How busy are you?

With 116 days of this year gone and 250 to go, I felt it imperative to ask "How busy are you?"

Need more "Mike"

From time to time I see someone I used to ride the bus (an hour-long ride) with a few years ago.

See you alter today

You know, over and over again, the Lord reminds me of how important it is to read over what I write – since spell check is not fool-proof. I don’t always remember to do so but I’m slowly earning to “slow down” a bit because “speed kills.” J

Hmmm...

A few weeks ago, I had a very…hmmm….teachable situation and as happens now and again, I was the student.

Do you ever remember your mother, aunt, grandma, father or anyone for that matter ever saying that you should ensure that “the floors are clean enough to eat off”? Well I sort of kind of do – can’t point to the exact time but remember that being a Cleaning criteria of sorts. So that was the very “instruction” that went through my mind when I walked into an airport washroom and noticed from the corner of my eye someone doing something with their sandwich (in the wrapping paper) on the floor while in the stall. “Oh my God!” I thought, “your mother or whoever said the floor must be clean to eat off  may not have meant it literally – and even if the person did, I doubt that it included a toilet floor – at least not one in the airport.”

I wondered if anyone else had noticed and went on to do my business which was why I came into the Washroom in the first place. Of course, I kept wondering to myself, why would anyone take an idiomatic expression literally? I started concluding “That’s really idiotic – oh but why?”

I had a fast assignment so I came out to wash my hands and noticed that the lady was still in her stall. I then decided to wash my hands a little longer so I could see the “end of the story.” I kept debating whether to intervene and provide unsolicited advice. As the thoughts ran through my mind, she came out and tossed the sandwich in the bin. Phew!! Thank God – o my! Knowing that these days more and more chemicals as used as Cleaning agents especially in Public places, I was concerned that some of it could have gotten to the sandwich through the sandwich wrapper – so I was sincerely relieved.

As I left the Washroom, the Holy Spirit started speaking to, not spanking, me. Here’s what He taught me:

• Don’t assume – it was that direct. He also reminded me of how a former boss had split up the word into 3 parts to explain that assuming can make you and me look bad…I’ll  let you figure out the split
• Withhold judgement – This is closely linked to the first lesson. Essentially, things are not always what they seem, we must be careful not to make conclusions based on what we see. Until we see or know the full story, we don’t have all the facts – so withhold judgement. This also applies to hearsay
• If you notice a “life-threatening” situation, intervene – the “Milk of Human kindness” should always flow in our veins
• In this age of more and more chemicals, we should do our utmost to use less and less chemicals – that way, we can actually have floors that are not just clean but safe enough to eat off as we know children (some who don’t know better) tend too from time to time especially when you’re not watching
• Most importantly, keep your eyes and ears open – teachable moments abound around us. Learn and live wisely

"Not really"...

...was my mind's response to my mind saying "It's the thought that counts." Ok I wasn't playing mind games - let me tell you what was going on.

I see - I say

This is one piece I’ve been trying to craft for months now.