Annoyance

I am annoyed .... I can feel the irritation swirling around me. I do not like this feeling. But there it is  ... like a sullen fog enclosing me in it's clammy grip.

There is a part of me that really wants to surrender to this feeling. After all, I should feel irritated, someone overstepped their authority and made my day much more difficult than it needed to be. But the other part of me says, "Step back, take a deep breath and let it go".

I really do not enjoy feeling like this .. so why would I not be willing to let it go? Why is it sooooo hard to let it go.  For me I think it is a matter of giving up my "right" to be annoyed. I struggle at times with giving up those rights.

So tonight I am I am laying down my right to be annoyed. And in it's place I will be gaining peace. I think that is a pretty good trade off.

Valentine's Day

Over the years I worked for the Mission in Salem, I grew some wonderful friends. One of them was my friend and hiking partner Debbie who passed away 3 years ago. Two of my other close friends were Donna my "assistant" and Chuck the Maintenence manager. Over the years we laughed and cried and worked hard, often in very difficult circumstances. They stood by me in the hard times and supported me through my husband's ups and downs.

Tonight they came for dinner and movies. We laughed and laughed and  just enjoyed being together. I do not see nearly enough of them. They always lighten my heart and remind me that I am loved. That is a a wonderful feeling.

As I stood on the stairs and waved goodbye to them, I was filled with a sense of well being. The feeling of loving and being loved surrounded me. It reminded me that I need to carve out the time to do this on a regular basis. It is part of what will help me to flourish and grow.

It is good to love ... it is good to be loved

Life Skills

1 John 2:27-29
27 As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.
28 And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.


29 If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.


Intro: We all need life skills to flourish and do well. Life skills help us cope with the ups and downs of life and people. This passage gives us some life skills that grow out of our relationship with Christ.
1. Be Real (not counterfeit)
2. Continue in Christ
3. Live Confidently
4. Stand Unashamed
5. Be Expectant

6. Live Righteous


Conclusion: Everyone who does right has been born of God. We need to live life fully and freely. It is time live life abundantly. We will stand before God and we can stand pure and confidently because of what Christ is doing in us right now.


Thought for the Day- Who are is proven by what we do and confirmed by what we say.

Just Connie

Socializing

I socialized today. That always makes for a good day for me. I am an extrovert so being with people energizes me. I am happyand content tonight after a day of being with different groups of people.

I began the day with a Men's Ministry meeting. I was made an "honorary man" several years ago. It has been a great partnership with the men of the church and I have enjoyed the opportunity to work side by side with them. We are planning a tree cutting expedition to Aldersgate next month. I always enjoy that, though it is a lot of hard work. But hard work never killed anyone ... right? Remind me of that when I am complaining of my sore muscles.

Tonight I headed back to the church for prayer time and our weekly jam session. I love that time to play and sing and just worship. It fills me with peace. After that I went across the street to the Museum where most of Willamina  was enjoying chocolate and good conversation. I really enjoyed mingling with the town and I even met some new people.

So here I am tonight. Happy and content with my life and the day. That is a very good feeling.

Just Connie

From Tolerable to Fabulous

I have to admit that Valentine's Day is not currently one of my favorite holidays. It used to be, when I had a husband and children I always celebrated lavishly. This year the approach of the holiday has not been as painful as it has in past years. I was looking at the possibility of taking myself out to dinner or having lunch with friends.

But today Valentine's Day took on a whole new aspect. when I found out that my friends are coming for dinner and movies. My years at the Mission grew some wonderful friendships for me. One of them was the Maintenance Manager Chuck  and one was my assistant Donna. We worked together on a myriad of projects, walked each other through the hard times and celebrated the good times together.

So Monday night my friends will come over and we will eat Pizza, I will get to bake a fabulous dessert and we will enjoy being together. It is amazing how one short text message turned Valentine's Day from tolerable to fabulous so quickly. I am looking with great anticipation to a wonderful evening.

Come on Valentine's Day ... this year I am ready for you.

Just Connie

Being Mentored

I have a mentor. This is a new relationship for me. I have never had a formal mentor before. I have had people who I respected and who taught me a lot, I've even had people that I have officially mentored over the years. But this is the first time I have had a mentor.

I am meeting with him once a month. I can already see that he is stretching me. First of all he is assigning me books to read that I would never read on my own. I came away from our meeting today stimulated and excited and about the conversation, about the ideas that were floating around and also excited about this wonderful opportunity.

It will be interesting to see where this new relationship will take me. I am excited to see what God will teach me in the days ahead. There are good things ahead.

Just Connie

People Problems

By nature I like people. I am an extrovert, being with people energizes me. But every once in a while there is someone that is .... well .... like a huge sponge sucking the life out of me. I had an employee that was rather like this. he was always on the verge of being fired. I have never spent so much time trying to salvage an employee as I did him. He frustrated me in ways that I did not even know I could be frustrated. He would improve while I was minutely checking his progress and then quickly go back to his previous behavior.

I had lost track of him and heard last year he had been arrested for a sex abuse charge. I was saddened for him but to be honest have seldom given it much thought. Tonight that changed when he contacted me through a friend because he wanted to get in touch with me. I decided to check and see what the charges were. I was horrified. There were a couple of Sodomy charges, Rape 1, and Sex Abuse 1. I have to say that I do not feel very compassionate towards him at this point. I am glad that he is safely locked up and I do not have any plans to contact him.

I can't imagine what would make him contact me? Do I seem to be an easy touch because I never fired him? I have no tolerance for being part of a pity party for his own poor choices. I do not want any part of it. I will pray about it and pray for him and especially pray his victim. I have to say that the whole thing makes me feel icky ......

Ick .....

Just Connie