Bits n Bites

A post filled with randomness.


Gary Thomas was at work this morning, sharing some thoughts about toxic people:

Do you have toxic people in your life?

You don't have to expend energy on them. We are not to get burnt out spending time on toxic people. We are to share the good news with 'reliable' people (2 Tim 2:2) so that God's good news is spread and people come to know Him. We are not called to be distracted by selfish, spiteful, jealous, negative people. Our first, best efforts are to be in relationships where there is respect and friendship and encouragement.

He went further to say that toxic people are tools of evil, entwined in our lives, with the purpose of trying to keep us distracted from the important stuff in life. So don't get caught up in their snare of pointless conversations, crazy-making arguments, anger-fuelled activities...

We are free to say 'no - I won't participate this again'. In fact, we need to set up boundaries to protect ourselves from these folks and their toxic behavior.


Don't you wish you worked with me?


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Have you been doing any spring cleaning?

Here's an inspiring list of 100 Things You Should Get Rid Of As Soon As Possible:
My kids are magnets for finding expired food in cupboards/fridges/freezers - so numbers 80 and 87 are dealt with regularly. And I disagree with 55. Boxes always come in handy. And you can never have too many USB cables, so I also disagree with number 81.

But other than that - this is a solid list.

1. Leftover wrapping paper
2. Business cards from people you don’t need for anything
3. Old tickets
4. Socks with holes in them
5. Receipts you don’t need
6. Old t-shirts
7. Dried flowers
8. Old CDs you’re never going to listen to
9. Overstretched hair ties and hair bands
10. Old magazines
11. Shoes that don’t fit or you don’t wear
12. Small knickknacks and trinkets which have no purpose whatsoever
13. Cooking utensils — old and new — which you don’t use
14. Worn-out underwear
15. Beauty accessories you don’t need
16. Earrings where you’ve lost one out the pair
17. Scarves which you never wear
18. Items of clothing that are too small for you
19. Gift’s you don’t like
20. Old towels
21. Old make-up
22. Old clothes hangers
23. Expired cooking sauces
24. Toys for your pets which they don’t play with
25. Out-of-date medicine
26. Dried-up nail polish
27. Expired coupons
28. Old paperwork
29. DVDs you don’t watch
30. Pet food your pets don’t eat
31. Old toiletries
32. Damaged clothing that cannot be mended
33. Stained clothing you cannot clean
34. Your old prom dress
35. Scratched non-stick cookware
36. Old underwear or swimwear
37. Outdated or broken electronics products
38. Rusty costume jewellery.
39. Stockings or tights with ladders
40. Pens that don’t work
41. Necklaces and bracelets with broken clasps
42. Cables and wires you don’t use
43. Worn-out bed linen
44. Empty bottles of cleaning products
45. Spare rivets and buttons for clothing you don’t have any more
46. Worn-out bath mats
47. Purses you don’t use
48. Tableware, plates and glasses left over from full sets you don’t have anymore
49. Old pillows
50. Worn-out shoes
51. Old wedding invitations
52. That old tea or coffee set.
53. Spare furniture parts you don’t need
54. Furniture manuals
55. Boxes — you don’t them, really!
56. Vases you never use
57. Old letters with no sentimental value
58. Tourist brochures
59. Bobby pins you don’t like
60. Old crayons or markers that have ran out of ink
61. Containers missing their lids
62. Unused stationary, stickers and sticky notes
63. Ripped jeans
64. Old or broken phone cases
65. Old, unused phone or other electronic chargers
66. Old spices
67. Worn-out bath sponges
68. Ribbons and bows for gift wrap
69. Postcards or gifts from ex-partners or colleagues
70. Frequent shopper cards from shops you never go to
71. Empty matchboxes — they have no use whatsoever!
72. Old bags
73. Old calenders
74. Old files
75. Silly magnets
76. Outdated clothes
77. Broken Christmas decorations
78. Fairy lights that don’t work
79. Frayed towels
80. Expired food
81. USB cables and other computer accessories you never use
82. Old and outdated software
83. Floppy disks
84. Old cell phones
85. Old shoes you haven’t worn in two years
86. Promotional T-shirts you never wear
87. Old cereals
88. Old bank statements
89. Old utilities bills
90. (Also:) Delete email subscriptions from websites you don’t need
91. Delete emails you don’t need
92. Delete unwanted music from your mobile phone and computer
93. Spare buttons that come with newly purchased clothes
94. Games with missing pieces or cards
95. Old textbooks you will never use again
96. Delete reserve copies of the documents you no longer need
97. Books you have read and don’t want to read again
98. That old house telephone you never use
99. Old manuals for electric appliances you no longer have
100. Mobile phone accessories you don’t use anymore

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So.

Explain to me Tumblr.
I signed up a few years ago, (mostly just to ensure I could have 'pixnprose' before someone else grabbed that user name) and today I received an email from the good people at Tumblr headquarters wondering if I still wanted to keep my account.

I said yes.


They were very welcoming:

They had a little party for me, throwing confetti all over my screen.

They made me feel comfortable.

And then asked all sorts of personal questions:

But now what?
What am I supposed to DO with it?

Any readers have suggestions?

It's not like I'm already taking up my fair share of internet space with this blog, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Google+, Snapchat, DayZeroListProject and LinkedIn. But I'm curious... what is the benefit of Tumblr? Or am I totally too old for it?


(Speaking of LinkedIn, they too were wondering about my intentions):

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Carolyn posted a link to an interview in her blog, Rhythms of Grace that I've listened to three times now.

So good. (Obviously.)





Hers is the type of story that I need to hear. Often.

An intelligent woman who came to faith in adulthood because of a friendship with a pastor and diligent research. It's an hour long, but seriously worth the effort.

"I'm reading the Bible, and what if it's true?"

"Do I want to be changed? No, I don't. I like my life."

"Conversion put me into a complicated, comprehensive chaos."

"The church has been praying for me, faithfully. They were genuinely praying for me, on their knees. It was would have been easier for them to be disgusted by me and my friends."

"You never know the journey some people take to get to church."

"OK, Look. I have to give up my girlfriend, what did you have to give up?"

"If you're reading the Bible, keep an eye on the verbs. Verbs are important. Circle them. Pay special notice of the order of the verbs. It's humbling..."

"I trusted with the integrity of an eye lash hair."

"I can only do the first phrase of this verse today thank you very much God."

"Count the cost, it's going to be bloody and it will hurt."

"Christian, are you good company for the suffering?"

"We need to be in a reciprocal relationship with people who scare us."

"We are so cleaned up we only want to share our resources, not our needs."



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It was International Women's Day on Monday, so I posted this TED talk about encouraging young girls to be brave not perfect on my Facebook page.





And that's been on my mind for the past two days, this business of being OK with making mistakes. While bravery isn't exactly the theme of Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, (which was based on a true story), I was inspired by the way she bravely made a change in her life. And when she realized she was making a mistake, she made a change again.

But some women were using International Women's Day to advance their own agendas.

Sadly, Kim Kardashian made a big deal about showing off her naked body on Twitter which empowered Sharon Osborne to do the same thing.
How is nudity advancing the cause of Internation Women's Day? I do not understand.

Pink tweeted the following:

Who are the heroes our girls can look to these days?



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And one last link. 50 Things To Do


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Lastly, as always, Three Things I'm Thankful For;

1. Quiet evenings in the basement.
2. Stories that inspire and challenge.
3. Tums.
4. The internet.
5. Memories; this is what my life looked like one year ago today; Scattered