MY BLOG POSTS

I worked as a bank teller my last two years of college. Ironic, considering I am seriously deficient in all things math-related. But I loved the job – great co-workers, great hours, decent pay. And let me just tell you, I got to where I could count down a stack of bills in no time. Especially when the only thing keeping me at work was said stack of bills.

One day, I was given a deposit of $3000 in cash. We were always told to count money more than once, to make sure we counted it right. But I was prepared to count that stack several times. $3000 — seriously! So I started the first count. Halfway through, something didn’t feel right. Literally. At this point, I knew the feel of money on my fingertips. I spent every day counting it – over and over again. And this stack went from the familiar real-money feeling to something different. So I counted again. Same thing. At that point. I knew I needed to call in some help. So I asked my boss to come over. She counted the money. Then she called her boss. Fifteen minutes later, the Feds were called in to confiscate and investigate the counterfeit bills that I (!) had discovered.

But I didn’t catch the counterfeits by studying counterfeits. I caught them because I was so familiar with the real thing.

This same principal is true for our Christian faith. How do we know what to believe? How do we protect ourselves from believing lies? How do know – really know — what’s true and what’s not? We spend our time getting the feel of God’s word on our fingertips. We immerse ourselves in it. We get to know it, day in and day out. That way, when a counterfeit comes our way, we know right away.

It just won’t feel right.

There are certain skills I want to pass on to my kids. Passions that I hope they will “catch”. I want them to love Jesus. To enjoy reading. To appreciate a good Judy Garland musical.

I am beginning to lose hope on those last two

But there are certain skills that I hope I don’t pass on: My athletic ability. My artistic skills. My cooking.

Ellie, my twelve-year-old, is a great cook. My other two….

Have both burnt Easy Mac.

It’s what happens when you cook your Easy Mac the recommended three and a half minutes and forget to put water in.

It stinks.

Really, really badly.

Like my cooking.

Moral of the story: Some things really are your mother’s fault.

We act like it’s harmless, “sharing information,” or worse — “prayer requests.” And we all do it. We need to “vent”. We’re keeping it “between us.” Or, the best…

Gossip divides friends, ostracizes people, causes deep hurts. We all have experienced this. People spread stories about us — stories that embarrass us, humiliate us, stories that are either untrue or have a bit of truth that is greatly exaggerated. Some of us gladly participate in gossip, others of us just listen. In either case, we are guilty of hurting people, of tearing them down.

Are there annoying people around us? People who have made mistakes? Imperfect people? Yes! And, guess what, YOU and I are among them. Wouldn’t we rather people love us in spite of our faults rather than discuss them behind our backs?

So let’s be the kind of friend we want to have. When we hear gossip happening, let’s stand up and stop it. Let’s use our words to encourage people, let’s tell others how great our friends are.  Let’s make gossip the verbal equivalent of Brussels sprouts  (my apologies to those of you who may like Brussels sprouts, but…really?!)

Let’s talk “good” behind people’s backs!

We all have routines. Athletes have them. Actors have them. Businessmen and women have them. Most of us are creatures of habit, and those habits help us do what we do to the best of our ability. In fact, my friend, Charity, a volleyball coach, says that when players don’t follow through on their routine, they often miss their serve. (My daughter Emma, below, has to slap the ball exactly three times before serving it). So routines are good. They are normal. I am telling you this because I am about to tell you my writer’s routine. It is a little…weird. Okay, I am a little weird. Maybe more than a little. But I wanted to preface this with an explanation: Routines are good. Everybody has them. I am not a freak.

Now that we have established the ground rules for reading this post (and, yes, this is a repost, but I am working today and chose not to procrastinate by writing a new post…baby steps :)), I give you My Writer’s Routine:

• Make a full pot of coffee
• Read my Bible
• Stay in my pj’s (comfy=creative)
• Make cup of coffee #1
• Open the blinds so I can see outside
• Check my e-mail
• Check my Facebook
• Make cup of coffee #2
• Check e-mail and Facebook again, just in case something came up in the last 10 minutes that I might need to know
• Check the library website to see if the books I requested are on hold yet
• Open the folder that contains the book I am working on
• Make cup of coffee #3
• Remind myself that three cups of coffee in one hour makes me sick and I shouldn’t do it again
• Pour a big glass of water to dilute all the caffeine in my system
• Take a bathroom break
• Eat breakfast
• One more check of my Facebook and e-mail
• A mental flogging that I have now wasted an hour and half of precious writing time drinking coffee and checking Facebook
• Maximize my Word document and begin where I left off
• (Unless it’s been a while, then I need to read the whole thing again to remind myself where I was)
• Write nonstop for about three hours – not speaking to anybody, but occasionally checking Facebook
• Stand up and stretch, grab a Coke Zero and a snack
• Write nonstop for another three hours
• Decide that, since it is now after 3pm, I should get out of my pj’s
• Change into real clothes and thus lose all creative power

And that’s pretty much how it goes. Don’t judge. It gets my figurative ball over the figurative net. Figuratively speaking. (I did not follow my routine before typing this…and the ball hits the net and crashes).

Please tell me I am not alone in this…any other odd routines out there??