3 Down, 40 To Go!

Well, I have come up with 3 "things to do." Here is the list so far:

1. Buy a house

With the way housing prices are staying so inflated and with rising energy costs, I think the house deal may be a very long term goal. Perhaps it would be wiser to come up with a step by step plan towards this goal and use them as "things" for my list.

2. Find a new church

Ok, all I have to say is that it makes me very sad to see my church dying in the way that it is. I grew up there. The people in the church have helped me through so much in my life and I have spent so much time and energy there trying to help and starting ministries. But alas, all good things must come to an end and I fear that my church will be dead in a few years. Finding a new church home is my priortiy right now. I visited a brand new church this past Sunday and absolutely loved it! I do have to go to my old church this coming Sunday. But after that, I am going to go to the new one each Sunday.

3. Blog at least once a week

Ok, this one is going to be hardest for me. For any of you who know me, you are well aware that it is not often that I don't have something to say! When it comes to putting it down in writting though, it is much more difficult for me to keep up. I always have great ideas, but I also get bored very quickly. I'm hoping I will not get bored with this.

I will say goodbye for now and come back with a real blog entry. I just wanted to give an update to my last entry.....

What do you want to do?

Seems like an innocent enough question, don't you think? I thought so too; that is until I tried to answer it.

You see, a friend and co-worker of mine has been hanging out on a web site called 43things.com. The premise behind the site is that it creates a community of people based on the things you want to do, see/visit or read. So after much proding, I created an account and logged in. The first thing it asked is..."What do you want to do?" I should have a ton of things to put there and coming up with a list of 43 things should not be difficult, right? WRONG!

I'm at a total blank. Everything that came to mind are things that other people want me to do. For example, finding a husband or finishing my BA degree are things my family and friends want me to do. They are not my dreams.

I don't think it is accurate to say that I don't have my own dreams. It is just that up to this point, I have accomplished pretty much everything that I wanted to. I have great family and friend relationships. I absolutley love my job. While my church leaves something to be desired, my faith is still very important in my life. I have traveled and am continuing to travel. I am also doing some recreational stuff, including the Raven's Marching Band and having season tickets to the Orioles.

So, what else do I want to do? What else do I want to accomplish? Learn? Travel to? I don't know. But, I will keep you up to date!

Driving 101

Day 2 was a lot of fun! I woke up to my mom flipping out because her car was making a funny noise and I had to wake up and take her to work. I should mention, I am not a morning person!
But, by the time I got to work myself, I snapped out of my bad mood. The day was busy making the time go by fast. No surprises there!

It was not until I got home that my surprises started. Have you ever had one of those moments where God tells you something, and then confirms it for you? Well, that is what happened to me tonight.

I had just finished eating dinner when the phone rang. It was my 18 year old nephew Matthew. Gosh I love that kid!!!!! He is learning to drive and wanted to know if I could ride with him during his practice time. I said of course, come and pick me up. So, he and my sister pulled up a few minutes later and my sister crawled into the back seat to allow me to sit up front with Matt. We had a good time, and I was right there as he drove for the first time in both the city and on an interstate highway. He did so great and is very teachable.

While I loved being invited to tag along and being able to teach Matt all of what I know; the thing I loved the most was that both of them just simply wanted to be with me. And, I also loved spending time with them. With life being so busy for all of us, we do not get that opportunity to hang out and enjoy each other like we used to.

I'll tell you more about my sister and nephews later. But, the point I want to make here is that the only times I feel alive is when I am with the people I love. I think that was God's surprise for me today. But, I don't know that he trusted I would totally get it. So, he gave me a sign and confirmed it for me as I was getting ready for bed. I have been trying to read before bed instead of watching TV. In the book I picked up was the confirmation of my surprise.

I bought a new book to read a few days ago. It was written by a woman who I have a high regard for, so I just picked it up without really knowing what it was about. The subject of the book is about how women are created to crave and desire both love and rich relationships. As much as I may say that I don't crave love, I really do! I hate to admit it, but the idea of being loved for who I am totally and completely really does appeal to me. In fact, it excites and energizes me. I have a wonderful family and set of close friends. I'm thinking I need to start making more time for them. Even if they don't realize it yet, they need love just as much as I do! We all need it because the reason we were created was simply for this......To love and be loved by God. That's it! No more and no less.

I love God's surprises!

Day 1 Disappointment?

Well, day 1 came and went and I am not sure if there were any so called "surprises" from God. Would you believe I actually forgot to pray the surprise me prayer until I after got to work?

Anyhow, here are some thoughts that passed through my head as the day progressed. I am a corporate recruiter for an organization that helps children and adolescents who have are severely emotionally disturbed and their families. I do not work directly with the kids, but I see them and interact with them every day.

When I think about these kids and their problems, it makes me sad. But, most of all, it makes me very angry. The majority of kids are having these issues because of how they are growing up and the culture they are living in. The inner city of Baltimore is no joke. We have an extremely high crime rate that is not improving, but is only getting much worse. These kids have so little, and most do not even have a family to help them. For the majority, the family is actually part of the problem.

These problems are so much bigger than me. I really want to help all of these kids and their communities. But, how do I start? Am I capable of even making a small difference?

Perhaps today's surprise is really a calling from God to look beyond myself and really see what goes on around me. Perhaps it is a call to action. Only time will tell. So I guess today was not a waste after all. No disappointments here. If nothing else, this experiment is teaching me to look to God much more often and to keep focus on Him.

Reality Faith?

Hello Friends!

I just finished reading a new book by Terry Esau, "Surprise Me." The book is basically a diary the author keeps over a 30 day period. Each day, his only prayer is this, "Surprise me, God."

I think the book was phenomenal. So, with that in mind, I am going to take Terry's lead and try this myself.

I must confess here and now, I am a control freak. So, this "faith experiment" should not only be interesting, but also a huge challenge.

Starting tomorrow, I will take a few minutes to record my surprises here on my blog. Enjoy!


P.S.......Don't feel shy if you would like to try out some reality faith too!