Postage Stamp Increase

I was in our local post office yesterday morning and I was witness to something that made me very sad. I had to get in line to pick something up behind the counter and I was behind a man who, obviously, wasn't having a very good day. I could tell that he was very impatient during his wait in line... very fidgety and seemingly agitated. When he got up to the counter he asked for a roll of stamps. Because the price of stamps will be increased on May 14 to 41 cents, he was being sold a roll of "Forever" stamps (which are good for the price of a 39 cents stamps now and good for the price of a 41 cents stamp in less than a month). OK - "duh", I thought to myself, "makes sense... "glad they made it easier than having to purchase 1 and 2 cent stamps for all of my "outdated" stamps that I purchase between now and then." Well - it was obvious that this gentleman did not agree and seemed very irritated when his balance due was $41.00. I've heard of people going "postal" but COME ON! This guy began yelling at the post office worker. That's right - he was YELLING. He was rambling on about "just another way that the government sucks us dry!"

First thought... "Dude, it's a postage stamp, it's only 2 cents!" Second thought... "I feel really sorry for the post office worker." Third thought... "We are SUCH a blessed nation, how dare we complain about the price increase of a postage stamp!"

When it was my turn to be waited on (at the station next to my irritated friend) I looked at the lady behind the counter and she looked at me and said, "We get that all the time! Like we have control over the price increase!" It was at that time I got very sad. Sad that people treat other people that way... sad that we live in such a blessed country and we don't even realize how good we have it. It was at that moment that I stopped to pray for that man and for the entire country - - for our eyes to be open to all of the wonderful things God has blessed us with in this life that we take for granted every day. I believe God used a simple thing, like a price increase of a postage stamp, to stop me in my tracks and cause me to be thankful.

Today... take time to be thankful!

Sunshine and Flowers and Love... oh my!

Well, this weekend I was honored to help my friend, Faythe, with her debut "official" wedding of her Wedding Consultant business! It was the PERFECT day for a wedding, let me just tell you! It was a balmy 75 degrees, sunny and absolutely gorgeous!

My role was "Wedding Consultant Assistant" and boy - what fun I had! It was truly a great time and I thank Faythe (and Joy and Josh) for allowing me to serve in a role that felt so natural to me! I LOVE event planning and organizing and coordinating - so this whole "assistant" role was right up my alley! Faythe... I will be waiting for my next 'job' soon! (Just don't torture me again by making me stand RIGHT next to a chocolate fondue fountain!!)

Oh - and I need to mention the fact that I even purchased (AND WORE) a dress for the event! I couldn't tell you when the last time was that I wore a dress - but it was nice! My husband even gave me a little whistle when I left... now how cool is that? Maybe I am missing the boat by not wearing dresses more often!

So, here's where I give my sista' a free plug....

Faythe Emens
Wedding Consultant Extraordinaire
(okay, those were my words not hers)
For the wedding of your dreams.... call 902-xx45
(okay - actually just respond here and I will give her YOUR number)
(hold your applause... faythe, you can pay me later for that!)

C-ya!

Jesus Painting

This is great! It's a little long - but make sure you watch ALL of it!

Showing my age!

OK... so last night we were on our way home from school and I was asking Chloe how her day was. She proceeded to tell me that it was good and that her first grade class (at LCS) would be doing Chapel next Wednesday (April 25). She started to share with me some of the songs they are going to sing. Now I can't tell you what the name of this song was, nor can I tell you what most of the lyrics were, but what I can tell you is the part that stuck out in my head. Somewhere in the middle of the song the kids say, "Motley Crue, eegh!" Through my laughter (she's so darn cute) I asked her, "Who's Motley Crue?" She said, "This band from the old days." OLD DAYS? I just laughed... "Those weren't the old days! They were around when mommy was younger." She looked up with her innocence and said, "Yeah, mommy, like I said, the OLD days!" KIDS!

The Starbucks Experience

So - I have this goal for the summer to read at least 15 books! I visited Amazon.com last week and made my first order of 7 books. I'm on my way - AND - getting a head start on my reading! I'm starting with "The Starbucks Experience" and as of last night, I am on page 55. What a GREAT read! Check it out here. It's all about the 5 BASIC principles for turning ordinary into extraordinary and Starbucks seems to have the market cornered on customer service! I don't even like coffee and I enjoy going to a Starbucks simply for their exemplary service!

The five key leadership principles that transformed an ordinary idea into an extraordinary experience are:

Principle # 1 - Make It Your Own
Principle # 2 - Everything Matters
Principle # 3 - Surprise and Delight
Principle # 4 - Embrace Resistance
Principle # 5 - Leave Your Mark

One of my favorite sections in the book (well, so far at least) comes from a quote from Starbucks Chairman, Howard Schultz. He says, "We are not in the coffee business serving people, but in the people business serving coffee... we continually are reminded of the powerful need and desire for human contact and for community... the Starbucks environment has become as important as the coffee itself."

Wow - let's take that in the church environment. We have the MOST important message on the face of the planet, bar none! How can we learn to incorporate the thoughts and ideas from Starbucks to create a fantastic experience for our "customers"? After all - couldn't we say that we are not in the God business serving people, but in the people business serving God? I think we can learn a lot about serving God to people in and through our churches from Starbucks and I am prepared to absorb all I can from this book and put it use within my serving/leadership role in my church.

At Starbucks they have what they all the "Green Apron Book". It consists of 5 basic principles that Starbucks managers have provided to their employees to infuse themselves into their work, so that they can inspire customers in legendary ways. They call these the "Five Ways of Being":

Be Welcoming
Be Genuine
Be Considerate
Be Knowledgeable
Be Involved

These same principles could apply to us as a church body. When serving our guests in church, who have come to hear, possibly for the very first time, the most relevant message on earth, we need to make sure that all of the above are taken into account to ensure a quality experience!

Okay - so you just need to go out an buy the book! I'm giving too much away... more to follow on this topic later. :)

I Bless This Food

My daughter, Chloe, loves to pray before meals. I think it's mainly because her prayers and short, to the point and heck - she wants to eat! Lately she has been asking God for a blessing on our food and this is how she does it... "Thank you God for this food, I bless it to our bodies." My very patient husband told her the other night, "Chloe, you are doing a great job, but you are not doing the blessing of the food, we are asking God to bless the food for us." So, in an attempt to correct herself, she repeated with this... "God, can I bless this food to our bodies? Amen!" We're working on it! :)

What a weekend!

I love True Crossroads Stories weekend at my church! It's always amazing to hear about the many ways God is changing lives! This weekend we heard many God-size stories that simply BLEW ME AWAY! Everyone has a story to tell and I am convinced that He is using these stories to transform lives! We watched 8 people demonstrate their faith through Baptism... how exciting! I HAVE to share a line from one of the True Crossroads stories that really had an impact on me. In talking about her coming to Christ and overcoming her feeling of 'loneliness', she said this, "I don't know how He thinks I'm worth it, but I'm glad!" I thought about this line for the rest of Sunday. It really resonated with me. I don't know how He thinks I'm worth it. I don't either, Karen, but I'm glad He does!

Her Legacy

On November 12, 2006, I lost one of my best friends, Roxanne, to a cranial aneurysm. Roxanne left behind a husband, Rob, and her darling daughter, Jamie. You know, those of us left behind focus a lot on what we've lost... but we should be focusing on what we gained from knowing Roxanne and her wonderful family. Personally, what I gained was a wonderful friend... someone I loved to laugh with, scrapbook book, share stories with and just simply do life with. Anyone who knew her loved her and I miss her so much!

It's been almost 5 months and it's still just as hard today as it was on the day we lost her! But I know that my life is richer for having known her and loved her and shared her life with her.

Here is her Jamie... the legacy that Roxanne leaves behind.

Miss you, Rox!