How's Your Day?

"How's your day?" asks the teller at the bank oh so casually. She was busy processing my transaction. She hadn't really glanced up or she probably would have noticed the teary look on my face. Or maybe she would have thought I always looked like that. She doesn't know me. It was my first time at that branch. Even a teller at my own "home" branch probably wouldn't have noticed. I pride (?) myself on thinking I hide my feelings so well. HA! I'm discovering I am only fooling myself. I have a horrible poker face. Emotions on sleeve. Check.

"How's your day?" SUCH a loaded question. Is he/she just making pleasant conversation? (Probably) Does the person asking REALLY want to know? (At a bank? Probably not) Do you answer truthfully? (Crappy thanks. And you?) Just say fine to get it out of the way and get the business you need done? (Just take my money and move on. No need to be pleasant!) Answer back almost parrot-like, "how's YOUR day?" (tempting.....)

Quite honestly, today was NOT the greatest day. I honestly answered after I hesitated a bit...."I've had better" to say fine would have been lying....mostly to myself.

I have had better. I have also had worse. I am not usually so honest with a stranger. I am not even usually that honest with myself! My mind repeats....fine, fine, fine. My heart goes....not so much, not so much.

When the not so fine, I've had better days are few and far between, I feel like I at least have a grip on life. When those days are coming closer and closer together, like they have been lately? Oh, the grip is not quite so tight. The smile is not quite so forth-coming. The tears are much closer to the surface and sometimes even spill out.

However? I am beginning to realize that the way of handling those days is much more important than how I answer the question.

There will always be something that can turn even the best day quickly into what seems like frustration overdrive.

Having a less than stellar day? Try some of the following:

Acknowledge - If it sucks? Say so. Even if it is only admitting it to yourself.

Better - There WILL be better day(s). It may not be today or the next day, but take your better whenever and however you can....even if it comes in increments and not the whole day.

Grateful - Find something, ANYTHING to be grateful for!

Laugh - Find a way to stretch those smile muscles.

Strength - When you feel weak, borrow somebody else's strength until you feel yours coming back.

Ice Cream - When all else fails, do what you gotta do. Get sprinkles. Everything's better with sprinkles.

**Nudges - Pay attention to the nudges. If you feel like you are supposed to take a little extra time to do some praying, devotions, etc? DO IT. I'm finding out this is God's way of providing that extra strength I'll need....before I know I need it.

**That nudge this AM made this an "I've had better" day instead of a curl up in a fetal position in bed day when I made it home.

Romans 8:37-39 (NIV) No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Give Up!

I believe we are born to be fighters, not quitters....not giver uppers.

Give people a cause to get behind, and we don't give up even when the outcome looks bleak.

In sports, players/individuals go to the last 10th of a second....giving it their all, pouring it on....to cross the finish line, to score a point, to make a goal, to beat their own best time.

I think that is why my thought process to give up is so counter intuitive to my very nature. Probably yours too. That may be where many of our problems stem from.

In the past, I have been much better at feeling in tune with God. Those are also the times that I was having a time of devotions sometime during the day. I was reading the Bible. I was listening. I prayed more...not just sentence, "help me" prayers. I danced and sang to praise music. I went to church. I took time to be close to God and, more importantly, to let Him be close to me.

Recently, I can feel myself slipping. I don't take as much time to just be in God's presence. I rely more on ME than on HIM. This has not turned out well in the past. Maybe it seems so temporarily, but then LIFE starts to creep up and get the better of me....and I am reminded....again. Still?

God is not pushy. He waits patiently, often on the sidelines because that is where we PUT Him. God doesn't just want to be a cheerleader, there to encourage us. He wants to be IN the game. The captain even.

God wants me to give up. Not give up on myself, but to let Him in to deal with some of the life stuff that is just TOO heavy to carry on my own! Oh....I've been trying. Not very successfully, when I'm honest with myself. Honestly, we can be our own worst enemy when we try to be honest. I can put on a nice smile. I can sound like I'm doing all the "right" things and God feels far away. GOD DIDN'T MOVE!

Are you ready to give up?

Isaiah 41:13 (NIV)
For I am the Lord your God
who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear;
I will help you.

1 Corinthians 15:58 (NIV) Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Pinched to Priority

Recently, our toilet seat broke. It doesn't matter how or why it broke. There was a large crack across one side. In case you have not had the experience of sitting on a broken toilet seat, it can be unpleasant. Two uneven pieces of wood when sat upon may not be so bad. UNTIL....one tries to rise from said seat. We will leave it at an uncomfortable pinching occurs. OUCH!

It only takes a time (OK, or possibly 2, duh!) of being pinched before arrangements start to be made to fix the problem. I will confirm that for a short time, tape of the duct variety did come into play. Surprise? (not really if you know us well!)

I will confess that some of my thought processes do occur while in that same room said toilet is located. I started to ponder the paths of my procrastination and the lengths I will sometimes go to avoid dealing with life.

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Lessons from my toilet seat:
(THAT could be a new blog or book title! - not sure anyone would want to read it!)

It doesn't always matter how or why something isn't working. If it is not working enough, fix it or stop complaining.

When life becomes uncomfortable, change it or live with it. It is frequently a choice. Sometimes between the lesser of two evils, but still a choice.

There may be a temporary solution to the problem. Temporary solutions are not usually long-term fixes.

Sometimes we need to get in a bit of a pinch before an issue becomes a big enough priority to DO something about it.

Many times things that we think will take TOO long to deal with? In reality, take mere minutes in proportion to how long we would worry about it by NOT dealing with it.
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Drum roll please?!?!?!?!
One of the first things I did today? Buy a new toilet seat. Already installed. Problem solved.

Grace. Amazing!

Probably all of us by now have heard some form of the song, Amazing Grace. There are older hymn versions, newer hip versions, instrumentals, etc. No matter the form....that song gets to me every time.....usually tears are involved.

The word grace has been coming up a lot in my life. Maybe just because I seem more tuned into it lately.

From merriam-webster.com GRACE:

a : unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification

b : a virtue coming from God

c : a state of sanctification enjoyed through divine grace

As Easter approaches, I think about grace. So undeserved. So valuable. Amazing grace, but also grace...amazing!

That someone would know all about me (even/especially the bad parts) and love me enough to stand in my place for the punishment I DESERVE is grace.

Wanting to avoid the suffering, but doing it anyway is grace.

Knowing truth and sharing it is grace.

Not always understanding the why, but struggling through doubts and unbelief is grace.

Matthew 27:50-54 (NIV) And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”

Have you ever been on the receiving end of someone not extending much grace or favor in a situation? Have you ever been on the giving end of not extending much grace or favor in a situation? What does grace look like to you?

Less Later

I've already 'fessed up numerous times about being a procrastinator. Probably more than you like or need to read about. However, I'm guessing I'm not the only one (did a song just run through your head?) I digress. WHICH is probably a LOT of my problem(s)?!?!?!? There are times my mind feels like a hamster wheel. Spinning. and spinning. Getting nowhere.

New Year/January always seems to be worse for me. I think it is because I am more aware that I thought some things would be different by now. Honestly, they are. Change just comes so slowly sometimes that it is hard to notice when you're in it everyday. While change seems slow, days seem to fly by. It's already almost the middle of January. I have been in accounting and payroll for many years now so I think that plays a factor too. There is much to be done at work and always, seemingly, at home.

In both places, home and work, I've been trying to make myself follow the "touch it once and be done" rule. Trying would be a key word in that sentence. This means, especially in regards to my nemesis of paper, get it, take care of it and be done (meaning file DON'T pile). If you have been to my office or my house, you would know that this is a real struggle for me. I like to collect quotes and little tidbits of info that others may or may not appreciate. I think I'll find a use for something LATER (see where this is heading?) so I hold on to it which leads to piles.

I even catch myself often saying I'll take care of/do that LATER. (insert maniacal scream here) WHEN exactly IS later?

So. I know what I need to do. I need to do it. NOW. Quite honestly, we are not promised later. Maybe that will become my motivation. As Scarlet O'Hara says at the end of Gone With the Wind, "tomorrow is another day." It is. Today is another day too. The tomorrow I thought about yesterday. My later. Your later. Want to join me on less laters? More nows?

Matthew 6:34 (NIV) Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Proverbs 27:1 (NIV) Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.