April 12

For those of you who pay attention to the time that I post, yes, it is indeed after midnight. I know it's actually Sunday, then, but I would like to think that it is still saturday and I'm merely extending the weekend. I know it has been awhile since I have blogged, and I wish that I could "catch up" on the news since the last post, but instead I think I'll just start with whatever is on my mind today. Have I told you that some things have changed in my life? For starters, I took a different position at my office, one that combines my account job with the receptionist position. I like to think that it's an accounts manager who answers phones, rather than the other way around. And I really, really like it! I love meeting new people who come into the office and being in the center of what is going on. My days go by quickly because I stay busy and focused, and somehow do both of the jobs.
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So today was busy! I am planting a garden in my little back yard. Complete with strawberry plants, blooming annuals, and African violets. And cafe lights. Not quite sure how I'm going to pull that off yet, but I'm sure I'll figure it out tomorrow. I also installed two new shelves in my hall closet to get some of the heavy and rarely used items off of the floor. Tomorrow I have a few things to do but plan to go out to the barn and also go by to see my parents.
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Tonight I ran from my house to Howard Avenue. One of the great things about South Tampa is that you can run along the water, and the bay breeze mingles with jasmine plants flowering by the mansions and the sprinklers make the grass smell so fresh. It is much more invigorating and energizing than running at the gym. Of course sometimes I go over to Davis Island, which is also great, but I have to stop for traffic quite a bit crossing the streets. The other night I almost got hit by a car driving into Tampa General Hospital. The irony was not lost.
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As always, somehow and somewhere, God teaches me something (or rather shows me where and what He wants me to seek to learn). Currently I believe that it is the difference between driven people and called people. Gordon MacDonald goes over the difference in Ordering Your Private World (f/k/a OPW). Now that I have this gem (Thank you, my sweet D., for finding it for me) I will be reading through the section Caught in a Golden Cage; MacDonald intricately and intimately describes the acute differences between called people and driven people. In our 24/7 world, the difference can be soulfully fatal; driven people often fail to be the witness to the lost that called people just seem to do naturally and gently. More tomorrow. (If I'm not knee deep in dirt and mulch, that is).