable to have children, should we adopt?

Do you anticipate raising our children (1) the same way you were raised (2) completely differently from the way you were raised (3) a mixture of both?

How long would you like to wait before having children?

Other than formal schooling, what types of education will our children get and how will they receive them?

When we have children, who will change the diapers, heat the bottles, prepare the meals, do the housework, bathe the child, get up in the middle of the night when a child is crying, take the child to the doctor, buy clothing, and dress the child?

What types of discipline would you implement to correct a child's or a teenager's behavior? Were these practices you experiences or are they new ones you have developed on your own?

Annoyances

If I had bad breath or body odor or wear dirty clothes, will you tell me? Should I tell you? Why or why not? How should we do it?

What is nagging? Do I nag? How does it make you feel?

DO you approve without reservation of the way I dress?

What does my family do that annoys you?

Would it bother you if I made body noises all the time, like passing gas or burping?

Is there anything you do in your line of work that I would disapprove of or that would hurt me?

Do you believe that you should stick with a marriage if you are unhappy all the time?

When do you need space away from me?

Communication

Whenever we have difficult feelings about each other, should we (1) remain silent, (2) say something as soon as the difficult feelings arise, (3) wait a certain amount of time before raising the issue, or (4) do something else? If so, what?

If you always say you are going to do something but never do it, what is the most effective way to bring this problem to your attention?

What did you admire about the way your mother and father treated each other?

What is the best way for me to communicate difficult feelings about you so that you are not offended?

Who should know bout the arguments we have?

What makes you not want to talk to me?

Do you feel you could communicate with me under any circumstance and about any subject?

Finance

What justifies going into debt?

What are all your current personal debts?

Do you feel stress when facing financial problems? How do you deal with that stress?

How often do you use credit cards, and what do you buy with them?

How should we prepare for a financial emergency?

Do you feel that lack of money is a good reason not to have children?

When our child is born, will he or she go to daycare or will one of us stay home to take care of the child? Who will it be?

Will we have a budget?

Who will pay the bills?

How do you feel about helping me pay my debts?

What are your feelings about saving money?

Do you prefer separate bank accounts or assets in different names? Why?

Miscellaneous

How would you rank all the priorities in your life: work, school, family, spouse, friends, hobbies, and chuch? Does your ranking reflect the amount of time you spend on each?

Are you closer to your mother or father? Why?

Do you prefer a set daily work schedule or flexible work activities and timetables?

What do you fear?

What influence, if any, do you believe my family should have on our relationship?

Do you believe that our parents should know our financial condition, whether good or bad, just because they want to? How far should this go?

What are your views on pornography?

How would you react if our son or daughter told us they were gay?

Do you harbor any racial prejudice?

How do you feel about having guns in our home?

Is there anyone close to you who feels we should not get married? Why? Should we this?

What health problems do you have?

Have you ever had any psychological problems?

When you are in a bad mood, how should I deal with it?

Do you like pets?

The Privilege. The Motivation. And The Guilt.

“How you [the parent] express and live your faith will have, all things being equal, a greater impact on your child’s life than any other factor. . . . what they see and hear and experience growing up with you will communicate more about the essence and veracity of faith than anything they face or anyone they know.”

That quote? Was part of a project the creative team is working on today. As I read it, a few thoughts went through my mind:

It's inspiring when you're a brand new parent and there's nothing but possibility ahead.

It's motivating when you're the parent of teens who are searching and open and responsive.

But it's overwhelmingly discouraging when you're the parent of a young adult who has chosen to walk away from the faith you introduced them to. 

Thoughts that go through your head when your children (or your spouse) rejects Jesus:

• "I made Christianity unattractive." 
• Did I make it about do's and don'ts and not enough about love and grace?
• "Did I present it as legalistic instead of relationship-istic?"
• "If I represent Jesus here on earth, I've done a sucky job portraying His great love, His creativity, His forgiveness, His patience, His sacrifice."
• "Did I not walk the talk? Did they hear me profess with my mouth, but not witness any faith in action?"
• "If they are rejecting my faith, which, let's face it, IS WHO I AM, then they are also rejecting me, right?"
• "Were there key teaching moments when I should have been more intentional in our conversations that I missed?"
• "Was it the-two-churches-closing on us that contributed to this?" (Twice our communities of believers ended up scattering.)
• "Please God, send another messenger of Your good news to my child. I wasn't very good at it. Please send someone whose faith is infectious, appealing, desirable. Someone who is bold, loving and relevant. Someone who speaks the truth in a compelling, urgent, transparent way. Open my child's ears and enable him/her to respond. Open my child's eyes and enable her/him to see how very much you love him/her. Please. Please. Please."

Yeah, so basically, just another day at work. 

Three things I'm thankful for:

1.I'm thankful for my sister. She spent yesterday morning getting my dad to practice putting an x in a circle with his left hand so he could vote.

2. I'm thankful that I live in this country. 

3. I am thankful that our stories are not over yet. 

Shalom,

Here we go again.

My home back is up for sale.

A professional stager and photographer will be by in the next 48 hours.
Another load of crap will have to be taken to the dump.
And a couple dozen more boxes of accumulated clutter must get moved to my mom's garage.
Weeds need to be pulled, flower boxes should be filled, blah, blah, blah.

Sigh.

And no.

No. I don't know where I'll move to.

I don't know.
I don't know.
I don't know.

Not much has changed since the last time I did this.
:)

Deja vu.

Three things I'm thankful for:

1. Those lilacs my sister gave me on Sunday? SMELL GORGEOUS. Next house? Will have a lilac bush.

2. Advil. Holy Cow. Every single joint in my body is achy these days. You too? What is that all about?

3. Random Monday invite to see this:

And know what?
It was actually pretty good.
I liked it.
I'm thinking it might even be worth my while to read the book. Gasp.
If you don't mind reading a bunch of spoilers, Charlene wrote a great review here.

Shalom,

I dunno.

I always start with a title and move forward from there.

But I can't think of one...
Which doesn't bode well for the rest of this post.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Great Gatsby opened this weekend.
Iron Man 3 opened last weekend.
So Sandra and I went to see Oblivion this weekend.

There were 6 of us in the theater. Total.
And I didn't have a blessed clue what was going on.
Confused and mostly not entertained throughout the entire 3 hours.

It was a good thing that my kids were at my house when I got home because Clint and Max had just seen it and they loved it. (OF COURSE THEY DID. I am the complete opposite of my children.) They patiently explained the premise to me; "It's exactly like Wall-E, mom."

Which actually did straighten things out for me. 

But still.

I prefer dialogue. 

Conversation and relationships over action and special effects any day. Every day. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The boys were back in town because they had a road trip planned for Saturday and my place was the meeting spot.

Everyone was staying for night (they arrived around midnight) and they planned to leave before 8 am for Seattle.

When I went to bed at 3, they were all still up. 

This morning, it was after 11 am when I placed my hands on the front end of Max's truck and said a quick prayer for safety and protection as he backed out of the driveway. The three people I love the most in the whole entire world are hanging out together today, and it just makes me smile. 

Their destination?

The Seattle Pinball Museum. 

$10 entrance fee and then play until your wrists get sore or they close. Whichever comes first. 

Max's heaven will have pinball machines. Old ones. From the '80's. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(That was written on Saturday evening.)

It's now Sunday night. 

And Mother's Day is over. Yay.

I'm not a fan. 

Hate these sorts of days when people are forced to express emotions that they may or may not be feeling. It's just so awkward. 

I'm becoming a bit of a scrooge, aren't I?

I disappointment myself sometimes. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Three things I'm thankful for:

1. Saturday's unexpected sunshine.

2. Unexpected  sweet card and gift from Danica.

3. Lilacs. From my sister.

4. Conversation with my mom. 

5. The women in my life. 

Do I Sleep?

Lesley asked me that today on Facebook.

And yes I do.

I usually go to bed between 1 and 2 am.
And sleep deeply til 7:30/8:00 am.

So, that means that some days I get 7 hours, some days only 5 1/2 .

BUT, the weekends.
OH THE WEEKENDS.

On Friday and Saturday nights?
Twelve hours each. And It Is Glorious.
It also means I rarely see what a weekend morning looks like.
It's a trade-off I'm willing to take.

I seem to be able to function with this level of sleep. Until evenings like this arrive.
I've been out 9 nights in a row.
Doing fun things with some of my favorite people. But tonight I had nothing planned.
So when I got home from work at 6 pm, I lay down on my couch, and woke up 2 hours later.
These things happen.

And when they do?
I wake up smiling.
Naps are the best.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Can we talk about this video:




It doesn't inspire me. It makes me sad.
Anyone else? Thoughts?


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


I am not a trekkie.
But, maybe I will be.

I loved the last movie, (with Chris Pine as Capt Kirk) and after seeing this interview? I totally have to see the next one. (Star Trek into Darkness)

Seriously. Take 10 minutes and watch these two clips:
I adore the behind-the-scenes stories of the entertainment industry. Specially this on-set prank.




but if you can only spare the time to watch one - watch this:






Seriously. HOW MUCH FUN DO THESE PEOPLE HAVE AT WORK?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In case you were wondering, yes, I finished the first series of New Girl.

It did remind me an awful lot of Friends.

And if you, like I, end up watching 24 episodes in 3 consecutive evenings, then, you miss those guys like crazy on the 4th evening.
And you wonder, did Jess and Nick manage to get together?
And Cece and Schmidt? Are they going to stick it out?

I have no answers.
I'm thinking I might need to get a netflix account. Or a PVR.

In the meantime, I'm now starting Once Upon a Time:

Just watched the pilot so far, and love the premise.

Next up?

The Bible series.
Bought it from work, using my staff discount.
Have I mentioned how much I love my job?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A version of this has been making it's rounds on facebook.
I'm adapting it abit for my own boys:

So I've decided to be proactive and tell my kids what I want for mother's day. Here it is:

What I Want for Mother’s Day

Dear boys, (erhmmm, Dear sons,)

Mother’s Day is coming up, and I thought I should tell you what I want. This way there’s no guilty panic or last minute purchasing of flowers at the closest gas station. So, this is what I want, this year and every year after; it’s pretty simple really.

I want you to be decent human beings. :)

I want you to be who you are, but don’t be sarcastic, aloof jerks.

I want you to work hard at everything you do, because life is too short not to give it everything you’ve got. Go for that "A". Sure, sure ... "C's" are a passing grade; but trust me, it feels fantastic when you get that "A".

I want you to ask for help when you need it. Seriously. Just Ask. Most of the adults in your life are your biggest cheerleaders. WE WANT YOU TO SUCCEED. And we are thrilled for the opportunity to come alongside.

I want you to help others when they need it. Keep an eye open for the guy who's new to the situation. Give him a hand.

When you screw up, and you will, more than once, I want you to own it, because it’s the screw-ups that make the victories sweeter. Learn to say I'm sorry. Say it often. They're like magic words.

I want you to know I will never stop loving you.

I want you to play nicely with others. Practice being kind.

I want you to find a way to do what you love, and realize that that might look different than you originally thought.

I want you to sometimes be more interested in someone else than in yourself. Especially when it comes to your (eventual) wife and kids.

I want you to know that you are flawed and you are extraordinary. There is no one else like you.

I want you to know that Jesus died for you. And God loves you. And I'm praying that you'll surrender your lives to Him. He created you and has a kick-ass plan for your life. Let go and trust.

I want you to realize how lucky you are every once in awhile even if only for an instant.

I want you to know love. I pray that you will meet that someone who is worthy of your love and will return it to you in spades.

I want you to know life can be brutally hard sometimes,but you don't have to face it alone. You've got family who understand and will be there for you in a heart-beat.

I want you to know that you can choose happiness even when the dark side offers you cookies.

And I want you to put down your cellphones when you have a meal with someone. 

And I want you choose your words wisely ... the English language is RICH with options.

And I want to see a movie with y'all next week; either Oblivion or the new Star Trek movie. Either or. You pick. 

See, simple.

Love,

Mom

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Three things I'm thankful for:

1. The moon.

2. Bolthouse Farms Fruit Drinks

3. Decisions that are made.

Shalom,

I Feel Like Talking

Why is there no one in my house?

Seriously. I have words to say.

I would make a sucky roommate. Or an even worse mom to boys. :)   talktalktalktalktalktalktalkSTOPALREADY

~~~~~~~~~~~
So anyways, How about those Canucks?
If they weren't prepared to go all the way and win the cup, then I thank them from the bottom of my heart for giving us our Spring evenings back as efficiently as possible. A clean sweep was the ultimate act of kindness. We love you, Canucks. See you next fall.

~~~~~~~~~~~

I still am being entertained by the whole twitter thing. And today? Late this afternoon, just as I was getting ready to pack it in for the day? I sat at my desk and JUST SMILED. And smiled. And smiled.

OK. I'll tell you why.

So, I follow this guy, Josef Atlin, who is a young-ish, and probably hot British actor who is on THE GAME OF FREAKING THRONES. (He's on the wall with Jon.) He also had a part in Les Mis. And Robin Hood. And The Young Victoria. So, maybe he's kinda a big deal?

ANYwaaaaay. He tweets alot. I have a feeling he lives alone too. I recognize the signs. For example, during a one hour time span today, this is what he tweeted:

BBQ time! Just me,myself and I :( .. Just doing burgers.. Quick and easy!

Burgers take quick on the BBQ...already munching my face! Lol

Stop begging cat... It goes on like I don't feed it

That was the quickest BBQ ever! 2morra gonna try cook the beer up the chicken butt. Don't laugh there's a actual recipe.

speaking to my daughter has been the best thing today... oh and the burgers haha.

what drink am i drinking? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ , give up? >> it was coca cola. I know that was a hard one.

And so on ...

And then he tweeted this:

just fell up the stairs again!


And immediately after that, on my feed, was a tweet from my friend, Shannon, who said:

Definitely just walked into a pole... Yup.

And it occurred to me that maybe not every tweet is fascinating. So I tweeted:

The type of peeps I'm following on twitter: @JosefAltin "just fell up the stairs again" @ShannonHigson "definitely just walked into a pole"

And then know what? He tweeted this:

@pixnprose @ShannonHigson hope you like how real we are haha :) thx for following x

Hahahahaha.
Oh my goodness.
An actor from England tweeted a message to me, seconds after I had mentioned him in a tweet. IT WAS LIKE A CONVERSATION. He thanked me for following him. And that x? Is a kiss. OK. Maybe not a real kiss. Just, like a peck-on-the-cheek kiss. Or maybe he doesn't use periods to end his sentences? He uses x's instead? What do I know about the punctuation English guys use?  Seriously. How old am I? 12?

So, yeah. I just sat there and smiled. It's weird, having a random real-time connection with a famous stranger on the other side of the planet

Man. I just love the internet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I remember when The Office was part of my must-watch-TV on Thursday nights.
I think I was their biggest fan right through 5 seasons, and then, well, I wasn't.

And now? It's over.
Season 9 and the Series ends on May 16.
Have you ever watched?
As you know, it was set in Scranton, PA. It wasn't actually filmed there, it 'pretended' to be filmed there.
ANYwaaaaayzzz... the real, actual, city of Scranton, (the whole city, like, everybody) hosted the WRAP party for the entire cast and crew of The Office.

Seriously.
Is that not tre'cool?

And everyone showed up. Everyone. Including Steve Carrell. (He made an unexpected surprise appearance.)
There was a parade, and party, and stuff and whatnot.

Jenna Fisher (Pam), talks about John Kras (Jim) and the City of Scranton in this interview.
I just realized how much I miss these people. I may have had an unhealthy attachment to them.
Yes. I follow Jenna and John on Twitter.

Do. Not. Judge. Me.

Oy. John is on Jimmy Fallon right this minute doing a Lip-Sync-Off. SOoooo funny. Look for it online.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


So.
My life is not all about the entertainment industry.
Truly it is not.

I am NOT as shallow as this post might be leading you to believe.
(Whoa. It feels like a summer night here. My arms are sticking to my desk. It's 1 am and I am melting. I love it.)

Want to know how things are going at work?
Shall I tell you about my Monday?
I see you nodding over there, so OK.

You know about our big National Marriage Tour, right?
(Are you attending, by the way? YOU TOTALLY SHOULD.)
Well, OK. So the Creative Services Department has been focused on a gazillion details for this event; print ads, web site, email campaign, radio, magazine spreads, brochures, tickets, posters, and on and on. Like way more than a gazillion pieces to this project.

And that was just the front end.
We also have video footage, slide shows, handouts, parting gifts, gift bags, name tags, stage decorations, event signage etc and so on for during the tour. Plus, one of our give-aways to every couple who attends is a 512mb flashdrive that is loaded with free resources.

That last thing?
Is giving me face wrinkles.

Six weeks ago, after way too many days of negotiating with various vendors, I finally awarded the contract for 5,000 flashdrives (to be loaded with 350mb of data) to vendor A. They were to be delivered to my desk on Monday May 6. (We would then have a few days to pack up the flashdrives and ship them across Canada to the venues we will be visiting on the tour.)

Instead, on Monday?
This was my first email of the day:

The subject line was: Good Morning Jane

Many words, then ... THE MEMORY CHIPS ON THE USB'S ARE EITHER COUNTERFEIT OR CORRUPT AND UNABLE TO BE RELIED UPON. THESE 5,000 DRIVES ARE USELESS AND THE CHIPS ARE FLAWED... then many more words.

So.
This was not good news. (Especially since these flashdrives were the President's idea and kind of his pet project.)

I somehow had to get 5,000 flashdrives, printed with Focus's logo, in Focus's colors, and loaded with Focus's data in time for the tour. And time? Had run out.

So, for the first time in the history of my employment at Focus, I spoke up during staff prayer time and asked for prayer.

And know what?
By the end of the day?

It was all good.
God and the internet came through for me/us.
And Jake, from midwest USA? Is my new 27 year old online BFF. His last email to me?
"Jane,
I am doing my best to get them to you in a week!!! LOL. I can 1,00000000% get them to you before your tour begins. Your timeline is GOOD NEWS, VERY VERY GOOD NEWS!"

Hahahaha.


BOO YEAH.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was recently in a conversation where it was mused, "We (believers) should all have brand-new Christians in our life. It's tragic that most of us don't. And why don't we?"

He was so right.

When's the last time I hung out with someone new to a faith in Jesus?

How about you?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's 2 am.
I should probably just go to bed already.

Three things I'm thankful for:

1. Charles Ramsey. So thankful those girls have been rescued.

2. Warm, casual, long visit with my dad on Monday evening. First evening visit since last December when I crashed. The first thing he said when I surprised him in his room? "When can I get out of here? I'd like to go home." (Which is what he used to say to me everyday for months and months.) And then, just like he did all last Spring, Summer and Fall, "Where's mom? I wonder where she is." And then? We watched Shawshank Redemption. And he told me, throughout the entire movie what scene was coming up next. "He's going to commit suicide.." etc. :)

3. Last minute dinner date with my mom tonight. I called her at 5 to see if she wanted to meet me at the ABC. "Oh, I've already had dinner...I eat by 4:30." Oh seniors. So fun with that whole early dinner thing.

4. This job I have. Never boring. Best co-workers ever.

5. My boys.

6. Summer in May. Whoa. Be still my heart.

7. Tan lines.

8. Inspiring stories.

9. Danica got a job! Her former salon closed down on April 30. And today? She was hired at VIVID HAIR BOUTIQUE almost right across the street sort of from where I work. So proud of her and excited for the new opportunities coming her way.

10. I can't think of another one. It's way late.



Shalom,