I ride north and west buses

For more than three years I have pretty much ridden the same bus to and from work. Occasionally I would ride a less frequent non express bus to a friends house or restaurant but for the most part always going south from where I live.

My new job now requires that I take one bus north and one bus west -- opposite of my routine.

Besides the direction you wouldn't think this makes much difference... me either! But as I stood on the opposite side of the street from the 'downtown' workforce this morning the differences were stark.

I was simultaneously jealous of their one bus commute and saddened by the uniformity of their environment. Not only the most obvious similarity of all being "of European heritage", but also life stage, socioeconomic status, fashion sense...."another brick in the wall" narrated the scene on my head.

I stepped on to my bus humming flyod and was more aware of my surroundings than previously. These buses are filled with kids going to school, airline employees headed to O'Hare, angry people, singers and the just plain crazy. I think I like these buses better.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

oh the possibilities of a new beginning

I love new journals. So much so that my book shelf is full of journals that have wildly creative and fabulous writing in them.... for the first 5 to 10 pages. That is about when another journal with crisp new blank pages catches my eye. So neat and and clean and full of possibilities. All I can think of all the amazingly life changing letters, prayers, poems and doodles u will fill the pages with.

There is so much I want to do...so many journals I want to fill with my musings and so many ways we can impact those in need. Which is so exciting...and so overwhelming. I don't want to diminish my passion for new ideas and possibilities but I don't want to be so enthusiastic about the possibilities that I become stifled by all the missed opportunities.

How do we nurture this passion and big ideas AND continue to feel the pride of the smaller short term achievements?

I have no idea but I am pretty darn proud of the fact that I was able to articulate this struggle....now maybe I can figure out what to do about it.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

never let words get in the way of pictures

I love road trips.  They provide so much time for reflection and rocking out to good music.  This year when I drove to Virignia from Chicago I connected my iPhone to the rearview mirror of the rental car so i could easily use the GPS system... i quickly realized that this was a perfect location to photograph my trip!  Needless to say i took some 300 pictures ... below is one of my favorite and very relevant to the topic....big blue sky and a road that is endless :)  country roads, take me home, to a place i belong!





coming out....

I have not been overt about my faith on this blog as I wasn't sure if this was going to be a "professional" blog or personal ranting and ravings - and did not wish to offend anybody.  But today I have decided that if I am going to be talking about my lifetime value there is no way I can leave out my faith - it is the sole defining characteristic of who I am and my value - whether professional or not. 

Today marks the first day of my new job.  I have struggled with the transition almost as much as I am excited about it.  I am going back to school and this position will be an amazing fit for me to pursue an interest that I have always had but never acted on.  I will be studying Workplace Theology (specifically getting a Master of Arts in Religion, Workplace Theology and Ethics) at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary while raising money through direct response for the Salvation Army Metropolitan Division in Chicago as my day job.

Moving from a national organization to a regional program has its benefits and its ego challenges :)  But God has very clearly used the last two weeks to encourage my decision to change my career and with it my life.  He has used people I have meet in professional settings to encourage the decisions I have made to put my faith first.... that's right people I have meet outside of church! He has proven to me that the integration of work and personal life is a great thing and he will be there to encourage me even when smooshing those two together isn't easy... and down right scary.

So here goes... my name is Suzanne Joiner and I am a Christian.  I <3 Jesus and I <3 direct marketing.. .now you know and knowing is half the battle...

"livin my life like its golden"

a friend posted this on facebook and I watched it shortly after publishing my last post.  Its always a good day for some Jill Scott... especially on a Monday!  Enjoy.

moving forward

forward motion is inevitable. We learn that from newton or someone equally as smart (or lucky, depending on your scientific politics). On one hand this is a good thing cause hey, my life is going to keep moving forward regardless of what I do. But on the other hand OMG!! my life is going to keep moving forward REGARDLESS of what I do---or don't do. So the question I have is....am I moving forward with life or because of it? I am not sure that the answer isn't all of the above. And I am not sure that is a bad thing. There are times when I am moving right along with what has been planned for me and others when life is pulling me along by my hair---- and each of those experiences have made me who I am---the good, bad and mediocre. So I return to my original hypothesis of maximizing relationships and experiences to increase my overall lifetime value. Life is going to happen in spite of me.... I am going to make it worth reading about.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

refining resolutions

As many people do with the start of the new year I was recently pondering what about myself or my life I would like to change in 2011. So being the scholarly person I am (geek) I started by looking up the word resolution in the dictionary (iPhone app). Right between the definitions of resulting state and the solution was optics or resolving power. So to make a boring story short the definition of resolving power made me change my perspective on resolutions (Dictionary.com). What if instead of looking at all the bad that I want to change I started refining the details and focused on making the good better? If I know relationships and experiences are what increases my lifetime value then why not focus on the positive relationships and experiences and make them better? It seems like such a simple and logical thought....

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]