I let my son watch Monsters Inc. last night on my computer. We always need some time after church to chill out. Therefore, my computer was tied up until 11:30. So, this is my Selah yesterday, for July 31st.

I did not have the most stellar of days. I thrive in organized, clean, and prepared environments. When my “world” gets out of order, I am not at my best or most creative. I am like this both home and outside of  my home. Ask my husband…

When we first got married, we quickly learned that an item only had a shelf life of one day if it was left out on the counter. I can’t stand for stuff to pile up on a kitchen counter or table. So, if it appeared to be “junk”, I would throw it away. Gary would come in and ask, “where did _____________ go?” I would have to reply, “Oh, I thought that was junk and threw it away.” Thankfully, my husband is incredibly clean and organized too. But, he didn’t mind an occasional pile on the kitchen counter or table. So, we quickly created a plan to solve this dilemma. If Gary put anything “paper or object related” on the counter, he would always communicate to me two things:

1.) What the item was and 2.) How long it would remain on the counter.

I know this seems petty, but it works for us and we laugh about it now every time we have one of those conversations. Thankfully, having a child has REALLY helped chill me out in some areas.

Nevertheless, I, like our Heavenly Father, love order (insert sarcastic laugh here). But, when the “piles of junk” get created in my life, it is important for communication to take place, expectations to be managed, plans reworked, and strategies changed. Then, I can continue to have stellar days everyday. Right? Never an off day? Well, lets just say I am going to be working on it.

My 28 Thanks:

1. The Lord teaches me things about myself everyday.

2. I am learning to trust other people.

3. Communication.

4. Preparation.

5. Plans and Strategies.

6. “My world” can always be cleaned.

7. Natasha and the amazing facility team at church cleaned my entire kidz ministry area in record time yesterday and it looked amazing.

8. Natasha is quiet, reserved, and an amazing worker. Yesterday, she made a bold statement to me. I was thrilled with her spunky response.

9. The facility team helped me setup our water night for Rangers and Girls.

10. My friend and Kidmin leader, Deborah, helped me big time yesterday with the event. And, she stayed with me until the very end. I didn’t have to walk out of church alone in the dark.

11. I learn from my mistakes…(most of the time).

12. I made a decision yesterday and it saved me tons of time in preperation.

13. That decision turned out to be AWESOME for the kids at water night. So glad I can change my plans.

14. I got to chat with Luci yesterday. She is so sweet and selfless. She works so hard to provide a great home for her girls.

15. Foster parents. They are amazing people.

16. Shea and Danielle bring such a great energy and excitement to my Wednesday night team.

17. I saw Abby Darrah last night. She has served 6 weeks in the Dominican Republic helping children. That experience has changed her life.

18. People who have a mission.

19. My Wednesday night team did an amazing job with the event last night. My leaders are so committed to ministry to kids. They get wet, run until they are tired, provide safety, care, and fun. They are champions!

20. Mr. Greg is a super star. He has such a servan’t heart. He stayed late and did all the manual labor tear down of the event.

21. The kids had so much fun. I love watching kids have fun.

22. Only one small injury….a scratch!

23. I haven’t had fast food for lunch in a long time. Bringing my lunch to work has saved us tons of money and helped me eat healthier. I also get to enjoy a few minutes with my buddy, Danielle.

24. Deborah asked me a lot of questions about kidz ministry yesterday. She has a heart to learn and grow.

25. My friend Amy is a great friend to so many. She makes my heart happy.

26. We have a huge group of Ladies attending Women of Faith this weekend. We were blessed with free tickets for tornado victims or tornado relief workers. Huge blessing.

27. My mom is finally feeling better after a horrible bought of sickness.

28. Serving God is fun.