What else can go right?

Have you ever asked, "what else can go wrong?" I have and didn't dare ask it this past week because I knew all too well what can go wrong - more! Then I was thinking rather than continuing in my negative attitude, I could ask what else can go right? So, here goes....

I was able to spend time with some dear friends this weekend

Every day I can enjoy a glass of iced tea

The sun is shining

Cooler weather is around the corner

My jeans are a little baggier...today

My website is coming along and I have a wonderful person to help me with it

I have a job

I've actually cooked this weekend

I could go on...you get the point. All to often we do ask that question and I am refusing to give into it. Yes, things do go wrong - sometimes terribly, but things also go right. Where will your focus be?

CC's Whimsies

Finally, finally, finally I won something by Christy of CC's Whimsies!! I have admired her work since she began her debut on eBay. I'm so glad that she followed her heart because our world is a little brighter because of her talents. Just look at what I won!! Thank you, Christy!

"I once listened to an Indian on television say that God was in the wind and the water, and I wondered at how beautiful that was because it meant you could swim in Him or have Him brush your face in a breeze." — Donald Miller (Blue Like Jazz)

excerpt from interview with Gay Hubbard

In Habakkuk 3, he’s looking out over the waste in Jerusalem and he’s feeling terrible and says so; he’s frightened, despairing, and he looks out and he lists devastation and emptiness. Then he says, and yet I will praise the Lord and he will lead me sure-footed through all the rubble and destruction that lies around. The hope is that God will be present in the destruction in the rubble. In the face of loss, God will do a new thing; not the same thing over again, a new thing.
To read more of this interview, please click on http://www.examiner.com/christian-therapy-in-los-angeles/part-1-interview-with-dr-m-gay-hubbard-christian-therapist-and-author-of-more-than-an-aspirin
You can also visit gayhubbard.com
Dr. Gay Hubbard is one of the most gifted therapists of our time. She has tremendous insight into a person's pain and is equally able to assist them in the healing process while helping them find and believe again in hope.

The Airport

After 51 days, 8 hours and 10 minutes, I got to reunite with my daughter who had been away for the summer. I made the 3 hour drive up to Denver International Airport hoping and praying that I would not be late. I had received a text from her that said they were going to be an hour early. Needless to say I put the pedal to the metal. (I always wanted to say that). I arrived with time to spare because the plane was not as early as expected. Whew, I thought! I can relax a little. I found my way to a shop that was selling single roses for $5 each or a dozen for $19.98. Five dollars for a single rose?! Why, that's highway robbery as my grandfather used to say. But, they've got us because our emotions are running high and we would gladly spend money to show our loved one returning home how much we love them. Once I bought the rose, I settled down into a chair among others who were waiting for their loved ones to arrive. Some had gone to elaborate measures with signs that said, "Welcome to Colorado" or "Welcome to the United States." I watched as some lovers reunited in a warm embrace and a young lady yelling at someone and then running and jumping into his arms. It was then that I decided that I was sitting in the happy place at the airport. I had the opportunity to watch others including a little girl who kept telling her mama how excited her daddy would be. What a fun place to be - seeing people smile, warm embraces, the energy that they gave off because of their excitement....Then it was my turn. Surely this group, I thought, will have my daughter in it. I stood there and could feel my body tense up with excitement when I saw my daughters beautiful face. The lady next to me must have sensed it because I saw out of the corner of my eye that she was stepping to the side as if to give me room to make my way toward my daughter. I could see her looking for me and then I saw her eyes light up and her mouth form a smile and I knew that she saw me. Ahhh, it is in those moments that you wish time would stand still so that you could hold onto the memory just as it is. But, since that doesn't happen, I will just tuck that memory away in my heart and pull it out anytime I need to go to my happy place.

Don't forget me, he said........

I went to a funeral today. Stan’s wife had died this past Sunday after a 2 ½ year battle with cancer. In true character, Stan was at the door greeting people when they walked in. We hugged, I told him I was sorry for his loss, we talked for a bit, and then he said, “Don’t forget me.” I couldn’t believe that this man was saying that. Stan is the neighbor that everybody wants. Stan knows everybody in the community – you think I’m exaggerating, don’t you? But, he does. He knows what is going on in their lives and can tell you the names of all their family members. Stan is the one who is out plowing the neighborhood in his small tractor after the blizzard so that people can get out to the store. Stan is the one that I called when my dogs went on a 6-hour hiatus and he heard the concern in my voice and said, “I’ll be right there.” He drove from his job and came and picked me up because his pickup could take the terrain that my car could not. I could go on and on, but you get the point. ..How could anyone forget Stan?! He lost his wife of 48 years this week and I think about how lonely and quiet the house will be. It happens so suddenly, doesn’t it? Even when we expect it, it just seems so quick. Life goes fast. As I work to build my business, network with others, my job, etc., I remember that the most important thing is relationships. It truly does not matter how big our bank accounts are, how many people love our designs, how good we are at our jobs. What does matter is the people that God places in our lives and how we allow Him to reflect His love to those around us. Who has God placed in your life?

I wore it today...

I wore my new favorite shirt today. I love it and thought it was fitting for PINK SATURDAY. I bought it at Victoria’s Secret in the mall. I had seen the shirt on a gal two days before and she said that she had just bought it. Two days later I was in the mall and bought THE LAST ONE. Woohoo!! It made me think about the times that I have gone to buy something and there weren’t anymore and I would think, “Darn it! I ALWAYS miss it.” So, I decided that I would start to pay attention to when I “got the last one.” You know, if you do this, it will be amazing how many times you are the one who gets the last one. It’s kind of fun. Anyway, back on track….I have focus issues…I bought it, wore it and am telling you that if you want one, you’d better get going to Victoria’s Secret so that you too can say, “Woohoo, I got the last one.” Happy Pink Saturday everone! Oh, and remember to stop by Beverly’s place – she is the one that started this great idea!

Change

Went back to work today…SIGH….it looks like I will be back at work now, even though I am officially not back to work for two more weeks…SIGH…new year, new faces, new responsibilities, new schedule, pretty much new everything. You know what that means? It means change and we don’t like change. Okay, maybe that is unfair to assume that you don’t like change, but I don’t like change. I am sometimes afraid of it – I sit there and wonder about the unknown (insert the Twilight Zone music here). I play the “what if” game. But, I have to think that if I am doing this that the others in the change boat are doing the same thing. We all handle change in different ways because we are afraid of it and don’t know what to expect. Some choose to put their guards up, some walk around in their own bubble and others realize that they must ban together to get through it. I hope that I am a banner togetherer and that there are other banner togetherers there too. Look that word up in Wikipedia in a week or two. =0). Here’s to all of those who are getting ready to embrace change!

It finally happened....

Well, it finally happened. I knew it would. I was waiting for it…and it did. It was so embarrassing…

It was Saturday morning and I was in the garage with the garage door open and taking a picture for one of my PINK Saturday posts when I see a car drive by. I can hear the car slow down and eventually stop as if hesitating….here it comes…I know what’s going to happen….a lady walks up our drive and says, “Are you the one having a garage sale?” No, I say, I just like going to them. You see, my garage is, well…okay, it’s kind of full…on one side. We CAN get a car in on the other side, but the other half is full of my “collections.” I tell people that I am not a hoarder, I am a collector. That is the truth as this truth is defined by me. But, nonetheless, it is true. I am a collector….I’m justifying myself here, but hoarders have pathways to move around their house and you can walk in mine….it is just cluttered here and there with my “collections.” I love stuff. Why, earlier this year I was with my daughter when I saw a small plastic strawberry milk carton in the trash. I was getting ready to say, “That would make the cutest….my daughter then cut me off, took the carton out of my hand and said, “no, mom.” Can you believe it? My daughter was correcting me! Why is it that I can see potential in so many things? I can look at twigs and see potential doll arms or hands or hang my newest creations on the limbs or….you get the picture. So, back to the beginning of the story, this very nice lady just smiled at me as if to say, “I get it” and said, “You’re funny.” “Yeah, I thought to myself…wait until my husband hears this….”