Picking up and Moving on

I have set up my new blog at:

vivace.wordpress.com

Please change all of your links, as this site will eventually be deleted.

Thanks!

I've been called many things ...

This is a new one. In response to a question posted on the Boar's Head Tavern (BHT), I emailed a suggestion to the author. Figuring the response would come back on email form, I was rather surprised to see it on the BHT's website.

Pleased to see that my thoughts were worthy enough of a post. Not sure what to make of the "Lurker" status now assigned to me. Could be worse...

Frustration

*clearing throat*

AAAAARRRRGGHHHHHH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just wasted the last two hours trying to resolve an outgoing email issue for the office (incoming is fine). No one will admit responsibility for the problem, nor will anyone propose a decent solution. The ISP is passing the buck to our office website host, the website host is passing it back to the ISP.

The ISP now claims that the default email address (set up when we got the service) was cancelled back in September due to non-use. When asked who cancelled it, the ISP says they did. I asked them to re-activate it and now they're saying that only the boss can make any changes to the account since his is the only name on the account.

And he hasn't been in the office yet today and is nowhere to be found.

Manila Drive: The Semi-Pelagian Narrower Catechism

Over the course of the last few months, I have spent some time digging into some of the "isms" present in theology. My conclusion? Our God is SO much bigger than any system of theology man can create. He can (and often does) defy human logic.

On a lighter note, I just found this:

Manila Drive: The Semi-Pelagian Narrower Catechism

It's funny and it hurts at the same time. All too often, we function as if Christianity were a formula - if you take this, add this, subtract that and multiply, you will have salvation/redemption/pick-any-"tion"-you-want. Kudos to Manila Drive for giving us the opportunity to laugh at ourselves and think a little harder.

Doing the Deed the Right Way

There is often a lack of thought behind some people's actions - the bankrobber who writes his "give me your money" note on the back of his own business card, the teen who spills gas on himself while siphoning from someone else's vehicle and then chooses to ignite a lighter to see how wet he is ... - well, you know the type.

I do not endorse criminal or "potentially" criminal actions, but there is a certain amount of satisfaction derived when someone really puts some thought into what they are going to do.

Where Does the Time Go?

I just realized I haven't posted in a month and a half. Sorry! I am not dead (yet). A number of things happened, all in rapid succession, which kept me otherwise occupied.

While it didn't look it was ever going to show up, spring has finally come to stay in PA. The birds are back, bringing friends with them to our birdfeeder. The assortment is rather impressive.

Something the my husband & I have been praying for is finally happening. We are finding people to hang out with that are just as crazy as we are, if not more so! We :

• are relatively intelligent (rather geeky, IMHO)
• love to grapple with questions that may not have a "pat" answer
• have an endless stream of random thoughts and questions on a variety of topics
• hold nothing so sacred or unmentionable that it cannot be discussed/laughed about

That last item is the rock in the gears. By and large, we have been able to identify with various folks over points 1-3 at the churches we have attended over the years. However, it takes a special breed to handle point #4. We've been looking for folks that we can have a deep conversation with about a toilet or a silly laugh-fest about some of the church's (universal, not necessarily local) "sacred cows". The 2 couples that we went out with last Friday night most definitely fit the bill. There's another couple that we have yet to spend time with socially, but we've got a pretty good inkling that are of that "breed".

God is good.

God Whispers

Today started on a really rough note.

When I got to work, I was greeted by Boss #1 and the bookkeeper. The words after "Hi" were "There's a mystery to solve - $xxxx is missing. Do you know what may have happened to it?"

I very nearly had a heart attack (yes, $xxxx is a four-digit amount). The person that did my job before me was fired because she stole from the company (in more ways than one). I would like to believe, over the course of the last year, that I have earned the trust of my employers and co-workers. In a situation like this, however, I couldn't help but feel that I was not only in the hot seat, but also under a microscope.

While everyone else was in a staff meeting, I ripped my desk apart, hoping against hope that I had somehow put the envelope in a "safe place" (you know, the one where it's so safe that even you can't find it again), mentally crying out to God to show me where I had put it. I found nothing. Anywhere. Boss #2 came up to my desk, wanting me to hold some money that he was returning to a person. That was the last straw - my eyes welled up with tears and I started to cry. Poor guy - he thought someone had died on me. After choking down the sobs, I explained the situation and he assured me that no one thinks I'm a thief and wished me luck in finding the lost money.

He left and I had to calm down. While washing my face with cold water in the bathroom, a thought came to me. "Didn't I give something to Boss #3 once to hold because I didn't want to be responsible for it?" For the life of me, I couldn't remember when it happened - it could have been months ago. Boss #3 gets out of the staff meeting and I ask him. There was a blank look on his face - no, he didn't remember me giving him anything. Ever. Great, my mind is making stuff up. First I lose the money and now I'm trying to make someone else responsible for the problem.

Bosses #1 & 3 left the office for appointments and I continued ripping my desk apart. The bookeeper came up and checked on my progress. I told her about my thought and Boss #3's answer. Frowning, she went into his office and started to dig through his desk. There it was - in one of the drawers- the envelope with all of the money!

I couldn't help but think of Elijah at Mt. Horeb - all ready to have a pity party, expecting God to show up in the noise of the wind that shattered rocks, the earthquake and the fire. Instead, God showed up in a gentle whisper.

I know that God whispered the right thought into my head - there was no way I was thinking clearly enough to come up with that on my own. He also whispered through one of the other secretaries. After the money was found, she told me that she had gone back into her office after hearing of the problem and prayed for me. It is an honor and a privilege to work with fellow Christians - they uphold you when you're too flustered to even think of asking for support.