So much to blog...

…so little confidence that you have the patience (or interest) to read it all.  :)

This is a long post, so feel free to skim the first half.  If you just want the meat, go down to the bottom to the bolded paragraph.  That's where the good stuff can be found.  Otherwise, enjoy my post…especially since this is the SECOND copy.  It took me an hour and fifteen minutes to write the first copy, and Firefox died on me.  I love Firefox, but I cried and cursed it when that happened.  I sucked it up and decided to write it again.  I think the first draft was much better, but this will have to do.  Enjoy!

From the moment my eyelids rose this morning, my brain has been in over-drive.  As soon as I woke, I thought, “Let’s do this!”  (If you know me in person, imagine me saying this very enthusiastically, with the emphasis on the “do”.)  I’m assuming that my mind meant “Let’s do LIFE!”  or  “Let’s do TODAY!”  Either way, the general sentiment of my heart and mind was “Carpe Diem!” with a very intense feeling.

It seems that my mind was on board with this, because I have been bombarded with thought today.  Mike would tell you that I’m generally a fast thinker anyway.  I’ve often gone through a dozen thoughts in the time he’s gone through one.  Even my closest friends have to ask me to slow down sometimes.  Today was different.  I’m usually able to slow down my thoughts and focus my mental energy.  Today, it seems that my mind was on auto-pilot.  As soon as I realized it, I asked God to be in control of my thoughts.  It didn’t seem that I could focus myself, so I at least wanted all of my thoughts to be God-pleasing.  He has been faithful.  :)

With that said, here are my random thoughts that I wanted to blog about.  The good meaty thought is down at the bottom…the really long one that isn’t numbered. 

1.  A clean and organized kitchen makes for a very happy Lindsay.  I started my day by getting my kitchen in order, and it made a huge difference for me.  It was like my shiny sink was saying, “See?  You can do this!  Keep it up, sista!”  I ended up having an immensely productive morning, and I’m very excited for Mike to come home.  I didn’t accomplish anything dramatic, but I got several small things finished, and I’m hoping it blesses him.

2.  Our insurance company stinks, and medical billing offices seem to be incredibly disorganized.  It is one of the hardest times for me to maintain a Christ-like attitude when I’m on the phone with them.  I was successful today, and I’m giving God all the glory.  (It helped that I called them while Ruby was playing in the bathtub.  Her giggles and laughs kept helping me remember that all of this insurance nonsense is trivial compared to the blessing that she is to me.  Oh…and I was sitting right next to her.  She was not unsupervised at any moment.  I had my cellphone and all my paperwork in the bathroom with us.)  :)

3.  Yummy smelling kids’ shampoo is actually an incredibly bad idea.  Ruby’s doctor has asked that we use Cetaphil to clean Ruby’s skin to help with her eczema.  Since we can’t use that on her hair, I used up the rest of her sweet-baby-smelling Johnson’s Baby Wash for her hair washings lately.  Monday, we ran out of Johnson’s, so I decided to switch her to kids’ shampoo, since we’re only using it on her hair and using the Cetaphil on her body.  Well, wouldn’t you know, Suave for Kids Orange Mango 2-in-1 Shampoo/Condition is just too much of a temptation for my little girl who loves to devour hygiene products (like baby wipes.)  The minute I sudsed up her hair, she reached up to grab a handful of bubbles and promptly began to lick the bubbles off her hand.  GROSS!!!  Apparently, the shampoo tastes at least half as good as it smells, because she would have kept licking, if I hadn’t stopped her.  What is with my child??

4.  A quick letter to the customer who was driving a silver VW Jetta and pulled in behind me around 10:45 this morning at the Teal Rd. Regions Branch Drive-Thru:

Dear Sir or Ma’am,

This bank provides two drive-thru lanes for a reason.  They have two tellers waiting to service the drive-thru customers.  If both of the “Open” signs are lit up, customers are free to choose either lane.  I understand that you may prefer Lane #1.  I also prefer Lane #1 for some silly reason.  However, if Lane #2 is open and there is already another customer in Lane #1, and you choose to pull into Lane #1 anyway, you should realize that you may need to wait a minute or two.  Please, please, please do not honk at me when I take a moment to put my wallet back into my purse after replacing the canister in the chute.  You really irritated me, and, in my hormonal pregnant state, you made me cry.  I know it’s silly, and I know that you were probably having a rushed and not-so-great morning yourself.  Still, I (or the next customer who happens to be in line in front of you) would really appreciate if you can give me just a moment of grace and respect after I’ve finished my business.  Thank you.  I pray that your transaction went smoothly, and I pray that the rest of your day has been calm and blessed.  If you happen to find this blog through the link that the JC provided, I would *love* for you to join us at Elston Family Church this Sunday, if you don’t already have a church home.  I know you’ll be blessed.  Also, please don’t feel badly, a really great song came on the radio after our interaction, and it cleared up my tears and restored my bright mood for the day.  :) 

5.  I am really crushin' on a band right now.  Their name is OneRepublic.  They are not Christian (as far as I know), but their two popular songs are clean.  I have checked the lyrics, and I can find no crude or disgusting insinuations.  I'm going to link to the two popular songs, just be aware that the links will have sound.  If you're at work or you have a child sleeping nearby, it's probably not appropriate to follow the links.  :)  OneRepublic (feat. Timbaland) "Apologize"  and  OneRepublic "Stop and Stare"

6.  My brother is really great and wonderful.  I love him dearly.  He doesn’t even read this blog, so I’m not sucking up to him.  I’m just letting you all know that he is really worth getting to know.  Just sayin’…

7.  CNN has a cool article about a cool study that’s getting underway.  If you consider yourself an evangelical Christian and you do NOT consider yourself a back-woods bible-thumping “easily led” moron, then you will probably be interested in this study.  “Study to Crack Evangelical Stereotypes”  Very cool, in my opinion.  :)

8.  I live a very blessed life.  I am feeling very humbled today, because I realize that God has probably blessed me out of an understanding of my inability to handle a more challenged life.  The praise for my situation in life is due in no part to me…only to my God who has been so wonderful to me.  I don’t deserve it.

Here comes the “profound” part of my thoughts today.  This is probably the only Spirit-inspired part of this post.  (Not inspired like Bible-author-inspiration, but inspired like “Here, Lindsay, today I’d like to reveal something to you so that we can start working on it and making it stronger, deeper, and more effective.)

Pastor Randy has been preaching and teaching about our S.H.A.P.E.  The acronym stands for Spiritual Gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality, and Experiences.  We’re discovering the things that God has created in us in order to use us to glorify Him more.  (As a quick side note, Max Lucado wrote a really great book that is hugely complimentary to this subject entitled “Cure for the Common Life: Living in Your Sweet Spot”.  I’ve linked to the Amazon page for the book.  It was a great, great resource for me at one point in my life, and God used it in mighty ways to lead me to an amazing path.  I just thought I’d share in case anyone else is looking for their “sweet spot” in life.)

Anyway, the “S” part was pretty easy for me.  I’ve know what my spiritual gifts are for some time now.  That’s not to say that I know how God is wanting to use them…I just know which ones I predominantly possess.

The “H” part was different.  Thankfully, God has prevented Pastor Randy from moving on to the “A” just yet.  It’s given me some good time to really study and meditate on this part of the acronym.  H stands for Heart in the S.H.A.P.E. acronym.  By heart, we mean passion, fervor, ardor, fire, love, or zeal.  What is it that really gets you going??

It has been really hard for me to think about my heart, my passion. 

In our family group, someone mentioned that if you consistently get fired up or upset about a subject, it’s probably a sign that you’re passionate about that subject.  Mike joked that I must be passionate about almost everything, because I get fired up about almost everything.  (It’s okay, you can laugh.)  :)

I agree with Mike.  In general, I am an all-around passionate person.  I feel very deeply about almost everything.  I think that’s why it has been hard for me to pin down my true “heart”.  Even though I can be very passionate and feel very deeply about multiple subjects, I do believe that God has given me a specific passion…something that will get me fired up any day, any time.

This morning, it hit me like a lightning bolt.  That’s not really an exaggeration.  I was standing there washing the dishes, praying about my heart, and it hit me:

I am passionate about the people in my life.

This goes beyond being a “people-person.”  Sure, I enjoy crowds.  I love being the center of attention.  I enjoy talking with strangers.  I have fun entertaining.  Social situations energize me, not intimidate me.  And on and on…  But my passion is different.

When I say that I am passionate about people, I mean that I am PASSIONATE about people.  Goodness, I really feel like maybe I should record myself on video and put that up instead.  I wish you guys could hear my emphasis.

I am not passionate about being around people.  I am passionate about growing people.  No, I don’t mean being pregnant (although I enjoy that a lot!).  I mean, I want to see the people in my life grow.  I want to see you mature and excel and find blessings and challenges beyond your wildest imagination.  I want you to experience a relationship with Christ that just completely turns your life Up Side Down.  I want to challenge you.  If I say something that stings….GOOD!  Go find the truth in it.  If you find the truth and still feel I was completely out of line, come talk to me about it.  If I say something that makes you stop and think or pull out your Bible…PRAISE GOD!  Follow that.  Run after that.  Search for truth!  Seize the day!  Do not stop here.  God has amazing things for each and every single one of you, and I so badly want you to experience those things that I am *committed* to being a catalyst in your life.

Whatever it takes.  I will cry with you.  I will laugh with you.  I will tell you when you’re wrong (in love!).  I will admit when I am wrong.  I will praise you.  I will encourage you.  I will admonish you (in love!).  I will learn from you.  I will learn with you.  I will share with you.  I will give to you.  I will allow you to feed back into me and to correct me (in love!).  I will pray for you and over you.  I will cover your families in prayers. 

I will come alongside you.  I will do this life with you.

Why?  Because I am passionate about you.  You are my heart.