I like my job as Help Desk. I get to help people learn. This morning, I spent about an hour teaching a user how to create form letters and envelopes using mail merge. As we watched the letters and envelopes spew forth from the printer, the user exclaimed jubilantly, "This is slicker than snot!"

Here's an interesting news article on the now-publicly traded company Google. At the end of the article, they quoted Google founder Larry Page at a February press conference as he revealed his vision for future Google technology: "On the more exciting front, you can imagine having your brain being augmented by Google. For example you think about something and your cell phone could whisper the answer in your ear."

What if you don't own a cell phone?

We've all heard...
"Money doesn't buy happiness." or "Money doesn't buy happiness, but it sure can help!"

Henrik Ibsen phrased it well... "Money may be the husk of many things but not the kernel. It brings you food, but not appetite; medicine, but not health; acquaintance, but not friends; servants, but not loyalty; days of joy, but not peace or happiness."

Isn't it amazing how much pride a person can have buried deep down under everything else? We played volleyball tonight (about 10 of us) and I was constantly berating myself for my (constant) messups. Was I personally that worried about my playing ability? No. Was I really mad at myself for my lack of good performance? No. All that was hurt was my pride. I constantly find myself scared that people won't like me anymore. They have to like me. Why? Pride. I find myself living in a world of insecurity. And each time I think I have that conquered and I am secure in who God is creating me to be, I upwrap another layer of the onion and find another layer of pride underneath.

I had something really poinant for this paragraph, but I've forgotten it. Maybe you can remind me.

Help! I seem to have lost a support check that someone gave me. I don't know WHAT I did with it. I can't find it in the bag I had with me that day. I thought I took care of it, but I can't find any record that I took care of it.

Over the next two days, I'm going to be doing some research on a subject that has puzzled me for most of my life. Pray that God will direct my Bible study and open my eyes to what He wants me to see.

I received yet another email today which stated: "You know you live in a small town if...you've ever been cow-tipping." I emailed back to the person who sent it: "If the list of includes cow-tipping, the list was written by a city slicker!" We have some people at the ministry who are convinced that cow tipping is really possible. I enjoyed Joann Rogers statements on the cow tipping subject.

All the perspective I can offer is that while a cow is widely portrayed as slow, dumb, and overweight, she is in fact alert and aware. And you're so svelte. She's smarter than you think, can run faster than you, and is often aggressive when approached by a stranger, especially at night. People think a cow is dumb, and a horse is smart, because you cannot train a cow to tap dance. A cow just has a very different agenda than you, and she thinks tap shoes are uncomfortable.
You think she is stupid and uncooperative, but she thinks, "Can't we just do it the way we've always done it? And what are these frat boys doing in my field?"

I'm not sure our cows have ever tried on tap shoes.

Top 10 Reasons I work with Computers
10. Ummm... because they need help?
9. Because one too many people told me "You should work with computers. You're good at that."
8. Because I reprogrammed the sign at Irwin-Potter Drugstore
7.

This is going nowhere. I like C's list of the 10 reasons she's a librarian much better!

Worked all day at the office on researching school administration software. Datatel, GradPro, Pinnacle, Jenzebar... I worked on laundry this evening. Paid two bills. Ordered L's birthday gift. Fairly boring day. EXCEPT for lunch. Took Sarah P. out to lunch today since she's back from India.

Getting ready for lunch was fun. I found myself with no cash and no time to run by an ATM. So I went to visit my cousin. "Have I ever told you that you're my favorite cousin? I really appreciate you! You are really amazing..." The instant response: "Whaddya want?" Money!

$14 and a full stomach of Chinese food later... mmmm....

I was so excited today. My sister Susan can vouch for this. I grabbed her hands and was jumping up and down, up and down--I was barely coherent. The missions director of my church in Frisco spoke to me after church this morning and said that the church will start supporting me on a monthly basis starting next week!!! This is a huge answer to prayer and great blessing to my level of support as well. As soon as I figure out exactly where I am in my support pledges, I'll let you know. (To those of you who don't know, I'm part of the Gospel for Asia administrative office staff. All of us on staff raise our own support to ensure that 100% of the money sent to the missionaries in the Indian sub-continent actually gets there.)

In Frisco, Texas, churches used to be few and far between. Now they are springing up like wildfire. Here are a few of them: Hope Fellowship, Fellowship of Frisco, Frisco Bible Fellowship, Frisco Community Fellowship...

Yes. I will be at Sterling College graduation on May 22nd. I will not be there for UF on Friday. I will be speaking at Coldwater Assembly of God on Sunday morning (May 23rd) and at Pleasant View Mennonite Church in Weatherford, OK on Sunday evening. I'll be back at work on Monday morning.

If you want to read a good blog (much more blog-like than mine), you should check out youngamethyst.blogspot.com. C. does a much better job than I. You can read movie, play, and book reviews as well as random lessons from life.

About 14 of us gathered and played Cranium this evening. I was on a team with (nicknames) Sasha, Sue, and Mary. We were a BAD team. Sasha (24) grew up in the states, but has lived in India for the past four+ years. She's never been to a movie theatre. Sue (thirty-something) has spent the last nine years running teen missions camps in Florida and Brazil. Mary (thirty-something) grew up in Dallas and knows lots about movies and TV and pop culture. Me? I haven't watched that many movies nor do I know anything about TV.

We kept getting the "copycat a famous person" cards or "hum or whistle this tune" cards. The bad part? Only Marie knew the James Bond theme song. Only Marie knew who Zsa Zsa-someone was. Only Marie knew...

The embarrassing part? When I was supposed to copycat "Fonzie"? and had ABSOLUTELY NO CLUE who I was supposed to act like. The rest of the room was rolling on the floor with laughter and anticipation and I was befuddled.

No. I have never seen Happy Days.

Topic of discussion today was the $6,000 rollout software we're looking at purchasing. The company wants $1600 a day to setup/install this software for us and they are estimating that it will take 3-4 days to set it up.

P: "Three or four days? It's a piece of SOFTWARE!"

E corrected P. "It's not a piece of software. It's an enterprise management tool."

Congratulations to Clint and Jennifer! Clint asked the question and Jennifer said YES!

God, I pray that you protect and guide this young couple as they seek to know you and make you known. Surround them with friends who will strengthen, encourage, and challenge them to seek and serve you. Guide them to where you want them to be. In Jesus' name, Amen.

It's the middle of prayer meeting. I'm running the laptop displaying the worship lyrics and I find my mind wandering. Do I allow Jesus to be "more than enough for all of me"? What about those days when I find myself yearning for a husband or simply wanting physical affection? In the middle of that wanting, do I truly believe that Jesus can be all that I need?

For all of you is more than enough for all of me
For every thirst and every need.
You satisfy me with your love
And all I have in you is more than enough.

Also pray for my friend Nick. He's driving to Washington state tomorrow--the beginnings of a long journey.

When I arrived at work today, my desk was graced with a vase containing a pink rose in full bloom. Measuring a full 5" across, the rose added a touch of joy to my day--seasoning each moment with beauty. The culprit responsible? My 19 year old cousin who saw me admiring it in his mother's flower bed the day before.

Sam, you're becoming quite the young man. I appreciate you.

I played a game that resembled basketball tonight for the first time since the summer of 2001. And the game in the summer of 2001 was the first game since Sr. High Youth Group at the Municipal Hall ('96?). No wonder I stink (at the game, not me personally. Then again, maybe I do stink. I can't tell.).

To my Sterling friends: I don't know if I'll be at graduation yet. You can pray. I'm trying to set up a speaking engagement in Sun City (KS) and Weatherford (OK) for that Sunday. If God works those details out, I'll be at graduation.

Today was a nice mix of busy and nice. Slept in this morning...got to the office a little late...worked with the printer and the fax to get things working. I tried to call the fax to make sure it was working and was quite startled when Operations Manager John answered the phone. He said that my phone had called Mike's extension. I apologized and hung up and worked on the fax for a few more minutes before I stopped by Mike's office to talk to John and Mike about the phone problem. When I arrived at Mike's office, no one was there, but his phone showed that it was STILL connected to mine. STRANGE!

I picked up T&K from the airport. My driving has improved in the last year...really it has. (Well, my city driving has improved. I scare my parents when I drive in a small town now.) BUT I canNOT talk, listen, ask questions, manage a cell phone, and DRIVE all at the same time. No wonder we have road rage. Pray for T&K as they interview this week and seek God about joining staff at GFA.

My sister Susan and I went to the Logos bookstore in Frisco this evening. Aubrey was playing there tonight. We were there for about two hours and I picked up a copy of "What's so Amazing about Grace" by Phillip Yancey. Looking forward to reading it.

Susan and I also looked at some books she had purchased for Lucinda's birthday. I can't talk about them here because my family reads this. But suffice it to say, Charlessa, Susan got two books that will work well. She got the anna-fruit book, but not the double-european book. Praise God for Half-Price Books!

Ah! The day is at an end. It's 8:28PM and I've been here at this office since 7:30 this morning.

We've added on to our existing building here in Carrollton (if you didn't know that). Last December, we ALL moved over to the new part of the building. TODAY, we were moving half of the people back over to the newly-renovated "south wing."

Everything went fairly smoothly. A few bumps, but those happen. THANK GOD for Pat who "plugged" away in the data center make all the connections working. (Sam says, OOH. Bad Pun.) The printers and fax machines aren't up yet, so the IT team will be returning at 7 tomorrow morning to get those things up and running. My job? Running around with a cell phone and a walkie-talkie to keep everyone communicating.

We have potential staff arriving at the airport tomorrow morning at 10:45, so I'll go pick them up and take them to lunch.

Praise God for his faithfulness!

Prayer Team! This is when I need you. (Well, I need you all the time, but especially this week.) If you are part of my prayer support team, please take a moment to pray. There are a lot of things going on with my church in Kansas, with a friend here at the ministry, and with me personally. Last night I pulled out my Bible and my journal and documented several things. This IS where God has called me. I WILL choose to trust Him. I WILL choose to submit to Him. I WILL choose to deliberately spend more time with Him. I will choose to intercede for others. I will choose to ask God whom he would have me reach out and how he wants me to minister to those people.

I cannot explain to you in a blog what is happening. Please don't get scared. I'm not despondent or depressed. Right now I very much have God's peace and contentment/conviction. But the battle ahead is hard.

Thank you.

Pray: I made some renewed resolutions this evening after spending time with God. Decisions to intercede for certain situations and people. Decisions to walk more faithfully with God. Decisions on submitting to God afresh. PRAY that God will give me the strength and discipline to continue walking with him each day.

Praise: I stopped by Starbucks at Midway and Park tonight to write down my resolutions and decisions. The barista asked me what I wanted and after I asked her for her recommendation, I ordered a tall caramel steamer. A few minutes later, someone announced that a grande caramel steamer was ready. Bewildered, I held back until my barista said, "That's for you. I made you a grande because you're such a nice person."

Calling all Techies! ICCM 2004 is now accepting reservations! ICCM is the International Conference of Computing and Missions. Missions-focused people from all over the world gather for a Friday-Tuesday conference where they can learn, discuss, and network with other missions-focused techies. There are missionaries, support teams, college interns, college computer administrators...

Held this year June 4-8 at Taylor University in Upland, Indiana, ICCM is a time for spiritual refreshment, learning, and fun. Stop by www.iccm.org for more information. Scholarships are available for college students.

You know you're in the American minority when you hear someone describe Ultimate Frisbee as a game "similar to rugby."

Taxes! I thought I would get mine done a couple days early this year. However, my gut calculations tell me I should get somewhere between $0 and $50 back. HR Block keeps trying to tell me that I'm getting about $2800 back. I think I messed up somewhere. I'll talk to Dad in the morning.

For a good portion of our hike on Saturday, I lagged behind the group to "see what I could see." But at one point in the hike, I glanced ahead and saw 12 year old Meg running ahead down the steep path. As I watched, she jumped the small gully at the bottom of the hill and crumpled in a heap on the other side. I waited with baited breath, hoping for a cry of "April Fools" or...or... or something. When there was no movement, we rushed to her side and found her with a twisted ankle.

She was a real trooper for the rest of the trip. I'm only sorry I didn't put my foot down more in an effort to keep her off of her foot for the remaining 24 hours. Please pray for her continued healing.

I wrote this because somehow I felt there was a spiritual application at the end. I couldn't think of what that spiritual application was when I started writing, but I was hoping it would come to me at the end. But it hasn't. Can you find it?

He is Risen!

Easter Camp 2004 left Friday morning at 9:00 and returned this afternoon about 4:00. We had beautiful sun on Friday, a tremendous thunderstorm and show of God's power on Friday night, a lovely overcast hiking day on Friday, and a cool morning just right for hot chocolate before we packed up to return to Carrollton.

One of the questions we asked one night around the campfire: What one word would you use to describe yourself?

That's a TOUGH question. Eventually, I gave the word "bumbling" and added the support word "well-intentioned." I explained that I usually have good intentions of wanting to help, but usually end up messing things up somehow.

It really is hard. How would you describe yourself in one word?

There are eight of us going camping in OK this weekend, so I won't be posting again until Sunday night.

To anyone who might think about marrying me: Don't. I can't cook. Tonight was a good example. My sister Susan came over and helped me make cookies for the camp out this weekend. However, as we were halfway through the baking process, I realized that I had forgotten to put the salt in the recipie. My roommate T. noticed right off, but I couldn't tell.

As we finished up the cookies, we started on a couple of coffee cakes. We were mentally tripling the recipie as we went. I started to grease the pans when Susan stopped me. She had her finger in her mouth and a weird look on her face. "Something isn't right. This doesn't taste light the coffecake I made last week." I stuck my own finger into my mouth with a taste of the batter and made my own wry face. Something was definately wrong. We racked our brain, checked our math calculations... 1 1/2 tsp times 3 would equal 4 and 1 and 1/2 tsp which equals 1 Tbsp and 1 and 1/2 tsp which is 1 1/2 Tbsp. 2 cups tripled is 6 cups. 1 cup tripled is....

OH NO! I forgot to put the sugar in!

So we added the sugar and greased the pans and it turned out well after all. A tad overbrown, but very edible. Praise God!

(You know something is really wrong with the recipie when even DORINDA can tell it doesn't taste right.)

I got to work today and had the same problem with my back. It was hurting both really low and mid-way down and I couldn't focus on anything. I found myself waiting for my co-worker to get back from lunch so I could get permission to go home. Jav was late getting back from lunch, but when he did get back, that's when I noticed. My back had stopped hurting! Totally! I was able to get some work done the rest of the afternoon. It was much better. THANK YOU for your prayers!

I'm exhausted tonight, however. Going to bed!

Today went better...especially after lunch. At lunch time I was frustrated because I typed the same password in 50 different times in an effort to unlock a printer. The password never did work, but I found out the printer was unlocked anyway. Then I found out the password was changed and I didn't know. But God provided grace.

Pray: for my back. It has been REALLY hurting today. I could barely sit for 20 minutes at a time before the pain would get really bad.
Pray: for my Kansas pastor and his wife. Pray that God would encourage them and direct them.

I'm very confused tonight. I've been told twice in the past three days by strangers that "you seem like a person who listens before she talks." Those of you who know me know how incredulously wrong that is. But it gives me hope that God is still working in my life and actually making something of it. At the same time, I think I've been very inconsiderate of a lot of people recently. Inconsiderate and selfish. Of Pat, Eric, Rach, David and so many others.

And I don't know what to do. T. simply says, "What does God want you to do?" But God seems silent. I've been doing a lot of praying--for people, for situations, for projects. But I don't seem to hear anything.

That's not true. God's not silent. He keeps dropping notes that remind me that he cares. Like the letter that came in the mail today with a $100 check from a church youth group. Like the conversations with total strangers about the goodness of God. Like the invitation for a walk.

I don't know.

24 hours later... My muscles are screaming. My sunburn is hurting. My scraped knees are scabbing. We're really going to have to make this sand volleyball thing a regular occurence.

A concrete slab underneath the sand court is a good thing for weed control, but bad for diving if the sand is thin in that particular area. OUCH. Add to that the fact that I have no reason to dive. I never connect with the ball.

I've made a list today of five things I want to spend time seeking God about. This includes how God wants me to use my finances, who and how God would have me specifically minister to at the ministry, and whether to be in Sterling for May 24th.

To all those who have written notes or email recently to say that you are praying: THANK YOU! I cannot tell you what an encouragment your notes have been. The things you have been praying are right on target! Praise God for his mighty faithfulness!

Oh, and... Gina and Jen- I'm looking forward to SOME DAY in the future some time when God's going to bring us back together to play Ultimate again. When that is I don't know. But there's got to be that day sometime...

Last night was extended night of prayer at the ministry. It was so exciting and encouraging to me when two men from my Frisco church attended. Since I was running the projection system/power points, I didn't get to spend much time with them.

Brian, one of our office staff members who just returned from India, shared as part of prayer meeting last night. He mentioned the statistic we quote of "over 500,000 villages in India that have never heard the name of Jesus." He said the number is so big, it is just a statistic to us. But a fraction of it became real to Brian during this trip. The team was driving out of a major city and as they drove along the main road, they passed village after village after village after village with hardly any land between them. Brian first thought that the abundance of villages was because of their location on the main road. But shortly, the vans turned down a dirt sidepath. And they passed village after village after village after village... 500,000 villages in India that have never heard the name of Jesus.

I went yard saling this morning. Saling? Sale-ing? Selling? Any way, I went to look at stuff people were selling on their yards. Picked up an O-Reilly book on Apache and sendmail. Started talking to the guy selling them. God opened up the opportunity for us to converse about "religion" for almost an hour. At the end of the conversation, he said: "It's not very often that you have a conversation about religion and even less often that two people have a civilized conversation about religion. Thank you." Please pray for Christian. He's not searching. But he wasn't antagonistic. But he still needs God.

So much for this really long post. I'm going to go play volleyball.

People ask me what I do in my spare time. Tonight was my first time to officially help clean the building. It was a little slow, but we'll get the time down next week. After cleaning, I took the C. girls back to their home and ate supper with their family. Following supper, the girls curled up and I read them the first three chapters of Tales of the Kingdom. They listened with wide eyes as Scarboy and Little Child were questioned by the evil Enchanter. They laughed when they saw the picture of Caretaker with his beard and hair tucked in his belt made of ivy. They gasped as the beggar became the King at the Inmost Circle.

When the hour grew late and the stories had to end, we were all transported back to today's world. And we found ourselves wishing for the good to hurry up and triumph over evil in the battles of today.