Thanksgiving

T is for the time I have spent with family and friends.

H is for the health that is given without end.

A is for the air I breathe each and every day.

N is for the needs that are met all along the way.

K is for the kisses given from the ones I love.

S is for the salvation from the Almighty Lord above.

G is for the groceries that are stocked within these walls of mine.

I is for the interlude of rest from the daily grind.

V is for the victory over sin while I'm still here.

I is for the increase in knowledge every single year.

N is for the never-ending love that God showers down on me.

G is for the grace of God that allows me to live eternally.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!!

Vindication

It is official as of today...

The long-awaited email finally arrived...

I can just feel your anticipation pulsating through the air like a current of electricity...

"Tell me!! Tell me!! Tell me!!," you cry...

OK...

Here it is...

No more placing of special orders on a stock order by me or my co-worker!!!

YYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEE HHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!

Not only is that one less task during the course of the day, but my claim that it would never work was utterly and thoroughly vindicated! Oh the joy that coursed through my veins with the latest update on placing special orders! The total feeling of being right and it now being proven beyond a shadow of a doubt was such a happy moment in my day. Right now, my feet are doing the "Happy Dance" while I sit in the chair. (And, yes. I do understand that it's not really that important in the grand scheme of things. But, hey! Allow me my small moment in the sun! OK?)

Now that I am soaring in the air on cloud 9 or 10 or 11, I plan on enjoying this moment for as long as it will last. Because I know it won't last. Some other "sunny" proclamation will come down and burn the cloud out from underneath me, and I will plummet back to reality faster than Rachael Ray can chat.

Until then, I'll wave as I pass over.

Forgiven and Forgotten

When I was a child, it was always hard to go to someone I had offended because I was never sure if they would forgive me. With lots of fear and trepidation, I approached the offended and nervously ask their forgiveness, waited impatiently on pins and needles for the response without looking them in the eye

Guess what?

I always received it.

It didn't matter if the offense was deliberate and intentional or unwitting and unintentional; I was always forgiven. It didn't matter if the offense was something that was under my control or out of my control; I was always forgiven.

Now if someone who is human and very flawed can forgive me of all my transgressions against them, how much better and certainly easier can it be for God who knows our hearts and minds (for He created us and knows our sin nature) to forgive all!

Isn't that the most wonderful news?? God continuously forgives us!

And even more wonderful is the fact that God forgets our sins. He even forgets sins we never knew we committed!! Wow! If only us humans were more that way! Many times with our own past failings, we continue to bring them up and dwell on our past sins and mistakes and even on some moments when choices were made for us that were really beyond our control.

How great is our God!!! He knows that we are sinners but still chooses to forgive and forget our sins and bring us into a closer relationship with Him.

I John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Walk in Laughing

Today was a watershed moment for me at work. First let me share a little about how I arrived at this moment...

The day started off normal enough. Orders, always orders in my inbox. I was gradually placing all the orders and actually getting somewhat ahead when news came that, from now on, my co-worker and I would have to place all the special orders coming on a stock order instead of giving them to the people in Purchasing. Why? Because they want to "take Purchasing out of the loop." Now does that make sense to anyone? For sure not to me! Why would you make someone else place a special order on a stock order other than the people that place the stock orders?? Now we have additional work to add to our already growing stockpile. Not only do we have more orders to place, we also have extra steps because some vendors don't have stock orders every week and we have to keep up with the orders until there is a regular stock order. In addition, some vendors require a "hard" copy of the PO which means more walking back and forth to the scanner.

After that revelation, more small irritants piled upon each other until the reached a climax when I was told to order a part from a specific line for a customer when I was just told by someone else that we no longer order from that vendor because it's not company approved. Why in the world would we tell the customer the line was no good and then turn around and order the part? It makes no sense!! That incident was the proverbial straw on the camel's back. I had had it with all the wishy-washiness in the name of "customer service".

So I decided one thing right then and there...

No matter what the powers-that-be living in the ivory towers may say or do...

No matter that they only see the "grand view" and leave the intricate details to us little people...

No matter that they think this new system will streamline the process for the whole company but in reality only shifts the clumsiness down the line to us...

No matter the whole absurdity of it all...

Kevin will walk in laughing.




After all, it's better to laugh than cry.

Some Observations

During my vacation to Cancún, I made several observations that I would like to discuss. I realize that vacations are meant to be where people can relax and take a break from the daily grind, but I think most people nowadays take it a bit too far. While at Xcaret, several men and women were walking around in swimwear only. Now, I do understand that we were out in the hot sun near the beach, but some people take the beach mentality everywhere they go. There still needs to be a sense of wait! I am in public and I need to think twice about my outfit choices for the day and how I behave before one crosses the threshold into the outside world.

Dear Mr. Older Man...why did you think people would want to see you parade around in the open air restaurant in nothing but sandals and Speedo bikini briefs? And what about when I spotted you across the way during the nighttime show? We are trying to eat and enjoy a wonderful form of entertainment here! I understand we are on the beach, but next time, I would suggest a T-shirt and shorts while dining or sitting in the audience. The rest of us patrons will be able to enjoy our wonderful meal and show without that feeling of eeeeeewwwwwwww sneaking up on us when we turn in your direction. Thank you.

Dear Ms. Portly Woman...did you really think that swimsuit looked good on you? I'm not trying to be mean, but honestly, the ruffles did nothing for you. And all the extra flesh leaking out of the bottom wasn't a nice sight. Unless you are on the beach, a nice sarong or other wrap would be helpful to keep the wide-eyed "did you see that" looks down to a minimum. Thank you.

Dear Ms. Greatly-endowed Woman...the next time you go for a new swimsuit, please make sure there is some extra support and more material for the upper portion of said suit. The sight of body parts hanging down that low is definitely not something I wish to see. Thank you.

Dear Mr. Stud Muffin...yes, we can all see that you spend at least 2-3 hours a day in the gym because you have no life or interests other than your studly self. But when I am trying to enjoy the beautiful view, please don't interrupt it trying to show off all your tattoos close to places that should remain covered. Dealing with your ego is enough. Thank you.

There has always been some people that don't care what they do in public, but now it seems to be more and more people that will do anything and show everything while out and about. How I wish it wasn't so!

Saving Daylight?

As we are all well aware here in the United States, this past weekend was time change back to "normal" time. All last week, I heard complaints about it because it would be dark when they left work. All I have to say is "BOO-HOO"! For me, today seemed to drag on forever. I felt as if I had been at work for 16 hours instead of 8! Allow me to give my take on this yearly change...

I know that we have been changing time for many years now. In fact, I don't remember not ever changing. The reasons I have heard was to save energy, allow people to have their later activities during daylight rather than darkness, etc. Every spring, people get excited because their days will be longer and they can get more done!

Really? Longer days? Just by moving your clock forward and adjusting the way you view time? I don't think so. Are the hours of sunlight any longer during Daylight Savings Time? No! Of course not! The time is just "rearranged" by mankind to suit their needs and reasoning. What's wrong with leaving it the way it was originally created by God? Why do we humans always feel the need to tinker with what God as done? Do we honestly think we can improve on what God has done? Unfortunately, I believe we do.

Either way, someone will be active in darkness so why not keep it the way it was created? Why do we always have to force our bodies to adjust to a time difference without the added benefit of traveling to some nice destination for a vacation? I say we quit this nonsense and leave time where time was meant to be. Noon means the sun is directly overhead, not off to the side.

Until then, my fellow Standard Daylight Timers, enjoy this brief respite from the yearly assault on our senses and brace yourself for the all-too-soon and dreaded "spring forward" change!