Google = Christmas Miracle, That's All You Had To Say

So I visited the Google office in NYC for some ad server training. I've come back to share what I've discovered (almost didn't come back. But they completely ignored me when I asked for a job :P )

When you first walk in there's the reception desk with the Google logo above it. The rest of the lobby was aight. Nothing special. But when you walk through the double doors and into the offices, you have entered a Christmas Miracle zone.


The first thing you see is the excessively modern kitchen stocked full of food. And all the food is freeeeeeeeeee. They have drink coolers full of sodas, vitamin water, sparking water, gatorade, ect. ect. ect. The coolers also have yogurt and veggies in them. There is an espresso machine (a super nice one) where you can play barista and make your own espresso drinks. There is a coffee machine that grinds and brews Starbucks coffee for you on the spot, and you can select which coffee you want. A-maze-ing. Then they have a mini fridge full of just about every kind of milk and plus half-and-half puh-lus all those fancy international delight flava'd creamers. They also have a cappuccino machine for the lazy people. There are snack dispensers that have M&Ms, peanut M&Ms, almonds, cereals, and stuff like that. Then under that they have granola bars, gum, bags of chips, and the like.


On the other side of the wall opposite of the kitchen, they have all these bins with legos and k'nex.


There are "scooter stands" chillin' in a few places where people can just grab them, use them for as long as they want and return them.


The lunch is free everyday and they have this awesomely stocked cafeteria. They have a hot food bar, a make-your-own-sandwich/salad station, sushi, prepared sandwiches and salads, and whatever you want to drink.


I found myself wanting to eat entirely too much just to get the full experience. Worth it though. This is my gLunch:


I gSpilled that gSoup all over the gTable.

Next, I took the liberty of giving myself a tour. I felt slightly nervous the whole time like someone was gonna call me out and be all "you're not supposed to be here." Here are some cool things I found:


The end.

Masks: Slander vs. Compassion

One thing that is tough for me to deal with, understand, or have any sympathy for is masks. People who live hidden on the inside out of fear, insecurity, or attempts to advance in life or ministry. People who are so concerned and consumed with their image appearing clean and perfect that they will do anything to keep it that way.

In a recent situation with someone in my life (I say "recent situation"... what I mean is I'm walking this out as I type this and after), I have taken on this attitude of "Why do they get away with so much?? Why are the people who know them so deceived and naive to what is really going on?" A close friend recently brought the following to my attention: "The things you think they are simply 'getting away with' are the things that are going to eventually hang them unless someone intervenes." And she did not mean intervening by spilling their beans and slandering their character ("Slander: to defame." It means to expose someone, it doesn't necessarily mean the things said are not true). She was speaking of prayer.

"For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds." -2 Corinthians 10:3-4

Typically when someone is masked, everyone thinks they are okay. Why wage war through prayer for someone when they seem to have it together? It is up to the people who know the truth about what is going on, those who know the dark places, to fight tooth and nail against the enemy for their lives.

"Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." -Galatians 6:2

The realization I have come to is that before I am able to pray for this person in that way, I have to have compassion for them. And I have to make a decision- is the anger and frustration I have in my heart for this person and their decisions more important to me than their lives? Than their souls? So I pray for my heart to be broken for this person. I pray that compassion will well up in my heart and spark intercession.

Hope

"To hope is to anticipate. It is more than dreaming, however. It is possessing within ourselves an expectation that someday there will be the fulfillment of that desire. It will become a reality. Hope always looks to the future, it's always on tiptoes. It keeps us going. It makes a dismal today bearable because it promises a brighter tomorrow." - Chuck Swindoll

Growing up, and especially in highschool, my favorite word was "hope." I always thought at some point I would get that tattooed on me. But as life progressed and certain events took place, I totally forgot about it. Not just the tattoo, but the entire concept. I feel like I forgot what it was like to hope and I got caught up in just trying to get by, just trying to survive.

This has only recently occurred to me when I read about hope in a devotional. A lightbulb went off. It's like the word, along with its meaning, got buried away in me somewhere, and just recently poked its head out of the dirt. I don't think I ever made a conscious effort or decision to bury it. Life buried it.

But lately I rediscovered my love for the word. And I'm trying to get a grip on what it really means to embrace it. Sometimes it seems foolish to embrace it. When I was 18 I discovered the verse "Hope deferred makes the heart sick." And that made a lot of sense to me at the time.

But recently I came across the following verse. And I am crazy about it, because it speaks less of our ability to hope and more of God's faithfulness, the reason for our hope.

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful." -Hebrews 10:23

I tend to spend a lot of time waiting for the other shoe to drop. Waiting for the rug to be snatched out from under me. But God loves me with the love of a Father, with unconditional love. When my moods swing, His promises are still true. When my hope wavers, His faithfulness stands firm. His word is his bond. He does not break promises.

Choosing Happiness

I have come to the conclusion that happiness is often a choice. I'm sure there are a buttload of instances where it is not, but here are my thoughts.

Everyone has to work. And whether the job you are doing is your dream job or you are a gum scraper in the parking lot of Walmart (they have those right?? Okay, maybe not :) , it's going to get monotonous. But some people can remain content, while others squirm in their chair day after day wanting to be somewhere else (everyone does this at times, but I mean never being happy where you are). I want to be one of the content people.

And in relationships- people have flaws. They are not always going to say and do what you want them to when you want them to. You can either choose to be happy and rejoice in everything the person is, or you can get discouraged and talk about how life and people just aren't measuring up to what you thought they would be. I want to be one of the people who rejoice in the relationships I have.

I'm still wrestling with the concept of joy and I think its something God is working on with me. And I know there is a difference between happiness and joy. But I want to strive to choose a thankful and positive mindset more often. I want to be one of the happy people :)

Advice (you'll thank me later, or now maybe)

This is some (mostly) practical advice that I have pulled together from life experiences.

#1 - Girls should not casually wear baseball caps. This one is self-explanatory.

#2 - Yahoo! Answers contains most of the answers to life's questions, especially if a top contributor answers you. Sometimes people post jerk responses when you ask things like "Is Einstein still alive?" and "What time is it?" Just weed through those until you find the answer you were looking for.

#3 - If you wear sunglasses at your desk at work you can sleep whenever you want!

#4 - It's not illegal if it's hilarious.

#5 - It's not mean if it's hilarious.

#6 - High fives are better than handshakes. High fives > handshakes (7th grade math nbd)

#7 - When all else fails, put extra sugar in your coffee.

#8 - If you owe the library $112, that doesn't mean you can't go to the library anymore. It just means you have to borrow the books on your own terms without anyone knowing about it.

#9 - Expiration dates on food are just guidelines. So are one-way streets.

#10 - If you can't find something, the only reasonable explanation is that it was stolen.

#11 - Try to sneak things in the movie theater that aren't allowed. Outside Candy/ Drinks = 1 point, Fast Food = 2 points, coffee = 3 points, a large pizza = 6 points, ect. etc....

#12 - If you ever typo on some sort of instant message, but make a huge deal about it every time and its funny. Por ejemplo: "You should teach children Spanglish earkly on. Earkley???? What the heck does earkly mean?????"

#13 - Find as many baskets as possible to put your eggs in. (This is a metaphor for LIFE. If you don't get it, its probably just too deep for you.)

#14 - When you answer the phone "This is Shari" and then the person on the other line says "Is this Shari?", it doesn't mean they are not listening. They are just trying to make sure you are not a doppelganger. (Please don't answer your phone "This is Shari" because you would be lying)

#15 - You are allowed to exaggerate as much as you want if it makes your story better. It's encouraged.

#16 - Balance and depth perception are over-rated. Who cares if you can walk in a straight line or you walk into walls?

#17 - You don't need to go to the real doctor. You can be seen by an edoctor on WebMD.com. Just as good, if not better.

#18 - Contrary to popular belief, wood screws are nails that go in wood, not screws that are made of wood. I had to learn this one the hard way (by going to Lowe's and asking).

#19 - It's ok to steal things if you really reeeeeeally want them. It's called "borrowing indefinitely."

#20 - End statements with "you understand." When you say that people feel like they have to understand.

#21 - If you end a statement with "I'm just sayin'..." it makes whatever you said ok. Por ejemplo: "He is an idiot. I'm just sayin'..."

#22 - If you are 40% sure about something and a friend is 60% sure about it, that makes 100% so you are definitely right!!

#23 - Embrace the stupid, silly quirks about you. It's refreshing. People don't want or need to see perfection.

Why 23? Good question. That's all I could think of.

Elusive Joy

I realized something today in starting Philippians. Talking about joy makes me uncomfortable. I think maybe this is something God has been gearing me up to deal with for a while. It's this thing that I want, and I feel like I have sometimes, but to truly pursue it scares me. Sometimes I feel like its almost easier to accept a life without it.

How do you not stay focused on your circumstances? How do you not let people and situations pull you way down or up? How do you not get disappointed when you are not where you want to be in your life?

I read in Walking with God by John Eldredge a few months ago: "Joy is such a tender thing. I think we resent it. We avoid it, because it feels too vulnerable to allow ourselves to admit the joy we long for but do not have."

I know two things for sure. Joy is something God wants me to have. And joy is something the devil does not want me to have. But I have decided something. I am going to rededicate myself to finding joy, and finding it in Christ alone. I think it is worth pursuing.

"Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete." -John 16:24

Sidenote: This post does not mean I am terribly unhappy. I'm not at all. I just know there is something to it when Paul can be sitting in a prison cell and say "I rejoice". I know that's not by his own effort. And its something I want to tap into.

Lord of the Rings = My LIFE (not true... but this one part...)

This is by far the dorkiest thing I have/ will ever post and I am totally okay with that. I have been watching the Lord of the Rings movies over the past few days. And I've been able to relate some of it to my LIFE right now. Let me explain, porque that is super vague and weird sounding. The latest por ejemplo comes from The Two Towers. Aragorn has a dream where he sees Liv Tyler... who's an elf... blah blah blah, you've seen the movie. So she tells him he must go with Frodo and he is totally confused and can't see which way he should go. Which leads to the following dialogue:

Aragorn: My path is hidden from me.
Arwen: It is already laid before your feet. You cannot falter now.

It hit me hard and felt relevant to what I am going through right now. My path does seem hidden. The next step is fuzzy, maybe even veiled completely. But I don't have to see it. It is already laid before me by my God.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." - Proverbs 3:5-6

To be honest, I don't think I can be trusted with the direction of my life. I'll screw it up. Its a fact. But who better to trust it with then the Creator of the Universe? He has never let me down. Why do I think he is going to start now? (The answer is he's not)

Final scripture/ promise that has been circling my brain for the past few days: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

Enough said.

Conflict

I have very conflicting emotions lately. Things happen and people disappoint and it gets me down. But I still have an overwhelming amount of hope. And that just seems odd to me. Things haven't happened the way I wanted them to, and it makes me want to throw up my hands and say "Really God? Really???" But I just know he's got it. I know he has things under control and he has this crazy incomprehensible love for me. And I know he has good things for me.

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." - James 1:17

I love the part about God not changing. He's the same no matter what life throws at you. When you can depend on nothing and no one else, you can depend on him. People are going to let you down and lately I feel let down big time. But people are people. They screw up. And there is a certain amount of grace we can have for them. Not because it comes from us or we feel like doing it. But God has lavished his grace on us. We forgive because we are forgiven. With the things going on in my life, part of me wants to beat myself up and get angry... but a bigger part of me says "You got this, God. So thank you for that."

"And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 4:19

My God will meet all my needs. All of them. Financial, Emotional, Relational... he's got it all. And what resources does he have at his disposal to do this? Everything. He made and owns everything. He breathed the stars. But he also cares deeply for the needs of my pathetic little life. I can hold my head high and walk this thing out, even if I don't understand. Because God does. And he is just waiting to shower me with the things I need "according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus."

So I'm conflicted. I'm down and frustrated and slightly angry, but with all the hope in the world. Go figure.

"Sometimes the bravest thing of all is to hope." -Brave Saint Saturn