I'm a Counselor?!

INFJ - that's my personality type - what's yours?

Jung/Myers-Briggs Personality Test

Counselors have an exceptionally strong desire to contribute to the welfare of others, and find great personal fulfillment interacting with people, nurturing their personal development, guiding them to realize their human potential. Although they are happy working at jobs (such as writing) that require solitude and close attention, Counselors do quite well with individuals or groups of people, provided that the personal interactions are not superficial, and that they find some quiet, private time every now and then to recharge their batteries. Counselors are both kind and positive in their handling of others; they are great listeners and seem naturally interested in helping people with their personal problems. Not usually visible leaders, Counselors prefer to work intensely with those close to them, especially on a one-to-one basis, quietly exerting their influence behind the scenes.
Counselors are scarce, little more than one percent of the population, and can be hard to get to know, since they tend not to share their innermost thoughts or their powerful emotional reactions except with their loved ones. They are highly private people, with an unusually rich, complicated inner life. Friends or colleagues who have known them for years may find sides emerging which come as a surprise. Not that Counselors are flighty or scattered; they value their integrity a great deal, but they have mysterious, intricately woven personalities which sometimes puzzle even them.
Counselors tend to work effectively in organizations. They value staff harmony and make every effort to help an organization run smoothly and pleasantly. They understand and use human systems creatively, and are good at consulting and cooperating with others. As employees or employers, Counselors are concerned with people's feelings and are able to act as a barometer of the feelings within the organization.
Blessed with vivid imaginations, Counselors are often seen as the most poetical of all the types, and in fact they use a lot of poetic imagery in their everyday language. Their great talent for language-both written and spoken-is usually directed toward communicating with people in a personalized way. Counselors are highly intuitive and can recognize another's emotions or intentions - good or evil - even before that person is aware of them. Counselors themselves can seldom tell how they came to read others' feelings so keenly. This extreme sensitivity to others could very well be the basis of the Counselor's remarkable ability to experience a whole array of psychic phenomena.
Mohandas Gandhi, Sidney Poitier, Eleanor Roosevelt, Jane Goodall, Emily Bronte, Sir Alec Guiness, Carl Jung, Mary Baker Eddy, Queen Noor are examples of the Counselor Idealist (INFJ).

Have you lifted a heart lately?

I love reading books where I learn things! I just re-read "The Secret Life of Bees" and there are many lessons in this book but one in particular is about lifting another person's heart. In the story Lily asks August why she painted her house pink. August replies that her sister May (who is a little different) went with her to the paint store and fell in love with a bright pink color. And although August wanted to paint the house beige, she decided to go with the pink. Her reasoning was "some things in life don't matter much - like the color of a house. How big is that in the overall scheme of life? But lifting a person's heart - that matters. The whole problem with people is they know what matters - but they don't choose it." Now I'm not sure I would have chosen to live in a pink house - but how many opportunities do we have to choose what will lift someone's heart? And how often do we miss those? I would love to incorporate this idea into my daily life - at least begin to see those moments. What do you think?

If you haven't been to Brevard, NC you might want to give it a try. We stayed at a beautiful cabin and hiked to several great waterfalls. We had a great time playing in creeks and enjoying nature. I bought a beautiful piece of pottery at Muddabbers Pottery and a fused glass bowl at the Glass Feather. We had a fun and relaxing vacation.

So two more weeks of summer and then school starts. I really don't mind - especially since this is my 30th year! I love summer - but working is still fine with me.

Britt and Jimmy are taking the bar exam this week - so prayers please! It's been hard so far and they have one more day of testing. I know they will both do fine!

Sunporch

Here's a picture of the tile on our screened porch - we are so excited about it! I made new cushion covers also - now we are shopping for more furniture. We have sat on several but they just aren't comfortable - any suggestions?

Theriot Craze

The 4th of July was crazy!!! Almost the entire Theriot family was at John and Joanna's camp - having a good time as you can imagine! Tons of laughter - food - boating - crazy sleeping arrangements (although Gee and I got there first and had a bedroom!!!!) - fireworks - extra people since lots of people brought friends. Some of the Fernin cousins came on Saturday - good to see them. Fun was had by all - as usual.

I just read Angelle's book recommendation - "Firefly Lane" by Kristin Hannah. When I started it I liked it right away but kept thinking there is no way this book is gonna make me cry - I was wrong. I bawled like a baby at the end. Loved, loved, loved the book - read it!!!!!

We are leaving for North Carolina in three days - I CAN'T WAIT!!! I love all the pics and news on the Gallers website but it's not like being there. Wish Z and B and J were coming - but I guess Mom's always want all their chicks together. We will be together on the cruise - and sooner that that I hope.

Update on summer projects

In the beginning of the summer I listed 4 things I want to do this summer and I decided to look back and see how I am doing.

1. Exercise more - doing that
2. Stained glass - doing that
3. Read more - doing that
4. Clean out closets - have not done that!

Oh well - three out of four ain't bad!!!

Our patio is finished and looking great - I'm doing the final mopping today - just mopped it 4 times! Hopefully we will move our furniture and plants back in it later today. I sewed new cushion covers and replanted a few plants. We are having a "cool front" so it actually felt nice early this morning on the porch.

Last weekend we went to Gee's elementary school reunion. It was fun although the only people I knew were the Theriot's, Kennedy's and KBA's - which I guess is alot of people. Gee and I spent the night at John and Joanna's and went to the Riverwalk Sunday and to Harrah's. We also had a snowball - cocoanut cream of course - I really do enjoy New Orleans.