Category Archives: Musings of a blonde brain

The Flight Plan <3

March 1, 2019Discipline, Encouragement, Musings of a blonde brainlaura

Hello everyone and happy Friday!

I woke up this morning feeling more like myself than I have for a week.

The viral thing plaguing me has vanished and hallelujah! It’s good to feel good again!

I am happily getting ready for work and wanted to drop a quick note.

Travel by air is an adventure these days. Delays and cancelations seem to be the norm instead of the exception and our flight last Saturday followed the trend.

We were delighted to see our plane was on time when we arrived to the first leg as we had a comfortable window to make our connecting flight in Dallas.

But as we all buckled into our seats and waited to back out of the gate, that didn’t happen.

Passengers were starting to suspect something was up when the pilot came on and began to explain the situation.

It was a winding tale of woe and troubles for our flight that rambled from one bad scenario to the next.

You know me, I always find humor in life situations and I finally had to grab my notebook out and ask Russ to help me remember the details as I knew I was getting a good application lesson for us all.

Probably first lesson would be, if you are going to be a pilot speaking over a microphone, you may want to attempt a more positive angle as you address a plane full of people who are relying on you with their lives – but I will leave that for another day.

Basically, he started off by telling us that due to bad weather we were being rerouted through the northern part of Oklahoma, so he thought he should have the fuel levels checked to make sure we had enough for the detour.

I will pause here to say that I would assume having enough fuel to allow for any kind of extra flight time is a good idea, but I’m not a pilot so…

Next he told us that we should expect a lot of turbulence, though he sure hoped it wasn’t as bad as yesterday’s flight because that had been terrible.

Yes.

He used the word “terrible.”

He also shared with us that the weather in Dallas wasn’t looking very good at all.

And sure enough, we were low on fuel so we were going to have to wait for someone to come and fill ‘er up…and he wasn’t really sure how long that would take.

Then he wrapped up the whole depressing announcement up with this statement…

“other than that, thank you for flying with us and we hope you have a nice flight.”

mmmmm……

Not likely, my friend…but thanks for the good thought.

Russ and I were laughing so hard, he even suggested he might have a guest blog in him for this one.

While I could see the humor in the whole event, I also saw myself.

And that isn’t so funny.

So often I focus on the negative of a situation.

Granted I am usually being realistic and proactive to be ready for what could potentially go wrong, but still…is it wise to focus on all the negatives in a way that is resigned to seeing no hope for a good outcome.

What a great example of how not to be.

We don’t have to be blindly optimistic and fake about the realities of life, but a shift in the way we deliver the news can make or break the moods of those around us.

My words and my attitude are influential over those who I am responsible for and I want to guard them better.

Something to think about and work on…but for right now, I need to prepare the cabin for take off…

so have a nice day and as you go about your dailies remember…

it’s not what you say, it’s the way you say it <3

Re-entry notes for Thursday <3

February 28, 2019Musings of a blonde brainlaura

Hey all!

I just typed the date and realized we are basically finished with February.

Wow.

What happened there?

In my mind, when I start writing March down as the date, winter is over and we are moving on into a new season.

Granted it is still gray, bleak and freaky cold but hey…today all things pine, berry and snowflake are migrating south to the basement and I will be bringing up anything that resembles life and blooming to replace it.

I also probably should consider putting away the stuff from our suitcases, and possibly dealing with several piles that I left in various places as I cleaned out extraneous items for purses and totes so I could assemble my travel gear.

It’s a sickness, really.

I pack little bags for work and then repack them to go to watch the kiddos and then repack them to go on a trip.

For some reason, I find it necessary to carry a miniature version of home with me wherever I go.

And when I make the change from one to another, I leave piles.

Or I jam them in another bag.

I have at least three or four little pouches tucked in totes all over the house that have dental hygiene products, a pen or four, a notebook, some spare change and a couple of lipsticks.

I’m not a hoarder, I am a creator of portable micro-comfort packs.

Russ can grab reading glasses, keys, a wallet and cell phone and live fine for weeks.

I can’t go to a basketball game without repacking my stash.

Which is why you are not getting much in the way of content today because the mess is begging to be dealt with.

It is so good to be home in command central and I look forward to resuming normal life and posting tomorrow <3

It’s not the heat…it’s the humidity…and the reptiles…that too <3

February 27, 2019Musings of a blonde brain, Random Family Funlaura

We are packing up and getting ready to head home and while it was nice to see green and sun, this Midwestern girl is ready to return to the land of 20 degree, snow dusted flatness for miles; where four cars and a tractor constitutes a traffic jam.

Because as all of us from the middle of America know from birth…

it’s not the heat, it’s the humidity.

And the lizzards.

My husband can vouch for me that I have one answer to the question, “Would you ever want to live in ___________?”

Do they have snakes and humidity?

Because either of those and my answer is a big, fat no.

Which is why I am pretty sure Ireland would be my perfect location, but the commute to see family is the deal breaker on that one.

On the prairie, we have humidity but it confines itself mostly to summer and we excuse that because the corn loves it.

And since the corn puts food on most of our tables, we put up with it.

But even our humidity does not hold a candle to Miami.

I have such thin, fine hair that often I barely get the hair dryer plugged in and it’s half dry.

Here I have found my arms going to sleep as I lifted wet strand after wet strand up to the hot air.

When I think it is finally somewhat dry and I walk to my curling iron, it has somehow gained moisture on the trek and I am back to the hair dryer.

I have somehow perfected the art of spiral curling it which helps because as it wilts and coagulates with my hair spray, it kind of looks like the regular way I curl it.

Until I step outside and then I look a little like Dennis the Menace with a bad haircut.

Which is really okay because hopefully this makes me look unappealing to the various large lizards that seem to have no fear of humans. What. So. Ever.

And then there is the unpredictable nature of golf balls…which thankfully they behaved when I walked the track a couple of times.

I did enjoy an outing to Little Havana which gave me the opportunity to practice my espanol. Our waitress was super impressed and began saying everything in Spanish.

Really fast.

I smiled a lot and hope I didn’t agree to anything I am going to regret.

All in all, it was a wonderful experience to be in a different place and meet new people…

But we are ready to get home to our normal and our friends and family although the boys are expecting me to tuck a reptile or two in my suitcase for a souvenir for them.

No mas, mi amigo…no mas….

Monday and I may have returned to the land of the living <3

February 25, 2019Musings of a blonde brainlaura

Just checking in with you all and this will be late and brief.

Whatever bug has been flying around and nabbing the band of brothers and sweet Caroline decided I needed a turn and the last 48 hours were a bit rough.

Russ and I are doing some traveling for his work and while we are enjoying sun and green plants and 80 degree temperatures, I have been sporting a jacket and consuming mass quantities of hot tea to try and get warm.

But in the wee hours of the morning …. around 3:33…

of course…

you know me and that time on the clock, I decided if Peter could sing in a prison I could muster up some praise songs in my head and lo an behold.

I got through “In Christ Alone”, “Amazing Grace” and part of “The Church’s One Foundation”…

I know…

who opts for that one to try and sing in your head when you feel like you may be dying and you don’t want to wake your husband…

I must have drifted off around the second verse of the last song and the next thing I knew my alarm was going off and when I reached for it, nothing hurt and my skin felt normal again and I wasn’t freezing and burning up at the same time.

So Hallelujah!

I believe I am on the mend….although I still had tea first thing instead of coffee…so you know things aren’t quite perfectly aligned yet…but we are getting there…

God bless and I will check in with you tomorrow <3

Blessed assurance <3

February 22, 2019Discipline, Musings of a blonde brain, Take Him at His Wordlaura

Good morning!

This week I spent some time on the blog sharing various examples of my struggles with worry and anxiety that were prompted by a sermon series our church is currently doing called “Be Anxious for Nothing”.

One of the things our pastors have stressed is that we WILL have things that cause us to be concerned.

There is a lot of anxiety-prompting stuff that happens in the best of lives and Jesus even warned us that we would have troubles as a normal part of our daily lives.

The point of the series is that God has told us not to be anxious but instead to turn our worries and angst over to Him through prayer and thanksgiving.

And all of that probably sounds easier said than done, and I understand completely as you may have noticed through my stories.

Which is why I want to end the week with a closing thought regarding why we can do this.

At the end of the sermon last Sunday, we had communion and then the worship team led us in what is probably one of my many favorite hymns.

Christ Alone, Cornerstone…weak made strong in the Savior’s love.

And every time we sing that song and come to the part about how in every high and stormy gale, my anchor holds within the veil; my spirit eyes see one of those photographs of a lighthouse engulfed in a high cresting tidal wave of water.

Have you seen them?

Do yourself a favor and google “lighthouse photos”…breathtaking visual.

I picture myself as that lighthouse firmly situated on a powerfully strong rock and I get what God is telling me.

He is my strong foundation no matter what comes against me.

On Monday morning I was reading through my prayers and devotions for the day and came across a passage of Scripture that reminded me of another thing.

The fullness of God, the riches of eternity…all I could ever need, hope or want is found in Jesus Christ.

Sometimes I leave Him either as a baby in the manger or an itinerant preacher in simple clothes and no place to lay His head as He led fisherman and tax collectors around a small area of this world and then died a criminal’s death and was raised and made these same guys some breakfast on a beach…and I forget…

He ascended.

He reclaimed all that is rightfully His and He intercedes for us and He is for us and not against us…and all of that is why I can be anxious for nothing.

My turning worries into prayers isn’t some kind of placebo that fools me into a state of peace.

My thanksgiving as I release my concerns and worries and fears and troubles to Him are not some mind game of positive thinking.

My prayers avail much.

My prayers are activating the Power of God through the Holy Spirit and things change.

I change.

This is the power of Christ in me <3

Journey Onward

laurareimer.net