Miscommunication!

Miscommunication!

Miscommunication, not communicating or stating clearly what is expected of you or a situation. I’ve definitely had some experiences with this! Boy can things get complicated and frustrating when miscommunication occurs. I was bitterly reminded of this today as I had to do some last minute damage control.

I was recently sent a devotional, by Sally Cullbreth, containing the following…
“One of my favorite comedians, Gilda Radner, played a character who was highly opinionated and always wrong. Emily Litella was the character's name (watch old Saturday Night Live shows from the mid-1970's and you'll understand why I love her!). Any subject that Miss Litella zeroed in on for commentary was wrongly perceived, wrongly interpreted, and almost always formed around a minor point of confusion that made all the difference in the world.

She would rant and rave about "the eagles' rights amendment," "protection of endangered feces," or "violins on television," and, as her tirade went on and on, someone would firmly correct her. "That's the equal rights amendment." "That's protection of endangered species." "It's VIOLENCE on television, not VIOLINS." This sudden disclosure of correct information would silence her immediately. As she collected her papers and her composure, she would say with the same demure certainty with which she began, "Never mind."

I guess Emily Litella’s “never mind” is equivalent to my or todays “Whatever”. When I hear those words, “whatever”, I know someone is frustrated, probably wrong about something, and just wants to brush it off as no big deal when in reality, it may have been a really big deal to the person to whom the “whatever” was spat at. I’ve grown to detest the way in which people use the word “whatever”. The tone, the volume, and the flippant manner in which it is spoken tell me the speaker isn’t sorry, doesn’t truly acknowledge they are wrong, and absolutely doesn’t care enough to remedy the situation.

What a shame! So many hurts could be healed, wrongs could be righted, and broken hearts mended, if we would be willing to say…
“I didn’t understand I was wrong, I’m sorry, let’s try and figure out how this situation got out of hand, you are important to me!

Friends and relationships are to important and too precious to treat them with the careless “never minds” and “whatevers!”
"For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks." Matthew 12:34 NIV
Ok, there are those times when a “never mind” is a good thing to say…like when you ask your best friend what she weighs…then as soon as the words have left your mouth, you wish you hadn’t ask. Now that is a good time to laugh and say, “NEVER MIND”!

She speaks, boy does she speak!

Here is my speaking schedule for the next few weeks. Please keep me and the recipients of my messages in your prayers.

Pray for God’s message to be heard and His name to be glorified!
Thanks my friends!
Lisa…the sightless but not always so wonderful one!

April 24, 10AM Cape Fear Christian Academy…Chapel Service 6th-12th grades.
April 26th, True Gospel Baptist Church Madison, NC (Greensboro area) 5PM Mother/Daughter Banquet
April 27th, Opposition Rally in the Park, to Liquor by the Drink…Time (TBA) Erwin, NC
April 29th, Lee/Chatam Mini-center 10AM Sanford, NC
May 3, First Christian Baptist Church Randleman, NC 11AM Ladies Banquet
May 4th, North Clinton Ave. Baptist Church Dunn, NC Senior Citizens Day 11AM service

Like Mother like Daughter

I was the guest speaker for a Ladies Tea at Stephen’s Chapel Church in Smithfield, NC yesterday afternoon. It was a delightful event with 7 different tables decorated by 7 different ladies according to 7 different Bible verses. These ladies went all out! They had the fine china, crystal, sterling silver, cloth napkins and all the finery you can imagine. Each table hostess read her Bible verse and described her table and introduced the ladies at her table. The guest included Mothers, daughters, granddaughters, Aunts, sisters, cousins and friends.

After the introductions, I shared my testimony and then enjoyed a time of fellowship with these gracious women over tea and delectable treats of all sorts!

My time spent with the Ladies of Stephens Chapel brought to mind some WONDERful moments I have recently spend with my girls, Mom, and sister’s.

I’ll share a few of those wonder-filled moments with you! Amanda and I were driving home from a long day of shopping when she asked if I had gone to the meeting at our church about the “gays in our community”. Yes, you read that right. I said, what are you talking about? She said, “Mom, you know, last Sunday the Pastor said he wanted everyone to be there that Wednesday night for a special meeting about the problem with “gays” in our community”. She continued by saying that the Pastor said it was a serious problem that was even filtering down to our elementary schools. Amanda said she had really wanted to come but she had a lab that night. She also told me she had told her roommates about it and they couldn’t believe that our church was going to talk about “Gay people”. They wanted to know if we were going to try and oust them from our church and community! By the time Amanda finishes telling me all of this, I am laughing hysterically, tears are streaming down my face and I can hardly catch my breath. Amanda isn’t finding this very funny…until I tell her that the meeting was on “GANGS”, NOT gays! She begins to laugh as well and decides she needs to call her roommates and set the record straight!

After that, we began reminiscing about other faux pas we had committed. One of my most famous is when I mistakeningly wrote that our churches marriage retreat ants would be visiting the “Carolina Orgy” instead of the “Carolina Opry”. An honest mistake but one I haven’t lived down to this day!

Over Easter I heard Amanda telling my Sister as she was extolling the virtues of her new trash compactor, “They have outlawed those in Raleigh.” Allison, Amanda’s older sis, and I immediately said in unison, that’s garbage disposals! It was too funny.
Amanda has also informed me that Grandma’s preacher was getting a divorce and said Grandma told her so. So I pass the info along to other family members to later find out we are wrong and Grandma doesn’t know what Amanda was talking about!

Amanda says she inherited this “blonde gene” from me…reminding me of the time I am telling my best friend that we need to pray for this family. I tell her all about the mother who shot and killed her little boy during the night because she thought he was a burglar when in reality he was just sneaking in the living room to play with the ornaments on the Christmas tree. My friend is getting into the story with me and we are going to pray for this family when Amanda says…”Mom, that isn’t real…we saw that on E.R. last night.” We all get a good chuckle out of that as I turn beat red.

I guess it is in the genes!
Like Mother, like Daughter isn’t it wonderful!

I’m back! I took a little trip to Winston-Salem to Baptist Hospital for two wonderful days of test on this wacky digestive track of mine. The first day I arrive at the hospital at 7Am and am told that my doctor has been called away on a family emergency and would I like to reschedule or take the doctor on call? So, I, after having driven two and a half hours the night before and paid for a hotel, decide to go ahead with the procedure. I am then taken in the back and they attempt to put an IV in. I try to tell them that I’m a difficult stick but they always have to find out the hard way…by sticking me twice! Then the nurse comes in and says, “we actually made a mistake and the doctor we originally told you would be taking your doctors place is …well, he’s actually working on the more difficult cases today. So we have another doctor for you if that is ok.” So, I’m laying there thinking Ok…great, I’m the one with the most abnormal digestive track most doctors have ever seen and I’m getting the third string doctor. What’s a girl to do when you’re already laying there with an IV, heart monitor, and lovely hospital gown on? My last question I asked before they put the sleepy meds into my IV was, “does anyone know if this doctor is a Christian?”

I survived day one of the test and Lee returned me to the hotel to rest for the afternoon while he returned to work. The second shift, Amanda, my youngest, arrived that evening. We enjoyed some girl time then her boyfriend came and we went out to dinner. Friday was spent at the hospital where I ate radioactive eggs, had half my body slammed into the door threshold by an x-ray tech., drank some nasty contrast, had some dye injected into my veins through yet another IV…and YES it took two tries to find a vein, and had some injection while I was in the MRI machine. I’m not sure which tasted nastier, the tainted eggs or the contrast! We arrived at the hospital Friday at 9Am and left at 4:45PM. It was a very long day but hopefully, the test will reveal something that will allow the doctors to better treat my digestive maladies!

Upon leaving the hospital, we headed to the mall to meet Lee. Amanda and I went to “Guppies to Puppies” and held a little basset Hound, petted rabbits, and ooohed and aaawed, at all the little animals there. Lee and I finally arrived home at 9PM and were greeted by our precious puppy/dog Zoey. She was glad to have her Momma home and I was glad to crawl into my own bed!


Oh, I almost forgot, the quote of the day on Friday that made my day was when one of the hospital workers, an information desk worker, said to Amanda and I as we entered the hospital…AND I QUOTE “How nice, two lovely sisters coming to the hospital together!” I turned around and told the man I loved him!

So…I said yesterday, that I would share something that God had taught me about commitment from my daily exercise commitment with my friend. Last Friday, I got up at 4:30AM, as usual, fed the dog, brushed my teeth, did my stretching exercises and was ready to go. 5AM came, no friend, then 5:10, no friend, 5:20 came…no friend. I thought to myself, I’ve gotten up, prepared myself for this specific time that we have committed to each other and she doesn’t show up. I wasn’t angry just a little disappointed…a little let down. Then I felt God saying to me, “That’s how I feel when you don’t show up for our special time. You sure can get yourself up and be ready to meet your friend to exercise and you would hate to let her down…but you aren’t always that dedicated, devoted or committed to me!” I felt so ashamed because I knew I had let my Savior down…even though God didn’t speak to me in anger…just in a way I would understand. I’m so glad my friend overslept that morning for it gave me the opportunity to renew my commitment with my God to spend a “specific” or special time with Him each day…not to give Him what little time there might be left at the end of the day. I used to always meet with him first thing in the morning, before I started this exercise program, and I do again now! My time with my Lord must not be second to anything else in my life. I’m thankful that I heard God Speaking to me that morning. I hope you will listen to God’s voice…that you’ll set aside a specific time everyday for God…for He is waiting for you and has so many wonderful things to show you in His word!

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will
Guide you with Mine eye." Psalm 32:8

I
awoke this morning and realized I was in bed with an old man! A very scary experience I must say. It is my husbands 50th birthday. I knew that marrying an older guy would one day come back to haunt me but when you are high school Jr. and a College Soph. ask you out, well…how cool is that. I mean how many other high School girls were dating “college men”. So we dated and dated and finally married after my Soph. year of college.
This is definitely one of the blessings of being blind…I will always picture my husband as that very handsome Young man I last saw four and a half years ago with a lot more hair on his head and a lot less hair …well, never mind. Although he is getting older, he is also getting better! Happy 50th Birthday Lee!

Since I’ll be reaching the “old age” mark in a few years myself, I’ve been trying to get this body in shape. I get up at 4:30AM, let the dog out, feed her, do some stretching exercises and wait for my precious friend, Danielle, to pick me up at 5AM, yes, that is in the morning before the rooster’s crow! We take the short drive to her home, tiptoe up the stairs and thru her bedroom where her husband is asleep. Then we head for the inner sanctum which we access by passing through the bathroom and the walk in closet. Finally, we have arrived…the inner sanctum is where the work begins. We start with prayer because, if the truth be known, we really would rather be sleeping. So we ask God to give us the desire to get our bodies, His temples…in shape, so they will be pleasing in His sight and fit for His kingdom work. I can’t reveal too much about my experiences in the inner sanctum…it’s rather like Vegas…what happens in the inner sanctum, stays in the inner sanctum! But if you have a pressing prayer concern, let me know and I’ll carry it into the inner sanctum. You can pray for Danielle and me…because after almost four months, it’s still hard to get up and keep our exercise commitment. I’ll share a real lesson the Lord taught me about that tomorrow! Stay tuned…I’d hate to leave you wondering!

My first blog!

After three hours, I, with the help of Shelia (a computer tech with Services for the Blind), finally have my very own blog!
I don’t have all the bells and whistles but it’s all about words, right??
So…maybe you’re wondering about my chosen name…sightless wonders. Well, I’m sightless and I wonder about a lot of things But there are also so many wonderful things, feelings, emotions, sounds, etc…that you can experience without your sight…maybe even better without your sight. There is also one of my favorite verses from God’s word. 2 Cor. 4:18 “So then, we fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary and what is unseen is eternal.”
Why just the other day, I learned what Helen Keller’s favorite color was! Stumped? It’s CORDUROY! Isn’t that great! It sure has made me rethink my favorite color. It was orange when I was a child then I switched to burgundy as an adult but now I’m thinking…dotted Swiss or maybe seersucker.

I hope you’ll join me from time to time and share your “wonders” sightless or not. I’m sure we’ll have wonderful times as we wonder along together!

Question of the day: What is your favorite color or texture?