"I had a dream........"

I had a dream last night that I actually would classify as a nightmare. My dream was not a vision of things that could be, although I guess that would be possible, but a dream in which I woke up wondering if there was a message in it for me. I really hate it when you have disturbing dreams and wake up feeling shaken and inadequate.

In my dream I was on this singing team that went to churches to lead worship. Everyone on this team was around my daughters age. We were just going up on stage when all these girls, four of them, told me that I was to old and couldn't keep up with them. All the way through that night they kept taunting me about how inadequate and slow I was to be singing with them. Needless to say I was devastated and couldn't understand why they hadn't said anything before. And why were they humiliating me publicly. They felt that I should have known that they were way out of my league. I was just to old to sing with them. Thankfully, I woke up. But that nightmare left me wondering my question of today, "Is there an age in which you should quit doing the things that you love just because you are a certain age?"

I'm 50 and to this point I have been on a worship team most of my life. I am wondering if there is an age where it is inappropriate to be on the team when everyone is younger than you? Throughout my life there have been times that I have thought that there are people who should realize that their time has come and it's time to be your age. I find that I wonder that for things like dress, hair, behaviour etc. Now I find myself wondering if that extends to ministry?

I have heard it said often that it is time for the younger generation to step in and lead. Up til now I've been okay with that because I was that generation. Now here I am stepping over that thresh hold of the older generation and I find myself wondering if that means it's time to give up being part of a music team because right now I'm gray haired and over 50.

So again my question comes up "Am I to old to continue singing for worship in a church that has young music? Is there only certain music that you publicly do that is age appropriate?" or "Should I should just dye my hair and try and fool the world into thinking that I'm younger than I am?" (By the way I'm not judgemental on coloring hair.)

P.S.
Do you think I'm going through a midlife crisis?

Vanity, Vanity, All Is Vanity

The other day my funny bone got a tickle when I realized how well we women fake things in life.

Last week we started our bible study group that we call Lifegroup. It was at our house and I thought how nice it would be if I started the year off right by providing something homemade for the snack at coffee time. I decided that chocolate cake would be the best choice cause.....who doesn't love chocolate? (Other years everyone who came knew to expect bought snack from me.) As I was cleaning house I was thinking about getting this cake on the go and where to find the right recipe to gain the desired result of surprising everyone. I could smell the cake baking in my mind and I could see it sitting on the cupboard on my pedestal plate making mouths water.

Well, as I thought of all the processing this would take I found myself in the pantry looking at my shelves wondering where I had put that Devils Food Cake mix. Ah Ha! .... there it was, and guess what? Right beside it was that frosting in a plastic container. Just the right amount for one 9x13 cake. And here is the best part, the cake mix only needed 2eggs, 1/3c oil, and 11/3c of water. Mix for 1min, yes 1 whole min. and pour in a rectangle pan. This was only going to take me about 5 mins. from start to finish. Frosting takes another 3 mins. and whala! done. A total of 10 mins at the most with all the ripping of bags, buttering of pan and cleaning up afterward. (For any of you that really know me, know that I don't really like cooking and baking so this was the ticket to making me look really good.)

Later that evening as we came to snack time my hubby announces that I have baked a cake for coffee time and that is when it hit me in my funny bone. It was all I could do not to burst out laughing because I had not really created anything but I still was going to look good.

Now isn't that just like us women? Anything to make us look good and feel better. Fake hair color, fake nails, fake faces (botox), fake boobs, fake cakes ...etc.

This is the price we pay for our vanity! And guess what? We Love It!!

My Electronic World

I am so excited because I have gotten my very first computer. Yes, we have had two computers at our house for a few years but my hubby bought me my very own computer.

It is a mini computer. It is small and is a little tricky to type on because the keyboard is so small. This is not the smallest computer out there but it is about an inch bigger than the littlest one that I have seen. Not counting the I-phone and I-pod-touch.

It strikes me funny that I'm so excited about this because as you all know I'm "electronically challenged". I'm determined to learn this, but as I am with learning Spanish so will I be challenged with learning my computer. However, I am still excited.

Well, that is it for today. Not much but something that I could type on my new computer.

See you later!

My Big Fat Greek Wedding

In the past few months I have been busy helping my parents move and as that has come to a close we have had family visiting and it hit me with a tickle that in many ways we resemble the Big Fat Greek Wedding family. Here's the story.

My brother and sister-in-law from Germany came to Canada to help settle their daughter into school. While they were in Canada they took the time to visit Mom and Dad. (Their daughter is going to school in a city that is about 6 hours away.) They only had a few days that they could be here so I decided that it would be a great idea to have those of the family that are around here over for a potluck of sorts supper. That way everyone could see them while they were in town without it being to much running for them. When the evening came it turned out that there were 19 of us for supper. It was great and I actually think that everyone had good time. Of course you can't visit on the same level as if it was one on one but with the time crunch I think it worked out well. That was on a Sat. night.

Tues. morning my sister called and said that she and her daughter and her daughter's husband were coming up to see Mom and Dad. They too, only had two days before they would have to fly out. My niece and her husband are from San Diego and those of us in the family that live here have never met her husband as he is from Costa Rica originally. Once again, I decided that it would be a good idea if everyone came for another potluck supper. (Sat. had worked out so great.) As I was adding up how many would be here if everyone came the number added up to 27, and that is when I realized that we closely resemble My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

The scene that played out in my mind was when Tula takes Ian's parents to meet "The Family". They were expecting to meet 4 people and when they arrived the front yard was full of all the relatives. Ian's mother has fear written on her face as she makes her way to meet Tula's father.

That is how I imagined my niece's husband feeling when he came to meet "The Family". (I couldn't help but laugh.)

The evening turned out great and I actually think that my niece and her husband had a good time.

So, what do you think, we're not Greek but don't you think that it may be somewhere in our blood?

"Why Me Lord?"

You ever see the movie The Last Holiday with Queen Latifah?

Today I feel like Georgia Byrd when she asks over and over "why me Lord?".

I haven't felt well for about a week and I'm finally tired of trying to be positive about it. Today I feel like ranting and raving at God for the decisions he makes. So this post is not going to be the most positive posts that I've written but at least I'll get it off my chest and feel like maybe someone has heard me.

Here are the questions I'd like God to answer:

1. How do you decided who to bless and who not to?

2. How do you decided who to allow to be afflicted with illness and who not to?

3. How do you decided when someones life should be over and why then?

4. Why do you allow some to have optimal health? and how do you see that as fair and loving?

5. Why do you allow some to experience miracles and not others?

6. Why when we're desperate do you seem so far away?

7. Why can't you talk in an audible voice so I can hear and get it first time around?

8. If heaven is so great why make us long to hang on to the here?

9. Why don't you make it easier for us to see your plan?

10. As Georgia Byrd would say "Why me Lord? Why now?".

Although I am asking all these questions please know that there is nothing seriously wrong that I'm aware of, it's just that I'm tired of feeling lousy and I don't make the perfect christian with the up beat attitude in all things. When I don't feel well and I'm tired of it, these thoughts go through my mind. As I look at others and realize that there are so many that have it worse than me, I think to myself "why me and not them?". What makes me think that I should be exempt? I do for a moment feel grateful for where I'm at but then I get overwhelmed and forget. I start to complain and ask all these questions.

So there it is for today. I'll be on a much more positive note next time around.


P.S. Lord, why do you make gray hair on the top of our heads and yet our arms and legs get hairier with dark hair that stands out? Shouldn't it be the other way around?

Speaking in Tongues?

As I'm sitting here catching up on the blogging world I'm struck again by the funny things my husband gets me into.

To night I asked him to listen to my comment that I had written on another blog and when I had finished reading it he said "good". Not an unusual answer but when I asked him my next question I got this strange sound in response. (I'd repeat it for you but it was so unusual I can't even remember it. (the pitfall of age).) As a matter of fact right now in the background there are all these mumblings going on. He is, yes, taking an on line Spanish lesson.

For months now he has been telling me that we need to take Spanish lessons and I've been waiting patiently for him to let me know when that is to take place. Well, I guess tonight is it for him. He hasn't told me yet that I need to start but I'm sure that it will be coming soon. It has hit my funny bone with how he is letting me know that the time is now.

This brings up memories of scuba diving, and down hill ski racing. Anyway, that is another topic and I must not get to far off track or I'll lose my thought that I'm working on.

Here it is, I think I going to learn Spanish.

Now, many of you may be thinking "what's so big a deal about that?"

MEMORY! That's the big deal.

I'm the person who has to make a mental note of where I park the car in relation to the store so that I can find the right aisle to find it again. I repeat in my mind as I look in that aisle "it is a green Jetta TDI" I am also the person that tells her friends and family to make sure that if they see me wandering the street to pick me up and take me home. (I can really relate to the old guy Arthur Abbott in The Holiday when Iris picks him up and takes him home.) This is why the thought of learning Spanish scares me.

So, here is my question for today "do you think it's cheating to ask God to give you the gift of tongues in Spanish?" Not trying to be disrespectful of God and the gift he gives but it would sure be helpful for me if he would just let me wake up one morning able to speak and understand Spanish. It would be so much easier.

Oh well,....just wondering?

Go! Go! Gadget #2

A while back I did a blog on gadgets and how I love them. Well this weekend while in the city I needed a new blender to go with my bosch kitchen centre. We found the store and boy was it a find! Here are the great finds that I got:

1) Paring knives that are no stick and dishwasher safe. To top it off they are even sharp. (I guess I'll see if they really keep their sharp edge after the dishwasher.) It also isn't supposed to stick to the food that it's cutting. Oh, by the way the grip is no slip.

2) A sconce pan. It is so cool. It is heavy and has the partitions for the sconce, cornbread, or biscuit. No cutting required, just put it in the pan and it comes out in the perfect wedge.

3) An onion keeper that looks like an onion. When you cut an onion and only need to use a portion of it, the rest goes in this keeper and is sealed so that you don't get a stinky fridge. When you next want to use that left over onion you look in the fridge and know exactly where it is. (They had tomatoes keepers and garlic keepers but I didn't get them. Thought it would be good to try this one out first to see if it really works.)

Well, that was my finds this weekend and I'm excited to try them. For me this is like Christmas. I know that for many of you it seems a little boring but I was so excited that I just had to share it with someone.

P.S.
By the way, I will be visiting that store again when I'm in the city. There was so much to look at that I definitely need more time to unearth more great finds.

Anyone out there had any great finds lately?