customer service.

To put it as kindly as possible ... my car is not the sharpest crayon in the box. In the past year it has been in and out of the shop about 8 times, for an average of at least 1 week each visit. Meaning I have spent at least 2 of the last 12 months driving a rental. I have become very friendly with my service manager, the receptionist, the rental car company, AAA and a few tow truck drivers. Normally I haven't had an issue with the fact that my car was crapping out on me. Of course it is a pain in the rear but all it really meant was I was putting miles on some car that isn't my own and getting better gas mileage than normal. The majority of the issues that my car has fallen ill with have been easily identifiable.
 
1. Heater stopped working. Entire heating system was replaced.
2. Sunroof was leaking. Sunroof was taken out and the drainage pipes around it were replaced.
3. Intake manifold (whatever that is) needed to be replaced. Done.
4. .... etc.
5. .... etc.
6. .... etc. the list goes on and on.
 
However this most recent event was a doozy. I had driven my less than reliable vehicle to Waco to visit C and on Saturday we decided to make our way to College Station to see our favorite college football team BTHO Lamar. Needless to say it wasn't as smooth sailing as we hoped. C was driving and right outside of Calvert he started to notice some engine issues; issues that I have unfortunately had before and knew all too well. By the time he was putting the pedal to the metal and we were only going 14 mph it was clear there was a large problem and I was furious. The anger stemmed from all kinds of places; not having the money to fix my vehicle for yet another time, being stranded in the middle of nowhere wasn't much of a plus, and so forth. I was cursing up a storm, calling my parents, and debating on whether lighting my car on fire or driving it through the front of the dealership was a better choice.
 
All the while C sat beside me, calm, collected and hysterical as always. Turns out he is just what I need to balance all of my chaos and crazy. Turns out he knows a bit about cars too and is pretty good with finding car dealerships in the middle of tiny towns. After cruising along at warp speed he coasted us into Derek Scott's Auto Park. And this is the point of my entire story.

Good customer service is hard to come by but not at this dealership. After sitting in the parking lot a few minutes a gentleman named Todd walked up and asked if we needed any help. They were already closed but he was insistent on seeing if there was anything he could do. After talking to C for a while about what exactly had been going on and getting a rundown of our situation he went inside and grabbed another guy to come take a look. These two guys, who work at a Chevrolet, Buick, GMC Dealership, that was already closed, were spending their precious time to help two college aged kids with a Volkswagen from a totally different town. They couldn't do much BUT they did get us back on the road and back up to speed enough for us to make it to the VW dealership in Bryan. Plus we managed to make it to the game, with time to spare, thanks to their help.

I was genuinely moved by their kindness. Not many people take customer service to that level; honestly, when Todd came up to the window I thought he was going to ask us to please leave the premises because they were shutting the gates. They went above and beyond for total strangers, knowing they would get nothing in return. It was something I so deeply appreciate and hope to be able to give back to the people I work for and with. Derek Scott and his team deserve some recognition and so I hope this helps do just that.

follow through.

I followed through with something. Strange ... I know. But last night I went back to Bible study. I sacrificed my time and gave it to God. What a beautiful thing that can be.

It has been almost a year since I was in community group. After a downward spiral towards the end of summer last July I chose to take a step back. I use the word chose because it definitely was a choice. My faith was lacking and I was so angry at the world - God too. I have attended church here and there since then but it has definitely been inconsistent. Community is hard to insert yourself in when you feel like you are an outsider. When you are not walking with the Lord, the last thing you want to do is come and spend time with Him. You feel ashamed, broken, unworthy, so on and so forth. A breaking point has to happen for you to decide to go back.

My dad being sick was and is my breaking point.

I have one selfless, sweet, incredibly caring friend from group who has not only followed up with me consistently in my absence but she has gently pushed me to return. She knew that I would come back when I was ready but she also was not going to let me off the hook. I am so genuinely blessed by her love.

Being back is not easy. I still feel like an outsider. So much has happened since I last saw those people; some are now married or pregnant, some new people and some have left the group. They have continued to grow together and grow in their faith while I remained stagnant. I don't like that feeling and I don't want to do it anymore.

Choosing to walk with God isn't easy. I recently read a magazine article [which can be found here: http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/christianity-harder-we-pretend-it] that discusses how much harder Christianity is than we pretend. We feel like we can live with a foot in both the Christian world and in secular society. That is not the case. Giving your life to God means giving up everything and handing it over to Him for His glory. That is a daily challenge but it is something we are called to.

So here is the start to something new. Hopefully the follow through is not temporary and I can begin to not only walk with the Lord daily but also trust in Him each day too.

busy body.

I really swore to myself that this time around I was going to be more diligent in keeping up with my posts. Not necessarily posting everyday, but weekly, maybe a few times a week if I was on top of my game. 

Then life catches up with you and --- BAM! It has been almost 2 weeks since I was last on here. Fail. It's so crazy to think how the small things cause such big distractions. Looking at life in general it is always the same excuse in every arena - I'm too busy to do a quiet time, too busy to go workout, too busy to leave work on time, etc. etc. I have let my "busyness" take over the things that I truly love doing. I love blogging and man, I would kill to leave work on time one day. 

So why do we do it? Why is it that every good intention seems to fail and every act that is supposed to lead to more successes ends in a big womp, womp, womp ... 

We are HUMAN. 

The remainder of this year is going to be full of challenges for me, literally and figuratively. I am taking part in the the #100HappyDays Challenge, which you can read about in my previous post. And I have decided to take on the I Am Second 22 Day Challenge. The general gist is that you receive a video, one per day for 22 days, that you must watch, then share and complete the challenge that comes along with it. On day 4, my the challenge that was sent over along with my video was, "Confess to God what you still hold back. Then give, donate or volunteer some of it to others." 

What I hold back ... is my time. I am selfish with it. For real. I do, what I want to do, when I want to do it. If I were to wake up everyday and start fresh with a quiet time, just me and God, can you imagine what my day might be like? The list could go on for days! So here I am not only confessing to God what I hold back but confessing to each (and all one of you) that read this thing. I am going to give my time. Volunteer my time. Donate my time. That is my challenge. That is where I am going to start. 

#100happydays

This is my second go around with the 100 Happy Days challenge. I started for the first time back in April after having seen the challenge via a fellow friends Instagram. She so effortlessly completed the 100 day task (or so it seemed). I figured there was nothing too it ... how hard could it be to take 1 picture a day for 100 days of things that simply make me happy? I'm a happy person. Piece of cake. But as the days passed I struggled at times to find something that brought a smile to my face. Of course, there were the usual things that always filled me with joy, an "I love you" from C or dinner and quality time with my parents. But I didn't want to be repetitive and post a photo of the same thing over and over again. So around day 80 I gave up. My dad had been diagnosed with lung cancer and my granddad had passed away so finding happiness in the small things wasn't a priority of mine. Quitting was honestly just easier. I found it much more convenient to wallow in my pity and my "woe is me" attitude.

I have no doubt that people in our society, especially now, are always searching for something better. Rarely are people content with what they have right in front of them. The "#firstworldproblems" hashtag floats around social media like we are truly people in peril. I'm not simply pointing the finger here; I will readily admit that I tend to not be happy the way I used to be. I choose to not find joy in the small things some days because I have become used to a standard that is unrealistic. I get upset when things happen to me that I wasn't prepared for. "It isn't fair", often comes out of my mouth, and I allow the frustration to overwhelm any chance of happiness in my day. It eats at me.

With all of that being said I don't quite have a specific reason why I have decided to make a second go at this. Part of me wants to be able to cross it off my checklist and mark it complete. If you know me you know how much I enjoy scratching things off my to do list. But the other part of me so desperately wants to find (and document) the little things that create my happiness.

So here I am on day 3 of my 100 day challenge. So far, so good. I'll keep you posted as I go along.

Till next time ...

M

compassion.

I failed to mention in my life update that I adopted a child. Not actually adopted a child but rather chose to sponsor a child during 2013 via Compassion International. His name is Armel and he lives in Burkina Faso. His birthday is coming up; he'll be 7 years old. He plays soccer with his friends for fun or hide and seek. Want to know the most incredible thing about Armel though? He loves Jesus.

We don't get to talk often because it takes quite some time for letters to get back and forth however when he does write, he says such profound things for child. He asks me to pray for he and his family, that they would be safe and healthy. He asks for me to pray for him that he would excel in school. Armel is truly a child of God. He loves his Savior and even at such a young age he strives to learn more about the Bible, Heaven and Jesus. I sometimes stare at his picture and am in awe.

Yesterday I received and email from Compassion updating me on the status of the Ebola outbreaks in Africa. I don't know how it had not crossed my mind that Armel was in the middle of this but when I saw the email a part of my heart sank. His country has yet to be infected but much of West Africa is now showing cases of the virus, countries that surround his location in Burkina Faso. I wonder if he knows the severity of the situation; if he has any idea that there is an outbreak of a life threatening disease just 800 miles away. Then I remind myself that knowing Armel, it wouldn't matter. For he has given his life to his Lord and is full of joy no matter the situation.

Prayers for Armel flow through my head constantly. I have tried to implement him into my daily life so that he is on my mind as much as possible. There is a picture of him in my wallet, one on my bathroom mirror, etc. I want so desperately for him to know that I am here. I know he is aware that I sponsor him but I don't know if he has a clue how much he of an influence he has on me. I admire him and he inspires me. I hope that I can be half the blessing to him that he is to me.

Please join me in my prayers for Armel and his family.

"You need only to be still, the Lord will fight for you" 

Exodus 14:14

Till next time ...

M

starting over.

Two years have passed since I last wrote a post. I honestly can't remember what made me stop writing but it feels good to be back. There is such as sense of peace and relief I get from typing out my anxiety, fear, joys, etc. and sharing them with whoever is out there - I still haven't decided if anyone actually reads this thing yet. Deciding to come back to the blogging world was a tough choice for me; especially on this same platform. I went back and read many previous posts I had made and my heart began to hurt. So many things have changed. So much of what I wrote about is no more. I contemplated deleting this blog all together and starting over; I even created a new one but never got around to writing on it.

This is where my heart is. 

Blogging is simply meant to be an online journal, a diary of sorts. I would never just go back through my old journals and rip out pages that I didn't want to re-read any longer, so why would I delete my old posts? Looking back makes me realize what a journey I have been on the past two years. Though there is pain and confusion in some of it I see how much I have grown. I am a better for it. Happier because of it. I'm starting over. 

Just to slightly recap a couple of major things that have gone on: 

1. I have a new boyfriend. YAY. This month marks one year that we have been together. I couldn't be more proud to walk beside him in this life. And I am thrilled about the journey we are on. 

Me and C in San Antonio, 2014

2. I am still running but not as much as I would like to be. I went through a patch of time where I was on some pretty heavy meds and it killed my joints so running was out of the question. Back at it though and training again with a group of ladies through Karna Fitness. Definitely a great support system and pretty effective to regain my mileage. Planning on running The Woodlands Half Marathon in early 2015 as well ... baby steps. 

3. Working out wise I have also started taking some spin and barre classes at a local place called Define. Holy smokes - is it the best. Not only are the people fantastic but both rev and body are killer workouts. I love being able to add some new stuff to my routine instead of just running everyday. 

4. On a more serious note - my daddy was diagnosed with lung cancer, about 2 months ago now. Though this is just the beginning it has already been a serious battle. The type of cancer he was diagnosed with is pretty uncommon. Luckily there is a relatively successful trial drug out there that the doctors have him on. I know that any of us could die at any moment - in car accident, from a heart attack, whatever - but knowing he is sick makes me worry to my core. I am sure there will be many future posts about his status and how my heart slash head are handling everything. 

Me and Dad in England, 2013

5. Speaking of family my parents and I were able to take a pretty outstanding trip to Belgium and England last July. I clearly am a little past due on the post but I just have to point it out. Now that my dad has fallen ill it may be one of the last big family vacations that we got to go on together. I will cherish that deeply. And London is wicked cool. I loved every second of the trip; the culture, the people, the sights - I could move there in a heartbeat. 

Me, Mom and Dad headed to Europe, 2013

6. Some big changes happened in the friend zones over the past few years too. To be brief:

• O and I had a large falling out. In fact, she had a large falling out with me, K and B and stepped away from all of our friendships all together. I have since apologized, which I think she has accepted, and we speak from time to time. However, we are not necessarily on a path to recovery. Just amicable. 
• B got married! Yes, this means she moved out .. sigh. I miss having her here all the time but she married a fantastic man, we will call him M, and it is so lovely to see her genuinely happy. I couldn't be prouder to call her my best. 
• K graduated from college, wahoo! She and W also ended an engagement which has been rocky to say the least. I so admire her strength through the whole process and envy her ability to follow through on possibly the toughest decision she's had to face. 
• L moved home from Hawaii. To be honest, I am not sure if she was in Hawaii yet the last time I posted. But she is here now and I am so glad to have her back. It is nice to be able to pick up where you left off with a friendship, like no time has passed, even when it has been years. 
• There was a huge, drama filled, chaotic, mess of a night that sort of stemmed a whole bunch of change for me in the friend department last July. I lost a number of people I was incredibly close to and fell into probably one of the darkest places I have ever been. People I thought I knew and could trust, betrayed me. People I thought would have my back, didn't. People spun things and set things up and it was just a hell of bad time. I see now how at fault I was for so much of it. But I also see how vindictive and hateful others can be. I am learning to choose my friends wisely and to put faith in those that I genuinely have faith in. 

All of us at K's Graduation 

B and the Bridal Party

7. I got a big girl job. Working in real estate was never where I imagined I would end up but alas, here I am. I have been working for Heritage Texas Properties for almost a year and it has been such a blessing. Not only have I found something that I am passionate about but I have am honored to work alongside and under such great colleagues. The opportunity came out of nowhere and totally just fell into my lap but I am glad I jumped at the chance and wasn't too afraid to take the risk.

Since two years have passed I am sure way more than just 7 major events have occurred but that is all I can seem to conjure up at the moment. Probably because it's 1:30 AM and my brain is shutting off. Either way, it's a start. I am picking up the pieces where I left off and will be more diligent about writing and documenting what is going on in my life.

Till next time ...

M

Courtesy of P.Phillips

Hold on, to me as we go
As we roll down this unfamiliar road
And although this wave is stringing us along
Just know you’re not alone
Cause I’m going to make this place your home

Settle down, it'll all be clear
Don't pay no mind to the demons
They fill you with fear
The trouble it might drag you down
If you get lost, you can always be found

Just know you’re not alone
Cause I’m going to make this place your home

Settle down, it'll all be clear
Don't pay no mind to the demons
They fill you with fear
The trouble it might drag you down
If you get lost, you can always be found

Just know you’re not alone
Cause I’m going to make this place your home