thankful thursday

It’s the burnout hour. I’m just at the point of not being able to focus any more today. I have a “to-do” stack on my desk and an email in box that is full and I haven’t done any marketing today and I have a few more things to do on Ginger’s work (since she called in sick today) but I’m just mentally worn out!

I even tried to make a grocery list and got stuck there. I am craving fresh fruit and veggies but the two farm stands that I like are closed by the time I leave work in the afternoons. Beyond fruit and veggies – I can’t think of anything I want to eat. My “bad food censor” is in overdrive. I had a great salad today at Gusben’s in Cornelia. Their salad bar is top notch, totally fresh stuff and it’s fairly cheap. There's a great salad bar at the Ingles in Cleveland. I'm just going to try to drag myself there this evening and make the whole grocery shopping trip happen.

Phone ringing. Thank you, Kevin, for picking up the phone this time. I’m tired of talking to people. Theresa’s already marked out for tomorrow, I’m not expecting Ginger to come… Is it too early to start the weekend countdown? Twenty five hours and something… These girls have legitimate illnesses - strep throat and back problems - but it does weigh on the rest of us when folks are out.

Last night Austin’s girlfriend Tasha went to church with us. She’s a sweet girl. Shy. Like all of the girls my children have dated, I scared her. I don’t see myself as being intimidating but apparently I am. At least to the girlfriends. At least initially. I think she got comfortable because she was chattering the whole way home.

Church last night was a little different. I’m sooo missing my Wednesday night hen parties – since our leader, Alisa is in Kenya (still! She is spending a whole month there!) and Michelle and Misti have moved away. Every time I come across one of the other “hens” we just cling to each other and say, “I miss our class sooo much!”. It’s good to have girlfriends.

Since we stopped having class, I’ve been going to the youth worship service. It’s super casual, my brother speaks… Austin doesn’t mind me being around… so it’s a good time. Last night, though, there was a group from the North American Mission Board Families on Mission that has been using our church as home base while they were here on mission trip this week – last night was their wrap up – so we got to share in their service.

Initially I thought *yawn* … I don’t know these people… they have all these inside jokes and it’s their mission trip and their deal and it’s going to be blah. BUT… it was amazing to see – through the eyes of people who don’t live here - the missions opportunity in my backyard. Our church is such a missions minded church, sending folks to Africa and Thailand and Timbuktu, but to know that Wicca is prevalent here… and that there are children who are unsupervised during the day as their parents work… and that there are people who feel unwelcome in churches because of their tattoos or whatever… it was important for me to know these things.

I may never be able to travel to “deepest, darkest Africa” but there are people who need to know the love of God right where I live.

Today is Thankful Thursday…
1. I had a major crisis that has been resolved in the past 24 hours. God is good.
2. Glitter – my backseat is full of glitter from when I had the girls on Sunday. How can you not love glitter?
3. Fresh fruit and veggies – losing weight ( and I am, losing weight, really slowly but in a healthy way just like I did before and I’m proud to be traveling that journey with sincerity again!)
4. A job to be burned out on
5. Air conditioning
6. A car that runs – with a brand new battery! Yee haw!
7. Having the empty spaces in my life filled – sisters and daughters where I had none.

Gotta run... angry customer on the phone. I love my job!