Thirteen Blessings This Week

Sometimes we have to stop and think of the blessings we have in this life and some of the best blessings are the simple things. It has been a very vexing few weeks for me with a combination of different trying situations. One of these is that my 91 year old grandmother is in hospice at home with a combination of the three often fatal illnesses of CO PD, heart failure and stomach cancer.  The other things are more minor issues it's just that so many little things together can be overwhelming.  Even in the middle of crisis we look for His voice and find it and these are thirteen blessings I have been grateful for this week.

1.  Technology has truly blessed me this week as I have gone to different appointments and was able to get in and out relatively quickly in half an hour or less.  This was due to offices making efficient use of computers and new time saving strategies for themselves as well as clients.  How well I remember doctor's offices and government offices back in the 1990's having full waiting rooms of frustrated clients waiting for two hours and more. I actually don't have to go to many appointments hardly ever anymore as I can take care of more and more business online.

2.  My aunt who was visiting from another state gave me a bottle of very nice scented lotion just hours after I realized I was out and would have to hunt down some more.  It was not a coincidence it was a small moment of realizing God's provision. How many times do things like this happen and we barely blink or take notice because we get lots of blessing like that?

3.  My brothers flew in from two different states and I was able to help meet them at the Nashville airport within an hour and a half of each other. This blessing was also due to the technology as well as airports becoming so much more time efficient.  The layout of the airport, the parking was much more pleasantly convenient then I remembered it being from 15 years ago.
4.  I got to see my brothers! One of them I hadn't seen in 3 years.

5.  My aunt from out of state tirelessly cleaned up at my parent's and grandmother's house. She also contributed by shopping for supplies and food for large gatherings of family coming in and out.
6.  My grandmother remained so sweet of spirit even as she is ill and never showed any irritation or uttered one sharp word to anyone. This can be very unusual of people who don't feel well.
7.  The hospice organization sends people in to help my grandmother shower five days a week. This relieves family members who are not experienced caregivers or who are elderly themselves from having to do that.  Also my grandmother can rest better being fresh and clean.
8.  I was blessed by the family augments that didn't happen as people tried to co operate and make the best of the situation even in the middle of tiredness and stress.
9.  I was blessed that the family members from out of state took the time to visit my grandmother while she is still alive.  Try not to wait for funerals to go home and if a choice has to be made for one or the other I would say skip the funeral and visit with people while they are alive.

10.  The electricity went out in my town unexpectedly around midnight one night.  I don't know what happened but thanks again to Technology for helping getting it back on in about 50 minutes. This also reminded me to be glad I was born in a time people are lucky to have electricity.
11.  I got to talk to the big child by phone almost everyday, sometimes for more then an hour.
12.  I was blessed by friends and family who encourage each other on social media. People I know are busy worshiping the Lord, going on diets, exercising, thinking outside the box, having wedding and graduation celebrations, birthday parties, and helping others.
13.  The weather this past week was startlingly beautiful with temperatures in the the low 80's, big puffy clouds in a blue sky, summer flowers starting to bloom. It was perfect backdrop for the down to earth, hard working people in Kentucky.

  

Thirteen on a Thursday ; Posters, Pinterest, Web

It's been some really trying weeks and I will tell you about it some day but for now  remember these things:

Encourage yourself always.

Poster credits to Pinterest
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ONWARD: Thirteen Things About Me

1.  I was raised in the Southern Baptist denomination.

2.  In the Southern Baptist Church one of the main songs the children were taught was:

Jesus loves the little children,
All the Children of the World.
Red and Yellow, Black and White.
They are precious in his sight.
Jesus loves the little Children of the world.

3.  My dad used to insist that I not be stuck up.
4.  That one may have back fired on him a little bit as at one time I was probably too friendly with people..

5.  I believe in Science but I also believe in God. After all I have been talking to him since I was six years old. 
6.  I feel however the world and humans got here, it was however God intended it to be created.

7.  Good vibes are nice but I would rather have prayer.
8.  I am a sinner. I don't think I was ever exactly a goody two shoes.(some of you are smiling.)

9.  I would rather have a brand new notebook and pen then a new piece of jewelry.
10.I just bought a dust buster recently. The first one I have ever owned in my life. For real.

11. A personality test I took in college said that  I am very intuitive, and feeling. 
12.  I wrote poetry when I was younger but once I got my first day job my mind switched to different thought patterns and so I wasn't able to write poetry anymore. 

13. And the big, frequently asked question of "How do you know you are Saved". I hesitate to answer this but something is telling me it should be addressed.  I don't focus too much on heaven or what it will be like.  I have no way of knowing exactly what it will be like. But the thought of not being able to communicate with my God, being cut off from access to God like the people in hell will be is very painful to me. Just the thought of being separated from God is painful. I don't have to have the oft mentioned streets of gold. I just want Him. That would not be manifested in me if I did not accept Jesus as my personal Savior. 

This is my participation in thursday-13.com
It's not Thursday just yet...I'm early. Bloggers got it that way :)
The words to the song JESUS LOVES THE LITTLE CHILDREN  are credited to C. Herbert Woolston.
   

Onward: The Word from Kentucky

I just made my first post at my second blog THE WORD FROM KENTUCKY.  My first post is entitled "'Just Say No" or Pass the Herb?"  It can be found at www.thewordfromkentucky.blogspot.com

Onward: Thirteen Thoughts I Have Had at One Time Or The Other

1.  I think everyone should tell the truth....you know...like they do to their food stamp workers and on their taxes!

2.  I try not to be prone to profanity but sometimes you just want to say wtf?!!!

3.  What amazing things might happen if for one month we did things differently from the way we usually like to do them.  Like, for example, what if we went out when we really felt like staying in, or vice versa.

4.  Or what amazing thing might happen if we did all the things for one month that we should be doing.  Things like going to bed on time, eating what we should, etc.

5.  It doesn't matter how many possessions or wealth one has, because at the end it will probably come down to one box or suitcase.

6. And possessions are things you just have to move all the time.

7.  The other day I saw a tractor pulling a trailer made out of a truck bed on the bottom with  walls built out of wood pull up at the grocery carrying Mennonite people.  Come on Mennonites! You might as well be driving a car or a van! It would be the same difference, only safer!  

8.  How rude it is to talk about someone where that person can hear. And yet it is so common place for that to happen.

9.  It's sort of lazy to use nicknames when often some one's proper name only consists of one more syllable then the nickname. 

10.  Cleopatra never got to drive a pick up truck.

11.  I wonder if redheaded people were ever at one time in history a separate ethnicity or race. Since I am one, I wonder and have thought about that.
12.  Why did Sampson trust Delilah with the real secret of his strength when the heifer had already tried to do him in twice before that?

13. All heck is going to break loose as marijuana becomes legal in all the states. They just don't know!  But I don't see why anyone would have to pay for marijuana if it is legal. Because you know if it's legal then grandma can just grow it in the garden next to the corn or black eyed peas or something. (Hush little Baby...don't say a word...)!

So, as you can see I have a very complicated inner life.

P.S.  It's okay for me to talk about the Mennonites because they are not supposed to be on the Internet in the first place, so I won't be hurting their feelings or anything.

Happy Winter and let me know what thoughts you are thinking about.




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picture credit LMA  
 

 

   

 

Thirteen Awesome Things About Market Research

Market Research studies and calls have made it into American Pop Culture in the form of being mentioned or shown in numerous movies and novels.  Usually the scene is the phone ringing at a crucial moment in the hero or heroine's life and instead of it being a call they expected it's a call from a Market Research firm.  I recently left the field of Market Research but I have to say I had a great time working in that field and that it gave me a totally new perspective into many areas of  my life. All jokes aside about Market Research and Surveys, allow me to share with you thirteen awesome things about working in that field.

1.  Flexible Schedules
      I was able to change my schedule at a 1 week notice to accommodate changes needed to attend college classes or other jobs.

2.  Keeping up data entry skills
     By keying in data while talking with respondents while on the phone or by typing verbatim responses I was able to keep my data entry skills in shape and up to par.

3.  Developing reading skills even more
     I already had great reading skills before I started the job, but after several years I realized that sometimes my brain started letting me read out loud in a mode I will call automatic.  I could read out loud and talk to people while thinking about a different subject of my own choosing at the same time. 

4.  Call Centers are never boring
     Many people say working in call centers is boring.  To me call centers are never boring because they have lots of people there. The people who work in call centers come from all different walks of life that are as many and varied as the USA can hold.  What is boring about that?

5.  Market Research works
     I can't go into detail about the studies I was involved in due to confidentiality purposes but I can point to a  very successful public market research study that was advertised.  A few years back Domino's Pizza chain set out to find what changes needed to be made to their product to improve it. The chain then implemented the changes the public wanted for the taste of the pizzas as well as combining the results of the survey with a national publicity campaign.  The end result was a marked increase in sales for the company.

6.  Working in an office atmosphere
      Working in an office atmosphere, indoors with air conditioning and heat available, is a pleasant way to make a living.

7.  Learning how to really listen to people
     Listening to people is more then just being quiet and listening. It's about understanding what they are actually saying and how to interpret that. 

8.  Learning the importance of enunciation
     My voice doesn't carry very well in person and when I was younger I slurred my words and so then I often had to spend lots of time repeating myself because people didn't hear or understand what I said.  Talking on the phone and public speaking taught me to enunciate my words and to speak loud enough to be heard the first time. 

9.  The importance of cheerfulness and enthusiasm in work
     When I smiled or laughed while talking with people I soon would start to feel cheerful and enthusiastic for real. This made the work seem much lighter and flow naturally without much effort (most of the time).

10.  Experience with surveys helped with my homework
       I had gone back to collage and I wrote out a speech assigned in Biology class word for word and read it out loud just like I would deliver the script of a survey.  I did so well my instructor clapped for me at the end of my speech. 

11.  Learning about numerous subjects I previously didn't know much about
       Market Research studies can be about virtually any subject and so I was always learning and did not feel stagnant. I actually first heard of blogging in a market research study.

12.  The work stays at work 
        I never ran into any respondents in person and I had no work to take home with me to do.  When I left for the day my work was done. This was a fact that I could appreciate after working in other fields.

13.   Market Research helps promote the economy
        Market Research helps promote the economy by providing jobs for people as well as finding out what customers think or want from a company. Some respondents will tell you what they think you want to hear but if you talk to enough people a pattern will emerge of what people really think about a subject.

In his book, THE AUDACITY OF HOPE, President Barack Obama wrote that he once lost an election because he failed to commission a poll and find out that people didn't know who he was.  That is just another little tidbit about Market Research. (And yes I do own that book.)


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ONWARD: What Time is it?

Sunday Stealing

So this week's meme from Sunday Stealing is all about the time and time change.  I had to laugh because lately the time has been a big issue around our parts.  Technology has come so far, yet in our town I'm not sure if there are any two clocks set on the same exact time!

One night I got off work and I looked at the time in my car and I decided that I would not be able to make it to pick up a prescription as the drugstore closed in five minutes. Then I happened to pass a clock on a sign in town that said it was only ten minutes till the hour. Since it was now ten minutes to the hour that meant I would have time to make it to the drugstore drive thru before it closed.  But wait!  What if I got to the drugstore and their time was faster and they were already closed?  I made it to the drugstore before they closed and so I was successful to not having to put off an errand to another day.

When we get to work every day I ask people what time it is and everyone has a different time. No body's computers or phones are set on the same exact times.  I often set the timer on my phone but sometimes it gets turned off accidentally while I do other tasks.  Of course we could wear a watch and know exactly how many minutes passed if it's digital. But we still might not have our watch set to the time the sign in times to work are.

Lunch break can often go a little like this. The computer might say it's exactly on the hour. The clock by the break room that is battery operated appears to be five after the hour. Then the clock in the car will say five till the hour.  Turning on the phone it will be ten minutes after the hour. While standing in line at the store the wall clock there will say it's usually faster then the time I think it is. I set the timer on the phone but it does often get stopped accidentally. So, that's sort of the picture.  Sometimes I get back early because I have lost track of the time and don't want to be late, while other times I get back five minutes late. Fortunately the company is very understanding of lunch hours.

And now tonight is the night to change back to daylight savings time. Which means a lot of clocks will really be out of kilter for at least the next week. In fact the time on some computers was changed earlier then today.

Gone are the days we could just look at an old fashioned clock and say, "It's about a quarter after", and not have to worry about what the exact minute was.  How did people ever make it in sundial times?

This weeks meme is taken from the blog N0-boba-Please via Sunday Stealing

1.  Do you think Daylight Saving Time is still necessary?  Yes, the children shouldn't have to go to school in the dark.

2.  How long does it take you to adjust to the time change?  A few days.

3.  What is the hardest part of the time changes?  Not knowing if a time has been changed on various clocks.


4.  How many clocks are in your house? Four

5.  Are you generally early, late, or on time.  I refuse to answer that on the grounds it might incriminate me!

6.  Do you wear a watch?  Nope

7.  If an invitation for an event is listed as 8-11 pm, what time would you arrive?  Most likely I would choose to go a little late and leave a little early if it is an informal event.

8.  Are most of your clocks digital or dial?  Digital

9.  What does you alarm clock sound like?  Different ring tones and songs.

10.  Do you use the snooze feature on the alarm clock?  No I set multiple alarms on the phone and/or the timer on the phone.

11.  Does clock ticking drive you nuts?  No, but I hate it when clocks chime every half hour or hour in a quiet house while trying to sleep.

*Let me take this opportunity to apologize to the big child for all the times I forgot about the time difference between our two towns!

image from www.sundaystealing.blogspot.com

sketch by LMA

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