Moments Worth Mentioning

I don’t even know where to start.  Its been a four day weekend that has contained numerous “blog worthy” events…

Should I talk about the two seperate Thanksgiving meals I had?  How I enjoyed more calories in these meals then I have consumed over the last month.  How I sat amongst so many from different sides of my family and got to enjoy a holiday that didn’t involve anything other then just coming together.  No gifts, no pompous, no circumstance.  Just us, being thankful for another year spent together.

Should I talk about the evening that I spent with old friends and new friends alike?  About how the circles mixed without difficulty and how the evening left me appreciating my relationship status?  Something that I get impatient with and often want to change.  That night the grass was plenty green right where I was and I loved the ability to cut loose.  This may seem selfish in a way… but I think we all owe it to ourselves to have a night like that every once in a while.  It also makes me appreciate the people in my life that put up with this rare side of me.

Should I talk about how I ran into an old friend in a parking lot and spent the next hour laughing and talking and hugging and catching up?

Should I talk about the GA/GA Tech football game that I went to?  How the lack of plans leading up to the game turned out to work out just fine and made for a hilarious few hours with great friends?  The tailgating, the grill fiasco, the ability to ignore the different colors that we each had on, and I don’t even need to mention the final score…. it all made for an amazing night in the city!

Or should I talk about Andy Stanley’s message that I heard tonight?  It never ceases to amaze me how he can take 2000+ year old bible verses and turn them into modern day truth.  He might as well start off the service by calling me out by name, because he talks directly to me each and every time.  Tonight he managed to take a Christmas message and turn into an extremely powerful reminder about the ability to forgive yourself.  At the conclusion of the message I sat in my chair as the rest of the crowd started to make there way to the exits and just shook my head.  I was both humbled and excited to hear such strong words.  It was a perfect way to end a basically perfect weekend.

So, so much to be thankful for.  So, so grateful for the countless amazing people in my life.  So, so happy to be right here, right now.

I would have killed to have had a time lapse video camera today as my family and I assembled and decorated a 12ft Christmas tree.  I tried to take a picture every few minutes to show our progress…  4 hours later we have a beautiful tree!!

And, Yes!  There were three of us working on this tree.  My dad just seemed to end up in all of the pictures!  Christmas Season, here we come!

Tonight I come to you from my parents couch.  I got up here early this morning and have enjoyed a marvalous Thanksgiving with my family.  We have gathered, eaten, decorated a Christmas tree and enjoyed each others company. 

As we were driving to meet up with more family today my mind wondered to memories of this time last year.  At that time, I was unexpectedly in town for Thanksgiving after receiving a layoff notice a few days prior.  My family and I were trying to figure out how to get my stuff back to Georgia and speculating what the next few weeks and months would look like.  This year, exactly 12 months later, the conversation was drastically different.  This year, the small talk centered around successful jobs and busy social calendars. What a difference a year makes!

It continues to amaze me what has transpired over the last year.  I have been blessed beyond measure with jobs, friends, opportunities and adventures.  I now call Atlanta home and can’t imagine living anywhere else.  I have come a long way over the last 12 months and I am so grateful for the past that lead me here.

The last few Thanksgivings have found me eating at friends tables, sitting in Michigan by myself and fretting over an uncertain future.  Today, I am so thankful that all of that is behind me, but also acknowledge that I wouldn’t change any of those previous Turkey Days.  They, like so many other things from my past, have helped to bring me to where I am today.  That in itself is enough to make me truly thankful!

Today I started at the new office.  My commute was surprisingly not as bad as I had envisioned, the work load was not nearly as bad as I had thought, and the doctors were all much nicer then I had been told.  All in all, it was a successful day.

I knew that I would be “unplugged” going into today.  My normal routines of checking in on Twitter, Facebook and gchat would no longer be an option in my new position.  (What can I say… Im addicted to the social media scene!)  I was surprisingly okay with the idea and managed to get through the day without many withdrawal pains.  But as I sat down tonight and plugged in the laptop I realize how much had transpired today.

Through that same social media scene that I thought I could live without, I learn that a friend has lost his mom today.  I immediately pick up the phone and call him.  As I listen to him recount the last few hours of his life I can’t help but think about how much we take for granted.

I have been stressing and worrying so much over the last few weeks about this new position.  I became so consumed in the details of the transition and worried about how the lack of control would effect me.   I took for granted that the opportunity was there at all and that I had a choice in the matter.  I obviously had no way of knowing what the future would look like but that didn’t stop me from spending countless hours worrying about it.

Tonight I have Josh in my prayers as I realize how insignificant my new office is…… when you think about the big picture.   I also pray that all of us will understand that God has all of this planned.  We worry ourselves sick over details, when at the end of the day it was never in our control to begin with.  Which, honestly, it much more comforting then any plan I could come up with.

 Yesterday I spent close to over 10 hours doing “church stuff”.  To put the appropriate spin on this jam packed day, keep in mind that I did it all on a mere 3 hours of sleep…. 

• I was up early for a breakfast meeting to discuss the good, the bad and the ugly from the last two months of a Single’s group I have helped with.  And by helped I mean practically ran.
• My next stop was Buckhead church for an 11 o’clock appointment where I was to meet with a staff member for an interview.  I spent the next 45 minutes telling a complete stranger every piece of my life story.  Every piece.  It was humbling and rejuvenating all at the same time.  The next few months should be interesting as I venture into a leadership role in a ministry that both excites and terrifies me.
• After that, I walked upstairs to be apart of a Q&A lucheon for another leadership position.  The last few months of volunteering in a singles group has allowed me to consider leading a group next Spring.  We ate, we Q&Aed.  We left.
• The next two hours found me walking every corner of a church that I can now call my own!  As of last month, I am an official member of Buckhead Church.  I was amazingly curious about the “behind the scenes stuff” of such a large operation.  By pure coincidence I met a man over the weekend that holds the key to every door in that place…. and he was willing to show me around.  I saw production rooms, secret doors, control panels, a sneak preview of the amazing Christmas decorations, walked through back hallways, walked across every stage… I basically had access to every corner of a building rumored to have hidden tunnels and secret rooms (which may or may not be true!).   This building is approximately 200,000 square feet of amazingness! Why does that excite me?  Because I love that church.
• Finally, at 6pm, I actually “went to church”.  Sat a few rows from the front and got to hear Jeff Henderson do his thing.  The same Jeff Henderson that I had shaken hands with a few hours before.  I love how the “celebrity persona” disappeared a little bit for me.  It makes the whole church feel that much smaller.
• I was supposed to rush from there to help a group go shopping for needy families/Thanksgiving project.  Instead, I threw up a white flag and went home where I immediately fell into my bed and stayed for 10 hours.

My level of involvement in the church makes me want to jump up and down!  I remember being in college and being active in so many groups on campus.  I ran around like a crazy person trying to get to every meeting and complete projects for the numerous organizations.  I remember being stressed out, but amazingly at peace all at the same time.  I enjoyed every minute of it.  My commitments to Buckhead remind me of that fast paced life again.  I love it because I believe in what I’m doing…. which is just kinda fun!!

Its been a whirl wind kind of week!  I now have a mere 5 days left at my current office.  As of November 23rd, I will be working in the big city and will no longer have the similar, friendly faces around me.  Its been a difficult decision to walk away from such an amazing working environment to say the least. 

To complicate the transition, the (lack of) communication between my management concerning my move has left lots of people feeling out of the loop.  I can easily understand the frustration as some very important people within this company are finding about the transition through hear-say.  These people have invested in our program and have made a personal investment in me these last 8+ months.  They deserved to know that I was leaving.  They deserved some communication.

It continues to amaze me how much communication plays a vital role in every relationship we have.  Here, it shows up in the work place, but its often the reason for personal relationship failure.  I will be the first to admit that I have had to learn how to be a better communicator.  But at least I’m aware of my shortcomings!  Some go through their entire lives without grasping the concept.   So many problems have the potential to be completely prevented had we made the effort to talk, to email, to scream, to call… to communicate. 

 Finially, this morning, after many hurt feelings, strong worded phone calls, and heated conversations an official email was sent out to bring everyone up to speed on my move.  Amazingly, everyone is now OK with the change.  Imagine the frustration that would have been avoided had that same email gone out a few weeks ago. 

Instead of now being the center of controversy, the mood has shifted to sadness.  My coworkers and I are now having to say goodbye and make the promises to see each other again. 

Honestly, I don’t know which is worse.

It continues to amaze me how a weekend can start off with nothing planed.  I can leave work Friday and have nothing on the calendar until Monday morning…. and within a few hours, that all changes. 

What I did this weekend.  As seen through the Iphone…

Spent a few hours meeting various people around Atlanta to hand out tickets to a basketball game….

Met some new people, played some pool.  Also may have had a few rounds of arm wrestling.

Shared a glass of wine with a girl friend.

Went to the lake to spend the morning with my family.  It was a beautiful day up there…

Enjoyed a low country boil lakeside.

Spent an hour with my car turned off on 285 thanks to an accident.  At least the day was beautiful and the view from my sunroof was very nice!

Avoided having to live in a MARTA train due to losing my ticket. 

Went to a Hawks game with about 60 of my closest friends.

Walked through downtown Atlanta falling in love with the city all lit up at night.

Found an amazing rooftop patio in which a group of us enjoyed a few hilarious hours under the stares.

Sunday morning I had brunch with 3 girl friends.

I spent an afternoon in Piedmont park with another friend and her daughter.

Rushed back to Buckhead and went to church.

Had dinner afterwards.

And then it was 10pm and the weekend was over.  How does that happen???

I have recently found a group of girls through Buckhead Church and we meet once a week to check in, share, and learn a few things about Jesus.  Its been incredible to witness the forming of this group and how the six of us were put together in such a random setting, and yet we have so so so much in common.  Truly Gods work!

These past few weeks we have taken our small group time to be apart of a series that the church is offering.  The topics center around dating while maintaining a Christian walk and also keeping a balance between the new love, the friends, the family, etc.  One of the questions that came up last night was about keeping Christian friends around when you are in a relationship.  The speaker asked us if we should take advice from our Christian friends over the advice from our not-so Christian friends.  The conversation that swirled around was eye-opening. People had strong and valid opinions for both choices.

We all have those friends.  The friends that may not share in our values.  The friends that we love and whose opinions we honestly cherish.  But at the end of the day, those friends don’t have the same moral compass, the same biblical understanding, the same perspective as our Christian friends.  The advice they give is in a secular sense…. without the backing of Christian standards.  I’m not saying that their advice is bad.  I’m not even saying that the advice is wrong.  But I think we need to be careful when trying to walk a path that brings us closer to God when those walking with you don’t have the same destination in mind.

My past once again sheds light on how important this truth is.  I sat in that auditorium last night and had the realization that there is a chance that I wouldn’t be divorced had I not listened so much to a close friend of mine.  A close friend that is by no means walking on the Jesus path.  And in all fairness, at that time, I wasn’t exactly on that path either.  I love this girl.  I truly value her friendship and her opinion.  But at the time, her opinion was all I had.  And in her eyes, walking away from my marriage was what needed to be done.  I don’t blame her.  Not by a long shot.  But I do wonder what would have happened if my friends surrounding me at that time had been a little more….. well….. Christian.

I think its great and necessary to keep all sorts of people around us.  We need the strong Christians to keep us accountable, to help us grow.  But we also need our secular friends so that we can experience all that life has to offer. They are there to challenge us in ways our Christian friends might not be able to.  They are there to keep us from becoming closed minded.  They are there to remind us that we cannot judge those around us who don’t think or act like us.

I’m so blessed to have found some fabulous Christian girls.  But I have no plans to forget about the amazing people in my life that may not be exactly on my same page spiritually.  Being christian means we made a choice to follow Jesus. But we have to remember at one point we were right where our non Christian friends are.

All of our friends are invaluable.  Let this be a reminder to ask for lots of opinions.  To truly hear from everyone around us.  But to ultimately seek what would be best in order to keep us on that path that brings us closer to God.

Sometimes (not often… but sometimes) forwarded mail is worth reading.  =)

May today there be peace within. May you trust that you
are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite
possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and others.

May you use the gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been
given to you. May you be content with yourself just the way you are.

Let this knowledge settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom
to sing, dance, praise and love.  It is there for each and every one of
us.

Lately I have been losing things.  There have been keys, shoes, a favorite shirt and most recently my bible and journal.  For anyone that knows me, you know that this is not my style.  I keep an immaculate apartment, everything I own is put away, I’m uber organized…. I definitely don’t lose things!

I can only blame my new ability to lose stuff on my hectic life.  I run from one activity to the next leaving myself tired and my mind doing everything it can to keep up.  The bi-product of this: lost stuff.  I also stuggle to remember to make a phone call or to pick up something from the grocery store.  I am learning to rely on a calender and lists…. something that I used to laugh at.

Im embarrassed by my new quality of forgetfulness.  I am upset at myself for not having a little more control over this thing called life.  So, in the mean time.  If you see me frantically searching, have me calling you to ask if you have seen my lost stuff or see me walk away from my belongings please forgive me.   I’m a work in progress.  =)