Mrs. Bean Counter

Well I honestly think I have met almost everyone here at TLC, but if I have missed a few, the introduction is for you...

I am Dana ANDREWS, which most fail to remember...up until a couple years ago I "dragged" :)around the last name LANKFORD, which is all too common since there are SO MANY!!! I am Monty and Shalia's daughter, Joey, Nathan, Gavin, and Taylor's sister, "Aunt Dane Dane" to Emily, Briley, Braxton, Barron, Cy, Colby...and Livi B...but most of all, I am Richard's wife!!! I am, therefore, "Mrs. Bean Counter", as it turns out... and I am, quite possibly, the happiest girl in the world!! We do not have any kids yet, which I am starting to feel the pressure about, but we have just LOVED being married, just the TWO of us!!! A lot of people wonder how it is to WORK with your family all the time. Well we all know that since TLC has grown so much, we actually don't see each other as often as we used to... which I miss! I can honestly say that my family is also my best friends and it is SO FUN getting to work with them...especially our handsome accountant!

So how long have I been here? ...Well, if you count all of my "ins and outs" here at TLC, I've quite possibly been around as long as anyone...even Dad :)! I remember in high school when he had just started TLC, I used to be his Saturday morning storefront girl... I showed back up for a few stints during college when I was desperate for a job... but finally decided to stick around two years ago after I got married and REALLY needed a job! I started in billing, have worked a little in marketing, but I like the CSR work best. Currently, I work with all of the CSRs at the different locations, trying to help keep the reports current and learning more about the intake side of TLC. I really enjoy my job, right now, as I love spending time with each and every CSR! :)

In thinking about what I wanted to say here on my blogspot, today, to my co-workers, I found a really cool verse in Proverbs that says, "Do not wear yourself out to get rich...Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like and eagle" (Proverbs 23:3-5). And I think this is so cool to think about here on our WORK blog, because we are tied together by our jobs...by our efforts to make money. Even though we all pretty much like each other here at TLC :), we probably wouldn't spend 40 hours a week together if it weren't for that little incentive, $$$$$, right? And I don't think Solomon was trying to say that is wrong- trying to make money and be successful is responsible, but I love that he describes it as "wearing yourself out" because I think for most of us, it comes right down to that, at some point or another. If you are anything like me, by the time the weekend comes, I too often feel SPENT and just want to sit and stare for a couple days... and I need to remember that those 5 days a week I spend here at TLC, should not be SPENDING me, too!

But secondly, I think it is important to remember WHY we are here, and that God has placed EACH of us where we are, daily, for a much bigger reason that the $$$. If we focus just on the money that will pay our bills, we may miss out on the mission field he has placed directly in our paths. The blessed part of TLC is that we are a service-driven company. Literally NONE of us would have a job if we did not strive to TAKE CARE of people daily. Our techs enter the homes of patients every day and are faced with the OPPORTUNITY to serve someone else...and in turn, be blessed themselves. Our Customer SERVICE Reps take care of our patients, not usually in person, but this is often times where the bond is made, by phone, when that sweet old man just needs someone to take a second from their busy "rat race" to listen, and console. That is truly the BEST part of being a CSR, I can say from experience. The marketers strive to TAKE CARE of our referral sources each day, to make them feel important and needed in their jobs. We ALL are given chances each day, at this JOB, not just to make money, but to make memories, to build others up, to LIVE while we are working... And in the end, we all know too well that the money DOES somehow "sprout wings and fly off" because after just two short weeks most of us are waiting, and needing, that next paycheck, huh? :) Amazing, how scripture is so true, still, hundreds and hundreds of years after Solomon penned those words...

So I hope that encourages you all, today. We're here because God wants us to make a difference, and an added bonus is the money--- and not the other way around! What a wonderful life it is, to serve God and be so blessed!!! I am so thankful to have such fun friends to work with!!!