A Dream Fulfilled

I first met our friends, Jay and Leslie, through a Life Group at our church. Our group consisted of a bunch of us who are over the age of 40. Truth be told, most of us were over 50, but there were a few from the younger crowd who joined us as we met every other Wednesday night. Over the course of a couple of years we discussed any number of things and one week we found ourselves discussing the dreams we had for our "second half" of life. (It's really only the second "half" if we plan to live to be 100, but that's a topic for another day.) Last Thursday, April 22, Jay and Leslie achieved their dream. (I’m sure they’ve got more, but I’m referring to the one they shared at our Life Group.)

It’s possible (read probable) that the dream belonged primarily to Jay in the beginning, but Leslie followed along and eventually, she was working just as hard. What was their dream? To complete the education needed to become pastors. In our particular denomination there are education requirements that must first be fulfilled. Then there is a test and an interview process. Personally, the whole thing seems a bit daunting to me. To have to take a test after the age of 50, well, that’s just inhumane. But, Jay and Leslie were up to the challenge.

With their tests and interviews completed all that was left was the ceremony at which they’d receive their license to preach. In our denomination there are additional requirements before being ordained, and that isn’t even a possibility until you’ve served as a pastor for a number of years. (I’m explaining this to the best of my knowledge only AFTER having it explained to me at least a half dozen times.)

We were thrilled to attend their licensing ceremony on Thursday and be a part of this very special moment in their lives. It only goes to show, you are never too old to start something new. When God has given you a dream, don’t think about your age, your race, or your perceived lack of ability. As the slogan goes, “Just Do It!” You never know where God might take you.

So proud of you, Jay and Leslie! Congratulations on achieving your dream!

If we look like we are about to get into some mischief, we probably are. Leslie may be a pastor, but she knows how to have a good time, too. Some days we are a dangerous combination! On this particular night, however, we did keep our laughter contained to a reverent roar.

Bridging the Gap

I received an email today from my friend, Leslie. Whenever I go more than five days without posting a blog, she questions my commitment. And occasionally, she gets a little whiney about it. (I’m sure she’ll read this so just for her; I’m kidding, Leslie.) I really don’t mind because then I know that at least one person is reading my posts and waiting for an update.

So, here’s the deal on my lack of blog posts. It’s not that I’m not writing. I have been asked to do some “humor” writing for a newly launched website, Bridging the Gap, and there are just so many hours in my day (which can be significantly shorter than some people’s due to the fact that I’m not a morning person.) Bridging the Gap is a women’s ministry here in Minnesota, but the website is applicable to women worldwide (at least for those who read English.) I feel quite honored to be asked to write for them and I love doing it. The truth is, the short little articles I write for the website, are quite similar to what you usually see here. In fact, a couple of them have actually been here a year or so ago so if you go to check them out, you might be thinking, “Gee, I’ve read this somewhere before.” (Shhh….don’t tell. Sometimes when there is a deadline, I don’t always feel particularly funny.)

Let me tell you about the website. It’s so incredible. In addition to my articles, which by the way, can be found in the Laugh/Create section, there are articles on life issues, relationships, taking care of your home, leadership, finances, health and wellness, spiritual issues, book reviews, and so much more. In addition to that, there is a video that changes regularly called Café la Vie with encouragement, information, and devotionals. Oh, and speaking of devotionals; there is a whole devotional section, a section for Bible Study materials, and a prayer wall to share your prayer requests.

If you happen to live in Minnesota, there is also a section where you can check for upcoming events. You can search for them in order of the date they occur or by putting in your zip code to find the events in your specific region. By the way, if you see any typos in the events area, well, let’s just say someone whose blog you read, messed up at her job.

This website has been in the making for over a year. It’s still getting off the ground, but it’s a great resource for women everywhere and will only get better. Check it out and let me know what you think. In the meantime, I’ll try to get more posted here.

Fifteen Minutes of Inconvenience

A year ago, Paul Scanlon from Abundant Life Church in England, spoke at our church. Pastor Scanlon is an engaging and humorous speaker with a challenging message. Last year he encouraged us to be willing to give up 15 minutes a day to be inconvenienced by God in order to do something nice for someone. We didn't have to tell them about Jesus, or beg them to come to church with us, we were just challenged to do something nice.

Well, how hard could that be? I mean, what's 15 minutes? But right away I had a problem. I had no idea where to start. After great consideration I decided that the best way to go about this was to let God show me what I could do. Of course, I was excited at first and every day I'd wake up and pray, "Lord, show me how I can be inconvenienced today to do something for someone else."

I don't know, maybe I wasn't paying attention, but nothing obvious came up right away. I try to be kind to people on a regular basis so maybe I was doing what I was supposed to be doing, but didn't notice it as different. And, as ideas like this often go with me, I soon forgot to ask God to show me who to help.

But, one summer day, I remembered the challenge and can still show you the exact spot I was standing in a building in downtown Minneapolis when I silently prayed, "Lord, you still haven't shown me anything about this inconvenience deal. Really, I'd like to do something."

I left my meeting in Minneapolis and headed home, stopping at a friend's house along the way. It was a Tuesday night and I left her place about 6:30 p.m. thinking to myself, "it's only a half hour drive from here which means I'll be home just in time for NCIS. Perfect!" Side note: I LOVE NCIS. It is one of my favorite television shows but if you miss the first five minutes you never really know what is going on the rest of the hour because it's all based on the "incident" that happens at the start of the show. Another thing you should know about NCIS is that you don't want to be eating while you watch those first five minutes. Fair warning, enough said.

As I drove down the little back road out to the highway I decided that I'd call home and check my voice mail messages. Sure enough, there was a message from a woman who wanted some Creative Memories products. I used to sell them and apparently she hadn't gotten the memo with the information that I was no longer in the business. As it turned out though, the item she wanted is one that was no longer being made and I happened to have a couple of extra that I wasn't going to use. And, as is most often the case, she needed this product right away. (I refer to these incidences as "scrapbooking emergencies.") The caller told me that she was "in town" right now (that's Cannon Falls slang for "I'm in the city limits and I'm trying to get everything done so I won't have to drive the 10 miles back in from the country tomorrow.") I told her that I was on my way home and if she could wait 30 minutes she could have whatever she liked. So, we agreed that she'd wait in town and meet me at 7:00. That settled, I hung up the phone.

It was at that very moment that I realized; if this person is going to come to my house at 7:00, I'm going to miss the first five minutes of NCIS; the CRITICAL moments of the show. Admittedly, I got a little pouty and then a still, small voice rattled around in my head and said, "Well, you asked me to inconvenience you." RATS! I hate when that happens. For the record, though there may not have been a booming voice coming out of the sky I knew that the thought in my head was clearly from God. I laughed and said "Yes, well, I didn't mean I wanted to be inconvenienced in my inconvenience." If it's possible to hear God chuckle, I did.

As it so happens, Paul Scanlon will be at our church again this weekend. I can't wait to see what his challenge is this year. But you can be sure, I'm going to be more careful about what I pray for!

The Passion of Christ

This past weekend, my husband and I had the opportunity to travel to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin to see a passion play. We had been invited by our son’s in-laws who, since he married their daughter, have become our friends. Not that we wouldn’t have been friends with them otherwise, it’s just that we probably never would have met them had our kids not gotten married. But, I digress.

Their church, Lighthouse Christian Church, in Fond du Lac has been producing The Promise, for the past 18 years (with a one-year hiatus last season.) I really had no expectations other than to hear some good music and see the life, death, and resurrection of Christ portrayed on the stage. But, it seems, God wanted to show me a few things as I watched this amazing production.

The production, of course, showed various parts of Christ’s life on this earth. One of the scenes told the story from Luke 7:36-50 where Jesus is having dinner with some of the Pharisees. A woman from town, known for her sinfulness, comes to Jesus with her alabaster jar, filled with perfume, and pours it out on him, wiping his feet with her hair and her tears. She is criticized by the Pharisees but Jesus comes to her defense and shows her forgiveness. Remember, this is a musical, so at this point the woman forgiven by Christ sings about her love for Him.

The spotlight was on the singer, but I couldn’t help notice the man playing Jesus as he watched her. Staying true to the character he was playing, he sat and listened to this woman sing with a smile of pride on his face. Maybe I was the only one who noticed it, but right at that moment, it felt like Christ was saying to me “You see his face? That’s how I look when my children do something that honors me. I love watching my kids.”

I am always amazed that God allows me to be used for his glory. But, to imagine that he not only uses me to minister to others but is pleased when I do. . . . wow! I am humbled.

Later in the show there is a scene where Jesus was healing a little girl who had died. As her father handed Jesus this limp, lifeless child Jesus took her, walked away from the crowd surrounding him and lifted her up to God. The look of pain on his face was so real that, once again, I could hear Jesus speaking to me saying, “This is the pain I feel when my children hurt. I hold them, and cry with them. And, I never stop loving them.”

It would be nearly impossible, of course, to go to a passion play and not be moved by the crucifixion of Christ, but this one seemed so much more real to me. Even Mel Gibson’s portrayal of Jesus’ death in The Passion of the Christ didn’t move me as much. I sat there watching as Jesus was beaten, hung on the cross and sneered at and silently prayed, “I’m so sorry Jesus, I’m just so sorry. Thank you for dying for me.”

The greatest part of the show, of course, was when Jesus rose from the dead. The audience broke into applause knowing that indeed the story is true; because of His resurrection, we too can have eternal life. What a great show portraying the amazing gift that God has given us . . . . the gift of knowing Him

Baffled

Warning; this blog is potentially more controversial than my usual fare. Here’s the thing; occasionally I get the opportunity (for lack of a better word) to watch ABC’s morning talk show, The View. The concept of the show is interesting. There are five women, including Barbara Walters, who hold a variety of opinions on different topics. While sometimes the show seems more like a women’s coffee clutch, with everyone trying to get their opinion heard over the roar of the room, they do present some interesting issues.

Over the past few weeks I’ve noticed one opinion that they all seem to have in common. They do not tolerate a man stepping out on his woman. And, you’d have to have your head buried in the sand to not have noticed that there seems to be a lot of high-profile men doing just that.

The View women had plenty to say about Tiger Woods and his public apology. Was it really sincere? How would Elin react? Blah, blah, blah. And then there was the whole John Edwards mess. They were full of opinions about photos of his mistress, Riehl, with their “love child.” But seriously, this is what baffles me. Why are people, who work in an industry that pretty much promotes this kind of behavior, surprised when it actually happens?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not condoning adultery. In fact, to be clear, I believe it hurts the very heart of God. But, in Hollywood it seems, sex is what's selling the goods. We can’t watch movies, television shows, or even commercials without, at some point, hearing some sort of sexual innuendo, or seeing some scantily clad woman selling pick-up trucks. We barely even flinch when the couple in a movie goes to bed together after just one date. We’ve come to expect it, and accept it.

So, I remain baffled at how The View women are so surprised by the behavior of these men. It seems to me that what we have here is simply an example of one of the basic laws of physics. “To every action there is always an equal and opposite reaction.” (If my father reads this he’ll be totally amazed that I actually know one of the laws of physics. Let’s just say, it wasn’t my strongest subject in school.)

In other words, we can’t continue to bombard society with sexual images and innuendos, and not expect some sort of fall out. Famous people aren’t exempt from temptation anymore than the rest of us. If we expect to see a change in the way people, and might I say, men in particular, behave sexually, then Hollywood might want to consider putting out more films like “The Blind Side,” and less films like “Up in the Air.”

Please don’t get me wrong, I’m not picking on men. It’s just a well known fact that sexual temptation is more of a struggle for men, where as mine is more in the arena of chocolate. I wonder if I could get the networks to quit airing commercials that show delicious, chocolaty goodness. Probably not. How then would they sell air time to the Jenny Craig and Nutrisystem people?

One thing is sure; we’ll continue to reap what we sow in the area of sexual purity so I hope the women on The View are ready.

The other thing I can guarantee is that God is still in the business of forgiveness. He has dealt with some pretty shady characters over the years. I, for one, am grateful that, in His word, He allows us to see the imperfections of those who served Him. It allows me to know that when I mess up, He’ll offer me the same forgiveness He’s offered to the likes of King David, Rahab, Solomon, Peter, and Paul. I pray that Tiger, and John Edwards, and especially you, will know the amazing forgiveness of God. It’s a pretty swell gift.

Canadian Fusion Cooking

Today is the last day of our cruise. We were scheduled to visit my most favorite port in the whole world (at least of the ones I’ve visited thus far) – Half Moon Cay. Half Moon Cay is a private island in the Bahamas owned by Holland America Cruise line. It is simply gorgeous. Pure white sandy beaches, palm trees, and the most beautiful aqua water you’ll ever see. And, coincidentally, it’s shaped like a half moon.

Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate so the ship’s captain made the decision to pull away from the port and head back to Fort Lauderdale in a (what did he call it? Slovenly? Slow? No.) Sedate manner. Yes, that’s the word he used, sedate. I’m sure he would rather have given us all a sedative so he didn’t have to listen to whining, but moving sedately was the best he could do.
The ship’s crew went right to work to fill in our day with activities. There is nothing worse, I’m sure, than 2000 people with nothing to do but fight over the lounge chairs on the deck.
This particular ship has offered a series of cooking classes but, up to this point, I hadn’t taken any. I mean really, do I need to know how to make edible arrangements? But today they offered a class I knew I couldn’t miss. It was titled “Canadian Fusion Cooking.”
Seriously? Canadian Fusion cooking? I had no idea that the Canadians were known for their cooking. Though they did a bang up job with the Olympics, NBC didn’t do any special cooking segments in regards to special Canadian dishes. So, I had to go to the class just to see what I could find out about Canadian cooking.
Apparently, the word “fusion” refers to the “slamming” of two foods together. Who knew? The chef indicated that the Canadians have been doing it for over 15 years but I’m just not convinced that pouring maple syrup over salmon is really anything more than just adding an ingredient.
I did learn some things though. Did you know that you should leave the skin on the salmon when you are cooking it? Apparently, 80% of the important Omega 3 oils are found between the skin and the meat and if you remove the skin before cooking you lose the benefit of the Omega 3’s. And, as the chef pointed out, the skin is easier to remove after the fish is cooked. In other words, the few times I’ve cooked salmon I’ve missed out on the Omega 3 oils because the skin kind of grosses me out.
Next thing I learned, and you probably knew this. Aunt Jemima syrup isn’t really made from maple syrup. It’s made from corn syrup. Sad, especially because I like it better than the real deal.
I also learned you should never cook with golden delicious apples. They lose their flavor and get mushy (you probably knew that, too, but I’m not really much of a cook.) Granny Smith apples, according to Chef Ryan, or was it Ian?, are perfect every time. Where did the apples fit into this recipe, you ask? The chef made a “Celeriac Apple Slaw” to go under the salmon. Wait a minute! Maybe that’s the fusion part. I should have paid closer attention.
At the end of the cooking demonstration, our chef taught us how to make a “traditional Canadian dish. It’s called Poutine. I don’t think he’ll mind if I share the recipe with you.

French Fries (cooked) – put on a plate
Cheese Curds (shredded mozzarella can be used in a pinch) – distribute over the fries in a circling motion – throwing the final glob right on the middle of the plate.
Cover it all up with American French Gravy (available at the grocery store in the canned gravy aisle for about 99¢.) Again, you’ll want to use that circular motion and the final blop in the middle.
Serve with ketchup.

Doesn’t that sound delicious? It pretty much sums up the question of why the Canadians aren’t famous for their cooking.

Knees Down

John and I are in Florida getting ready to leave for a cruise. Yes, I know, I'm spoiled. We are looking forward to having a few days to rest and relax OUTSIDE. I just hope I don't blind anyone with my Casper the Friendly Ghost, white body.

After we arrived last night we went to the hotel restaurant for dinner. The bus boy that served our table, Jean (think French pronunciation,) is from Haiti. He's an American citizen now but grew up in Haiti and still has family there. Things were a little slow in the restaurant so he had plenty of time to talk and we had plenty of time to listen. I love to hear other people's stories. Though we both spoke English there was still a bit of a language barrier, but we muddled through.

As it so happened, Jean was in Haiti visiting his mother when the devastating earthquake hit in January. I asked him if he was afraid and he told us that he started to feel the earth shake and looked at his mother wondering what was happening. Her immediate response was "KNEES DOWN!" and with that they fell to their knees to pray. His prayer? "Lord, you give and you take away."

Wow! I'd like to tell you that when something is going wrong in my life my very first thought is "knees down" but the truth is that I usually try to muddle along by myself for a bit. Why do I do that? It's not like I've ever successfully gotten myself out of a tough spot. Eventually I figure out that God is bigger and smarter than I am and I give the control of my life over to Him . . .again. One of my favorite Bible verses is 2 Corinthians 12:9, "My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness." What a great verse! God says to us, "Hey, I love it when you are weak and can't see your way out of the dark hole. That's when I do my best work. Let me have your fear, your troubles, your pain and watch me do my stuff."

I always want to be a "knees down" person. I want to watch God work. I know He's incredible. He's proved it over and over.