Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! Psalm 124:1
This is the day the Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it (Psalm 118:24). I hope you had a great day and a wonderful week. I hope that you enjoyed your Valentines weekend in some special way, or just enjoyed the rest of a long weekend to yourself. So, how are things going today? Or better yet, how did things go for you on this Friday?
On a scale of one to ten, how was your week and how did it make you feel? Were you busy, anxious, excited, frustrated, disappointed, elated, or just set in your normal flow. What was the best part of your week, the busiest, and the most joyful. Are you as excited as I am that today is Friday and the weekend is about to begin in full swing? What are your plans for the weekend? I hope that you have had blessed and productive week. If not, well, we will get it next week. I hope you are doing well today.
I had an awesome and busy day! You know, it is always so amazing how the day can just take off and go in a direction that we never imagined and could have never planned for. It is also amazing and wonderful how the God who created the entire universe, set it in motion, and keeps it going stays with us, loves on us and make us feel loved in the midst of these "sometimes" crazy days. And, I am grateful, thankful and continually amazed at his perfect timing and answers to prayer.
We had a critical customer issue come in overnight. It was made worse by what seemed like a cavalier response from a team member, that escaped our usual filtering. It escalated quickly to the COO, CTO, and VP of Sales. By 9:00 it seemed like I had been hit with a micro-management hammer and stabbed in the back by a spiraling email thread of poor communication and finger pointing. The rest of the morning was spent in a pow-wow with the team trying to back track and regroup from the initial response and plan a way forward. After an hour the email thread was at least tailing off, but a new problem appeared when someone felt slighted that they were left off the spiraling threads. After some "breath prayers," like "Please Lord," "Lord help me," and the ones too complicated for words, we hit a break through. And 2.5 hours later, the team had met together and hammered out a better plan that included both figuring out what happened and proposing an initial way forward. Plus, as a bonus the customer said - "Oh, no worries, we know how to get around the problem. We just want to know why it happened." Whew!
All of this was a bookend on a busy and crazy work week that started on Tuesday, where we had six hours of meetings. I don't know if the meetings were really that bad, or if my expectations were slanted because I was still enjoying the joy and happiness from the weekend getaway with Trish at the Weekend to Remember marriage conference. The conference was so good that I really needed another day or two to come down off the excitement. Perhaps I was a bit too excited, joyful, hopeful, and perhaps just a little naive about how well the planning would go on Tuesday. Thankfully, Trish and mom reminded me not to forget the joy I experienced in the midst of the day to day and the struggles.
Anyway, besides the fire drill from today and the issues on Tuesday the week was really wonderful. The weekend was fabulous. I can't say enough about just how special it was for me. Everything from the food, the resort, the conference and most importantly the company and friendship of my wife were excellent. A break rom the girls, who we both love, was very much appreciated. It is so nice to just hang out in the bed without having to get Emma or Ava, or change a single diaper. Plus, having Monday off to spend with the girls was an added bonus. We partly lounged around the house, partly tidied up, and all caught up on what took place while we were gone. The girls absolutely enjoyed their time with their "Granny," and told us all about their weekend. I think those who had no one telling them to put down the electronics were especially grateful for the change in supervision.
Paige, Sydney and I played "Monopoly Deal" on Monday and I won three out of three games. I even won the game where I returned from upstairs to find the two of them each holding the games best cards in their hand and grinning like the cat from "Alice in Wonderland". They "claim" the random shuffle and deal "just happened" to give them these outstanding cards. Seriously! Meanwhile, my hand was so poor in comparison. I didn't have a single power card or card of value in the first set. They grinned the whole game as I grimaced and "partly stewed" at the notion that I was being conned. However, they stopped grinning when I played my last card and announced game over. Sure, I guess I was supposed to be a little more gracious and mature in winning (or losing), but I'll try that next time. This time, I wasn't the most gracious winner and I wasn't the most excited while the odds looked bleak. After the third game we all took off to various corners and pursuits.
Ava and Emma kept us all entertained this week with bedtime routines. All week you would put Emma in the bed, and before you could tuck her in she would scoot out, slide under the bed and hide somewhere in the middle giggling. She thought it was the cutest thing. All of which Ava would get a big kick out of. Especially since it was perfectly fine with her that Emma was hiding, because it guaranteed that she had the bed and bedtime story to herself. When they weren't going straight to bed, it was because they were begging for dessert. Emma even managed to engineer a request to "Go potty..." so she could check out the last of the Valentines Day donuts. Unfortunately for her, Ava had already polished it off.
This week also featured some early rising little people. If it wasn't Emma tiptoeing into the room it was Ava. At least Ava went back to sleep quickly. Emma wanted to talk. Paige and Sydney also got up early this week, but they usually get dressed, go down stairs and start their morning routine. Getting up early for them is a function of trying to watch cartoons before school. They usually get just about ready to settle in, when Trish comes down and changes to the news and starts doing their hair.
Cassarra and Gabbi are doing well. They of course, being teens, are not in the early rising list. They, in fact, are starting to push into the "stealing my hot water" list because of how late they get up for their saunas. Seriously, on one of the coldest days of the week, I think they both took steam baths back to back and left me feeling like the water was being pumped into the house from an outdoor stream in Colorado.
Cassarra had an interesting dinner episode this week. She accidently turned on the wrong eye on the stove. Instead of the eye for the pot of water, she turned on the main eye where a glass baking dish was cooling. The dish got so hot that it actually exploded. The hot glass shredded onto the floor, thankfully missing Cassarra and Emma. The end result was a couple of burn marks on the counter, and the floor. I guess we will probably need the new flooring sooner than later. Again, it could have been worse, so I'm glad that it was only the replaceable things like a floor and counter top. Cassarra slightly burned her hand, but it seemed better after a few hours.
Trish is doing well. I think she would say that she loved the conference as well. She definitely loved the views of the sunrise over the beach and the vibrant colors that came alive each night at sunset. She would also say that the seafood was amazing. This week she is working on printing out the pictures, updating the photo albums and getting everyone back on track.
Trish is doing well. I think she would say that she loved the conference as well. She definitely loved the views of the sunrise over the beach and the vibrant colors that came alive each night at sunset. She would also say that the seafood was amazing. This week she is working on printing out the pictures, updating the photo albums and getting everyone back on track.
Anyway, I rambled longer than I thought I would - but it has been a blessed and highly favored week. God is so good and his grace and mercy our amazing and unmatched. Again, Welcome to Friday! I just wanted to check in again to say Welcome to another Friday, and another weekend. I hope you have a great weekend, stay warm, and enjoy the friends, family and ones you love!
Welcome to Friday
With love (& in triumph),
Cassius Rhue
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