Mel's World - Random Thoughts from a Scrambled Mind

Put a bow on it…

melloop — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:48:10 +0000

The first of this month about 15 of us from RPC went to the Catalyst conference in Georgia. Awesome doesn’t seem to be a big enough word to describe the experience I had there. I am working on some blogs with highlights.

On the first evening during one of the worship sessions the person leading worship made a statement that at first I thought was cool. But, as we kept singing, I couldn’t get it out of my head. As the next speaker came up, I kept thinking about that statement. I had to write it down. Then I just stared at it. Then it hit me. There it is! Here is the whole Christian package; what we believe, why we believe, everything, all in a nutshell.

“The Son of God became the Son of man, so that the sons of men could become the sons of God!”

There it is, wrap it up and put a bow on it!

Awesome!

Short Bus…

melloop — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:31:27 +0000

I often kid people at work that I rode the short bus to school. When they are teasing about people saying “they are just short bus people”, I always say “hey, don’t knock the short bus, we had lots of fun on the short bus!” It is really fun to see their expression, they aren’t sure if I’m kidding about it or not.

Well, yesterday on my way home from my mom’s house, I actually saw a short bus in front of someone’s house. For a split second, I had the urge to stop my car and hop on it and take pictures. Ha! If I had not been by myself, I probably would have actually done it. I would have had someone take my picture on the short bus! Oh what fun that would have been.

Although the way people are these days about trespassing the outcome probably would have been one of two things: 1) I would have been shot or 2) I would have been arrested! Hmm, would a photo op really have been worth that.

Well, I got a really big laugh out of seeing the short bus anyway!

On the lighter side…

melloop — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 16:06:35 +0000

I thought we could all use something on the lighter side of things. Here are some parenting excuses I just ran across that I just had to share:

That kid? Never saw him before.
That trait must have skipped a generation.
He loves cars – that’s why I let him sit out here in the parking lot while I visit the casino.
Ritalin? Chewable vitamins? They’re easy to mix up!

Hang in there..

melloop — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 00:34:46 +0000

To my few devoted readers – ha! Hang in there. I have not forgotten you. There has been a lot going on in my world over the past month. I am working on some posts as soon as I can catch my breath and get my head back on straight. Things have been a little more scrambled than usual.

Happy Birthday

melloop — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 12:15:19 +0000

Happy birthday to my big guy. Today my baby is 6 years old. Seems like only yesterday he was a little baby. Here’s to you Satchmo!

Left Behind

melloop — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 09:00:03 +0000

The other day I was in a drive thru and as I was stuck staring at the bumper in front of me I happened to notice this bumper sticker on the car: Warning: in case of rapture this car will be unmanned.

At first I thought, cool sticker. Then I thought what a really freaky event that is going to be. I mean we have all heard the scriptures about two working in the field and one will be left behind, etc. But, put it in modern day scenarios and think of the chaos that will happen.

Cars careening down the interstate with no-one at the wheel, as other cars driving by try and swerve to miss these unmanned vehicles. Thousands breaking through airport security barriers because there are no screeners to check their bags for banned items. Millions of dollars of home improvement items stolen from stores as no cashiers or security personnel are in the store.

I thought about the drive thru I was in, that would be a perfect example. There’s some person in a car waiting to pick up their order; probably on their cell phone and not noticing the event happening around them. After a few minutes, they notice that the pickup line hasn’t moved. They begin to honk their horn, but nothing happens. They finally notice that no-one is in the car in front of them. Strange, they think to themselves. So they get out and go up to the pickup window, only to discover that there is no employee at the pickup window either. In fact there are only a couple of people in the restaurant. Where did everyone go? They were here just a few minutes ago.

It’s an eerie thought isn’t it? To think that it could happen just that fast. One minute someone you love is here and the next you’ve been left behind and they are gone. They have been taken to live forever with their heavenly father and you are the one who has been left behind to suffer the consequences of your actions. I don’t know about you, but I am glad that I know that when this wonderful day comes, I won’t be the one left looking around wondering where everyone went!

Here’s You Sign…

melloop — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 01:37:34 +0000

I’m sure you have heard the “Here’s Your Sign” jokes before. Well this weekend I came face to face with a real live “Here’s Your Sign” moment.

I was in Lakeland at a popular Italian restaurant on my way to be seated, when I heard the following conversation between the hostess and a customer:

Hostess: How many in your party?

Male Customer: Two

Hostess: It will be 5-10 minutes.

Male Customer: Man, it is really hot outside.

Hostess: Yeah, it’s the sun.

Seriously! Did she really just say that?! Did I just hear that come out of her mouth?

All my life I have wondered why it gets so hot, and that day in Lakeland I found the answer. It’s the SUN! I am so glad I came to this restaurant!

Believe me it took all of my strength not to turn around and say “hey lady, here’s your sign”! I mean, duh!

Trip to Wal-Mart

melloop — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 23:21:15 +0000

Have you ever just sat and watched people in Wal-Mart? It’s a very eye opening experience. People watching just happens to be one of my hobbies. Here are a few observations from a recent trip:

Lots of arguments seem to happen at Wal-Mart. Some arguments are expected: what to buy, what not to buy, who’s getting more stuff, who’s not getting anything if they don’t behave. But some are just weird- “if I’m spending MY money I want a chocolate bar, if it’s YOUR money we’ll get chocolate. Cause that is what I want.”
Kids are everywhere – crying kids, screaming kids, running kids…. are these orphan kids? Where are there parents?
Babies in buggies, babies in strollers… is there a sale on babies today? Some of them are so cute. Some, well let’s be honest, not so much.
People on cell phones- I just love to catch partial conversations as they walk by. Those bits and pieces are always so entertaining. “Well I told him, he ain’t no good anyway, so that’s all I got to say” as she walks on and keeps talking about him. You can’t help but hear them because they talk so loud as they walk by.
Oh the outfits you see. I wonder, really wonder, if some of these people actually ever look at themselves in a mirror before they leave their house. Surely they can’t intend to look that bad when they leave the house. Oh and please for all our sakes, would you guys pull up your pants, I for one am sick of seeing your boxers!
Macho weightlifter guy pushing shopping cart with busted front wheel that just spins around in a circle wildly as he goes by. Oh the look on his face. All the cool has just been sucked right out of him by this little metal object. Such a shame.
What is it with people who won’t get a buggy? They walk by the first time with two items. Okay, I can see not getting a buggy for that. But, when they come back by, they have their arms full with about 10 items, struggling to carry them to the checkout. At least get a basket for crying out loud. What is the deal?
I think the strangest thing I have ever seen – and that is quite a contest my friend – happened about a month ago. There was a lady taking her three wheeler bicycle for a test drive through the store. Honestly, it was hilarious. She rode it up and down the home section of the store. I wanted to tell her she had better put on her bike helmet so she didn’t get in trouble, but I didn’t.

So, there you have it, just a few interesting tidbits for you. Next time you venture to our favorite supercenter take a look around. If nothing else, it might make you feel better about yourself!

Dreams vs. Reality

melloop — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 09:00:42 +0000

I’m not one who usually remembers anything I dream at night. I’m not sure why. I know that I dream; I just don’t remember them the next day. I am envious of those people who always tell stories about the cool dreams they have. They are always about neat places, famous people, and really funny situations or stuff like that. I just look at them and say “that’s cool; I don’t remember any of my dreams.” They look at me all pitiful.

But for whatever reason this past week – I think it has something to do with a combination of the pain pills and sleeping on the couch from the previously blogged about toe surgery – I have been having very vivid dreams. Some have just been really weird, but some have been interesting. The strangest thing to me was that I had one that really blurred the line between dream and reality.

I had a dream where I was talking to a bunch of my friends. I was telling them a story about something that had happened to me. It was an event where I was stuck with another group of people in a room and we couldn’t get out for some reason. While we were stuck in this room one of the people with us began to carve a way out through the wall. Just as he did, we were rescued. Good story right. Well in this dream my friends thought it was a good story too, but I was insisting to them that it really happened. It wasn’t a story it was real. I even took them to the place where we had been trapped and showed them the small carved hole in the wall. It was an intense back and forth discussion of me convincing them it really happened.

Now, when I woke up guess what happened? I was convinced that it actually happened. I thought to myself, “Did that really happen?” “No, there’s no way that happened.””But, it seemed so real”. I don’t ever remember being trapped anywhere at any time, so I have no idea where that came from (I’m sure it was the drugs!), but in my dream I made it seem so real, that I had myself second guessing it in real life.

Isn’t the mind an amazing thing?

Oh, all you Dave Ramsey fans will love this one. I had another dream that I taught the entire Dave Ramsey plan to a group of my friends. I know this one was a dream, because half of it I yelled at them at the top of my lungs and the other half I whispered to them. Ha!

Have you ever had a dream that blurred the line between reality and the dream world? What’s the weirdest dream you have ever had?

Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio?

melloop — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 09:00:25 +0000

Yes, for you few loyal fans of the Scrambled Mind, I’m sure you have been wondering what has happened to your faithful leader. Well fear not, all is well here in my scrambled world. Things have just been a little more scrambled lately than usual. Here is just a quick snapshot to get you caught up.

I’ve been in a little bit of a slump lately- mentally and physically. Not sure why, but I think I am finally getting back on track and hopefully things will be on the upswing now. Because of this, the creative juices have been a little slow to flow; and when they were flowing, I was not in the mood for it. Hence the non-blogging periods. Again, I think we are past this period and back on track.
Work has been crazy busy. This is both a good thing and a bad thing. Good in the fact that business is good and in this economy that is a great thing. Bad in the fact that I have been working a lot of hours (no extra pay when you are salary) and completely covered up with work. But, I would rather be busy than not have anything to do – or a job period. So, all in all I’m glad we are busy.
There is a lady in my office that is driving me completely crazy. I think she has been contributing to my mental slump. For the last 3-4 weeks she has been planning her vacation to New York. I know this because I have heard the details of it about 5 times a day for the last 3-4 weeks. Thank heavens her vacation is next week and this will be over. Wait, what am I thinking? When she comes back, all I will hear about is her actual trip! Oh, great.
Okay, I am not a political person. I really don’t care who you voted for or what party you belong to. But, is it just me or do some of the events of the Obama presidency seem like they came right out of a West Wing script?
Spent the July 4^th weekend recovering from a minor procedure on my big toe. Wasn’t fun. Hurt like all get out. Spent the whole holiday weekend lying on the couch, with my foot propped up watching TV, sleeping, taking antibiotics and pain pills. Thank heavens for pain pills!
I love all the rain we have been getting. Not only is it great to see everything so green, but I haven’t had to water my lawn in two months! Great big win for my budget!
Speaking of budgets. 7 more months and my credit card debt will be history! Dave Ramsey rules! I have taken up the motto of a good friend – “Dave says no!” Ha! Can’t argue with that.

Anyway, that about does it for now. So, what have you been up to lately?