Can You Shake Things Up?
We’d had a busy Sunday evening at home with our computers.
Then Jeff’s phone rang.
It was our bank. They were concerned. Our credit card had been charged several times in the past 30 minutes. They needed us to confirm or deny that the charges were legitimately coming from us.
Apparently we don’t shop often enough if even the bank is shocked by our making several purchases in a row.
All the charges were indeed ours.
We got a good laugh out of the bank’s concern (despite the minor hassle of having to scroll back through credit card records to assure them it really was us making the charges). We appreciated that they were watching out for us.
Our habits are often subject to change according to the season. December is the month we shop more than normal.
But maybe we need to shake things up occasionally anyway as a break from our comfort zones. Maybe we need to experiment with new practices in dealing with different situations. Maybe we need to allow others to coax us to branch out.
Trying new things can be a good thing. We need to remain flexible to live appropriately with the times.
Even if it comes as a surprise to those who aren’t used to our adaptability.
Shake things up a bit and try something different this season yourself (as long as it’s not harmful). You might surprise even yourself by what you discover.
When have you surprised someone by doing something out of character, or has someone surprised you? Share in the comments.
I love my so-called routine, Lisa, so you have challenged me here to shake things up in a big way. I will ponder this, for sure.
Merry Christmas!
Shaking things us does get the creativity flowing, I find! Sometimes I just shake it up by sitting at a different place at the kitchen table. It was suggested to me, once, to shake up your daily routine by entering your house backwards! I haven’t tried that yet!
I’m impressed that your bank was paying such good attention. I agree that it’s good to shake things up now and again!
haha…love it that you caused your bank concern. 🙂 But it is truly a blessing that they were concerned enough to contact you.
Now…this is going to sound really crazy, but just last night at our church fellowship Christmas dinner I did something totally out of character for me. You know me…I always tend to be the cautious one, but the lady who was in charge of the decorating and such came in with a basket of different things for us to wear on our heads…headbands that had a halo, or reindeer antlers, etc. I did NOT want to wear something like that because I don’t like to have attention drawn to myself, but then I realized that all of the other women would be doing something (well, almost all) so I ended up with a green velcro wrap around band with antlers attached. I definitely stepped out of my comfort zone, Lisa. And, yes, I actually thought of you because you are the one person that the Lord uses to cause me to do just that. xx
That is a funny story! I am really glad there turned out to be no malfeasance with your credit card.
I’ve actually been thinking of shaking things up, talking to a loved one in an unaccustomed way. It’s scary, but your post encourages me. Support from others is crucial in helping us move out of old habits.
Blessings of the season to you!
I always worry a this time of year my bank card will be flagged for suspicious activity as I use it so much in December compared to the rest of the year.
I like routine so shaking things up is way out of my comfort zone but December is a time when all routines go out of the window so I have been shaking things up over the last week or so. x
For our seasonal shake-up, I’m cooking a whole bunch of new recipes for our Christmas dinner. I’m excited for it. The cooking starts Sunday with banana-cranberry bread and a cranberry salad, which is Jello-based.
Happy holidays, Lisa.
I guess it IS reassuring to have the bank watching out for you, but, like you , I function better when I am in a routine—even if it’s a temporary seasonal one!
I like that my credit card company will often decline a charge (at first!) and send me an immediate text asking if it’s really me then I can rerun the card. It’s certainly less hassle than having to argue charges after the fact.
Yes, we are creatures of habit and routine, no matter how much we like to think that we aren’t! It is always good to try something new (within reason)
This happened to me with our bank, when I decided to make some overseas purchases one time. I was very impressed at their diligence, but like you it made me chuckle to think the bank thought I was so predictable, that it must be fraud. Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Lisa.