Signs, Signs, Everywhere There Are Signs

I don't write about God very often here.

I try to keep my writing light hearted and uplifting.  I hope that I can make you laugh  . . . or spit out your coffee.  Because of this, you may think that God is not a part of my life.

And, you would be wrong.

My relationship with God is one of my sturdy and steadying forces in my life.   In fact, many days I recognize that He is talking to me.  But before you go off thinking that I am hearing voices or speaking in tongues, I am talking about how God uses signs to speak to me.

Signs, signs, everywhere there are signs.

What?

You don't believe me?

Try this.

This weekend, the family traveled to Western Pennsylvania for hub's family reunion.  We were approximately 6 hours from our home.  We were supposed to stay with one of hub's relatives, but we decided against it.  Instead, the plan was to drive a few hours down the road, grab a hotel, and make the rest of the trip the next day.  Except after driving a few hours and calling hotel after hotel,  we were out of luck. 

Everything was booked.

The kids were getting sleepy and hubs and I decided to grab some coffee so that we could just drive through the night home.  I pulled off at the next exit, and as I did, I noted that we were actually in my dad's hometown.  And, while I had never lived there myself, I had spent many a summer there with cousins and family, and this little town always felt like home. 

 Weird, right?

So, I drove to the nearest gas station, which hubs promptly rejected.  "They don't have good coffee, "he explained.  He directed me to the nearby BP and I maneuvered the car up to that gas pump.

It was then that I noticed the car at the next pump.  It was a cute, little, 4 door sedan with personalized plates, and there was a petite blond woman pumping gas. 

It was my favorite Aunt Joanie.

She was on a break from work,  and she had decided to get gas in her car to get away for a bit.

We ended up at the same gas station at the same time . . .and she wanted us to stay at her home.

A God moment, right? 

Probably.

Except I didn't see it that way right then.  I just thought that it was a great coincidence.  We exchanged hugs and kisses, laughed about the situation, and then we went on our way home.

And in the dark, with my family sleeping and hubs driving, I watched cornfield after cornfield zip  by the car window and I realized I had been blind.

Duh.

Apparently, in order for me to see a sign from Him, God would have to emblazon a billboard with a flashing arrow and my name, because all the subtle little coincidences didn't do it.

My family had been in need, God had provided for us, and I had not recognized the signs.

I felt like an idiot.

But a humble idiot that will now try just a bit harder to listen to that little voice inside me and to open my eyes to the signs, whatever they may be.


****************************I am linking this to Shell's Pour Your Heart Out**********************
Go check out some of the other bloggers pouring out their hearts.

Join me on twitter   @annieinsanity

Sam's I Am . . . An Idiot

"Uhhhh ma'am?" the teenage clerk would not meet my gaze. "There ummm seems to be a problem ummmm with your card?"

My heart sank.

"Well, " I glanced toward the growing line of 4th of July shoppers behind me. "What's the problem? It's a membership card after all, not a credit card,"  I joked.

The clerk did not laugh.  He just replied, "Ma'am, I do not know why your membership card won't work," his emphasis on the word membership did not go unnoticed.  "I just know that you will have to go to the service desk to figure it out."  He handed me back the card, and silently pointed to the customer service desk.

Great.

I watched as he reloaded all of my groceries back into the cart as I wrangled the kiddies over to the service desk.  I didn't get it.  What could possibly be wrong with my Sam's membership card?  It still had my name on it.  It still had my picture on it.  For what possible reason would my card not work?

I sheepishly handed over my card to the customer service "expert" that appeared to be no more than 17 years old and watched helplessly as she first scanned my card and then typed aimlessly at her terminal's kiosk. 

"Oh, Mrs. S, I see what is wrong!" she exclaimed.

"Well... what is it?"

"It looks like this card is invalid.  It looks like you reported this card as lost and then we issued another membership card in its place invalidating this one."  She smiled.

I groaned.

Instantly, I remembered the whole situation. I had lost my Sam's card, and  I did get it replaced.  But recently I found the lost Sam's card in the laundry room.  When I put it in my Sam's file, the next time I went to use the card, there were 2 cards there. So, I promptly pulled out one card, cut it up ceremoniously, and placed the other card in my wallet.

Problem is  . . . I had cut up the good card.

Yep.

Fail.

******Don't leave me hanging!  Leave your shopping "fails" in the comments!*****************

Out of the Depths of My Perception . . .

Hubs thinks that I have no depth perception.

Apparently . . . hubs is right.

I backed into a pole, but that's not the worst part.

Nope.

Not even close.

The worst part was when Ellerie tattled on me saying, "Mommy said, SHIT!!!"

Traitor.

Getting to Know Me . . . Getting to Know All About Me . . .

So you want to know more about me?

Really?

Well, here goes.

My second starring vlog.  (Here's hoping my face and the sound syncs up so that I do not do another badly dubbed Kung Fu-like video.)



There is oh so much that I could have included but forgot when I was in front of the camera.  Stuff like . . .

1.  I keep my tweezers in the car cup holder because my vanity mirror seems to be the only place that I can see those pesky stray hairs.  In fact, I spied one such hair yesterday ON MY CHEEK.  No.  I am not kidding. 
2.  If I find a noticeable gray hair, I will pluck it out.  I am vain.  I get it.  I don't want gray.  Sue me.
3.  I have a drawer in my kitchen dedicated to coffee making.  This is probably because it is easier for hubs if everything is in the same place, and if, god forbid, I have to make the coffee, I know that I will be able to find everything that I need in my half asleep mode.
4.  I don't do Kids Bop.  If my kids are listening to Pop Music, it is by the actual artist and not by some weirdly wholesome singing kids that remind me of the Partridge Family. 
5.  If I could be barefoot all year, I would be.

And finally . . . please excuse the Max and Ruby music in the background.  The Max and Ruby bunny cartoon is apparently like crack to my 3 year old.  If it was up to me, I would probably pull a Fatal Attraction  move on Ruby so that I would never have to hear her again.

Sigh.

****Linking to Mama's**********

Incidentally . . . HOW DO I GET THE SOUND AND VIDEO TO LINK UP?????  I WANT TO SHOOT MYSELF I HAVE BEEN AT IT FOR SOOOOOOO LONG!!!!!!

This Oven WAS NOT Full of Lovin'

I was a naive teenager.

I'll admit it.

I was the girl that thought that when Madonna sang Like a Virgin, she was talking about the Virgin Mary. 

I was the girl that had no idea what Frankie was really talking about when he sang Relax . . . Don't Do It, When You Wanna Come.

Yep.

That was me.

So when I had my first job at a local pizza place, I suspected nothing amiss.  I eagerly swallowed the story that the only size work shirt that the shop had left for me was an extra small.  I readily believed my boss and his son as he handed over my uniform, and I left feeling great that I would start my new job the next Friday evening.

A new job and free pizza?  Seriously, what more could a teenager want?

Apparently,  I could have taken the lead from The Wizard of Oz's scarecrow and wished for a brain.
Because I certainly wasn't using my brain when I showed up for my shift wearing my way too small t-shirt uniform with the words Luv'n Oven emblazoned across my boobs.

Naive?

Yes.

Clueless?

Most definitely.

The bright side?

I made loads of tips that I am now sure were not because of my smile.



********Linking to Mama Kat's . . .****************