From Church Marketing Sucks I saw this link. Now the article is focused on church workers (which I am part-time), but I think it can be applied to people in general. If you didn't go to the link then here is basically what it is about.
The Seven Worst Communication Habits for Church Staff
1. Contacting others only when you need something.
2. Not following up, or closing the loop.
3. Not returning telephone calls or email messages.
4. Foregoing basic courtesy.
5. Not listening.
6. Telling lies.
7. Spewing chronic negativity.
So I decided to evaluate myself and here are my thoughts.
1. Contacting others only when you need something.:
I know I do this. I call people about doing Mediashout and don't really call them for anything else. And I know there are other areas where this happens as well. I think even calling or emailing someone who does something for you just to say they did a good job would be a great step in the right direction.
2. Not following up, or closing the loop.
The article mentioned thank you notes under this. I am ashamed to say that I have not been a very good thank you note person. I really want to do better in this area. One thing that gets me a little more excited about it is picking out Thank You cards that I think are really cute. My sister bought me a pack of pink cards with a J on it that are adorable.
3. Not returning telephone calls or email messages.
This would be my "you sank my battleship" one. I am horrible with phone calls. My cell phone is one thing I don't care if I don't have it by my side. Therefore, I miss voicemails and texts and may not see them until the next day. Now if you send me an email you will more than likely get a very prompt answer.
4. Foregoing basic courtesy.
I think that I do pretty well in this area. I try to be more than cheery when I am face to face with someone because I want to represent my husband well. However, I am sure there are times when I am definitely in my own little world and don't notice who just passed me.
5. Not listening.
I notice that I zone out in Ferris world every now and then. I start out really listening to someone at the beginning and before I know it I missed their last sentence entirely.
6. Telling lies.
This one I feel like I do okay in. And probably because I have seen in the past that lying hurts others and it is just hard to keep up with. I would much rather tell the truth and have someone upset rather than get caught in a lie and have them be upset with what happened as well as me for lying to them.
7. Spewing chronic negativity.
I used to be full of sarcasm. Some people think sarcasm is funny, but after having people not know if I was joking or just being mean I beg to differ. Sarcasm is going to hurt someone. It usually makes someone feel stupid and we should always strive to bring people up.
Well how did you do? I think I didn't do so well, but it helps me to realize what things I need to work on and how I can in turn have people put their confidence in me. I don't ever want to let anyone down, but if I continue with bad communication then it is inevitable.
5.29.2007
The Happy Plant
Memorial Day usually means a good time to relax and rejuvenate since spring is crazy. However Wade and I were busy working on our house. We are trying to make our house look like a nice home so that when people walk in they lean into their spouse and say, "This is too cute, I can see us being here." So in order to make this happen we have our work cut out for us. So with the help of Wade's parents, our aunt Vicky and our real estate agent, we are trying to make it look good for our potential home buyers.
It is the Dracaena Fragrans Massangeana. And it is also known as the "Happy Plant." Before Wade and I knew the name we would look at the plant and just smile. We think the plant instantly made the living room have a cozier feel. So if we have a quick offer on the house (which I am praying we do) I think a little part is due to the "Happy Plant."
Wade's parents helped with a bunch of paint stuff while we were on vacation at Disney. Now Wade and I are trying to add homey things like better pillows, rugs, a few vases (all compliments of Vicky) to have a unified look. But right now I want to say that our best move was when we added this plant next to our TV area.
It is the Dracaena Fragrans Massangeana. And it is also known as the "Happy Plant." Before Wade and I knew the name we would look at the plant and just smile. We think the plant instantly made the living room have a cozier feel. So if we have a quick offer on the house (which I am praying we do) I think a little part is due to the "Happy Plant."
5.23.2007
Awe, the story of Ruth
I think that Ruth may be one of my favorite books in the Bible. It could seriously be a Lifetime movie or something. Anyway, I just finished reading it as I am journeying through the Old Testament and the Gospels simultaneously. So I thought I would share with you some little goodies I took from it. These points mainly target single ladies because that is what the book is about and I am adding some of my wisdom of two years of marriage!
1. Ruth has such an amazing respect of her mother-in-law.
Ruth's husband dies and it is only her, her sister-in-law, and her mother-in-law left. Even when her SIL Orpah ditches Naomi, Ruth clings to her. Also, she listens to every little piece of advice that Naomi gives her. This just reminded me to respect any woman who can say I've been there and done that. If you aren't listening to your mom or whatever older woman in your life then try seeing situations from her angle...she has tons more wisdom.
2. God looks after us.
This book comes immediately after this ordeal happened. So when Ruth journeyed into the fields to gather grain anything could have happened to her. But she went into Boaz's field who was a God fearing good man! This isn't a coincidence. God put her in the field of Boaz who is almost her kinsman redeemer. And God already knew that from this line he would bring David and Jesus. God definitely knew what he was up to.
3. We see a great example of a man that a single women should seek after.
This is the first thing we read about Boaz:
Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, "The LORD be with you!"
"The LORD bless you!" they called back.
Now ladies...I can't begin to tell you how important it is to seek after a man of God. I am so blessed to have Wade. A man of God is going to pray for you, protect you, pursue you, cherish you, and encourage you (and much more). Wade does all these things. I used to have a self-esteem issue, but since Wade consistently built me up I rarely have those episodes of self-pity anymore. You will see over and over again where Boaz builds up Ruth's character as well.
4. Your real "Boaz" may not look like your Boaz in your head.
The only reason I say this is because I had a strange realization as I was reading today.
Before today this is what was in my head of Ruth and Boaz...
Ruth: average height, petite girl, dark hair, probably about 21, and beautiful
Boaz: muscular guy (from gathering lots of grains), blond hair, maybe 28, very handsome
Then I read this!
"The LORD bless you, my daughter," he replied. "This kindness is greater than that which you showed earlier: You have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor."
AND...we found out he is the brother of Naomi's deceased husband.
So Boaz is at least a generation older than Ruth. So I got this picture in my head now where Boaz is still very handsome, but he kinda has that George Clooney look, some salt and pepper hair but keeps himself in shape kind of guy. So all that to say that God may bring someone different than who you have had your eye out for.
Hope this makes you want to pick up the Bible and read one of my fave books! It is only 4 chapters so it should take you about 10 minutes. Enjoy!
1. Ruth has such an amazing respect of her mother-in-law.
Ruth's husband dies and it is only her, her sister-in-law, and her mother-in-law left. Even when her SIL Orpah ditches Naomi, Ruth clings to her. Also, she listens to every little piece of advice that Naomi gives her. This just reminded me to respect any woman who can say I've been there and done that. If you aren't listening to your mom or whatever older woman in your life then try seeing situations from her angle...she has tons more wisdom.
2. God looks after us.
This book comes immediately after this ordeal happened. So when Ruth journeyed into the fields to gather grain anything could have happened to her. But she went into Boaz's field who was a God fearing good man! This isn't a coincidence. God put her in the field of Boaz who is almost her kinsman redeemer. And God already knew that from this line he would bring David and Jesus. God definitely knew what he was up to.
3. We see a great example of a man that a single women should seek after.
This is the first thing we read about Boaz:
Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, "The LORD be with you!"
"The LORD bless you!" they called back.
Now ladies...I can't begin to tell you how important it is to seek after a man of God. I am so blessed to have Wade. A man of God is going to pray for you, protect you, pursue you, cherish you, and encourage you (and much more). Wade does all these things. I used to have a self-esteem issue, but since Wade consistently built me up I rarely have those episodes of self-pity anymore. You will see over and over again where Boaz builds up Ruth's character as well.
4. Your real "Boaz" may not look like your Boaz in your head.
The only reason I say this is because I had a strange realization as I was reading today.
Before today this is what was in my head of Ruth and Boaz...
Ruth: average height, petite girl, dark hair, probably about 21, and beautiful
Boaz: muscular guy (from gathering lots of grains), blond hair, maybe 28, very handsome
Then I read this!
"The LORD bless you, my daughter," he replied. "This kindness is greater than that which you showed earlier: You have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor."
AND...we found out he is the brother of Naomi's deceased husband.
So Boaz is at least a generation older than Ruth. So I got this picture in my head now where Boaz is still very handsome, but he kinda has that George Clooney look, some salt and pepper hair but keeps himself in shape kind of guy. So all that to say that God may bring someone different than who you have had your eye out for.
Hope this makes you want to pick up the Bible and read one of my fave books! It is only 4 chapters so it should take you about 10 minutes. Enjoy!
5.22.2007
My Top Ten Disney Attractions
Here is my list of the top ten things you need to ride/do at the Disney Parks:
10. Epcot's World Showcase: Although it isn't a ride I had to put this on the list. This was one of my favorite things at Disney and we almost didn't do it. Make sure to go in each country and look at their stores. Wade and I got some funny pictures and you could buy some awesome souvenirs in each country.
9. Epcot's Soarin: I thought this might be lame before I got on it, but once it started it was an amazing experience. In some parts of the ride you really feel like your feet may hit the trees or water.
8. Blizzard Beach's Summit Plummet: This giant straight down slide is ridiculous. They have a thing to check your speed at the bottom. Wade went about 55 mph and I went 50. The second time we went on it I went so fast that my bathing suit top unbuckled in the back. That's fast.
7. Magic Kingdom's Thunder Mountain: A classic roller coaster that lasts a long time. What made this so fun was when we held out our camera and took really funny pictures of one another on the ride.
6. Animal Kingdom's Dinosaur: This ride was really cool because it was in the dark and random dinosaurs would look like they wanted to eat you. Wade and I had a sweet picture of him pointing at a dinosaur and me looking like I wanted to hug it. We didn't buy it though. Sorry.
5. MGM's Rocking Roller Coaster: I mean it plays Aerosmith music and it is a crazy in the dark roller coaster. Two things that go together like eggs and bacon.
4. Magic Kingdom's Space Mountain: Probably the most famous attraction, but classics become classics because of how amazing they are. So it makes my list. Also, once again an in the dark roller coaster. It just makes the thrills much more intense.
3. MGM's The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror: I loved this ride. Reasons why it is on the list at number 3: 1.It has a little bit of a story to it. 2.The people who run the rides all stay in character. 3.It has random drops. 4.The scenery while you are waiting in lines is incredible (cobwebs, scary books, dim candelabras, etc).
2. Animal Kingdom's Kilimanjaro Safari: This ride was unreal. You rode up to wild animals, some without fences, and got to take great photos. We had one giraffe so close to us that it got scared of our truck and we had to slowly pass it so it wouldn't freak out. You need to have a good camera or a video camera for this ride. You are going to want to capture this unique experience!
And now for my top ride of all Disney attractions...
1. Animal Kingdom's Expedition Everest: This is one good roller coaster. You ride forwards then backwards, see a Yeti, change tracks, go through a mountain, almost run off the mountain, zoom into caves, and afterwards you will want to immediately grab the next fast-pass for it! This by far has the coolest scenery that a roller coaster can go through.
Well if you are heading to Disney anytime soon then you will want to print this top ten list and make sure you hit all of my attractions. If not...when you get to your hotel turn to the Disney Information Channel and you can watch Stacy tell you her top ten rides over and over and over again.
10. Epcot's World Showcase: Although it isn't a ride I had to put this on the list. This was one of my favorite things at Disney and we almost didn't do it. Make sure to go in each country and look at their stores. Wade and I got some funny pictures and you could buy some awesome souvenirs in each country.
9. Epcot's Soarin: I thought this might be lame before I got on it, but once it started it was an amazing experience. In some parts of the ride you really feel like your feet may hit the trees or water.
8. Blizzard Beach's Summit Plummet: This giant straight down slide is ridiculous. They have a thing to check your speed at the bottom. Wade went about 55 mph and I went 50. The second time we went on it I went so fast that my bathing suit top unbuckled in the back. That's fast.
7. Magic Kingdom's Thunder Mountain: A classic roller coaster that lasts a long time. What made this so fun was when we held out our camera and took really funny pictures of one another on the ride.
6. Animal Kingdom's Dinosaur: This ride was really cool because it was in the dark and random dinosaurs would look like they wanted to eat you. Wade and I had a sweet picture of him pointing at a dinosaur and me looking like I wanted to hug it. We didn't buy it though. Sorry.
5. MGM's Rocking Roller Coaster: I mean it plays Aerosmith music and it is a crazy in the dark roller coaster. Two things that go together like eggs and bacon.
4. Magic Kingdom's Space Mountain: Probably the most famous attraction, but classics become classics because of how amazing they are. So it makes my list. Also, once again an in the dark roller coaster. It just makes the thrills much more intense.
3. MGM's The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror: I loved this ride. Reasons why it is on the list at number 3: 1.It has a little bit of a story to it. 2.The people who run the rides all stay in character. 3.It has random drops. 4.The scenery while you are waiting in lines is incredible (cobwebs, scary books, dim candelabras, etc).
2. Animal Kingdom's Kilimanjaro Safari: This ride was unreal. You rode up to wild animals, some without fences, and got to take great photos. We had one giraffe so close to us that it got scared of our truck and we had to slowly pass it so it wouldn't freak out. You need to have a good camera or a video camera for this ride. You are going to want to capture this unique experience!
And now for my top ride of all Disney attractions...
1. Animal Kingdom's Expedition Everest: This is one good roller coaster. You ride forwards then backwards, see a Yeti, change tracks, go through a mountain, almost run off the mountain, zoom into caves, and afterwards you will want to immediately grab the next fast-pass for it! This by far has the coolest scenery that a roller coaster can go through.
Well if you are heading to Disney anytime soon then you will want to print this top ten list and make sure you hit all of my attractions. If not...when you get to your hotel turn to the Disney Information Channel and you can watch Stacy tell you her top ten rides over and over and over again.
The blog slump
I fear I have fallen into the ever dreaded blog slump. I assure you that somehow I will dig and kick and crawl my way out of it.
Disney was amazing. Wade and I went to all of the parks + downtown disney + blizzard beach water park. It was the best vacation ever. I have a few posts coming that will show you some of the awesomeness of our trip.
Also, Wade turned 31 this past Saturday (May 19th)! We had a great time with his family and got to see Shrek the Third. It was pretty funny. It is weird to think that he has had 31 birthdays as a South Carolinian but next year we will be North Carolinians. Weird. Happy Birthday from my blog!
Disney was amazing. Wade and I went to all of the parks + downtown disney + blizzard beach water park. It was the best vacation ever. I have a few posts coming that will show you some of the awesomeness of our trip.
Also, Wade turned 31 this past Saturday (May 19th)! We had a great time with his family and got to see Shrek the Third. It was pretty funny. It is weird to think that he has had 31 birthdays as a South Carolinian but next year we will be North Carolinians. Weird. Happy Birthday from my blog!
5.12.2007
On Vacay
I don't know if you have noticed yet, but Wade has returned to the blogging world. I am so glad he is back and you will be too once you start reading his amazing posts! Anyway, you can read his blog to find out what all we did this Saturday. We had a lot of fun. But tomorrow we go on vacation. We are heading off to Disney World to enjoy a week of fun and festivities. Hopefully we will take a bunch of pics so I can upload them on my Flickr account for you. I do have some pictures that I am about to upload from Chi Alpha weekend. Apparently people with my camera (Andrew Stewart and random others) took like 200+ pics so I am having to decide which ones to upload.
So since we are going to Disney I have no idea if I will blog next week. So to keep you busy until I return try this (it's a cool question I saw recently):
Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18 and find line 4. What does it say? Share.
Mine was the Bible, from Genesis 9:2
"birds of the air, upon every creature"
So since we are going to Disney I have no idea if I will blog next week. So to keep you busy until I return try this (it's a cool question I saw recently):
Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18 and find line 4. What does it say? Share.
Mine was the Bible, from Genesis 9:2
"birds of the air, upon every creature"
5.11.2007
Rio
Well it was a sad day yesterday. My mom let me know that my childhood dog Rio passed away. I was really sad. I hadn't been around Rio much since I moved to Columbia, but it still hit me.
I received Rio as my 13th birthday present. So although my mom definitely took care of him he was still my little dog. But then I started thinking about my dog Scooter. Wade and I have to do everything for him. We have to take him outside to use the bathroom. We have to put his food out for him to be able to eat. We have to take him on walks so he gets exercise. I mean it is a little taste of taking care of a child. I have only had Scooter for two years, but if anything happened to him it would be devastating because I have had to rearrange my schedule for him for two years and take care of him.
So I started thinking about how my mom did all that for Rio. And although I love Rio, I never had to take of him like he was my little child. My mom had Rio for 11 years so him passing away was really hard on her. Rio was an awesome dog and I know he had a good dog life. And I am so glad I got to grow up with him being my dog.
I received Rio as my 13th birthday present. So although my mom definitely took care of him he was still my little dog. But then I started thinking about my dog Scooter. Wade and I have to do everything for him. We have to take him outside to use the bathroom. We have to put his food out for him to be able to eat. We have to take him on walks so he gets exercise. I mean it is a little taste of taking care of a child. I have only had Scooter for two years, but if anything happened to him it would be devastating because I have had to rearrange my schedule for him for two years and take care of him.
So I started thinking about how my mom did all that for Rio. And although I love Rio, I never had to take of him like he was my little child. My mom had Rio for 11 years so him passing away was really hard on her. Rio was an awesome dog and I know he had a good dog life. And I am so glad I got to grow up with him being my dog.
5.08.2007
It's Official
I was trying to wait for Wade to have the honor of posting this first, but I couldn't wait any longer! Wade and I are moving to Charlotte, NC. We are so excited about what God is going to do with this new adventure.
Basically, Wade was offered a Worship Pastor position at Elevation Church and we decided to go for it. It was an interesting process trying to figure out where God really wanted us to be and what Wade needed to do with the gifts he has been given. I am truly thankful for this opportunity and I am really excited for what Charlotte will bring for me as a graphic designer. So if you have some kind of connection to Charlotte and know of some design jobs then let me know! I'm sure more details will follow and I will chronicle our move.
5.02.2007
Would You Rather Wednesday
I have decided that I enjoy hearing your responses to random questions. Ya'll need to get better at the how many game. But I now establish Wednesdays (as long as I can remember to do it) as Would You Rather Day! So here is your question.
Would you rather:
lose your keys three days in a row
or
have your dog eat your birthday cake?
I actually left my keys at church while Wade was gone. So thankfully I got to use his keys. So I would rather lose my keys three days in a row. Birthday cake is just so good.
Would you rather:
lose your keys three days in a row
or
have your dog eat your birthday cake?
I actually left my keys at church while Wade was gone. So thankfully I got to use his keys. So I would rather lose my keys three days in a row. Birthday cake is just so good.
5.01.2007
How Many?
I got this from Question of the Day.
This is the How Many ??? game, and this is how we play:
The person before you has asked How Many??? You’ll answer their question in the comments as well as ask the next person a How Many??? question. The next person answers your question, and asks another, etc…..
Easy enough, right?
For the first one to comment:
How many bones have you broken?
This is the How Many ??? game, and this is how we play:
The person before you has asked How Many??? You’ll answer their question in the comments as well as ask the next person a How Many??? question. The next person answers your question, and asks another, etc…..
Easy enough, right?
For the first one to comment:
How many bones have you broken?
Pour me some coffee and some love
It has been a long time since I have been this tired. Chi Alpha knocked me out. Wade and I slept all day on Sunday and I guess I haven't gotten back on my regular schedule. So at work yesterday and today I have been doing the head nod and have to wake myself up. It is pretty funny.
But there is one thing that I want to share about Chi Alpha. Our speaker Darren talked about loving others on the last night. Basically my thought from the talk is...I want to be known as a Christian that pours out love on people rather than someone that is judgmental. I want people who have done things that they think no one can get past to know that Christians are there to support them.
I can't believe how so many Christians have this judgmental attitude. We had Christ as our ultimate example on how to comfort those that the Pharisees thought were not good enough to be around them, but we tend to look more like Pharisees instead of Christ.
Jesus comforted the prostitute that was about to be stoned. He didn't condemn her. We have women and girls out there that do the same thing, but you hear more about how she messed up her life from Christians rather than how burdened they are by it. There are people who become addicted to drugs that I hear Christians say they probably deserved it rather than how they can pray for their healing. The list goes on and on.
I challenge us as Christians to truly love on people. No matter who they are, what they have done, what they look like, what they say, or how they act...we need to love on them. We need to be reminded that we are representing Jesus and people are watching. I know this is a hard concept to actually live out because I fail miserably at it. But I want to challenge myself to really change my heart and my actions to be full of love.
But there is one thing that I want to share about Chi Alpha. Our speaker Darren talked about loving others on the last night. Basically my thought from the talk is...I want to be known as a Christian that pours out love on people rather than someone that is judgmental. I want people who have done things that they think no one can get past to know that Christians are there to support them.
I can't believe how so many Christians have this judgmental attitude. We had Christ as our ultimate example on how to comfort those that the Pharisees thought were not good enough to be around them, but we tend to look more like Pharisees instead of Christ.
Jesus comforted the prostitute that was about to be stoned. He didn't condemn her. We have women and girls out there that do the same thing, but you hear more about how she messed up her life from Christians rather than how burdened they are by it. There are people who become addicted to drugs that I hear Christians say they probably deserved it rather than how they can pray for their healing. The list goes on and on.
I challenge us as Christians to truly love on people. No matter who they are, what they have done, what they look like, what they say, or how they act...we need to love on them. We need to be reminded that we are representing Jesus and people are watching. I know this is a hard concept to actually live out because I fail miserably at it. But I want to challenge myself to really change my heart and my actions to be full of love.
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