i’ve technically clocked out but still sit here at my office.  i’m not sure i want to move now that my feet have finally warmed up.  but the sun is starting to go down, a sister, brother-in-law, and two babes are at home who aren’t usually there, and i should get my rear in action and face the cold again.

but since writing has been scarce…

1.  i opened my car hood for the first time ever today.  i couldn’t figure it out at first and had to go ask my friend who was inside a mechanic shop how to do it (way to make yourself feel stupid).  i then stood there for a few seconds with the incredibly heavy piece of metal in my hands unsure of how people normally prop it open.  i never did figure it out so instead i held it open with my hip while i opened a bottle of windshield washer fluid.  moral of the story: extremely spoiled little girls don’t know a thing about vehicles.

2.   extremely spoiled girls shouldn’t go to mechanics by themselves either.  yesterday i brought my car in for a normal oil change.  as happens with young girls who don’t know anything, i walked away with a bill $60 more than i originally expected but a much “cleaner” car.  the young mechanic came in with that ridiculous grin on his face while he explained what he needed to do because we both knew that while i was nodding like i understood the truth was every word he said was gibberish to me.  ripped off much?  yeah, that’s me.

but enough with car problems.

3.  i’ve thought more about joseph than i ever have this holiday season.  a lot was asked of that one man and knowing my own self, i wonder how he did it.  “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.”  joseph received Him while many didn’t… and don’t.  joseph’s eyes were opened to the great plan of God for his own life — to raise the Son of God.  and i just kept thinking, do i miss Him?  when He comes to me offering His plan for my own life, do i push it away?  how blinded am i?  how hardened is this heart?  i’d like to think that i’m like joseph, but i’m not very sure that’s accurate.

4.  although i’ve come back to work, i like the slow evenings of games and movies and late night snacking that’s spilled over from christmas.  must we go back to the real world so soon?

Hoping you had a Merry Christmas
And may your New Year dreams come true!

this may be hard to believe, but i’ve been in a downright rotten mood for the last… several months.  it’s true.  i, louissa sinclair (also known as: sweetheart, sweetie, the kindest, the nicest, the gentlest, etc.), have been wearing my grumpy pants for a bit too long.

i don’t generally…

say truthful mean things
have a condescending attitude
lose my patience
take my frustrations out on the first poor soul to cross me
or belittle others

but recently?  all this awfulness has been coming out.  pretty bad, huh?  time to change my perspective on life and get some Goodness in me!

so i’m thankful for…

presents erupting from the bottom of our tree
siblings and parents and nieces and nephews to buy things for
twinkle lights. everywhere i look. twinkle lights.
bedtime stories
crying while reading to a nephew and having him hold my hand
noisy chaotic dinners
blessings in the form of the little people who make the dinners noisy & chaotic
pretty white fresh clean snow
a car that runs well even with 168,000+ miles on it
cookies
sisters who have the foresight to say “no” to constant baking of cookies
people who take the time to ask, “how are you really doing?”
Light & Life (more to come on those two things soon)
and family being together.

a repeat post that i need right now from December 14, 2007.

he asks the outrageous question, if you wrote a book what would it be called?  his questions do always tend to be on the unrealistic-and-way-too-crazy-for-this-dreamless-person-to-consider which is why, of course, they’re good questions to ask me.  and like most, i shrugged it off.

what would i even write about?   after a few more moments i knew that i’d write about myself.  yes, i’d write about my own story.  after all, everyone knows that someone who can put up photo album after photo album of mostly their own face on facebook is certainly in love with themselves.  how can someone who is so egotistical write about anything else but their own wonderfulness?  or even if they say their life is too dull, you know that they really think their dull life exactly what people want for entertainment because dull=simple and don’t we all crave simpler lives?

this is only a blog — not a book — but i don’t think that after writing the above i can really tell you how wonderful i am or say that my life is too boring.  so what shall i write about?

everyone knows i work at my church office.  that’s not new news, but it wasn’t until i started working at a church that i realized how weird some things are.

like every single time i have to publicize an upcoming Baby Dedication i scratch my head and try to imagine what a perfect heathen would think upon hearing of such a thing.  child sacrifice anyone?

i realized that i’m unable to use the word “charismatic” unless referring to a type of church.  sorry, all charismatic personalities out there, but it doesn’t matter the context of the conversation, all i can think of when hearing that word is barking men & slain in the spirit women covered by tablecloths.

and although i always thought this just a nice tale, i’m convinced there really must be church mice.  really, there must.  i can’t tell you the number of times i’ve left chocolate, chips, or candy on my desk (which is in my office located within my church) only to return the next day to have it half gone or worse — all gone!  since i know people wouldn’t do this to a nice little office girl, i know there must be mice coming and getting my goodies and sometimes it’s a bit frustrating.  and don’t they know i’m really a nice person and will probably share some of my goodness if only they would ask?  perhaps you can give the message if you ever cross paths with one of my church mice.