Tuesday, November 18, 2008

A few thoughts about attitude

Early this morning, we were on the way to an appointment at my niece's beauty salon for my hubby to get his shabby hair cut. As I told Stephanie, he was beginning to look like one of the Beatles... a very old one at that. :)

As we were driving on the By Pass, I heard a strange sound and then a thump... thump... thump. The tire that was recently patched had blown. Thankfully, I safely made my way quickly through traffic and I was able to pull off on a side street. How that happened was, in itself, a miracle!

While we had a spare tire, we had no tire jack as hubby had not been able to get to a junk yard to find one to replace the original that had broken. (Old Faithful is THAT old!) Did I mention the wind chill was about eleven degrees and that our other car is still at the transmission shop? Sigh...

I called my sister who called my niece to let her know what had happened. I called Christopher to inform him of of our situation and then my daughter, who was getting ready for her Tuesday Women's Bible Study... just for her to pray and tell me everything would be alright. She's good at that.

To make a very long story short, we were rescued by our pastor and one of the very nice men from our church. We go to a very good church. My health (or lack of it at times) keeps me from being as active as I'd like to be, far from what it was like with other churches I attended where I was there numerous times a week. Not to mention being on paid staff of two churches and a volunteer staff member of the Presbyterian church where I was married.

Thankfully, they know our limitations and they have been willing to help us through so many times of adversity through the years. Good people.

Because our pastor and and our other guardian angel showed up and helped us (as if neither of them were not already busy!), we were able to get my husband his much needed haircut (my niece made room for him even though he was late) and finish a couple of other important errands before arriving back to the warmth of home. Christopher had the car in plenty of time to drive to his afternoon classes.

All this to say... sometimes it seems like God is just watching to see how I'm going to react to something. I felt it this time, especially as I was cold and shivering and frustrated at the car situation.

I took a little walk to warm up and found myself looking at the tiny houses in this part of town. Some were very shabby and run down while others had been painted and were quite charming.

How different was the look of the pretty houses as opposed to those with chipped paint, broken toys in the yard, and the general feeling of neglect. I'm certain they had the same floor plan with limited space inside and out. What was the difference in them? Most likely the attitude of the people that lived inside.

I'm learning to keep the right attitude. When I called Christopher to let him know we were rescued, I asked him to take the "bowl with the plate on top of it and a jar of jelly on the plate" out of the refrigerator and put it on the kitchen counter for me.

When I arrived home, I rolled out the dough that was inside. I'd made it in the bread machine the night before and let it rise in the frig overnight. It was transformed into one pan of cinnamon rolls and another of pecan rolls (thankfully, I had purchased chopped pecans while I still had the funds to stock the freezer). They have been rising while I have been typing away and I just popped them in the oven.

Choosing attitudes... instead of getting cranky and crabby... I choose to bake, or make a stew, or declutter the house. I choose to create rather than tear down, to give instead of destroy, to thank God for what I have instead of complaining about what I don't.

I'll share a little more later but for now... warm cinnamon rolls and hot coffee await.

Picture: Home Sweet Home; allpictures.com

16 comments:

Susan Humeston said...

Wonderful witness. I can't tell you how many times I've crumbled under the pressure, gotten frightened, angry, etc. Thank you for your reminder and your witness.

Angela said...

Too cute, I just finished icing our cinnamon rolls..lol.

"sometimes it seems like God is just watching to see how I'm going to react to something." I have thought the same thing many times. Other times I say,,"OH Lord, let me get an A on this test, I don't want another F for failing what You were trying to do in my life, building character, faith, trust, etc."

((hugs)) Hope your enjoying your cinnamon rolls. Hubby and I are going to have our's than go for a walk in the freezing cold for excerise,,lol.
angela

Vee said...

If it's not one thing, it's two! Glad that the Lord worked everything out and that you are safely home and enjoying those cinnamon rolls with a new hubby. LOL!

Nana Trish is Living the Dream said...

Brenda, I love your attitude. To me it has to be the Lord to help me choose to look at things in a positive light. In my own I would probably choose the negative. I appreciate you reminding us that these challenges in life can strengthen us. I sure wish I could have been there for one of those cinnamon rolls. I'll bet they smelled so yummy!

moreofhim said...

Thank you for reminding me that attitude is so important and it's important to God, too. I have the tendency to let the little things get to me. I'm working on this and your blog was a gentle reminder!

God bless you ~ Julie

sherry said...

Such an excellent post - and lesson for me. May I share a small portion of it, linking back to your blog for the entire post?

Anonymous said...

I've always loved your attitude and find it very encouraging as I'm sure most of your other readers do! I'm glad you were able to find someone to help you. BTW when I saw that you had posted I got myself a slice of coconut cake which I'd baked yesterday and a cup of coffee. Reading your posts is like having a nice sit down with a friend!

Hugs,

Manuela

Manuela

Brenda@CoffeeTeaBooks said...

Lady Jane,

Of course! I don't mind anyone posting on their blog something I've written as long as it shows it is from this blog.

Which, of course, I KNOW you would do. :)

Anonymous said...

"I choose to create rather than tear down, to give instead of destroy, to thank God for what I have instead of complaining about what I don't." What a gracious rule to live by ... I may pretty it up, print it out, and hang it by my desk. Thank you so much for your transparency, it truly is an encouragement to know that others struggle the same as I do ... yet find a way to do it gracefully. May God bless you in a beautiful way today.

La Tea Dah said...

The Lord's kindness and mercy follow us throughout each day --- I'm glad he took good care of you through all the traumas of the day. And it's wonderful that you could end it by coming home to soon-to-be fresh baked cinnamon rolls!

May today be smooth and without bumps along the way.

LaTeaDah

Deanna Rabe - Creekside Cottage Blog said...

Brenda,

I am only a recent regular reader of your blog, and your daughter's, I must say that I appreciate you openness and sweet spirit that comes through.

I appreciated today's post especially and also want to say that I gave you an award over at my blog!

Unknown said...

Brenda - Your words always encourage me. I blogged about an attitude of gratitude several days ago - http://mom2six-treasures.blogspot.com/2008/11/days-of-thanks-day-seventeen.html. God is teaching me to rejoice in ALL things, to count it ALL joy - even the frustrating, disappointing times. Thank you for being such an inspiriation with your honesty and vulnerability. In Jesus, Nancy

Kelly said...

I am so glad that someone was able to come to your rescue. And, what a witness, I, too, have found that keeping a good attitude makes a huge difference in most situations.

Bee said...

I'm a brand new regular reader of your blog. I needed to hear what you said today. Sometimes my first reaction to a bad situation is one that I don't think makes God very happy with me. I, too, may print some of this and hang it right by my computer.

Thank you.

Kelly said...

By the way, Brenda, I just wanted to let you know that I nominated you for a blog award. You can receive it by visiting my blog at www.cozycomforts.blogspot.com

debbie bailey said...

yle76
I'm so glad you got the house of your dreams. God is so good to reward his children because of....nothing except his love! I'm struggling with my own sinful attitudes today. I've already had to apologize to both daughters. Argh!!!! I just hate it when I'm not perfect!