Daily Blogs

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A standard of grace

The line between business and customer, ministry and church member, can get blurry pretty fast. 

You can NEVER forget that numbers, statistics–the bottom line–represents a person.

Whenever I get frustrated, this is what comes back to me. 

You’re talking about a person, Audra, take a chill pill! 

Whatever problem I face (real or perceived) can be traced back to a real life person. A person with their own personality, flaws, interests, hurts, hopes, and dreams. 

He or she also has a list of problems….

A little grace can go a long, long way. And here’s another thing to consider: 

Most of the problems I face can be traced right back to me. Did I mention that I am not good at giving grace to myself?

About that….

Don’t forget about extending a little grace towards yourself. We all make mistakes. It happens. 

Let me be clear: There’s nothing wrong with having a bottom line, a set standard to aim for.

Just be sure that the standard you set doesn’t become more important than the people you serve and live/work with. 

I’m finding that having grace as my standard is the best way to go. It keeps everything in perspective.

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Long Work Day

I just worked 14 hours straight….

Wow. 

I think there may have been 15 minutes in the day when I wasn’t doing something. 

Hard work doesn’t bother me, but it does wear me out!

Feels good to put my feet up a few minutes. 

Normal posts will resume soon, I promise…

Today’s just been hectic. 

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The Perks of Planning Ahead

There are a few times when having a running to-do list works out in my favor. 

Tonight is one of those nights! 

I work for a ministry and this weekend is their big conference. I put in close to 12 hours today…

Got home and my running to-do list helped me get everything done super fast!

Now I’m relaxing for a minute before bed. 

Woohoo!

Planning ahead is awesome. 

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500 Questions

Every once in a while, a trivia show  comes on that’s really good. 

500 Questions did not disappoint me. 

The goal is simple: Answer 500 questions and keep from getting knocked out of the game during battle rounds by your opponent. 

If you lose in a battle (or can’t clear the board before the next battle) your opponent takes your spot and continues the game where you left off. 

The rules are a bit more complex than this explanation, but I didn’t want to bore you. 

For trivia nerds, I recommend this show. 

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Kudos to Mother Teresa

I was 7 years old when Mother Teresa died, yet her life is one that has inspired generations. 

She embodied the gospel. 

Loving others like Christ loves them, especially the poor, was something she took literally. 

In fact, the work she started all those years ago is still going on!

I don’t want to be Mother Teresa (because that’s kind of silly don’t you think? To not be yourself–the person God created.)

But I want to take the gospel literally like she did. 

I want to be the hands and feet of Jesus to a lost and dying world. 

I want to see myself as serving Jesus Himself when I help the poor, the sick, the widow, and the orphan (check out Matthew 25).

Mother Teresa’s example is the epitome of selflessness. 

The coolest thing to me is that she never set out to be famous or to be known world wide as a leader of Christian charity. 

She just started following Jesus. 

And others thought she was doing such a great job they wanted to help her out. 

Mother Teresa’s ideas spread because they weren’t her ideas–they were Jesus’ ideas! 

She decided to take the Bible literally and it changed the world. 

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Memorial Day 2016

This Memorial Day was awesome.

Here are the highlights:

  • Slept in
  • Hung out with 2 of my friends at the mall and their house 
  • Ate Chick-fil-A
  • Had my first visitor over at my new place
  • Watched a movie 
  • Ate pizza 
  • Laughed a lot
  • Finished a book

The day was quite restful. 

I’m so thankful for servicemen–the fallen heroes, the veterans, and those who are active duty–because the life I enjoy wouldn’t be possible without their sacrifices. 

Did I mention my sister Sofia turned 12?

Wow…

I’m thankful for Sofia’s sweet spirit and for how she so willingly embraced me as her big sister 5 years ago. 

Her friendship and love mean a lot to me. 

She even laughs at my jokes sometimes! (Wink, wink)

Happy Birthday, Sof! 

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Winter’s Bone

“I’d be lost without the weight of you two on my back.”

Ree Dolly is 17 and responsible for her younger brothers and her mentally ill mama. 

Her daddy, Jessup Dolly, skipped bail and can’t be found. 

As part of his bond money, Jessup put up their homestead as collateral, which means Ree has to find him. 

The setting is the Ozarks. 

Winter’s Bone by Daniel Woodrell is one of the best books I’ve read in a while. 

It’s not a young adult read, so don’t give it to a kid, but I highly, highly recommend it. 

I wasn’t sure why it felt familiar to me until I read the interview with Daniel Woodrell at the end of the book. 

If you enjoy works by William Faulkner and Flannery O’Connor, you will like Winter’s Bone. 

The story doesn’t shy away from the cold, hard facts. Nothing is white washed. 

Maybe this sounds weird, but the rhythm of the story draws you in…

Not every book does that to me. I almost skipped church because I didn’t want to stop reading. 

The movie is also really good. 

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Saturday Birthday Fun

It’s been an awesome day!

I was invited to a birthday party, so I’ve spent the day surrounded by kids. 

My friend Evie (Nina’s daughter) turned 6. 

Sophia (Evie’s older sister) and I filled up water balloons and then we helped Evie with her birthday presents. 

Now all the kids are playing while the grown ups talk (and grill hot dogs).

It feels good to spend the day outside and with friends. 

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Office antics rock

Office antics crack me up. 

My coworker left a note on my apple–the one that’s been sitting on my desk for the past week–and it caused me to belly laugh.

I was simply shocked to see my normally stoic coworker do something so silly. Of course, you’re talking to the girl who: 

  • Recorded her coworker trying a nori (seaweed) chip for the first time
  • Shot the same coworker with a Nerf gun daily
  • Hid behind doors and scared the same coworker
  • Included a joke in almost every email that I sent out

If I had to be super serious all the time…I’m just not sure that’s sustainable for me. 

I guess it’s good that every boss I’ve ever had thinks I’m kinda funny. In fact, many of them looked to me to be the resident funny person.

Humor is the key to job satisfaction. 

Forget all that stuff about having a good work ethic and all the right college degrees. None of that matters.

Okay, okay it matters a little bit. Though, having halfway decent people skills and a sense of humor are the true keys to success.

At least, it’s always worked for me…

Maybe I shouldn’t say it’s the law just because it’s working for me. (I’m not one of those annoying bloggers that claim to have all the answers.) 

 

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The Knowledge Gap

I’m amazed at how much information there is in our world in relationship to how little I know. 

Does anyone remember the website Stumble Upon?

In thinking about this topic, I did a quick Google search and it turns out they’re still around! 

Back in my college days, one of my many procrastination tools was to check out cool new websites via Stumble Upon. It was possible to be on that website for at least an hour…

There are websites that I still enjoy today that I found using Stumble Upon. There’s no way that I could’ve found them on my own, either. Think about the amount of new content that we have access to everyday:  

  • Websites
  • YouTube videos.
  • Pictures
  • Music
  • Apps
  • Movies
  • TV shows
  • Games
  • Books

I’m reminded of the words of King Solomon: 

 But regarding anything beyond this, dear friend, go easy. There’s no end to the publishing of books, and constant study wears you out so you’re no good for anything else. The last and final word is this: Fear God. Do what he tells you.

I think it’s safe to say that there’s no end to the releasing of new content.As one of my English professors put it:

The only thing that makes your writing original is that you wrote it. The various devices of storytelling and poetry have been around way before you were around and will continue way after you’re gone.

This is a topic that keeps me humble and also shows me just how big God is. Imagine what He thinks! He created everything and knows everything and sees everything.

My brain started smoking just by thinking about all of this….

While my goal is to learn as much as I can, it’s safe to say that there will always be a large gap between what I know and how much more there is to know.