Wordless Wednesday - What Is It?

Go to the WW hub, Gabriel's blog, and 5 Minutes for Mom to check out more wordlessness.

Missing

It's been going on for a number of years now. You've probably heard or read it via some sort of news media, but it hasn't always been this way.

So and so went missing late last night.

Could someone please explain to me how it is that people GO missing? Did someone get up one day and decide to GO missing? I don't think so. It's usually very much against his or her will. If I'm not mistaken, I believe that the news used to report that someone had disappeared. Although as I write this, that doesn't seem right, either. It's not as if the missing person became Casper the Friendly Ghost.

I understand the alleged logic behind certain phrases and wording (usually it's a PC issue), but this one escapes me. Why will they not just say that someone IS missing? Am I the only one who's bothered by this phrase?

Left Hanging?

I suppose I should answer the question from my last post. But first, a story.

Last Thursday, it was very cold and many of the roads were icy or snow packed. It was a great day to stay home. Until 7:30 at night. When you decide that you really don't want leftovers and you know that you have a free meal at Noodles. Which expires in one day and there will be no other opportunity to use the coupon. And it would be a travesty to allow an entire Noodles meal to go to waste. Right? So you call the restaurant to see if they're even open, which they are, although they're closing 2 hours early - at 8:00. So we hustled on out of here, picked up some dinner at Noodles, and popped in at Game Stop real quick across the street before heading home.

While sitting at Game Stop, you look at the tasty dinner in to-go dishes awaiting you on the dash and think, "Hmmm . . . interesting picture!" And it is.



To be more specific, there was a dish of macaroni & cheese, buttered, seasoned noodles, mushroom stroganoff, and pesto cavatapi. It was most delicious. And one of them was free. Bonus.

It's a Mystery

What is it?

The Rest of the Story

It felt a little funny putting pix of romance novels in ziploc bags on my blog with absolutely NO information. But it was Wordless Wednesday. Wordless, as in, NO WORDS. And I don't read romance novels, so that made it slightly awkward. There were a lot of questions about the books in the bags lying in the parking lot island, so here is the rest of the story.

While leaving the grocery store, I saw these books in ziploc bags sitting on the rocks on the parking lot divider. Naturally, my camera and I had to see what that was all about. I didn't get it at first, but upon reading the little pink label, realized it's a plan for recycling books. Apparently, when you've finished reading a book, you put it in a bag (for protection obviously), slap a label on it, and leave it somewhere public for someone else to pick up. Someone mentioned that it was a little ironic that people are essentially littering in order to recycle. Ha! Ha! Ha!

Of course, if I ever am in the mood for a romance novel, now I know where to pick them up. In grocery store parking lots. I'll file that away under really useful probably-won't-use information. If you want more details, go to the site on the label (book crossing dot com). They'll give you the whole scoop, not merely the condensed version.

Now you know. Go forth and enjoy your Thursday with slightly more knowledge than you had previously.

My Lonely Blog

If my blog were a child, I'd probably be in big trouble for neglect right about now. While I've been busy, it's not even that I've been SUPER DUPER busy. I did write a fairly rambling lengthy post yesterday, but didn't post it until tonight. By then, my perspective had changed a little.

Last night at church, our worship leader talked about how he'd been to a concert the night before (not a Christian group) and that while he'd enjoyed the show, he left there feeling somewhat empty. The songs and music were good, but without God, there really wasn't anything of substance there for him. He was so hungry to be in church this weekend, to worship God with the Body of Christ. In that, there is meaning, significance, and value. These are songs being sung in praise and worship to our Lord.

I realized that yesterday's post, while rambling around, talking about both nothing and everything, complete with YouTube videos was kind of like that. I enjoyed writing it. I had fun reminiscing with videos of music from my past. But really, it was empty. Not to say that all my posts are deep and insightful, or even full of godliness. Even though I felt lead not to post it, I did. I decided it wasn't all that harmful and besides, my poor blog child needed some fresh material. So I posted it tonight. Then the YouTube videos wouldn't load. Hmmm . . . maybe God was trying to tell me something. Something he'd already told me.

I know that in this life here on earth, not every thought, every decision, nor every action will be righteous, holy, or about furthering the kingdom of God. But I pray that each day I come a little closer to the goal. That I'm a little more Christ centered. A little more refined. So I'll start here, listening to the leading of the Holy Spirit. I may not always understand, but that's okay. God is faithful and true and I can always trust Him.

"Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is in the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit."

Jeremiah 17:7-8

May I love God, love others, and bear fruit that lasts.

My New Buzzword

I always wonder who "they" are that come up with new catch phrases and such. Well, I'm pleased to say that as of this very moment (or actually a few days ago when it occurred to me), I came up with a new term: uni-task.

This is a verb which is the antonym of multi-task. We all know about multi-tasking. That highly praised and coveted skill, wherein one does numerous things simultaneously. Dictionary dot com explains it this way, "Often used of humans in the same meaning it has for computers, to describe a person doing several things at once." Last I checked, we're not machines.

I've spent a number of years being quite a proficient multi-tasker and being very proud of that fact. However, somewhere around the time I entered my fourth decade here on earth, it seemed that my skill was diminishing. Instead of being an efficient multi-tasker, I'd sort of become a confused pinball, bouncing around from one thing to the next, not entirely sure where I was headed next. While I thought this malady may be age-related, lately I've been encountering women in all walks and ages of life (including the less than 40 crowd) who suffer from pinball-itis.

A friend and I have discussed this matter and have concluded that multi-tasking isn't always all it's cracked up to be. If anything, it often leaves us distracted and addled. Not only that, it's a great way to do only half of about 20 or 30 things in any given day, yet never complete anything.

I've decided the antidote to multi-tasking is to focus on one thing at a time. Since there's currently no buzzword, I've dubbed it uni-tasking. I'm finding there are plenty of benefits to uni-tasking.

• You can actually start AND compete something (in less than weeks, months, or years). This leads to a feeling of accomplishment, which has the added benefit of motivating you to move onto another task.

• Your thoughts and imagination can flourish as your brain is only thinking about one thing at a time.

• If you're a list maker, you'll be able to check something off, not merely mark it as "in progress" and carry it over to the next day . . . and the next . . . and the next.

• You can fully participate in the activity because your mind isn't worried about all the other simultaneous tasks going on.

• There's a certain peacefulness that comes from being single-minded.

• When someone talks to you, you'll probably be able to really "hear" what's being said, because there's be room in your brain for their words.

The good things in life are only good when we're able to focus upon them. The most beautiful sunrise or sunset won't even be noticed if you're speeding down the road, ordering pizza on your cell phone, fussing at the kids, and trying to get to the store before they close. At home, you'll never notice the sweet and tender moments when your children play especially well together, your child shows you a beautiful drawing, or just hugs you and says, "I love you." There's no room left because you're racking your brain trying to figure out what you'll serve for dinner, talking with the credit card company about the late charge, waiting for the washing machine to quit so you can turn on the dishwasher, and checking email in between.

So, slow down, take a chance and give uni-tasking a try. You may find that you like it. You may even do it again. And again.

*** For more along this though, check out this post at Seek First His Kingdom.

For Further Thought?

On the radio yesterday, I heard a little clip by Randy Alcorn about being in heaven. He said that because we will never be omniscient, we will never know everything; that we will continually learn from God, even in heaven throughout all eternity. This was something I'd never thought about before. I think a lot of believers have the idea that we'll have complete knowledge in heaven. Am I one of them? Again, it's just not something I've spent much time contemplating.

I'm not saying that I'm on one side or the other. This is just something to file away for further thought, research, etc. - IF God prompts me to do so. Is it vital to my salvation? No. Will it affect my daily life? Probably not. But it was something that made me say, "Hmmmm . . . "

I'm not at all familiar with Randy Alcorn's writings, theology, or anything else. All I can say is that I've seen his name and I know he's an author. So at this point, I'm completely neutral as far as the author of this thought.

If you have any thoughts on this, feel free to comment. Especially if you have scripture that supports your thoughts. Scripture is the only thing that gives credence to anything we may think.