Owner: God's Work In Progress URL:www.amylbrooke.blogspot.com Join Date: Fri, 28 Dec 2007 20:58:04 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: God is at work in everyday lives. Sometimes we just have to pause long enough to take notice of it. When we do, we realize that all of us are God's work in progress and that God is active in even the simple things in life. Site statistics:Click here
Recovery 2008-03-14 13:43:00 I have never been what one might call organized. I envy people who are. Still, Lysa said that any of us could participate and I can't resist even if it is slightly embarrassing! So, I'm participating in the swap and hop.Not being organized was learned at a young age, so it is a very hard habit to break. My mom would say, "Clean your room." At 10, I interpreted this as "Put everything under your bed." My mom never thought to look there, so I never got in any trouble for it.It has caused more stress as I've gotten older and had to deal with adult things rather than the box of collected rocks, dolls, yarn, and other odds and ends. I spend a good deal of time looking for things. While I am trying to get better at this, it isn't going so well.I've been working at Barnes and Noble as a sub. I s Read more:Recovery
The One Who Waits 2008-03-13 21:33:00 It was one of the hardest aspects of the job. It had to be done, so I did it but I hated it. Every Wed. morning I would get to the office early, go in and grab a car seat, and head out to pick up a little 2 1/2 year old. He was always excited to see me. I would pick him up and transport him back to the office for a visit with his mom.You see, I spent several years working in foster care. It's a high stress job with little pay. But most people do it because they believe that some of the most vulnerable in our society need protecting.Supervising parent-child visits came with the territory. Hence, the early morning trek to pick up this little guy. On good days, we would arrive back at the office and I would watch him and his mom interact for two hours (awkward but necessary) and provide helpf Read more:Waits
There's A Party Going On Right Here 2008-03-15 20:13:00 There's a party going on right here! As I mentioned yesterday, I have Jill's boys for the weekend since it Hearts at Home. We've been having a fun time. I picked them up after school and we headed back to my house. I tried out a new recipe from a book (Taco Pie). (It was just average. I should have used one of the tried and true ones off of Lysa's site! However, the cookies were a hit.) Then I had a Financial Peace class and the boys went with me and just hung out. We got back to my house a little before 9:00 so we put in a movie. They had never seen Horse Whisper, so that is what we watched.I'm not sure what time they got up. But when I went down about 9:00 they were read for breakfast. They watched some Hannah Montana and That's So Raven while I showered and changed and then we went to r Read more:Going
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Two Sides of the Same Coin -- Hope Chronicles 25 2008-03-17 21:14:00 Last night at the bookstore, I was talking to a coworker. I told him that on Saturday I had purchased a hula hoop and that I was teaching one of my cats, Mali, to jump through it. He remarked, "You can't teach a cat tricks." (For photographic proof see Mali doing "up".) I told him that I had, and that Mali had walked through the hoop numerous times and jumped through twice. His response: "Are you sure she just wasn't humoring you?" Maybe, but I'll take it.Dogs are pack animals and probably do perform out of a desire to please as well as accompanying treats. The only cat that lives in a group is a lion. So, cats are fairly independent. It can be a trick to figure out their motivation and harness it. Our motives in things are often mixed. I think Mali enjoys the interaction as well as the tr Read more:Sides
Redeem -- Hope Chronicles 26 2008-03-20 17:20:00 I love words. I love stringing them together to create meaning. I love beautifully crafted sentences that make me pause and read them again. For good or evil, words also have power. I try -- though I don't always succeed -- to be careful with my words.Perhaps it is my love affair with words that makes my heart trill over the opening of the book of John. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made." Jesus is the Word. God spoke and the world was created. I love that.Our language (individually and as a culture) show us what is important to us. Did you know that the Eskimos have 32 different words for our single word "snow"? Thirty-two! I ca
Not Why but Who -- Hope Chronicles 28 2008-03-24 19:54:00 Katy, my older cat, loves to sleep next to me. I lie on my side and hold the blanket up and she curls up next to my tummy as I let the blankets gently cover her. Often, I can't hear her purr, but as I rub her belly I can feel the vibrations, the contentment. It's a soothing ritual the two of us have developed.As you have guessed, I like cats. I also like useless bits of trivia. Without using Google see if you know the following:Only one type of cat lives in a group and it is _________.The first state to ratify the constitution was _________.The first female doctor was _____________.Why do hummingbirds hum? (No, it isn't, he he, that they don't know the words)The movement to get women the right to vote began in 1848. How many years did it take to achieve it?How many stripes are on the Ameri
$2.62 and the Rules -- Hope Chronicles 29 2008-03-27 15:16:00 They do not provide parking where I work. Free unlimited parking is about 3-4 blocks away and possibly more depending on when you arrive. If you park closer, you have to move your car every 90 minutes and then it cannot be moved within a 1 block radius or you get a ticket. (This happened to a coworker.)There is a parking garage immediately across the street, but it is run by the city and there is a monthly fee. It's more expensive to pay by the day. Anyway, the walk is good for me. However, rain, snow (There is some in the forecast!), and sleet make me willing to pay on the particularly blustery days or when I have to hurry to be somewhere after work. There have been a rash of those days this week.Two days ago, the parking attendant mentioned to me that since the rails were up, people were Read more:Rules
Odds and Ends 2008-03-30 00:12:00 It's late -- 12:12 AM to be exact. I'm tired but my mind is going. I actually just got off of work at the bookstore about 40 minutes ago. I've been on my feet for 5 1/2 hours. So, this post may be a bit off from my usual posts. It's an attempt to declutter my brain so I can sleep.Working at the bookstore has been interesting. Actually, working at the county has been interesting too. Anytime you have an ounce of customer service to perform -- its interesting. You learn a lot about people.Anecdotes and Observations:Communication is harder than you think. I'm coming to believe that listening is a lost art. Tonight, a girl bought a book. She wanted to spend the remainder of her gift card after we had already completed the transaction. She grabbed a chocolate bar with raspberry filling and had
Take a Child by the Hand 2008-03-28 21:46:00 There is an old French proverb that goes, "Who takes a child by the hand takes a mother by the heart." I don't know it from a mother's vantage point, but I understand it as one who has invested in children.Today in the county office I work in, I got to play it out. We don't see very many children in our office, but a mom came in with two little ones in tow. One looked to be about 4 and the other about 2 1/2. She wanted to drop off a Quit Claim Deed to be recorded. While it is not always the case, we see these a lot when there is a divorce in the works. One spouse "quit claims" solely to the other. (There are other reasons as well, but this can be the situation.)I started examining the document and noted that a couple things were missing. I double checked with a coworker who actually knew t
Just a Minute and the Choices We Make 2008-04-01 18:54:00 It has been an emotional roller coaster around here. (Even the cats have been fighting and I've had to separate them!) I've never been a huge fan of roller coasters and I hate the emotional ones even more than the real ones. But I've been an up and down and all around physical and emotional mess.I called the doctor today about a bit of the physical. I knew when I called what the answer would most likely be -- stress and let us know if it continues. Right. I will do that. It's just managing the stress that is the key. Since I haven't been sleeping well for about a month my ability to manage anything is truly taxed.I also called someone else to touch base and bolster my emotional reserves. As soon as I got them on the phone, they said, "I only have a minute . . . ." Honestly, I could have ta Read more:Minute
Saying "Wait" -- Hope Chronicles 30 2008-03-31 16:47:00 I've always been a bit of a saver. When I was a child, my allowance always went into the pottery type doll bank that sat on my dresser. When I was 10, my parents took us to start savings accounts. As we got older (early high school), my parents started upping the amount of money they gave us. It was agreed upon that that everything (school clothes, Christmas presents, etc) came out of that money. I never asked my my parents for extra. And then I also babysat a ton. Money just seemed to come easy.Even after college, things have been tight at times, but it has always seemed that there was enough. If I wanted something, I saved here and there for it and got it in a reasonable amount of time. But, money has been extremely tight lately -- we are talking months and months. I thought I had it all
Won't You Be My Neighbor? -- Hope Chronicles 31 2008-04-03 16:39:00 He called us friend and put on house slippers and a cozy sweater. He talked to us (but never down to us) and took us on make believe adventures. I'm dating myself, but Mr. Rogers was an integral part of my early life. And he always asked, "Won't you be my neighbor?"We weren't close to a lot of people growing up, but I did at least know who my neighbors were on the left and right and catercorner and across the street and several houses up . . . . I knew who the parents were and which kids to avoid and who might want to play a game of tag.It appears that it is less and less like that today. I live in a row of town houses. I know the people on either side and a couple down the alley but not many more than that. Still, I was totally caught off guard by two calls today at the office.I work in t Read more:Neighbor
A Goal and a Prayer 2008-04-02 17:19:00 Just a very quick post. I'm off shortly to the book store. They called the other night and asked if I would come in for a couple hours tonight. They are having a special event for the Autism Society. They said I would either be at cash-wrap or in kids. I called back after we got off the phone and talked to one of the managers. I told her either would be fine but that kids might be a good fit given my counseling background. I'm not sure they realized I had that. Not that I would do counseling tonight or anything. But, I told her I may be less likely than most to be put off by unusual behavior.Autism spectrum disorders are being diagnosed more and more. There are a range of them -- severe and some just kind of quirky. But I know the value in each child feeling valued even if they cannot seem Read more:Prayer
On Finding Flowers 2008-04-06 19:09:00 It's just begun to get warm in central Illinois -- just jacket kind of weather. The grass is still mostly that dead brownish-yellow of winter. So, a few days ago I was surprised to notice what looked like a couple purple flowers in the middle of my yard. I didn't have time to go investigate, but I've noticed them the last few days as I've whizzed this way and that.It's also been a rocky week emotionally. Mostly, it is because I took a risk earlier in the week in a family relationship. I had actually gone back and forth for over a month about if asking this particular thing of this person was "wise" or not. On one hand, I knew it would sting emotionally if it didn't turn out the way I hoped. On the other hand, I thought that if I didn't try, didn't ask, I would always wonder. In reality, I Read more:Flowers
Six Word Memoirs -- Hope Chronicles 32 2008-04-04 22:14:00 What can you say in six words? There is a new book out that says a lot or at the very least makes you wonder some about the person who wrote it. It is titled NOT QUITE WHAT I WAS PLANNING: SIX WORD MEMOIRS BY WRITERS FAMOUS AND OBSCURE.I know about it because of working in the bookstore. It's one of the books we are "encouraging." I'm not sure it is one that I would personally pick, but it does garnish a little interest. Not sure if it is urban legend or not, but the story goes that someone once challenged Ernest Hemingway to write a story in six words. He reportedly wrote "For sale: Baby shoes, never worn." Thus, the idea for the book.At the bookstore, the rage has been to come up with your own six word memoir. They usually elicit more questions and quizzical looks than anything. My first Read more:Memoirs
Mystery of the Missing PJ's 2008-04-07 21:33:00 We are in the transition from winter to spring in central Illinois. However, last week, it was still - in my opinion - pretty cold. I also have this thing about comfort. I love my fleece pj's. (Getting to wear fleece is one of the few good things about winter.)Last Tuesday night I went to put my snugly pj's on. It had been a hard day. I had a migraine and all that kind of stuff going on. I wanted -- I needed --my comfortable pj's. Much to my dismay, I could not find the pj bottoms. Typically, they reside with the top waiting for me on the bed. I had done a load of laundry, so I checked to see if they had gotten thrown in there. Nada. I looked all around and couldn't find them. I thought that maybe it was that I was tired and that I would find them on WednesdayWednesday -- no pj's. I still Read more:Missing
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Scandalous Hope -- Hope Chronicles 33 2008-04-08 18:46:00 I am really enjoying working at Barnes and Noble. (The pay could be better, but the atmosphere is great.) I worked 1 day in the last 4 days but have popped in there 3 out of the 4. Today, I went to pick up one of Lysa's books for someone.I was hailed to go to the register at the other end of the row of registers. As I was going, I mentioned that I was picking up a book and the manager snagged it for me. It was, as is customary for special orders, wrapped in white paper. She said, "You know we have to check it out." I laughed and said, "Yeah, it's pretty scandalous stuff."When she handed my purchase to another bookseller, Will, to ring up, she said, "Yeah, it's really racy all right." Will looked pretty perplexed. We do see some racy things come through our lines, but I don't think he would
Tug of War 2008-04-10 20:42:00 The last time I was involved in a tug of war was when I was a college student at camp. We did it in the sand by the bay. Everyone kept yelling, "Dig in! Dig in!" While this was probably good advice, it wasn't all that helpful in sand unless you had a pretty good size trench. The whole time we were stepping on each other and falling down. I have no clue which team won but I do know I didn't enjoy it at all. Later when I went to camp as a staff, I opted out of that event!Today I talked to Julie about a conflict I'm in with someone. She made the observation that we appear to be in a bit of a tug of war. She had some great advice. She said, "If you want to end a tug of war, you can lay down your rope and walk toward the other person." I struggled with that a bit after she said it. My emotional
Where Memories Are Kept 2008-04-12 15:36:00 I have known for a while that the time was coming, that soon a piece of my life would be no more or at least not in the same form. Even though the cover had been loose for a time, it was hard to see the cover completely torn away from this much used book.With most things in the kitchen, I make do. I cobble things together, sometimes shooting an email to a friend to find out what is really meant by "browning" or "saute" or any other cooking type word. However, I do really well with baking. My specialty is chocolate chip cookies. Though I've given the recipe with explicit instructions to numerous people, aside from my sisters no one has ever managed to duplicate them. Someone with whom I reguarly share my cookies, recently bemoaned the fact that I had brought them. She is on a "plan" and coo
The Cat's Pajamas 2008-04-11 21:03:00 As many of you will recall, I recently solved the case of the mysterious missing pj's. Things have continued to turn up missing. Last night, I found two pot holders under the bed. So, if it is not in a drawer, it is obviously fair came for Mali to run off with!I've been telling people all about Mali's antics and the tricks she is learning. I told my friend Debbie about the missing pj's. She couldn't believe I disturbed Mali's nest. (In my defense it is the middle of April and tomorrow in central Illinois they are calling for snow showers! I need fleece. ) She suggested that I could have some of Lucas' flannel pj's that he has recently outgrown. Tonight after community group, I asked Lucas (3 years old) about it. Lucas is fascinated with Mali, so he was thrilled that his pj's were going to Read more:Pajamas
Acquainted with Sorrow 2008-04-14 20:35:00 I rarely answer my cell phone when driving, but when it rang that April afternoon, I answered. I almost didn’t have to. I answered, knowing instinctively what the news was. My friend asked me where I was and I explained I was driving back in town from an appointment. She told me to call her when I was back in town.When I had left the hospital for an appointment in a nearby town, Bill had been “relatively” stable and I had planned on going right back. But I drove home instead because I knew, as my friend would confirm, that Bill had died.Bill and I had dated for several months, spending daily time together and talking about the future. At the end of March we took a break, but I anticipated getting back together. In April, Bill (at the age of 41) had an aortic aneurysm. He lingered for Read more:Sorrow
Separation From God vs. Yes To God 2008-04-15 19:45:00 I am doing an on-line book study with some other women. It's been great. If you want to join or just read comments, click the button at left to go to Lelia's site. We are reading a book by Lysa Terkeurst called What Happens When Women Say Yes To God.Here are my thoughts:If you are a Christian you have had to say "Yes" to God at some point in your life -- "Yes, I am a sinner and yes, I need your salvation God." But saying "Yes" on a daily or even moment to moment basis is a difficult, even a monumental task. Given everything that God has given us, you might not think it would be so hard, but when I am honest, I have to admit that it is.In chapter 4, "You Never Know How God Will Use You Until You Let Him," Lysa writes, "Only the pursuit of God's righteousness leads us to His best." God alway Read more:Separation
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