Kayaking Friends

September is my favorite month in NY for a variety of reasons: (1) cool mornings are followed by sunny hot afternoons; (2) fall color change of the leaves; and (3) some of the best kayaking adventures can happen.



The kayaking adventures are on top of my list for this year since this may be the last September that I get to kayak in NY. With my move to Texas last month, I'm not sure that I'll get back here next year for kayaking. I have been taking advantage of all the nice weather in NNY this month and getting in as much kayaking as I can.



I was greeted by three of my new kayaking friends after returning to my home away from home. They looked at me with excitement and I couldn't resist offering them to sit in my kayak. All three of them took turns by themselves and then we had a group sit together. Of course, their mom was nearby with camera in hand ready to snap the group picture.



I did give my new kayaking friends lessons in how to hold my paddle and how we would use it if the boat was in the water. I also gave them instructions in how not to fall out of the boat into the water; perhaps I should have given this lesson to my other older kayaking friend.

Questions & The Why Road

For the past week, I've been processing the news about a friend's daughter who has been diagnosed with brain cancer. I began asking God questions: (1) are You the same healer that I read about in the Bible; (2) do You see the pain and anguish that the family is going through; (3) will You walk this one out with them; and (4) why?

God answered questions 1-3 for me on Wednesday morning when I was driving to work. With tears flowing my face, the Lord gently said "I am the same yesterday, today, and forever." Hebrews 13:8 tells me this. The circumstance that my friend's family is in doesn't change the fact that God still heals, He sees their pain and anguish, and He will help them to walk through it and live victoriously. He is the same today as He was yesterday and He doesn't change regardless of the circumstances that they are in.

The why question is something I ask when I find myself in tough situations. It is natural to want to know why things happen in life when they make absolutely no sense to me. I have found, though, that very rarely does God answer the why question. And if I proceed to continue asking why, I often end up on what I call the "why road". The why road has no end and is filled with agitation and frustration for the lack of answers. When I find myself walking down the why road like I did earlier this week, I have to remind myself of Proverbs 3:5-6:

5Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding.
6In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.

(Amplified)

I don't know why the family has to go through this trial of brain cancer, but I do know that God is the same today, yesterday, and forever. God will be with them, comfort them, and give them strength to walk through this trial.

Customer Service

I've been back in NY for almost two weeks now. I realize that I haven't posted in a while, but I have been Internet challenged since being back. The home that I'm staying at doesn't have Internet service and this means that I need to hang out at one of the local Internet Cafes. Obviously, I'm at one now since I'm posting.

For the locals, I'm at the one where ice cream is plentiful and Arby's is located across the street. I hang out here quite a bit since I can get healthy food, good coffee, and Internet all in one place. The service is a little less than desirable and there is much room for improvement. I have discussed this matter with the owner since I hang out here quite a bit. Her comment to me "it is hard to find good help." I have pondered her comment for some time now. Since I hang out here a lot, I watch the wait staff and have come to the conclusion that the staff lacks the proper customer service training.

Customer service training is an area that I have recently talked to many people about. I eat out a lot and usually the customer service is poor to fair in most of the places I dine. Now maybe I expect too much, but I think it is appropriate for wait staff to be attentive to my dining needs and treat me like a queen when they wait on me. Is this too much to expect? I think not. I manage a business and I want my customers to have the best possible experience that they can when they do business with me. Isn't this the way it is suppose to be? I sometimes wonder when I'm trying to dine and my wait staff could care less about my dining experience. I've often thought of starting a company where I could provide customer service training for businesses. I don't know if I would ever do this, but I certainly see a need both here (NY) and Texas.

Anyways, these are just some rambling thoughts going through my mind as I sit waiting for my food.

God's Beauty is Everywhere

I officially moved to Texas last month, but I am back in NY for September. This is due to the teleworker arrangement that I have with the Tribe. I am alternating working between the two states every other month.

I was born and raised in NY. I lived in NY all of my life until last month. Prior to departing last month, I was admiring all the beauty in NY: rivers, misty fog burning off the hay fields early in the morning with the sunrise as its background; smell of fresh cut hay; sunsets that take your breath away; etc. etc. During some of my gazing at all this beauty, I thought that I would miss all of this and wasn't sure that I would find such beauty in Texas. The Lord, in His still small voice, ensured me that I would find His beauty in Texas too.

I've been in NY since Monday and I'm already missing some of the new beauty that I've come accustom to seeing. I miss the sun reflecting off Grapevine Lake creating sparkling diamonds all across the lake. I miss seeing the sailboats on the lake and sitting at the marina having coffee with Sue. I miss looking up at the stars when I swim in the pool that is located at my apartment complex. I especially miss seeing the jets fly overhead at night - they look like big birds with headlights; in case you didn't know I live 5 minutes from the DFW airport.

I realize now that God's beauty is everywhere no matter where God takes me. This may seem like a simple concept, but I guess I thought I couldn't find as much beauty in Texas that I've grown to love in NY. I was wrong. For the season that I'm in, I get to enjoy all of God's beauty in both Texas and NY.