Why is it that just when you think things are starting to come together....good things are happening....and maybe, just maybe, it's finally going to be your turn for some fun, some happiness....possibly even something unexpected....
...that the rest of the world aligns itself to present a continual stream of obstacles....hurdles....and down-right stupid stuff to deal with?!?!
Take this morning. It's Saturday. Not just any Saturday......it's a Saturday that I have been looking forward to for several weeks....a little tentatively, I admit...but it's been a long time since I really have had anything to look forward to...so the anticipation has been healthy & interesting...
Woke up to sun instead of rain. So far so good. Then the first message of the morning popped up on my phone. It was a conversation that was definitely going to require coffee.
Then I remembered....we have NO coffee in the house.
No problem. The store is just a couple of blocks away. I refuse to be brought down by the early morning trip to the corner. It was necessary.
It's a local family-owned store so there are often interesting "finds" there...especially first thing in the morning....so I picked up the coffee and a couple of containers of yummy homemade broccoli soup from the deli for later....and headed to the check out.
A friendly, smiling young woman was was waiting for me there. A little too cheery this early in the morning...BEFORE my coffee...I was thinking.
But she quickly engaged me in a conversation that was so warm & hopeful that I couldn't help but smile with her. She shared with me about something new she was getting involved in....and the need for the community to get behind the program and support it. Her enthusiasm was contagious....
Now mind you...this was not a young woman that I knew at all...she didn't even know me as "Abbi's mom"...we were total strangers....so I got in the car thinking....ok, that was cool...nothing is going to ROB me of the good feelings of today....
Yeah!
Back at the house I quickly discoverd that the dispenser switch on my coffee maker has finally worn out. Not surprising considering its age.... and the fact that it dispenses anywhere from 10 to 50 cups a day....depending on the season & who is in the house with me.
It's a cool coffee maker....you pour the water in and then as it brews the coffee doesn't drip into a pot...it's held inside and then you push your cup against the dispenser lever to fill it. So the coffee stays HOT and the pot never sits on the burner too long resulting in that "burnt" condition that is so bitter.
So the dispenser switch is worn out. *sigh*
Really no big deal.....except that I didn't want to have to get dressed & drive across town to buy a new one BEFORE I had some coffee....
...and besides, I had a friend sitting on "hold" waiting for me to respond to their early morning message "as soon as I got some coffee".....
I tried to fix the switch that opens & closes the little port that the coffee flows from....no such luck. Then I saw that there were two little screws that held a piece over the "inside" part so I figured if I took that off I could actually see whether something plastic was broken or if it was somehow jammed or clogged.
So I went and got my screwdriver thingy....the one that has interchangeable tips....flat head...phillips...a couple of different sizes...that pop in and out of the handle depending on the job. Flipped the coffee pot over and found that I was confronted with two tiny screws that were NEITHER plain (flathead material) or designed for the Phillips head.
Seriously. That's when I started loosing it. When I pour the coffee in the container it immedately starts brewing and dispensing itself because the switch is stuck open. And I can't unscrew the little plastic plate to get inside because it has tiny, ALIEN screws.
Of course, by now, Jessi is trying to help me out. She really DID try....I probably shouldn't have snapped at her when she brought me a DIRTY towel....but I did.
She'll forgive me though. She always does.
Finally I decided that I would MAKE the dag-gum pot of coffee and just stand there with as many cups as it took to catch it all as it came running out.....
It was actually quite amusing....even though I found myself very tense and unamused....
Then I glanced outside and saw that the sun was still shining....it wasn't raining....and I remembered that it WAS Saturday....
....and I decided that I simply wasn't going to allow anything....not the unhappiness that creeps in & out of all of our lives....not the leaky coffee pot...not even the rain if it decides to show up later...to mess it up for me...
Got my coffee...finally....did my best to help my friend sort through an awful situation...
Now bring on the rest of the day...it's going to be great...
I just know it!
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
On Coincidences....
Life is been out-of-control since we started shooting the movie, STEP AWAY FROM THE STONE, a month or so ago.....I have lots of cool stuff I want to blog about....even have some notes jotted down so I don't forget the messages & life lessons that have been all over this time for me....but I get in late...I get up early....and most of the time I have been too tired to think....
So today I am simply going to share something that was in my inbox...and everyone who knows me knows I don't believe in coincidences...this quote about coincidences popped up last week on a friend's facebook status...then again this morning...so I have no choice but to share...
A coincidence is when God chooses to remain anonymous.......
The song that silenced the cappuccino machine. It was chilly in Manhattan but warm inside the Starbucks shop on 51st Street and Broadway, just a skip up from Times Square . Early November weather in New York City holds only the slightest hint of the bitter chill of late December and January, but it's enough to send the masses crowding indoors to vie for available space and warmth. For a musician, it's the most lucrative Starbucks location in the world, I'm told, and consequently, the tips can be substantial if you play your tunes right. Apparently, we were striking all the right chords that night, because our basket was almost overflowing. It was a fun, low-pressure gig - I was playing keyboard and singing backup for my friend who also added rhythm with an arsenal of percussion instruments. We mostly did pop songs from the '40s to the '90s with a few original tunes thrown in. During our emotional rendition of the classic, "If You Don't Know Me by Now," I noticed a lady sitting in one of the lounge chairs across from me. She was swaying to the beat and singing along. After the tune was over, she approached me. "I apologize for singing along on that song. Did it bother you?" she asked. "No," I replied. "We love it when the audience joins in. Would you like to sing up front on the next selection?" To my delight, she accepted my invitation. "You choose," I said. "What are you in the mood to sing?" "Well. ... do you know any hymns?"
Hymns? This woman didn't know who she was dealing with. I cut my teeth on hymns. Before I was even born, I was going to church. I gave our guest singer a knowing look. "Name one." "Oh, I don't know. There are so many good ones. You pick one." "Okay," I replied. "How about 'His Eye is on the Sparrow'?" My new friend was silent, her eyes averted. Then she fixed her eyes on mine again and said, "Yeah. Let's do that one." She slowly nodded her head, put down her purse, straightened her jacket and faced the center of the shop. With my two-bar setup, she began to sing.
When the last note was sung, the applause crescendoed to a deafening roar that would have rivaled a sold-out crowd at Carnegie Hall. Embarrassed, the woman tried to shout over the din, "Oh, y'all go back to your coffee! I didn't come in here to do a concert! I just came in here to get somethin' to drink, just like you!" But the ovation continued.. I embraced my new friend. "You, my dear, have made my whole year! That was beautiful!" "Well, it's funny that you picked that particular hymn," she said. "Why is that?" "Well . .." she hesitated again, "that was my daughter's favorite song." "Really!" I exclaimed. "Yes," she said, and then grabbed my hands. By this time, the applause had subsided and it was business as usual.. "She was 16. She died of a brain tumor last week." I said the first thing that found its way through my stunned silence. "Are you going to be okay?" She smiled through tear-filled eyes and squeezed my hands. "I'm gonna be okay. I've just got to keep trusting the Lord and singing his songs, and everything's gonna be just fine." She picked up her bag, gave me her card, and then she was gone.
Was it just a coincidence that we happened to be singing in that particular coffee shop on that particular November night? Coincidence that this wonderful lady just happened to walk into that particular shop? Coincidence that of all the hymns to choose from, I just happened to pick the very hymn that was the favorite of her daughter, who had died just the week before? I refuse to believe it. God has been arranging encounters in human history since the beginning of time, and it's no stretch for me to imagine that he could reach into a coffee shop in midtown Manhattan and turn an ordinary gig into a revival. It was a great reminder that if we keep trusting him and singing his songs, everything's gonna be okay.
The next time you feel like GOD can't use YOU, just remember...
Noah was a drunk
Abraham was too old
Isaac was a daydreamer
Jacob was a liar
Leah was ugly
Joseph was abused
Moses had a stuttering problem
Gideon was afraid
Sampson had long hair and was a womanizer
Rahab was a prostitute
Jeremiah and Timothy were too young
David had an affair and was a murderer
Elijah was suicidal
Isaiah preached naked
Jonah ran from God
Naomi was a widow
Job went bankrupt
John the Baptist ate bugs
Peter denied Christ
The Disciples fell asleep while praying
Martha worried about everything
The Samaritan woman was divorced, more than once
Zaccheus was too small
Paul was too religious
Timothy had an ulcer...AND
Lazarus was dead!
No more excuses now!! God can use you to your full potential. Besides you aren't the message, you are just the messenger. God bless you and those you are loving and thinking of. God has placed them on your heart for a reason!
Author: John Thomas Oaks
So today I am simply going to share something that was in my inbox...and everyone who knows me knows I don't believe in coincidences...this quote about coincidences popped up last week on a friend's facebook status...then again this morning...so I have no choice but to share...
A coincidence is when God chooses to remain anonymous.......
The SPARROW at STARBUCKS
The song that silenced the cappuccino machine. It was chilly in Manhattan but warm inside the Starbucks shop on 51st Street and Broadway, just a skip up from Times Square . Early November weather in New York City holds only the slightest hint of the bitter chill of late December and January, but it's enough to send the masses crowding indoors to vie for available space and warmth. For a musician, it's the most lucrative Starbucks location in the world, I'm told, and consequently, the tips can be substantial if you play your tunes right. Apparently, we were striking all the right chords that night, because our basket was almost overflowing. It was a fun, low-pressure gig - I was playing keyboard and singing backup for my friend who also added rhythm with an arsenal of percussion instruments. We mostly did pop songs from the '40s to the '90s with a few original tunes thrown in. During our emotional rendition of the classic, "If You Don't Know Me by Now," I noticed a lady sitting in one of the lounge chairs across from me. She was swaying to the beat and singing along. After the tune was over, she approached me. "I apologize for singing along on that song. Did it bother you?" she asked. "No," I replied. "We love it when the audience joins in. Would you like to sing up front on the next selection?" To my delight, she accepted my invitation. "You choose," I said. "What are you in the mood to sing?" "Well. ... do you know any hymns?"
Hymns? This woman didn't know who she was dealing with. I cut my teeth on hymns. Before I was even born, I was going to church. I gave our guest singer a knowing look. "Name one." "Oh, I don't know. There are so many good ones. You pick one." "Okay," I replied. "How about 'His Eye is on the Sparrow'?" My new friend was silent, her eyes averted. Then she fixed her eyes on mine again and said, "Yeah. Let's do that one." She slowly nodded her head, put down her purse, straightened her jacket and faced the center of the shop. With my two-bar setup, she began to sing.
Why should I be discouraged?
Why should the shadows come?
The audience of coffee drinkers was transfixed. Even the gurgling noises of the cappuccino machine ceased as the employees stopped what they were doing to listen. The song rose to its conclusion.
I sing because I'm happy;
I sing because I'm free.
For His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches me.
Was it just a coincidence that we happened to be singing in that particular coffee shop on that particular November night? Coincidence that this wonderful lady just happened to walk into that particular shop? Coincidence that of all the hymns to choose from, I just happened to pick the very hymn that was the favorite of her daughter, who had died just the week before? I refuse to believe it. God has been arranging encounters in human history since the beginning of time, and it's no stretch for me to imagine that he could reach into a coffee shop in midtown Manhattan and turn an ordinary gig into a revival. It was a great reminder that if we keep trusting him and singing his songs, everything's gonna be okay.
The next time you feel like GOD can't use YOU, just remember...
Noah was a drunk
Abraham was too old
Isaac was a daydreamer
Jacob was a liar
Leah was ugly
Joseph was abused
Moses had a stuttering problem
Gideon was afraid
Sampson had long hair and was a womanizer
Rahab was a prostitute
Jeremiah and Timothy were too young
David had an affair and was a murderer
Elijah was suicidal
Isaiah preached naked
Jonah ran from God
Naomi was a widow
Job went bankrupt
John the Baptist ate bugs
Peter denied Christ
The Disciples fell asleep while praying
Martha worried about everything
The Samaritan woman was divorced, more than once
Zaccheus was too small
Paul was too religious
Timothy had an ulcer...AND
Lazarus was dead!
No more excuses now!! God can use you to your full potential. Besides you aren't the message, you are just the messenger. God bless you and those you are loving and thinking of. God has placed them on your heart for a reason!
Author: John Thomas Oaks
Friday, February 26, 2010
Hectic, huh?!?!
It's been one of those weeks....you know the kind....where you are rushing, rushing....busy, busy, busy....you fall into bed exhausted & roll out the next morning unrested...
...and you think, gosh, have I even been HOME ?!?!
My horoscope this morning said "your life will most likely become MORE hectic in the days ahead"...and I am thinking...is that even possible?!?!
Today I am going to be back to the house in time to have dinner with Jessi....to spend the first REAL time with my friend who arrived in town two weeks ago (unbelieveable!) to help with the movie, STEP AWAY FROM THE STONE...to rest...to relax...to actually enjoy the prospect of cleaning up around the house...
....and then there's that business to finish with the dozen egg whites that have been waiting patiently in my refrigerator all week for a whipping!
I haven't taken even a few minutes to blog...and there have been a couple of days when I am sure that I couldn't have put together two words to make a simple sentence....just too tired.
....and clogged up....
A friend of mine recently went to a seminar on blogging. He shared with me earlier this week some of the things he learned there.
The BEST bloggers are the ones who can write & post something in something like 15 minutes. That's what they said. The BEST bloggers?!?! My immediate response was what makes them the BEST?
The obvious answer was...duh?... the ones with the most readers/followers.....
I see. In order to be the BEST you have to be popular....*sigh*....seems like I have heard that before...in all of my previous lifetimes...
Suddenly I was back in the 11th grade...feeling invisible...inadequate...unimportant...
Then last nite....in a rare & unexpected conversation....the cathartic nature of writing was explored....along with life...death...and the restorative powers of pruning...
In the midst of the chaos of the last couple of weeks, my phone "ate" my entire contact list. It was random. I was on one call...disconnected...then tapped the keypad to retrieve the next number...and there was only ONE number there...in my entire address book...just one name...and sadly, it was someone's number that I rarely see...can't even remember when---if ever---that I had called that person for any reason...
Great! Leave me with one number and it's one that I never use...
I was shut down...seriously...how was I supposed to operate without my digits?!?!
Only lasted a split second....before my mind regrouped & kicked into "back-up" mode...I won't say that I didn't miss a beat...because I did...probably more than a few...the experience reminded me, though, that it was actually me & my ability to problem solve & make things happen...not my arsenal of numbers that make me of value to the project...
And to others...
That's what we were talking about when the pruning concept came up. And I realized that instinctively I was doing that...pruning....as I have been systematically rebuilding my contact list...trimming the number of folks actually in my phone....to make room for some new relationships & priorities...
Maybe...
That's cool. New relationship. New priorities.
So today I will be mulling over the connections between "popularity" and "pruning".....
As for me...the BEST writer...is the one who can share a little bit of life....a word of wisdom...capture a dream...in words...somehow touching the heart of another...
...and you think, gosh, have I even been HOME ?!?!
My horoscope this morning said "your life will most likely become MORE hectic in the days ahead"...and I am thinking...is that even possible?!?!
Today I am going to be back to the house in time to have dinner with Jessi....to spend the first REAL time with my friend who arrived in town two weeks ago (unbelieveable!) to help with the movie, STEP AWAY FROM THE STONE...to rest...to relax...to actually enjoy the prospect of cleaning up around the house...
....and then there's that business to finish with the dozen egg whites that have been waiting patiently in my refrigerator all week for a whipping!
I haven't taken even a few minutes to blog...and there have been a couple of days when I am sure that I couldn't have put together two words to make a simple sentence....just too tired.
....and clogged up....
A friend of mine recently went to a seminar on blogging. He shared with me earlier this week some of the things he learned there.
The BEST bloggers are the ones who can write & post something in something like 15 minutes. That's what they said. The BEST bloggers?!?! My immediate response was what makes them the BEST?
The obvious answer was...duh?... the ones with the most readers/followers.....
I see. In order to be the BEST you have to be popular....*sigh*....seems like I have heard that before...in all of my previous lifetimes...
Suddenly I was back in the 11th grade...feeling invisible...inadequate...unimportant...
Then last nite....in a rare & unexpected conversation....the cathartic nature of writing was explored....along with life...death...and the restorative powers of pruning...
In the midst of the chaos of the last couple of weeks, my phone "ate" my entire contact list. It was random. I was on one call...disconnected...then tapped the keypad to retrieve the next number...and there was only ONE number there...in my entire address book...just one name...and sadly, it was someone's number that I rarely see...can't even remember when---if ever---that I had called that person for any reason...
Great! Leave me with one number and it's one that I never use...
I was shut down...seriously...how was I supposed to operate without my digits?!?!
Only lasted a split second....before my mind regrouped & kicked into "back-up" mode...I won't say that I didn't miss a beat...because I did...probably more than a few...the experience reminded me, though, that it was actually me & my ability to problem solve & make things happen...not my arsenal of numbers that make me of value to the project...
And to others...
That's what we were talking about when the pruning concept came up. And I realized that instinctively I was doing that...pruning....as I have been systematically rebuilding my contact list...trimming the number of folks actually in my phone....to make room for some new relationships & priorities...
Maybe...
That's cool. New relationship. New priorities.
So today I will be mulling over the connections between "popularity" and "pruning".....
As for me...the BEST writer...is the one who can share a little bit of life....a word of wisdom...capture a dream...in words...somehow touching the heart of another...
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