Peace :)

Peace is so wonderful, isn't it? I love it, and sometimes, when I think about it, I pray for it. I prayed for it the other day, when I was anxious about Court and having everything prepared for it. Typically, I am on top of my game for Court. I set a reminder on my work calendar so I start a Court summary on a certain date. This ensures that I will get it done in enough time to have my supervisor read it and sign it so I can send it to the Probation Officer or Caseworker in time for Court, or at least 10 days prior to Court. I have the directions printed off, left on top of my Court summary, next to my computer at the end of the day prior to Court. This ensures that I will show up in time to get a Mars Home for Youth car, swing by my office and get the summary, swing by the unit to pick up "my" kid, and make it to Court at least 15 minutes early (guaranteeing that we will be called an hour after Court is supposed to begin.) :) Hmm, I just realized I said "ensures" twice--the only thing of which I am certain is God and His values--peace, mercy, love, forgiveness, etc...well, I digress.

At any rate, Wednesday (the day before Court) I still had not been able to get my supervisor to read and sign my report. My fault, since I had forgotten to write the thing until the Tuesday before Court!! What could I do? First, I texted my supervisor and asked if she could skim it Thursday morning so that it was approved. Second, I prayed to God for peace. He gave it to me :) Yes, I did what I needed to do, but I can do everything right and not have peace if I forget to ask for it!!

Luckily for me, I have gotten MUCH better at writing these summaries, and my supervisor read it and signed it Thursday morning, after she stated that it was a great summary and demonstrated a great usage of language!! How fun :) I didn't think it would be bad or anything--it's just nice when I get absolutely no corrections :)

I have also prayed for peace regarding several transitions that have occurred at work. We are also getting accredited for Sanctuary, which is known throughout Pennsylvania, but I don't know how many other states features it. Sanctuary is all about the language we use with therapy, and it centers on trauma and how when we do therapy, we should use this basic premise--"It's not what's wrong with us, it's what's happened to us." It encourages us to empathize with our clients and meet them where they are, not pushing them to be where they should be. It also helps us encourage our workmates and find ways to take care of ourselves. In the interest of Sanctuary, we started a CARES (Colleagues Assist Reassure Encourage Sanctuary) Committee, in which we encourage our staff when they have been in difficult situations (restraints/spat on/hit) with clients, if they are having personal problems, and/or just need a word of encouragement. My supervisor thought of me for this committee, and I love it!! In a period of 3 months, we have encouraged at least 25 people. Guess what--I also sneak God in there! It's not a Christian group, per se, but whenever I end the notes that I send, I write "God's peace and love," Through this committee, I am able to encourage, and it feels good.

Well, anyway, that's some of the things that have been going on in my life :) So much of my life is spent at work, and it touches my heart in a huge way, so that's why I thought I'd blog about the peace of God and how it helps me with work :)

Love to all!!

For Mamaw :)

Okay, so i am doing this for one person only--Mamaw :) I was on the phone with my beloved grandmother, and we talked about blogs and the fact that I had not posted in a long time. I mentioned that nobody looked at my blog by this point anymore, since I had not posted in forever, and she said, "Your grandmother does!" I then told her that I would post something. Here goes...I'm so out of practice... :)
Life is summed up with God, Bryan, family, friends, work, and church. Life is busy and crazy, but I love it. I think if I were not busy, I would not know how to handle it :) I am so used to being on the go that when I have too much free time, I go nuts! I like to laze every once in a while, but life is mostly about staying active.
Bryan and I are happy and love each other more with each passing year. We will have been married 7 years in August!! I am so blessed to have him in my life. I thank God for him everyday. We like to hang out with Bryan's family when we're in Pittsburgh, but we love getting to visit Arkansas to see my family. We will go to AR for Easter!! Yea!! Do we want children? Definitely. We're working on it :)
In the meantime, I don't blog much because I don't really have that much to blog about that I can't cover on facebook :0) I just wish everybody were on facebook--hint, hint, Deborah :)
Love you!! Hope to see you soon!!