Mary Poppins Wasn't Perfect

Psalm 23. A verse most know well. And it makes sense. David was a shepherd. He took his experiences and related them to his writing. So that's what I have done for you. What if David hadn't been a shepherd? What if he had been a social media director? Psalm 23 may have looked something like this: The Lord is my social media director, I shall not lack likes. He makes me put down my phone for portions of my day; He calms the twitter feed; He uses the right hashtag for my conference's sake. Even though so many type slurs all day long, I will fear no viruses; for you are blocking them. Partners and friendly press, they comfort me. You prepare content for me in the presence of my full mailbox. You anoint my fingers with no typos. Surely likes, fans, favorites, and retweets will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell near good wi-fi forever. Anyone else glad David was a shepherd? Happy Wednesday!

Saw this post today and knew instantly what my "If Then Story" was. In the link, Idina Menzel shares had she not auditioned for Rent, she would not be where she is today. (Aka- we probably wouldn't be singing "let it go!" as often as we do.) My If/Then Story is: If I had gotten into nursing school like I'd worked so hard to do....as I begged/pleaded with God to help me do...as I thought I wanted to do.... Then I would not be where I am today. (And I love where I am today!) What's your #IfThenStory?

30 feels good. I had an exceptional weekend in Scottsdale with my sisters and dear friend, Helen, to celebrate. The weekend included movies, shopping, pool time, surprises, presents, fantastic food, and more. So much more. Thanks to these three beauties. My actual birthday was crazy amazing too, thanks to some special deliveries made to my office and great DC friends.  I felt celebrated, loved, and so incredibly special. 

I've been alive three decades. (ok, so I'm 5 days shy of that being a true statement) The first decade will probably always be known the easiest. I mean, seriously. Age 0-10... life isn't that hard. It will always be the most carefree.  The second one, ages 10-20. The decade I survived. Really. That includes Jr. High and High school. Surviving those years is something to be proud of. It's a tough go for some people. Me included. I wouldn't say there was anything extra special that happened in those ages for me. Aside from leaving home to start college. That's a big deal. But that's just the beginning. And the third one. The decade I've just completed. The richest, most thrilling decade so far. Ages 20-30.   The first half of my twenties were not particularly my favorite. That was the season of finishing college, trying to decide what I would do with my life (especially since nursing school didn't work out for me.) There were many tears ...

My dad wrote a blog post 36 hours after the apartment fire last year. I go back and read it often. Especially on days in which I'm tempted to take the pen back and write my own story. Here's what he wrote: Minda is our middle child.  She’s 28 years old, but still,…our middle child. The fact that she is a middle child is probably worth a blog post in itself; or so she would suggest. But I’ll save that for another time. If Minda was writing her own life story, it’s safe to say that she would probably be married and a mother of at LEAST 3 kids by now, if not more.  And there would not be a woman more suited for that role; happily in her own house while her husband was off at work providing for their growing family.  I have no doubt that if you popped in on her at home on any given day, you would be greeted with her radiant smile with a baby on her hip in one arm and probably a phone in her other hand offering some encouraging advice to one of her many, many fr...

"There's no replacement for what happens when we make something with our own hands, directed by our own senses, motivated by our own love for the people we're serving." It's cold in DC. REALLY cold. And I love it. After a fantastic ski trip weekend to West Virginia, I came back to DC and prepared for the blizzard they were calling for. Several coworkers were in town from Tallahassee for work meetings and because of the storm- were stranded and unable to get out on time. Which means I had the opportunity to have Sarah over to my apartment for homemade soup. I didn't need to rush home to clean, there was no need to fret about what was or was not in my fridge, I just was able to get what I needed and prepare a meal for a dear friend. Sarah, thanks for sharing a meal with me. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to "make something with my own hands, motivated by my love for YOU, the person I was serving."

DC survived one year with me. Well done, DC. A year ago this weekend I loaded up my car with my journals and made the drive to DC. You don't need some sappy one year reflection type of post, so I'll just leave it at that. Congratuations, DC, on putting up with me for a year. Good job.