Marsha's Musings: Telephone Trees/More Characteristics of True Ministry

Yesterday we hauled another mouse out from under the kitchen sink.  I wonder if we will have another for today?  

I couldn't remember what I did yesterday in the way of accomplishments, but now I remember.  I paid the bills, and ran errands and wasted a whole bunch of time trying to get minutes and time added to my cell phone.

I didn't realize you couldn't add a double minutes for the life of your phone card to a cell phone that already has had a card of any kind added to it.  So I bought the wrong card.  I couldn't add it to the phone.  I didn't want to waste the money so I called Tracfone to see if they could help me somehow.

I had to step through their phone tree and the process of following the directions of the robot in order to get to a real person.  They brought me to a Spanish speaking person.  I said I could not understand them so they started speaking English with such a thick accent I still could not understand them.  I asked for someone who spoke Native English and when they transferred me I got disconnected.  Sigh.

So I had to go back through the phone tree, follow the directions of the robot, get connected to a real person and guess what?  They connected me to another Spanish speaking person!  I asked for a native English speaker and this time they connected me to someone with an Oriental accent.  At least I could understand her better!

I spent nearly half an hour on the phone with her trying to fix my problem.  At one point I was on the floor with about 100 sales reciepts spread out all over the floor, hunting for the reciept that went with the card I had bought back in May that I wasn't able to add to my cell phone yesterday.  She finally was successful in adding 60 minutes to my phone but so far I still don't have the new experiation date and it expires tomorrow!

I think I will just go buy a new phone card and add it so I can get my time added.  I hate the thought of going back through the Tracfone phone tree, listening to the robot, getting hooked up with a Spanish speaker and finally getting to an English speaker and then trying explain this mess and hope to get my time added.  Just seems easier to go buy more minutes and get time that way.  What a mess.

Last night I took Nathaniel to his youth group meeting and I found a comfy couch in the foyer of the church where he attends the youth meeting and spent some time messing around with the Toshiba Thrive Tablet.  I'm not sure if I like it or not.  It's Rick's tablet.  I will soon be in the market for a new computer, and thought a tablet would be nice, but just not sure I like it very well.

When we got home I found Rick had already gone to bed.  I guess he wasn't feeling well.  Has been fighting a cold, so he needed extra rest, I guess.

Well, I need to figure out what my priorities are for today and get on it!

My Quiet Time:

For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers. we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. (1 Thessalonians 2:9, 10, 12 ESV)

Yesterday I saw what true ministry looks like.  In this passage there are a few more characteristics of true ministry.

1. Working hard so as not to be a burden to anyone

2. Holy, righteous & blameless conduct

3. Encouraging and exhorting the people personally to walk worthy of God

Thinking back over yesterday's reading and now today's, and looking at some of the ministries/churches I've been involved in, how do they measure up?  These are good lists to add to your criteria along with looking at the doctrine of a church.