A gift from Zappos

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Posted by Wendy | Posted in Big G, Me | Posted on 04-01-2014

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Recently, my husband wrote to Zappos asking them if it was at all possible for him to return a pair of shoes that, over time, he realized he didn’t like.

See he had ordered many pairs of sneakers, wore them around the house for a few hours before deciding on one pair and sending the rest back. He then brought this pair on our summer vacation to San Francisco and Yosemite…and that’s when it happened. He started to feel a digging in the side of his foot and no longer liked the shoes. After vacation, he didn’t really wear them and returned to Zappos to find another pair. Six months later he wrote to Zappos and asked if he could return them.

They said yes…with a 100% refund!

You think he would be excited…but he wasn’t. His brow was furrowed and you could tell he was deep in thought.

Now my brow furrowed. I asked, “Aren’t you happy?” And he said, “But I wore them, I was maybe thinking of a 50% credit or something. I just don’t understand. How are they making a profit?”

He was basically saying, “This seems unfair” and he’s right. It is.

That’s the thing about gifts. The Oxford Dictionary defines a gift as “(noun) a thing given willingly to someone without payment; a present”.

Gifts are given without any benefit to the giver.

But is that how we give gifts?

Think about Christmas. How many of those gifts felt like an obligation versus a desire, a true desire to give something to someone without expecting anything in return?

So is it any wonder that my husband struggles with the concept of accepting an over-the-top refund from Zappos?

And is it any wonder that we struggle to accept God’s gift? And if we cannot accept this gift ourselves, how do we explain it to everyone else?

The Shoemaker’s Wife

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Posted by Wendy | Posted in Books, quotes | Posted on 02-01-2014

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A quote that resonated deep within me:

“I’ve learned that it’s fine to have expectations, and dreams are wonderful, but once in a while, it would be good to have something come my way without having to fight for it.”

~Enza, The Shoemaker’s Wife

Tipping

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Posted by Wendy | Posted in Me | Posted on 05-09-2013

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I would consider myself a generous person and so, most of the time, I tip. The thing is – I think it’s getting out of hand. Last night, I went to one of those self-serve frozen yogurt places and there was a tip jar. What exactly am I tipping you for?

I got the cup. I filled the cup with an excellent swirl of frozen yogurt (I learned from the best). I put on the toppings. I put the cup on the scale. The only thing the worker did was put a spoon in my cup and work the cash register, which in this case required an exchange of cash. They didn’t even do math – the register did!

So when I saw the tip jar as I got my change back, I was outraged! Seriously?! Am I tipping you to watch how awesome I am at making my fro-yo exactly the way I want it? Am I tipping you for putting the spoon in my cup? Or was it how you watched me enter, get what I want, skip the undecided and get out in under ten minutes?

I don’t get it. Like lawsuits, tipping is getting frivolous.

Formulas and relationships

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Posted by Wendy | Posted in Big G, Books | Posted on 24-05-2013

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Oftentimes we think of the Bible as a self-help book. We think there are formulas that will help us to be better people…to be more like God and less like us, really, to be perfect. Early on, I learned I love formulas. I loved math and science. It just made sense. 2+2=4 always. There was no room for interpretation. There was no debate. There were no sides of the argument to consider before solving the equation. There was just the formula. Black and white. Clear as can be. As an engineer throughout college and in the first eight years of my career, I lived within this domain of science and formulas. It was easy to live there. There was little confusion or room for argument.

Recently, I started working for a church and, so far, it’s the hardest job I’ve had. Besides the blurred lines between my personal and work life, I also struggled with the people aspect of my job. By that I mean, ultimately, the church’s product is people. It’s about giving people the opportunity to take steps that get them closer to God, that enable them to continue moving on in their faith journey.

In the corporate world, I worked with consumer goods. Our products were tangible items that people consumed. Working with people is hard, really hard, because relationships are messy. There are no formulas for every situation or personality you encounter for the 6 billion people on this planet. Heck, not even animals respond to formulas (says the proud owner of two cats and rabbits)!

So I identified with the author Don Miller of Searching for God Knows What when he wrote the following:

It made me wonder, honestly, if such a complex existence as the one you and I are living can really be broken down into a few steps. It seems if there were a formula to fix life. Jesus would have told us what it was.

…when Jesus was walking around on earth He taught His disciples truths through experience, first telling them stories, then walking with them, then causing stuff to happen like a storm on the sea, then reiterating the idea He had taught them the day before. Even then it took years before the disciples understood, and even then the Holy Spirit had to come and wrap things up. So it made me realize that either God didn’t know the formulas, or the formulas weren’t able to change a person’s heart.

To be honest, though, I don’t know how much I like the idea of my spirituality being relational.

The formulas propose that if you do this and this and this, God will respond…but it makes me secretly wonder we don’t wish God were a genie who could deliver a few wishes here and there. And that makes me wonder if what we really want from the formulas are the wishes, not God. It makes me wonder if what we really want is control, not a relationship.

I mean, who wouldn’t?! Formula are EASY! Formulas leave no room for debate. Why wouldn’t I want to control my life? It’s mine, isn’t it? Donald Miller goes on to say:

Relationships aren’t the best thing, if you ask me. People can be quite untrustworthy, and the more you get to know them — by that I mean the more you let somebody you know who you really are — the more it feels as though something is at stake. And that makes me nervous. It takes me a million years to get to know anybody pretty well, and even then the slightest thing will set me off. I feel it in my chest, this desire to dissociate. I don’t mean to be a jerk about it, but that is how I am wired. I say this because it makes complete sense to me that we would rather have a formula religion than a relational religion. If I could, I probably would have formula friends because they would be safe.

and ultimately so would I…

I have this suspicion, however, that if we are going to get to know God, it is going to be a little more like getting to know a person than practicing voodoo. And I suppose that means we are going to have to get over this fear of intimacy, or whatever you want to call it, in order to have an ancient sort of faith shared by all the dead apostles.

And this makes me think of people who have tried to live there lives with formulas – House, Bones, etc. OK, these are TV examples but they survived more than one season. Why did the networks keep them on? Because of viewers. Because it was popular with the American TV-watching audience. And why did people tune in? I think it’s because at some level, didn’t we identify with the main character? With their desire to have life explained totally by formulas and science, by reasoning and logic?

A Day in the Life…

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Posted by Wendy | Posted in Me | Posted on 25-03-2013

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I honestly think I’m the funniest person I know…and definitely the most humble. With that being said, I wanted to share a few moments that capture this morning’s interactions with two of my co-workers:

Incident 1
Wendy: “Man, I really want another cup of coffee.”
Co-worker: “No, don’t get coffee. It’s bad for you.”
Wendy: “Wait, why should I listen to you? You don’t eat meat?”

Incident 2
Wendy approaches co-worker who is sitting in a conference room waiting for a meeting to begin. Up to this point, I’ve begrudgingly said good morning in reply to his smiley welcome.
Wendy: “I’m feeling nice today. What coffee do you want?”
Co-worker: <stifled laughter>
Wendy: <stare> but meant to say, what’s so funny? it’s true I feel nice so I want to buy you a coffee. Just tell me what you want already, I’m feeling less nice now.
Co-worker: large coffee with <hand gesture> this much milk
Wendy: <nod>

Crying

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Posted by Wendy | Posted in quotes | Posted on 15-01-2013

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I used to think crying was a sign of weakness and, as a result, I never let myself cry. I most certainly never let anyone else see me cry.

As I’ve gotten older, my viewpoint on crying has changed. So this quote from actor Kaley Cuoco, Penny from The Big Bang Theory, really resonated with me.

“I cry all the time. I love to laugh, too. It’s important to create an environment for yourself where you feel what you need to and don’t hold it in. Today, I’m comfortable enough in my own skin that I can laugh or cry when I need to, and it feels so good.”

What do I know?

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Posted by Wendy | Posted in Big G | Posted on 24-10-2012

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“I guess I thought I had You figured out. I knew all the stories and I learned to talk about how You were mighty to save. Those were only empty words on a page…What do I know of Holy?”

I heard these lyrics this morning and was taken aback. What do I know of Holy? Do I have God all figured out? Do I take the time to listen? Or am I putting words in His mouth? Would I recognize God if he was here, today, right now? Or do I have a vision of who, when and what He’s supposed to be? What do I really know of Holy?

Full Lyrics:
I made You promises a thousand times
I tried to hear from Heaven
But I talked the whole time
I think I made You too small
I never feared You at all No
If You touched my face would I know You?
Looked into my eyes could I behold You?

What do I know of You
Who spoke me into motion?
Where have I even stood
But the shore along Your ocean?
Are You fire? Are You fury?
Are You sacred? Are You beautiful?
What do I know? What do I know of Holy?

I guess I thought that I had figured You out
I knew all the stories and I learned to talk about
How You were mighty to save
Those were only empty words on a page
Then I caught a glimpse of who You might be
The slightest hint of You brought me down to my knees

What do I know of You
Who spoke me into motion?
Where have I even stood
But the shore along Your ocean?
Are You fire? Are You fury?
Are You sacred? Are You beautiful?
What do I know? What do I know of Holy?

What do I know of Holy?
What do I know of wounds that will heal my shame?
And a God who gave life “its” name?
What do I know of Holy?
Of the One who the angels praise?
All creation knows Your name
On earth and heaven above
What do I know of this love?

What do I know of You
Who spoke me into motion?
Where have I even stood
But the shore along Your ocean?
Are You fire? Are You fury?
Are You sacred? Are You beautiful?
What do I know? What do I know of Holy?

What do I know of Holy?
What do I know of Holy?

Song by Addison Road
Songwriters: Allison L Rogers, Jennifer Ann Simmons

“I’m breaking in my new yoga pants…

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Posted by Wendy | Posted in Me, Uncategorized, quotes | Posted on 15-09-2012

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“I’m breaking in my new yoga pants.” ~ My explanation to David for why I was sitting on the couch watching The Mummy for the 100th time!

Glimpse in to the Hosier house last night…

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Posted by Wendy | Posted in Me | Posted on 22-06-2012

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Wendy: Enjoying a glass of cool, white wine while reading a book to unwind from her week of work.
Dave: Removes the wine stopper to pour himself a glass. Then holds up a screw cap.
Wendy: “It was a screw off.”
Dave: “That means it is also a screw on.”
Wendy: Stares in utter disbelief then says, “My judgement may be impaired.”
Laughter.

Being Right

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Posted by Wendy | Posted in Big G, Me, Uncategorized, quotes | Posted on 09-04-2012

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Recently, I heard a co-worker share about an argument that they had with their teen. They shared that they finally got their point across. They, the parent, were right but that it was a hollow victory. It was hollow because that person recalled how many times their parent had been right and how little love there is in being right.

Then last night I heard this quote from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: “I’d much rather be happy than right any day.”

It made me think – would I rather be happy than right? More precisely, would I rather show love than be right?