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What To Do First to Make a Profit

The PF Women Team at our Annual Team Retreat  ~ 2018 Today on Seth Godin's blog, he said: It's tempting to decide to make a profit first, then invest in training, people, facilities, promotion, customer service and most of all, doing important work. In general, though, it goes the other way. Yes, it does. If you are waiting to make a profit before you do these things, in my experience you're  not going to make a profit. So many organizations, ministries and churches are struggling with financial issues. I know your pain. As anyone who follows our story knows, our ministry was in a ton of debt four years ago when I came on as director.  Since that time, we've gotten out of debt and turned a profit every year.  God has done amazing things through out team, for which we give Him the glory! I find that what Seth is saying here is absolutely true, with one disclaimer. For Christian leaders, spiritual disciplines must always be first. Before we started i...

Pumpkin pancakes and messed up pedicures

Sometimes we just have to take time to do something nice for ourselves. Yes, I'm all about sacrifice and doing for others but as we learned at weight watchers yesterday, there comes a time where you have to nurture yourself somehow. (Let me ask you - what nice thing have you done for you, today?)


Today I was working from home, being that my office work is done for the week and I needed to cook the chicken salad for Friday night's women's event and also start on things for our open house this weekend for our church leaders. I decided to wake up and do something right off the bat today that would be nice for myself before starting my work.


I went to the kitchen and made pumpkin pancakes. I happened to have all the ingredients to make them. I love them! And I savored two of them before I started my work.

This morning somebody placed Geena's leash in a different spot where I have yet to find it tho' turning over every leaf I can think of to spot it! Well, I had to improvise so I took her out to go potty using a belt of Savanna's. I just hooked her collar on to it. I didn't know what else to do. I can't just let her out without a leash because she will run and attack the dog next door and I have already paid a handsome fee from my bank account once for the vet bills on that... (don't want to go there again) therefore I had her on a "short leash" (a.k.a. the belt) today. I let her out once with Savanna's belt, then once later on using a tie of Larry's (shhhhh don't tell!)


Needless to say she didn't like this improvisation. Coming back in the door, she freaked out and I tripped and ripped off about 1/4 of the nail of my new pedicure. Ughhhhh! I was so peeved. But I didn't scream and yell. I think I was too tired to, quite honestly. I just decided to ask Dustin if I could use his truck to go get a nail repair. I'm not even attempting to do it myself. It's Christmas time and I don't want a cheesey looking pedicure especially with lots of special events coming up where I'm wearing formal dresses and all that kind of stuff.

Dustin woke up (he doesn't work today) and I asked him, "want some pancakes?" He was all happy about it -- he loves pancakes although I know he's not into anything particularly unique such as pumpkin pancakes. He's a very plain meat and potatoes kind of guy. So I didn't tell him they were pumpkin, thinking, "he'll love this and say, 'Momma, what are these wonderful pancakes made with? They are just incredible!" I have fooled him before, such as giving him asparagus - he thought they were green beans - and now he loves asparagus. Well, he took one bite of the pancakes and ran and spit them in the sink. "Ughhhh! Mom!!! What are these made with?" I said, "Sorry Dust, I didn't tell you they had anything special in them because I thought you wouldn't give them a chance..." He says, "thanks a lot Mom, they're disgusting!" (By the way, they are NOT disgusting, they are delicious however Dustin doesn't like pumpkin.) Oh well, didn't win him over on that one. It was lunch time by the time he got up anyway so I heated up some leftover turkey tacos and asked him if he wanted to go with me for my toe repair later. He said sure...because it would only take a moment and then we were going to look for something for Casey for Christmas, in between making chicken salad and all else I had to do today.

He has no idea what to get her. He's so confused. I was trying to help him by suggesting different things - we looked at clothes, purses, you name it, we looked at it. Nothing would do. So with a totally serious face, I pointed out this hideous Christmas vest in the women's department and said, "oh look! It's perfect! We can get this for Casey." I can't believe I kept a straight face while saying it. He looked at it and immediately made a face like he had just tasted a pumpkin pancake and he says, "ARE YOU KIDDING, MOM?!" I fell to pieces laughing at his reaction and laughed so hard, I cried. He says, "Mom, stop laughing like that you're getting out of control..." Then on the way back home we are coming through our development and there is a roundabout half way through in our neighborhood. Instead of going straight to our house, he keeps going around the roundabout to see what I'll say. I was like, "Dust, you're making me completely nauseated doing this..." and he says, "I just wanted to see your face when I kept going around. " Ha ha! Life can be so darn serious and sometimes you just have to do these goofy things to stay alive, know what I mean?

Speaking of goofy, we came home and Bobby was at the house. :-) Jordan knew I would be upset that the house wasn't perfectly clean so when I came in he was scrubbing the floor with Bobby sitting at the kitchen table. I was so pleased to walk in to see Jordan scrubbing the floor saying, "Momma, I've made you a fresh pitcher of iced tea!" (Music to my ears...)

After Larry got home from work today we laid on the bed and talked for a while by ourselves and then Savanna came in and laid down with us for a while and then we got up and went on our annual Christmas shopping trip to to the Brandon Mall. Dustin went to Casey's as they were having a family dinner with her grandfather from out of town. Jordan elected to stay home, so it was just Larry and I with Savanna. We're home now and cooking yet again more things for the weekend. It's going to be such a busy one but I know when it's over I'll feel like I accomplished a whole lot. (Until I start working again Monday and feel like I've got a huge pile up in front of me.)

Keep us in prayer tomorrow night for a great move of God among our women as we come together for our annual Christmas event. They will have a lot of their friends from outside the church as well and we are believing for great things!

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