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brody had this on his blog.

since i am a dallas-girl-moved-oklahomian, i found this ever so appropriate and dare i say, modestly true?? (grin) i kid.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THEM ALL!!!

a few people have recently brought to my attention a disconnect between my blogging personality and my in person personality. on my blog, i use phrases like “shut yo mouth” and “turn it up, baby!” which i would never, ever say in person.

unless i was heavily medicated.

it’s true – it’s super easy for me to write using lots of !!! and CAPS and i am certainly a blog extrovert. as shaun said in africa, “you’re much more reserved in person…” and it’s true.

i took the myers-briggs test today (like the official one) and i ended up being an INFJ, or Introverted iNtuitive Feeling Judging.

i’m not that introverted…it was almost split down the middle. my two strongest characteristics were judging (90%) and feeling (70%).

FEELING? WHAT? did you NOT just say you were a thinker?

yeah…so i thought. i guess i was in denial.

anyway…since i am beginning to meet more of you in person, i just thought i’d give you a heads up.

if you want to know the details of my personality, this page right here pretty much sums it up 110000%.

have you ever taken the myers-briggs? what were your results?

i’ll be honest. i didn’t know who penelope trunk was a few months ago. a friend said she was a fab writer, and as an aspiring fab writer myself, i figured i should click on over.

hooked. on. sentence. one.

imagine my delight when i discovered she was going to be speaking at south by southwest. imagine my heartache when i discovered she was speaking at the same time as kathy sierra.

oh well. i could get the kathy podcast later.

after an amazingly brutal career advice conversation with the crowd (i love this woman even more now) i stood in line to bid a fond (and admittedly nervous) hello. something she had said earlier about people being afraid to be amazing and great really resonated with some things i’m internalizing at the moment.

so my question for her at the end?

“what would you say to someone who’s afraid to be great?”

“well, uh, you have some food in your teeth.”

lovely. bloody spinach dip. $^@%#!

“you need to surround yourself with people who will tell you that you have food between your teeth.”

she encouraged me to find people who fail, so i can learn. she inspired me to set huge, ginormous goals. to find people who dream big too.

**
now, i know i am not the only one who’s struggling with that fear – the fear of being great. and if you have asked the why and the how of overcoming that fear…

don’t worry.

the fact you are asking that question in itself means you care.

and you will be great.

(that’s the last little bit she told me).

and with the smallest little bit of oomph in my heart, i said thank you, we said goodbye, and i scurried off to the bathroom to pick the spinach out of my teeth.

i’ve been home sick today (not with infectious stomach parasites like some of my ugandan-travel-mates, rather what i have dubbed a “fire breathing demon baby” that has taken residence in my throat). i have left my bedroom once to get soup and that is it. no energy.

yet still needing to kind of function for a conference call at 4 pm today.

here’s what that looked like.

i can honestly say i have never had a conference call in sweats with a cat sleeping on me.

and i must be so overridden with ick that i am actually posting that photo….? with no makeup? eek.

anyway…

i’ve been playing around on twitter a lot today. so…if you tweet, add me!

this was on my desk.

no note.

no explanation.

note to self: stay away from this diet pill.

someone who comments frequently here, emailed me this question and wanted to get your thoughts…what do you think?

If you prayed for somebody (financial situation, grief, job stress, and other life issues), but you DON’T tell them that you’ve been praying for them. Would that make a difference in that person’s life especially if he/she is not a Christian?

I’ve submitted a prayer request for her through my bible study group…..now, I may sound like I’m doubting God’s power now…but if I didn’t tell her that some people have been praying for her, would that prayer be less ‘effective’? OR Would God think “No…I don’t have plans for her.”

Your thoughts?

we live downtown, and there are several old churches…most have bells.

every sunday morning around noon, one starts to chime. it’s lovely. you can sometimes make out the melody of old hymns.

a few minutes later, another church’s bell starts ringing. another old hymn.

the problem? they’re ringing at the same time.

two beautiful bells.

two beautiful hymns.

one giant mess.

stuff like this reminds me of the importance of unity – celebrating our differences in love and humble respect.

more oft’ than not, we just like doing our own thing aggressively, loudly, clanging…one layer of belief on top of another on top of another, trying to be the loudest so our particular voice can be heard.

the dissonance is tragic…

i will never forget the first time i met gina. i don’t think i even caught a good look at her face. i was visiting the okc campus over the summer, meeting some people, and this lady comes up to me, gives me a big fat hug, and says something along the lines of, “hi anne i’m gina i’m so glad you’re here and that we can finally meet how was your trip are you having fun i hate to run but i have a kazillion kids i need to show jesus to see you later i’ll email you sometime bye!”

whoosh. she was gone.

gina is the lifekids director at the okc campus. she LOVES kids. passionately. she was kind enough to do a guest blog for flowerdust, but if you really want a good look into her heart, read here.

gina writes,

I like puzzles.

Mostly the small ones. 150 pieces or less. None of those funky 3D ones that require a set of blueprints and permits to construct.

The process of connecting the individual pieces to create the bigger picture engages me. You begin with a few pieces that fit together. The picture they create may not make sense. But as you add to it, one piece at a time? it starts to click.

I’m in the midst of a puzzle right now. I have a glimpse of the bigger picture. I’ve got an idea of the end product. But right now I only have a few pieces. Though these pieces fit together, the picture they create doesn’t make sense. It’s clearly incomplete.

In my anxiousness, I want to go in search of the additional pieces I need to complete the picture. But I can’t do that. I’ve got too many battle scars from stupid moves like that. Experience reminds me that this isn’t my picture I’m attempting to piece together. But rather I’m just one of the pieces that fit within a picture God is creating.

Where are you? Attempting to put the puzzle together yourself? or patiently waiting for the Creator of the puzzle to put you in place?