Two

Love is dangerous. Well it can be to toy with. It can also be the most powerful emotion and action in the world. Two of the people that have professed their love to me are now engaged to other people. It is crazy to think about how much can change over time and what can change. Is it the people or the circumstances that change? Both I would argue.

What is the determining factor that decides that you want to be with someone forever? Is there one thing or is it the culmination of elements that are present in the person that creates the factor. The funny thing is that after both of the guys and I broke up, both came back to me later claiming they would have put a ring on my finger. Clearly, thankfully that was not the case. God had other women to place in their lives that they will be with forever.

Interesting. Crazy. Wonderful. I am so glad that God is the keeper of my map of life and He always has been guiding me in the right direction. Now more than ever He is flagging down my heart and is pointing me in the directions of my dreams. I just have to have the patience to slow down so I don't get a speeding ticket or a heartache.

Grill

One of my favorite pastimes and stress relievers is being able to cook. I absolutely love to chop, dice, fillet or grill anything. Something about transforming an ingredient using my imagination and creating something pleasant to the eyes and pallet. My favorite form of transformation is grilling. Being one with fire.

Tonight corn and chicken was on the menu to be sacrificed to the flame and I was quite impressed with the way it turned out. Something about a cold beverage, my dog at my side and the smell of food cooking is quite intoxicating in the summer.

Stress gone.

Honest

Being brutally honest can drastically change a situation. I am not a fan of playing games. Board games yes, emotional games no. Being honest in the work place can sometimes be difficult because political agendas can get in the way. Feelings may get hurt, but I am a firm believer it is always better to state your opinion and get shot down then it is not to state it at all. Everybody in America has been given the right to free speech; therefore I think they should exercise that right.

Like most everything though, too much of a good thing can also be detrimental. I will always tell the truth, but in some situations it is better not to vocalize your opinion because of the harm it could cause. Having discernment of the appropriate situations comes with time and situation analysis.

I am a pusher. I like to push myself to be aware of my missteps and ways to correct them. I have begun to look back at my life these past couple of months and am beginning to be honest with myself. This reflection has knocked me back to earth, because realizing that I am not perfect and I have issues I have to fix is hard, but necessary. (I totally have pj’s that have planets on them that my mom got me that say, “Why yes, I am the center of the universe.”)

Being honest, having integrity and being respectfully truthful to those around you, will in the long run benefit you more than any of the white lie people pleasing that can occur. When it comes to yourself, it does absolutely no good to make up excuses because in the end you will end up not only hurting yourself but others can also be affected. Honesty really is the wisest, yet sometimes painfully best policy.

Adapt

Walking into a room you can quickly analyze the situation at hand. What are the people wearing? How are the positioned together? Who is talking the most? Can you feel the tension?

When moving into a situation where you are the newcomer your ability to adapt is what can make or break the mood and allow for initial impressions to develop.

Right now in my life I am meeting a lot of new people and the stability of my life seems to constantly be swaying like a boat in the waves. Therefore my ability to adapt has been on high alert. However maintaining a balance between being true to you and adapting to others behaviors is a tight rope act. That being said I am always eager to seek out others lifestyles and try them on to see if it is something I enjoy, which seems to make my life slowly more complex.

The makeup artist, tea party host, photographer, doctor, hog roaster, dancer, rap lyricist, shopper, golfer, poker player, joker, and truth seeker. These words describe the amazing people in my life that have shown me new exciting things about the world, that at one time started with a new situation.

Being able to adapt to the room and creating meaningful friendships from that will then allow you to take on new lifestyle skills which will make you better equipped for your next encounter. Just make sure that those people that you adapt to are freakin awesome!

Glass

Is the glass half full or half empty? Are you kidding me, the glass is spewing over the rim it can hardly contain itself.

Outlook wise, people have completely different mentalities. The people that you work with will have different ways of perceiving life. Therefore, the way that you approach them in a normal workday needs to be different. Some people purr when they are given praise in public, others want to hide in a corner and would prefer to be told in an email that they did a great job.

My personality type enjoys screaming at the top of your lungs that you loved the proposal, and sometimes it is difficult for me to understand why people do not want the same. Since being efficient is one of my favorite things, I have learned that it is not efficient at all to embarrass someone or praise them in the wrong manner. Gaining knowledge about how the ones around you work will lower the stress and increase efficiency because you will flow with each other and it increases respect when responding to them in a way they understand.

Lesson for the day, it is not always to do unto others as they would do to you, sometimes you have to tailor the same kind action to something they see as kind.

Endless

Patience is something that I lack in all since of the word. Patience is the willingness and ability to suppress restlessness when confronted with a delay. My lack of patience has sometimes put me in a tough spot to get out of, but most of all it shows my lack of constraint.


"But since I was worse (of a sinner) than anyone else, God had mercy on me and let me be an example of the endless patience of Christ Jesus. He did this so that others would put their faith in Christ and have eternal life." 1 Timothy 1:16


Endless patience. That blows me away, God chose me to showcase his ongoing everyday patience, so I can shine his love that others may follow him. God knows that everyday I will struggle to be like Jesus and I will fall to sin, but he has endless patience for me.

Tonight I rode around in a car with the windows down and wind rushing through my hair as the hot summer night blew into my face. Peace came over me and I knew that everything was right in the world. I may not have my life figured out completely, but I have a God that has endless patience. I want to be his example of mercy, but first I have to find my own patience one calm night at a time. I am thankful God gives me the opportunities like tonight to be still and be patient.