Caught by surprise.

Does anyone blog anymore? Apparently I don't since the last time I posted on either of my blogs was in 2010! However, just today I received a comment notification email from one of my old posts. It seems like God is reminding me of something he was teaching me two years ago. Philippians 2:3-4 New International Version (NIV) 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others My fantastic husband seems to have this one down, but two years later I am still more worried about myself than others. However, it's pretty neat how God reminded me about this, just when I was in the beginnings of a selfish worry spiral session.

Surprised by Selfishness

This has been the worst week ever because....
I need money
I miss my boyfriend
I don't like my job
I am arguing with my boss
I have to move..
I need...
I want...
I can't stand it when..
I never get to.......
I........


That was the beginning of many many conversations people had with Andy this week, one of the most difficult weeks of ministry for him in the past 10 years.
I was angry and frustrated with the selfishness of others until I took a minute to examine my own ugly heart.


I care deeply about my friends and family; I usually try to look for the best in people, and in the past few years God has done a lot in my heart in the area of loving my enemies and doing good to those who hate me. (this has been a rough lesson for me, by the way)

Here's something I don't do.

Philippians 2:3
Don’t be selfish; don’t live to make a good impression on others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself.
NLT translation

Instead of being motivated by selfish ambition or vanity, each of you should, in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself.
NET translation

Think of others as better than yourself??
Treat one another as more important than yourself!?!

Earlier this week, Andy was having horrible stomach pains. While I was taking care of him I kept thinking..
"I really can't get this, I have way too much to do this week"
"I wonder if he touched anything else I need to disinfect"
and "ugh, it takes me so long to get over being sick, if I get this ..."

I have been surprised and mortified by my own selfishness this week, and this is just one example. Since I am worried about making a good impression (contrary to the above scripture verse) I will spare you more examples.

I'm left with two questions...

What does it look like to live a life where you consider others better than yourself?
Is it possible to accomplish this without others constantly taking advantage of you?

Strangest Plane Ride Ever

I don't enjoy airplanes in general. The air is funky, the space is claustrophobia inducing, and the noise either droning or deafening. However, these are not any of the reasons my plane ride to Alaska was remarkably ridiculous.

1. I had to sit in the middle of the plane, between two strangers.. not a big deal to most.. but if you know me... you know that would freak me out. Also, if I were to describe the odor of the gentleman in front of me as pleasant..it would be the biggest lie of my life.

2. The woman squashed on my left was a narcoleptic Jehovah's Witness. No, I'm not making this up.... She opened conversation with a watchtower. It turns out she was on disability for narcolepsy, and using all her time and government cheese to travel to Jehovah Witness conference after conference.
Here's the kicker, her narcolepsy did not prevent her from driving, just from working. Yep!

3. The woman squashed on my left was slowly taking small chunks of her turkey sandwich and shoving them one at a time into her carry-on bag that was stuffed between the seats in front of her. Each subsequent stuffing was followed by a nervous and awkward laugh. Again, I am not making this up.
It wasn't until hours later at the very end of the flight I found out she had a half-drugged dog inside her carry-on....

The Brady Principle

The Brady Principle

I have a friend who appears comfortable in basically every situation known to man. I imagine him to be as comfortable in a conversation with a with a homeless man as he would be with the Queen of Scotland or perhaps with the most notorious criminal in North America. You basically can't rattle him. If that's not impressive enough..the Bradoman can wrangle his way into any venue without paying and get backstage without authorization at virtually any show. How does he do it? It's simple. He has an uncanny way of acting like he belongs and therefore.....he belongs.
Why am I telling you about Brado? I'm telling you because the Brady principle works. If you should find yourself in an uncomfortable or challenging situation, simply act like you are not uncomfortable. Act like it's natural and imagine that you belong... and you will.

Horrifying and lasting impressions..

From watching commercials (think freecreditreport.com) you might be led to believe that the dangers of bad credit are directly related with donning some sort of humiliating costume.

Think about it, because of delinquent credit, the poor schmoes are either pirates serving fast food fish, or minstrels languishing at some Renaissance fair. The association is so strong for me that I now connect bad credit with humiliating dress up. (I suppose if you happen to be a huge fan of Halloween masquerades or civil war reenactment, you may not need to concern yourself about credit in the least.)

It's interesting how a commercial can so easily cause me to relate two very unrelated things. People are that way to me too. I may may see someone and suddenly think of peanut butter, or spring, or toilet paper, depending on my strongest memories with them..

I wonder what people think of when they see me.....or when they see you.. I hope to live my life in a way that causes people to associate me with something real and something meaningful....

I think for that to happen I'm going to need to tone down the sarcasm a bit.

1 question, 3 answers.

Perspective:
All of the answers can be considered "true" but the perspective is very, very different..

Here's the question....
How did the two of you meet?

Three possible "true" answers...

A. I was sitting around in my underwear on a Friday night and I right clicked on her head.

B. We met through the miracle of modern technology!

C. E-harmony.com

hmmm. perspective......

Five Reasons

Top five reasons to talk to your daughter more than twice a year and for more than twelve minutes.


1. She will be less shocked to find out you are getting married in Italy in a few months.

2. She can keep up with the millionaire/bankrupt/millionaire/bankrupt swings.

3. She could stop worrying about your health and emotional well-being.

4. She might stop wondering, "Why does my own father not even want to speak to me?"

5. It just makes sense to pick up the phone when your daughter calls.