Lauren's Valentine

My worries about who will take over this blog when I grow old and too arthritic to type have been diminished. I just read a valentine my niece wrote in her local newspaper, "The Northern Virginia Daily".
Her challenge was to write a valentine using a fruit and a vegetable.
Here is her finished product:

"I'm bananas about you!" "Lettuce get together and have a good Valentine's Day."

Proverbs 18:10

Here is a verse I have read a thousand times, but this morning it surfaced in my mind and brought me unexplainable peace.

The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.

Worship

I watched children praising God yesterday and I realized that I worry too much about what people think when I worship.
These kids were unashamed as they lifted their hands and sang and danced.
It was a magnificent scene.

Caffeine

The time has come for me to acknowledge my addiction to caffeine.
I hit main street at about 8:28 this morning, which left me about a minute to get coffee from my normal place and run up the street to my office by 8:30. I realized very quickly that my normal coffee place was closed so I made a quick decision to shoot up 5th street to the Starlight Cafe. It was 8:31 when I pulled into Starlight's parking lot, but it was worth it to be a few minutes late if I could get some decent coffee. I slogged through the mud to their side door and some pseudo bohemian wearing a hat that was cool when my dad was the mack of his 1950's neighborhood was leaning against the wall trying to tap into Starlight's wireless connection with his laptop. Pseudo bohemian was nice enough to inform me as I pulled on the door that the place was closed. I appreciate fully his willingness to tell me after I had walked through mud, past him and up the steps.
I slogged back through the mud, nodded at pseudo bohemian, climbed back into my car and headed back to my parking garage. Coffeeless.
As I rode the elevator up to my office I realized that the time has come to acknowledge my addiction to caffeine. So, I am acknowledging the problem. At some point I will actually do something about it...

The Office

Our office is moving. As a result, my boss has gotten a headstart on the move by packing up his personal items and books. He discovered that boxes from the ABC store had cool cardboard separators in them which keep the bottles from clinking against each other. These cardboard separators also help my boss protect his pictures and other precious junk from rattling around in the boxes.
When clients come into Mr. R's office, they survey the area and their eyes linger on the towers of whiskey boxes that line the walls. There is one stack in particular that captures their attention due to an intimidating Captain Morgan leering at them from the top of the tower.

The Wedding

I had an awesome opportunity to help "officiate" a wedding last night. It was the first time I've ever done anything like that and it was a great experience. The bride has been a friend of ours for several years and she was even present at the birth of two of my children. The groom is a newer friend to us and thankfully was not present at the birth of any of my children.
Jasilyn was the flower girl and she wore a red dress. She was beautiful. She only dropped about six petals because she wanted to keep the rest in her basket. She still has the petals from a wedding back in August.
I learned a lot from this wedding and I'm thankful for my Pastor being so patient with my many questions. Its great to serve with someone who is not afraid to teach you and train you.
I was so nervous earlier in the day that I thought I was going to throw up, but I ate mexican food and felt much better.

V Day

Valentine's Day is coming up. I had planned on going into a rant about the holiday but I decided not to write anything about how commercial and coercive it is. I have also decided not to comment on how it makes lonely people feel lonelier or poor people poorer.
I have a wonderful wife and we celebrate Valentine's day every day of the year, so I have decided not to say one word about this wretched holiday that exploits the feelings and emotions of citizens all over the world.
I'm tempted to rant against Valentine's Day but I have too much love in my heart to do so.