It truly is the little things - - -

Someone walking down the street reading a book. A pile of apples at the base of a tree. Two young boys riding bikes up and down the block. A rather large man standing outside his house, shirtless, checking the mail. A yellow school bus heading back from its rounds. None of these things are anything really worth noting, but, I have seen each of them over the course of the morning. So, why did I note them here? I'm not really sure.

Today is the first day of school. The first day of the fall schedule. The second day of September, but who's counting? :) I have been telling folks all day that I am in denial that it is September already, but what can I do about it? Nothing, really, except jump headlong into it. I got a chance this morning to talk to two friends of mine, one who was on his way to work in Little Falls, the other who was wating for a ride at a seminary library in South Africa. It made my day to talk to them both...again, just tiny things that happened during my morning, except that these two things really made a difference in my day.

I guess the others did too, if they stayed in my mind long enough to make it to my fingers and out onto the keyboard as I typed this...but again, I'm not really sure why. I got to talk to Terry through a couple text messages this past weekend, long enough to learn that he is in town for the week, and I am still hoping that I am going to get a chance to see him while he's around. Sounds like things are still going well, and that he continues to be a busy beaver also.

I still have the mission trip to South Dakota spinning in my mind, and have to smile when folks ask me how it was. More posts on that trip later, I wanted to make sure I posted one about today first. It feels like I have been gone for weeks - this is the first day I've been in the office since Friday the 22, not counting Sunday for a couple hours, when I managed to sleep through two alarms, wake up at 8:59, and still shower and make it to church by 9:25. Today felt both a bit subdued and rather bustling - it's quiet in the office today, and the rain and cloudiness outside seems to be adding to the somber mood of those in the office.

A devotion during staff meeting this morning caught my attention - parts of it that I have heard before, parts I have not. It read:

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.
Attitude, to me, is more important than facts.
It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do.
It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill.
It mill make or break a company, a church, a home.
The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for the day.
We cannot change our past, we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way.
We cannot change the inevitable.
The only thing we can do is play the one string we have, and that is our attitude.
I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.
And so it is with you, we are in the charge of our "Attitude".

These are the words of Chuck Swindoll, a pastor and author. These words are so true, and hold so much power. Attitude really is everything, especially when we face changes, difficulties, or losses.

I am excited for what the coming days, weeks, and months will hold - and cannot wait to see what is in store.

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