Thoughts on Romans

I finished reading the book of Romans yesterday and I have decided it is one of the best books in the entire Bible if not the best. This isn't the first time I've read all the way through it but I had some new insights from it this go around. Romans really is a perfect book to use with sharing the Gospel. You could easily tell a questioning person to read through Romans and then sit down and talk through it. From Chapter 1 to Chapter 16, it is full of great wisdom and guidance for the whole Christian walk, from beginning to end. It begins with a great outline in 1:16-17 - I AM NOT ASHAMED of the Gospel...what great words! Salvation for EVERYONE who believes. Not acts, not tries hard enough, not is good enough, not prays enough, everyone who believes. What other religion offers that kind of promise. Then there is the beauty of Chapter 3. While it starts out very heavy, the transition in verse 21 with the word "but" should make everyone shout praise the Lord from the rooftops. The majesty continues into Chapter 8:1-2 when Paul says there is now NO condemnation for those in Christ Jesus and on to vs. 14-15, we have not received a spirit of fear but a spirit of adoption. (Can I get an amen?) Verses 28-32 are an awesome promise to the Christ-follower. He is continuing to work in us. The instructions continue as the rest of the chapters outline how we as Christ followers are to act. This whole book is an instruction manual for how to live a Christ-like life and how to glorify Christ with our lives.

I would highly encourage anyone who hasn't read Romans all the way through to give it a try and see what God will show to you. It is such an amazing 16 chapters of truth! And speaking of glorifying God, I want to close with a John Piper quote that I thought was cool when I came across it a little while ago in my quiet time:

"Salvation is not a ground for boasting of our worth to God. It is an occasion for self-abasement and joy in the glorious grace of God on our behalf - a grace that never depends on our distinctives, but flows from God's overwhelming concern to mangify His own glory on behalf of His people." -John Piper, Desiring God

Streams of Consciousness

(This will ramble so just bear with it)

I truly love how God works in amazing ways. This week started the "true" insanity at work and yesterday was somewhat stressful. I was kind of crabby at work and a few outside things were happening that compounded everything so it was just weird. But, last night, I was reading Oswald Chambers' "My Utmost for His Highest" as part of my quiet time and came across the greatest quote. "You have no right to complain 'O Lord, I am so exhausted.' He saved and sanctified you to exhaust you. Be exhausted for God, but remember He is your supply." Talk about an attitude adjuster. It gave me a whole new perspective on work. Plus, he sent me an awesome volunteer to help over the next two weeks as we shepherd 550+ people through the membership process. See, He was being my supply and I hadn't even taken time to thank Him for it. Needless to say, I had a whole new attitude at work today and the day was marvelous. No less busy but with the different perspective, it was a good busy.

God is also so cool in how I see people getting excited about what God is doing at Brook Hills. People are working through what David is teaching in their own personal quiet times and prayer closets and are beginning to see that David isn't trying to beat us up. He is trying to equip us to get about God's business. God intends for the local church to be the body of Christ to the nations and gave us the fullness of Christ for that purpose. (Check out Ephesians 1:15-23 for more detail). We are so spiritually illiterate that we get caught up in comparing whether we are as good or as radical as the next guy and miss the whole freakin' point. God wants to use us as part of the local body to not only win Bham but the whole world for Him. We have to be willing to strip off the junk and deal with our crap and let God restore us as we are used by Him. We'll never be a "finished" product this side of Heaven but we NEED to spend time with God and let Him identify what needs to be changed. David is doing what a pastor is called to do...preach the Word. The Holy Spirit is convicting people (I know He has me) through David's messages but if conviction didn't happen week in and week out, how would we be any different?

I also marvel at how God is putting together a team for South Africa. As of two weeks ago or so, we had less than 6 people signed up including me and my co-leader. As of today, we have a full team and have had to close registration. Praise the Lord!! One lady doesn't yet know she's going. Her husband is giving her the trip as a Valentine's Day present. How cool is that?! She gets a global trip for Valentine's Day. That's the kind of husband I want. I sense God moving in an awesome way in how this team is developing. Since what we are doing is new, we have no idea what to expect but we also have a wonderful blank canvas to work with. We'll come back to the US with what works and what doesn't and be ready to send 10 more teams in 2010. Just one more step in reaching Sub-Saharan Africa for God and seeing His glory shine in all nations.

If you're still reading, thanks for putting up with the randomness. Sometimes the worst part about living alone is being so full of God-stuff to share and having no one to share it with. I feel better now that I've gotten it all out.

Super Bowl Wrap-Up

I had a good time last night at a mini-Super Bowl party hosted by some friends of mine. I say "mini" because it wasn't your all-out, decorate, serve food for an army type of party. Sure, we had plenty of good food but it was more about hanging out with your friends than a party. It was the first time I've watched the Super Bowl with a real fan of one of the teams playing. One of the guys at the part (the imp's husband) is a big Steelers fan and had his terrible towel and everything last night.

The game was good - actually a competitive game. Neither team played exceptionally well but it was exciting til the end. Most years the commercials are better than the Super Bowl. Definitely not so this year. The commercials were horrible for the most part. There were a few good ones (Mr/Mrs Potato Head, a couple of Budweiser ads, Etrade ads) but most were a HUGE waste of money. I can't remember a year where the ads were so forgettable.

Now that the Super Bowl is done, it's on to the most optimistic four words in professional sports...pitchers and catchers report.

Is Clothes Sorting a Spritual Gift?

Not usually found in the list given by Paul but I seem to be really good at it. Must be the spiritual gift of administration kicking in. I actually like to organize stuff. I spent close to 5 hours this morning and afternoon helping Heather from 1Way sort stuff from the storage unit the ministry has. I have to say that having so many clothes and shoes to sort is a great problem to have. Praise the Lord that there are so many people willing to part with perfectly good (sometimes brand new) clothing and shoes to help those who have little or nothing. Donors can rest assured that donations to 1Way are packed up and shipped either to AZ or to South Africa and distributed freely to those in need. We had to have sorted enough kids' clothes to outfit every kid on the reservation. :-) I kept finding shoes that would work so well for the little one who has stolen my heart. It's also neat to pray over the clothes, for the people who will receive them, that they will be receptive to the love with which the clothes are given and be receptive to the Gospel message shared by those giving out the clothes.

I so love that God gives us the opportunity to help missions organizations even when we can't necessarily "go" on one of their trips.

Birthday Weekend

I had a wonderful weekend this past weekend. God has blessed me with a great family that I love spending time with. I spent Friday, my actual birthday, taking care of my dad who just had knee surgery and then went house-hunting with my sister. We saw one really nasty house, one so-so house, one great house with a great yard but lousy kitchen and one really cute little house that Sarah has fallen in love with. Then she and I went out for Mexican and then home to have birthday cake that she made for me. I also got to open my present. It was full of wonderful stuff to pamper myself with. It included a WONDERFUL pair of cashmere slippers that Bath & Body Works had this Christmas season. I wouldn't pay full price for them but Sarah managed to snag the last pair they had when they were 75% off. They are so comfy on my feet. :-) Those of you who know me know I cannot stand shoes and barely tolerate socks so I rarely find good slippers. These make my feet feel like they have their own special pillows. The whole bag had stuff I will enjoy using but would not buy for myself. Between the cake and the gift, I felt so special.

Saturday we went shopping since I needed a new suitcase. We then went and looked at more houses. We didn't find anything that matches the cute house from Friday. Provided the budget numbers work out, this could be her house. Saturday night, we got to have daddy grilled steaks. I know most men who are less than a week post-op would beg off grilling. Not my dad. He got Sarah to help him and he fired the grill right up. The steaks were marvelous. I think I'm spoiled. I can only think of two restaurant steaks in my lifetime that have come anywhere near the quality of steak my dad grills. After dinner, Sarah went home to spend time with Barney and mom and I watched basketball. Perfect ending to a great day. Slept in Sunday and then drove back to the 'ham.

This weekend is just a memory now but I'm blessed to have a family that truly enjoys being around each other and can make pleasant memories instead of nasty ones.

Prayer Request

I know I have several readers so I thought I would put this out in cyberspace for additional prayer support. I can't give too many details because I'm not sure how much I can share in open cyberspace but God will know who you are talking about.

I have a friend who was involved in an auto vs. pedestrian accident on Friday in another state. He hit a pedestrian who wandered into his lane (the police have found the pedestrian was at fault). The man he hit is in critical condition. Please be in prayer for the pedestrian and for my friend who is dealing with the enormous weight that results from this type of accident. Thanks.

In Love...

Not that kind of "in love". In love with my Savior. As I posted earlier this month, I am working on spiritual goals this year, one of which is trusing in God and resting in His perfect timing. As I've continued to have my daily quiet times, I find myself drawn to Him more and more. In the past, my quiet times have become somewhat of a chore or an "I have to do this" concept. Fortunately, this year, God is revealing Himself to me in a way that I haven't experienced before. Everyday, I see something new in Scripture. Even in the more "mundane" passages in Nehemiah. It makes me want to dig, know more, experience more and just BE more with my Jesus.

For instance, today, I was reading Psalm 46 and most people know verse 1, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in time of need." But, do we keep reading and get to verse 10 "Cease striving and know that I am God."? How contrary to our fleshly desire to do things for ourselves! This is an especially hard verse for me and my type A+ personality. What? You mean God doesn't need my help? Are you sure? That seems to be my message from God for early 2009. I'm slowly learning that our very present help in time of need is also our very present help every single minute of every single day. If you haven't heard it, check out "By Your Side" by 10th Avenue North. Such a great song and a much better conveyer of this message than I am.

Wrong on So Many Levels

John Smoltz in a Boston uniform??? That is just so wrong. What were the Braves thinking? This guy has been the face of your organization for so many years and has taken less money in the past to stay with you. Couldn't you come up with a deal that is respectful of who he is and his abilities? Even by their own admissions, they were impressed with his December throwing efforts. What gives?

This one doesn't hurt quite as much as the Glavine to the Mets deal but it's still wrong. Frank Wren is an idiot.

Randomness

I've taken down the New Year's stuff and was planning to put a winter background up but my favorite blog template site (www.thecutestblogontheblock.com) did a server upgrade over the weekend and I can't get to their site right now. So, we've reverted to the blogspot standby for now. Hopefully my favorite website will be back up and running soon and I can get off the boring stuff.

In other news, I met with the guy who is our South Africa contact over the weekend. He's a cool dude. We learned that we will be accompanied by local hospice workers while we're there. It actually provides two bonuses: first, they will be our translators and they know the area and secondly (and most important in my book), some of them are not Christ-followers and we will have the opportunity to share the Gospel over and over and over for 5 days and develop a relationship with these ladies. I am confident God is going to do some amazing things in the lives of these ladies. We have also had three additional people sign up for the trip over the weekend (Woo-Hoo!!). Right now, we are at 7 people who are confirmed with at least three "maybes" waiting in the wings. Please pray that God continues to stir in people a desire to share God's love with those that are truly the "least of these."

Off to make dinner...

Only in AL??

Why does Alabama seem to attract the idiots? It seems that a pilot of a small plane made a distress call over Huntsville and then made another one saying his windshield had flown off. This plane then crashed outside Milton, FL. Everyone of course was looking for the pilot, fearing the worst. Well, turns out, everything was faked and he bailed out over Shelby County, AL. To top things off, he is the owner of an investment company in Indiana that is under investigation from the feds. Now, if he was taking off from Indiana headed to FL, he had to pass over KY and then TN. Why couldn't he have chosen those states to bail out in? This is leading to a manhunt, costing taxpayers who knows how much money. Maybe we should call in his investors. I bet they could find him!

South Africa 2009

Last night, I had a medical team leaders training for my South Africa AIDS Hospice trip. Yes, God has a funny sense of humor. Me, the white knuckle flyer is going to South Africa in July and last night was the reality check that there is still LOTS to do before we go. Of course, right now, we only have four team members so praying up more team members is job #1. We'll go with only four but having more members means better preparation for 2010 and beyond.

This is the first trip that I have been the responsible party for. Somehow methinks this will be very different than driving on the reservation. :-) Up 'til now, that was my biggest responsibility on the field. Now, I am tasked with training a team on how to share the Gospel cross-culturally, how to interact with those who are dying, how to protect themselves from HIV, TB, and God only knows what else. But, it's like I told my boss last night: God never said obedience would be safe.

It is interesting to begin thinking about how to effectively build a team and equip them to function effectively on the field. I think our biggest task will be reminding them to think about the trip from the eternal perspective. The Gospel will be first and foremost on this trip and if we remember that, we will be successful even if we don't give a single bath or pass out a single pill. Fortunately, David has been preaching an excellent sermon series on grace and freedom in Christ that has tons of valuable information to use while building our training. I am also pulling from other sermon series. Why re-create the wheel?

One piece that I didn't expect to happen so quickly is my excitement about the trip and what God is planning. I know just from what He's showing me in His Word daily that there are lessons to be learned in every experience and the process of sanctification is a learning process. I love knowing that our Father loves us so much that He wants to show us new revelations from His Word if only we'll open our hearts to it. I actually WANT to hear more from Him and learn more. Not because I'm a geek but because I'm in love with my Savior and yearn to know more of Him.

I think there are multiple prayer requests and I would love for prayer warriors to join the fight. First, I am praying for the team members God is preparing to go. Pray they would be open to obeying God's call, learn and grow as a team and be ready to go when the time comes. Secondly, I am praying for the people we will see. Many of them are dealing with the reality of death in the coming months. Pray that they will sense the urgency of eternity and the Spirit will stir their hearts and minds to be receptive to the Gospel message we will share. Finally, I am praying for myself. Pray that I will be open to God's teaching as I prepare to co-lead this team. Pray I will put aside me and my desires and do all our trainings in a way that glorifies only Him.

Thanks in advance for the prayers and support. I will keep posting as we continue to prepare. This is a long process but it will be July before we know it.

New Year, New Goals, New Insights

I had a nice long post typed out this afternoon and the computer froze and ate it. See, the network was down at work and since everything I had to do today was network related, I couldn't do jack. So, I decided to blog. Well, with the network guy in San Diego and helping people out by phone, they shut off the whole system without saying anything to anyone. I lost everything I had typed. I'll try and re-create some of it but some of it will stay gone...oh well, such is life.

I have decided to go with the rest of the blogosphere and not make resolutions. I'm making goals but nothing is set in stone. Anytime I set anything into stone, God comes in and rearranges the furniture (see quote below for explanation). My goals generally revolve around three areas: spiritual, physical and financial. The financial one is pretty obvious. I am graduating soon (cue the Hallelujiah Chorus!!) and will be searching for a job. That new job will pay more than I am currently making which will help out in financial goal #2, paying down credit card debt. I royally put myself into a hole and am diligently working to pay it all off. I am also avoiding putting new charges on and am only purchasing things I truly NEED.

My second area is physical. I am not focusing on weight per se, I am focusing on eating better and getting exercise. If I lose weight in the process, great but I refuse to be bound to numbers on a scale. But, I have a horrible family tree when it comes to heart disease, diabetes and the like so I figure now's as good a time as any to make important changes. I will also feel better in the long run.

Final area is spiritual. I have a goal to read the Bible completely over the next year. I've done it before but it's been a few years and with all the potential changes over the next year, I think this will be a good time to see what God will reveal. I'm also hoping to continue to grow the discipling relationship I've begun and see how God chooses to use both of us for His Kingdom. One of the biggest areas I see God working in my life in 2009 is in the area of trust. I have to trust in Him and Him alone to provide a new job once I am to that point. While my heart's desire is to work with the TO in AZ, He may have something else entirely planned. I am open to that, I just have to be comfortable in His timing and provision. To that end, I found a great Scripture reference this evening as I was having my quiet time.

It is Psalm 62:5-8
"My soul, wait in silence for God only, for my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I shall not be shaken. On God my salvation and my glory rest; the rock of my strength, my refuge is in God. TRUST IN HIM AT ALL TIMES, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us."

What a great set of verses. I've found my first Scripture to memorize for '09. Also found a great quote that I mentioned above. It so fits why I've decided to make goals and then let God rearrange as He sees fit.

"Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself."
— C.S. Lewis

This is such a great quote by C.S. Lewis. He and A.W. Tozer manage to take words and make them say the most amazing things. If you haven't read Tozer and Lewis, I highly recommend them. Tozer is a bit heavy but well worth the struggle to get through it. To steal a line from a friend, I'm a construction zone. :-)

Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year to all my readers (all three of you). I hope everyone has a magnificent 2009!

This is Why...

I don't have a "fish" emblem on my car. :-)

A man was being tailgated by a stressed out woman on a busy boulevard. Suddenly, the light turned yellow, just in front of him. He did the right thing, stopping at the crosswalk, even though he could have beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection.

The tailgating woman was furious and honked her horn, screaming in frustration, as she missed her chance to get through the intersection, dropping her cell phone and makeup.

As she was still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a very serious police officer. The officer ordered her to exit her car with her hands up.

He took her to the police station where she was searched, fingerprinted, photographed, and placed in a holding cell. After a couple of hours, a policeman approached the cell and opened the door. She was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was waiting with her personal effects.

He said ‘I’m very sorry for this mistake.’ You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, flipping off the guy in front of you, and cussing a blue streak at him. I noticed the ‘What Would Jesus Do?’ bumper sticker, the ‘Choose Life!’ license plate holder, the ‘Follow Me to Sunday-School!’ bumper stickers, and the chrome-plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk; so naturally…I assumed you had stolen the car.

Lawsuit Abuse

Here is a lawsuit that screams why we need a "loser pays" system. It seems that Michael Newdow (California athiest) who has sued over this stuff before is at it again. He is suing to have the words "so help me God" removed from the inauguration oath. He along with the other people who are plantiffs in the case are saying they will have to choose between not watching the inauguration or being alienated. Really?! You have nothing else to worry about?? In all honesty, it should be up to Obama to say the words or not say the words. If he doesn't want to, don't. Anyone other than the POTUS-elect should have absolutely no say in the matter. After all, they're not the ones who have to live up to the oath. I have very little patience for people who waste our judicial system's precious time with frivilous lawsuits like this. And to top it off, the Justice Department will have to waste MY tax dollars defending this drivel.

Ultimately, the guy really needs our prayers. I think for him to be such a hard-core athiest, he must have had some sort of really negative interaction with Christians somewhere along the line.

Read more about it here: http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/12/31/inauguration.lawsuit/index.html

Concert Review, Movie Review and More...

Christmas is winding down and we're preparing to brave the crowd at Macy's tomorrow but before doing that, I thought I'd post a few reviews.

First off, the Trans Siberian Orchestra concert last Saturday night. All I can say is WOW! The show this group puts on is spectacular. The lights and sounds were a sight and sound to behold. I love TSO's music and they did their entire Christmas Eve Sarajevo album which is my favorite so that was an added bonus. I'm also impressed by the stamina this group has. They did the entire first half running around the stage and never took a "real" intermission. During a usual intermission time, they introduced the whole gang. Then it was on to round two where they blew things up. Gotta love that. Pyrotechnics, real fire and lasers. It was amazing. Anyone who loves TSO's music should put this concert at the top of their list next time they are in town.

On to the movie review...Sarah and I saw "Marley and Me" this afternoon as our annual Christmas Day movie. It is a very cute and well done movie but any of my friends who cry easily at movies (you know who you are) should avoid this movie or at least the ending. If you've read the book, you know what I'm talking about. If not, I'm not going to spoil it. It is worth seeing but be prepared and take the Kleenex.

This has been such a nice week off so far and I am looking forward to a few more days off. I don't have to be back at work until Monday afternoon so I have more days to spend with my family. I realized on the way home that this is the first week off I've had where I haven't been jetting off to AZ since the Monday after Easter. While I love those trips, some time off has been welcomed. Okay, back to regularly scheduled web programming.

Parties Galore and Other Randomness

Last night, I finished my 5th party of the season. Most years I'm lucky to have ONE party much less five. But, all of them were fun in their own way and it was so much fun to take time out to visit with friends. They ranged from an office party unlike no other to a party with the seventh grade girls I teach. The office party was a lot of fun and we ended up donating $5,000 dollars to a variety of ministry areas around the world. Sometimes I think I work at the coolest place on the planet.

Random thoughts...why do people insist on adding lights, decorations and all kinds of other ridiculous stuff to their yards every year? What happened to tasteful decorations? Lights on the house, trees and bushes is one thing but lights on every freakin' surface is something else entirely. AL Power people must salivate at the thought. :-)

Have you seen the cars dressed up like reindeer? Seriously?! People buy this crap and then put it on their cars? No one will think your car is a reindeer. You just look stupid. Well, at least they have a sign so you know who to avoid. :-)

I'm off work in a little less than 7 hours for a whole week. Woo-Hoo!! I am seriously looking forward to some time off to visit with family, read, watch football and be generally lazy. But first, I get to go to see the Trans Siberian Orchestra tomorrow with my lovely sister who bought us tickets. Yea Sarah! I absolutely cannot wait. I'll post on the extravaganza next time I post.

Tiring Week

This has been an amazingly hectic week and it has nothing to do with the holidays. My mom had a scary episode on Monday that necessitated a hospitalization. Well needless to say, that necessitated a trip to GA on Monday night for me. There was noway on God's green earth that I was staying here while she was hospitalized. Now, that is not an indictment on my dad or sister's ability to deal with medical people but I do have the ability to speak the lingo since I am in the field.

Well, it ended up that it was probably a good thing I went over because her care ended up being monitored by a FIRST-YEAR resident who had a God-complex. Needless to say, I was less than thrilled with this development and managed to completely piss the doctor off with my questions. That wasn't my intention but she couldn't handle being questioned by someone she didn't view as her "equal." Mom's doctor wasn't as concerned about her symptoms as I thought she should be and wants to write everything off as "stress." My mother is not someone who stresses over life, never has been and because of her deep relationship with Christ, never will be. Thousands of women have died over the years because their doctors wrote off their symptoms as "stress" and that is simply unacceptable. There were additional tests that should have been run and weren't. Again, simply unacceptable. Needless to say, mom is looking for a new primary care physician.

Fortunately, God answered all our prayers and mom was released on Tuesday afternoon with no lasting problems (except for annoyance). Hopefully we are on the road to finding out what the problems are and getting them resolved. I have decided that I am too old to miss a night's sleep. I was awake all night Monday night because my chair in mom's room was designed as a torture device. :-) I am feeling the after-effects today. I am tired and can't really focus on any one thing for too long. Hopefully after getting some good rest over the next few nights, I'll be back to my normal self. Or at least what passes for normal. :-)

Lazy Saturday

I like days like today. I slept in, tidied my apartment, read some articles for school (still doing some of that) and have watched football. Add to the fact that AL lost and I'm good. Sometimes not going anywhere is a wonderful thing. I also got my stuff ordered from Samaritan's Purse. They are a really neat organization. I managed to order gifts in honor of my family members and could order things that fit their personalities (well except for Sarah, she wanted chickens). I just think it's a double blessing that my contributions fit my family's personality.

On the SEC Championship, I really would like to have found a way for both teams to lose but it is good to see nice guys like Tebow finish first. He is a guy who is unafraid to share his faith, spent some of his summer on the mission field and just comes across as very impressive. It was nice to see him lead his team to a victory. Hopefully the BCS computers won't figure out a way to keep FL out. The National Championship game should be the FL vs. OK unless OK loses and then it should be FL vs. TX. Anything else and I ain't watching.

Christmas Shopping

I spent my off day sleeping in and then going Christmas shopping. I am happy to report that I am almost finished. Just one more gift and a stocking stuffer and I am officially finished. Yipee! Of course, I still have chickens to buy but that's only a few clicks of the mouse. :-)

I do have a few observations from being out today. One, people are strange. I saw your typical weirdness at the Galleria and nothing in particular stands out but overall, there are some strange people in this world. Two, if you can't park your particular automobile in ONE parking place, please don't get out in public at busy shopping times. I saw more people today who seemed to think their car was so special they needed two or more parking spaces. Three, people seemed to be on their best behavior while I was out today. I didn't see anyone shouting at salespeople, cutting in lines and a few people who stepped in front of me actually apologized. I hope for the sake of those who are still shopping and those who are working retail that this trend continues.

It was a productive day and the best part is that I was home before 3:00!! Gotta love efficiency. :-)