**front row**

my good friend, sara, forwarded an email to me that had an awesome message in it. i thought i would share it with you since it has so much meaning. i see this with teenagers, people my age, and it even happens with people my mom's age. trust me, i've seen it. apparently we never outgrow it. so here it is....

Everyone Can't Be In Your Front Row

Life is a theater - invite your audience carefully.
Not everyone is spiritually healthy and mature enough
to have a front row seat in our lives.

There are some people in your life that need
to be loved from a distance.

It's amazing what you can accomplish when you LET GO,
or at least minimize your time with draining, negative, incompatible,
not-going-anywhere relationships/friendships/fellowships!

Observe the relationships around you.
Pay attention to:
Which ones lift and which ones lean?
Which ones encourage and which ones discourage?
Which ones are on a path of growth uphill,
and which ones are going downhill?

When you leave certain people, do you feel better or feel worse?
Which ones always have DRAMA or don't really understand,
know and appreciate you and the gift that lies within you?

The more you seek growth, peace of mind, love and truth,
the easier it will become for you to decide who gets to sit in the FRONT ROW
and who should be moved to the balcony of your life.

You cannot change the people around you...
but you can change the people you are around!

Ask God for godly wisdom and discernment
and choose wisely the people who sit in the front row of your life.

'Just because no one has shown up who can love you on your level,
doesn't mean you sink to theirs!'
















we are on graduation countdown.....4 1/2 days!! i am so excited for my baby. i remember what these days felt like. i hope she remembers them forever. we have an awards dinner on Monday where she is being presented an award. the invitation doesn't say for what so i am on pins & needles to find out. i am so stinkin' proud of that girl, you can't even imagine. i am not sure what i did to deserve such awesome kids but i am glad i did it. btw, concerning bailey's graduation, she is having a grad party on saturday the 6th. it always rains on the 6th because it's my birthday. i don't think i have ever had a birthday with sunshine. could you please think good non-rain thoughts?? i really would like most of the people to be able to go outside rather than trying to find a place to stand inside. thanks.

can i just say that i miss American Idol being on? (pouting and stamping foot) i really liked watching the contestants sing a song that i know and comparing it to the original. what does that say about me? am i judgemental?? nah. but i do miss finding out what in the hell adam was going to wear, how much guy-liner he would have on, and what he did with his hair. silly.

did i tell you that i am taking a trip to california to see my best friend, danea, her 2 babies, and...and...and, oh yea! that's right...her hub. i am so excited to get on a plane and switch-up my schedule a little bit. it's going to be awesome to hang with baby odin and cutie-pa-tootie asa. i am taking him a harmonica. bring on the noise! i think sara sent him something that makes noise too, so we are going to be in music mode while i am there. (i think i just heard her say "holy crap!"...it was faint but i am pretty sure i heard it).

well, i am registered for summer school. i am getting a jump on a couple classes for the fall term. i finally realized that i don't have the 'priority gene' that is required for getting a degree at home. i decided that i needed to go to a brick-and-mortar school so studying get's put first during the day. i had previously enrolled in an on-line program for medical transcriptionist. it consisted of 2 courses. after taking me at least twice as long, i finished the first course. the second one, not so much. so i went to LBCC and enrolled in their medical transcription certification program. three terms. that's it. not too bad. a few of the classes will be repeat information since i did finish the first course at home. they are about the actual medical terminology and you can never have enough knowledge when it comes to the way the medical field talks about normal crap. i think there are like 3 medical terms for every simple word. so this summer i am taking a computer class and an advanced typing class to build speed and accuracy. not too bad, 2 hours a day, 3 days a week, and only 5 weeks. tuition isn't cheap though. $74 a credit. when i went there in 1989 it was around $36 a credit. crazyness. (oh crap, i sound like an old person..."when i was in school...")

just thought i would let you know that i now have a barn, can plant pumpkins, and have a ton of $$ to upgrade. jealous? i am playing a game on facebook where i farm. it is total geek-y-ness but i love it. a handful of my friends from high school play as well so i am not the only one. hmmm....what does that say about south albany high school?? jk, even though i am now officially a west albany high school-er.
















(i snagged this picture from another blog, it is their farm. i have trees and a barn and a ton of animals!! so there!)
it is actually pretty fun. you plant crops, harvest them, sell the crops, make the money to buy seeds to replant. then you can expand. you can send gifts to your neighboring farmers and/or harvest other people's crop to earn extra money. sweet! ha ha ha.

well, i gotta' find my bib-overalls and get to the farm!


peace.