A Picture is Worth . . .

I really didn't have much to say tonight, but I came across this picture and thought it was really cute. Everyone now . . . oh that's sweet.

Idiosyncrasies

Everyone has idiosyncrasies. The dictionary states an idiosyncrasy is a way of behaving, thinking, or feeling that is peculiar to an individual or group.

Today a drug rep came in and bought lunch for the office. For those of you who are not familiar, a drug representative (rep) leaves samples of their drugs. They do this so that the doctor would give out their drugs. In other words, they are legalized drug pushers. You know what they say; the first one is always free. They also leave cups, pens, sticky notes, clocks, etc. – just about anything they can print the name of their drug on.

The rep brought us lunch from one of the nicer restaurants in town - Anthony’s. I had a Seafood Chop Chop Salad, which has crab meat, shrimp, avocados, eggs and tomatoes. I ordered the salad without tomatoes and eggs and extra avocados. It was delicious. I love tomato sauce, tomatoes on my hamburgers or sandwiches, but not in salads. This is probably the strangest one of my food idiosyncrasies because tomatoes come in the same form on sandwiches and burgers that it does in salads. I have no logical explanation for this.

My daughter mocks my food idiosyncrasies. I love fresh strawberries, but I don’t like strawberry flavored foods, like ice cream, pie, jelly, etc. Blueberries are the opposite. I love blueberry pancakes, yogurt and muffins, but I don’t like fresh blueberries. To me blueberries are the "peas" of fruit. I like pea soup but not on it's own. I don't like that they "pop" in my mouth. Hey don’t mock mine and I won’t mock yours.

So what are some of your idiosyncrasies? It’s okay, you know you have them. You’ll feel better if you share.

© Nadine Z. 2007

Pacific Standard Time

I’ve lived on the East Coast most of my life. For almost six years I have lived on the West Coast. I like where I live. Besides the climate, I love Pacific Standard Time. Most things happen or are geared toward Eastern Standard Time. I’ve mentioned before that I don’t like surprises (click here to see prior post).

So what I love most about Pacific Standard Time is that you don’t have to wait to see the results of such shows as American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, etc. You can see who gets kicked off before the show starts. Tonight I read who won Miss America, even though I don’t watch that show, I liked knowing who won before the show started.

I love American Idol (guilty pleasure) but I hate the elimination show. Why? They stretch it out to death. I just want to know who got kicked off. I hate when they take an hour to tell me that. So I go online and see who gets kicks off and then watch something else.

Awards shows like the Oscars, the Emmys, Monday Night Football, etc. are shown earlier, so I don’t have to stay up until the wee hours to see the end.

Pacific Standard Time rocks!

© Nadine Z. 2007

Cup of Tea

I love mint tea. When I was a little girl my mom would make mint tea for me when I was sick and it always made me feel better. She would pick the mint leaves, let them dry out so that we could make tea when needed. I thought that mint was the only type of tea there was. I didn’t get out much as a kid.

I’m about to tell a story on myself that will make me appear slightly foolish and naïve. I don’t mind laughing at myself. When I dated Tom, his mom’s favorite drink of choice was hot tea. When I seen her make her tea, I thought it was strange that she used a ready made tea bag. I didn’t know they came that way (I skipped that aisle in the supermarket). But I was horrified that she put milk in her tea. I mean milk in tea was unheard of in my home. I realized that she was drinking regular tea and not mint tea. That fact did ease my mind a bit. Was she wrong for drinking tea that way? Of course not, it tasted best that way to her.

I started to realize that tea came in many forms and various flavors. To this day I can’t drink any other type of tea but mint. I love the smells of some other teas like black raspberry and orange spice, but I don’t like the taste.

I started thinking that church is like a cup of tea. Most people love the church they are in or else they would go elsewhere. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, I love our church and our people. We get lots of visitors, and some stay past worship and make it through the sermon. Many come back – they like our flavor of tea. Others come and they like the aroma but they don’t care for the way we taste – they don’t come back. That’s okay.

The body of Christ has many flavors and not everyone will like some of those flavors. It doesn’t make one wrong or the other one right, just different. What matters is that a person finds the cup of tea that they will find comfort in and enjoy the flavor. Go to where the life is for you. Just go. The important thing is that you’re drinking tea, not necessarily what flavor it is.

© Nadine Z. 2007

Hope

I was doing a word study on Hope. My name means hope as in faith, hope and charity. When Tom was diagnosed with cancer, hope was what I held on to. I know that God will heal him fully one day. I wear a bracelet that Tom gave me to remind me of that.

Hope is a powerful emotion. With hope you can conquer the world. The opposite of hope is despair and your world can feel like it’s ending without it. Too many people find it hard to hold on to hope. Why is that? Hope is hard to see. Merriam-Webster describes hope as desire with expectation of obtainment.

The word of God is full of scriptures that speak of hope. Too many to list here, but here are a few that speak to me:

Psalm 119:116 – “Sustain me according to your promise, and I will live; do not let my hopes be dashed.”

Proverbs 13:12 – “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.”

Isaiah 40:31 “but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

Jeremiah 29:11 – “For I know the plans I have for you, “declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Micah 7:7 – “But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.”

Romans 5:3-5 – “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”

Romans 12:12 – “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”

Hebrews 10:23 – “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.”

So in the everyday, where does hope leave us? How do we walk out our faith in faith, hope and love? For me the answer is one step at a time. Before you can jump you have to walk. Before you can leap you need to know how to jump. Before you can fly you have to leap. Before you can soar you have to fly. It doesn’t matter where you are in your walk, what matters is that you move forward. You hold on to hope and know that Lord is with you every step of the way.

The Lord wants me to soar with Him. A good friend, Jen, framed a picture she made (pictured above) and gave it to me as a Christmas present. When I opened it the Lord spoke to me that I was the girl in the picture. He’s been teaching so much since then. I had a recent experience during worship that I’ll like to share.

I pressed in and I saw the picture that Jen gave me. In an instant I saw myself as the girl on the edge and then I leaped and flew. I was flying and it was exhilarating. I started to get tired and a very large eagle came underneath me and I held onto his neck as we continued to soar. I could feel the wind on my face. We headed back to the cliff. Suddenly there was a bright light that surrounded me and I felt as if I was inside the presence of God. There was much peace and contentment.

Faith was leaping not knowing if I would fly. Hope was the eagle coming up underneath me to support me when I can’t soar alone. Love was standing in His presence and knowing that all is right in the world.

© Nadine Z. 2007

Artwork by Jennifer Troutman

Fridays are Good . . . Mondays are Bad . . . Martinis are Even Better

Mondays are for most people their least favorite day of the week. Why is that? I believe it’s because Mondays are bad. In a doctor’s office it can be down right insane. Emergencies always happen over the weekend. Patients can hardly wait until Monday mornings to call their doctor and usually they all call at the same time (or at least it seems that way). As busy as a Monday can be, nothing is worse than a Monday after a three day weekend. It is known as a double Monday. Reapeat after me, double Mondays are very, very bad.

I’ve had four Mondays in a row this week and no one should have to go through that. If I knew how to make a phone bomb, our phones would have been history. It appeared that everyone wanted to speak to Nadine. I've came to the conclusion that I’m changing my name and I’m not telling anyone what it is.

The doctor was cranky for the last couple of days. When that’s the case, I’m the one he expresses his crankiness towards. So I decided to tell him with a smile on my face, “I’ve forgiven you for being mean to me. I just wanted you to know. Everyone can have a bad and I don’t hold it against you.” This made him laugh. I thought if I made him laugh, he would lighten up. It worked temporarily.

I’m in the home stretch – Friday arrives tomorrow – Yippee! Hurrah! The week will end with martinis and fondue with some good friends. Now that’s the only way to end a week like this. Repeat after me, martinis are very, very good.

© Nadine Z. 2007

Beauty Commerical

I have in the past posted some blonde jokes. Today a couple of good friends, D & D (who happen to be blondes) forwarded this Mercedes-Benz commerical. I laughed and maybe you will too.




© Nadine Z. 2007

Got to Have Eggs

I had a busy day yesterday. It was good though and I accomplished quite a bit. It started off with grocery shopping. When I came home I started to clean the house, but stopped to go meet a friend for lunch. I had fun, but unfortunately all good things come to an end. It was back to house cleaning. I did some laundry, washed my hair and started a sauce for some eggplant parmesan.

It’s about 5:30 at this point of my day (it started at 7:30 am). I have everything prepared, all the ingredients on the counter. Then it happened, I looked in the refrigerator and realized I had no eggs. An “oh no” moment arose. I looked desperately in the refrigerator to see if there was a substitute I could use to help the breadcrumb stick to the eggplant before frying. There is no substitute for eggs, believe me I tried. No one was home and was not due back for another hour and half. I faced a moment of choice at this point. Get dressed and go to the store or wait.

I had sweat pants on, no make up and my hair was soaking wet. It was cold outside. As a woman when faced with such a dilemma you say to yourself – oh crap. So I put on my sneakers (no socks) and my coat (no make up) and went to the store. When I get there a flood of images came to me. I realized all the times I ran into people I knew at Wal-Mart. I desperately didn’t want this to be one of those times. So I prayed, “Lord please don’t let me run into anyone I know.” I walked quickly with my head down and was in and out of the store in five minutes.

God was good my tiny little prayer request because I didn’t run into anyone. I got my eggs and was able to fry all my eggplant. So tonight my family can enjoy eggplant parmesan and all is right in my little world.

© Nadine Z. 2007

The Girlie Giggle

I’m forty five years old and I have no problem telling anyone that. My age doesn’t bother me. My gray hair is another story. My husband is away this weekend. I have been very busy, with work, and dinner engagements. It’s good to keep busy.

But it doesn’t matter how busy I am, I miss him when he travels. When he calls, something happens to this forty five year old woman that is quite humorous. I’m told the first step to healing is admitting there is a problem.

Hello. My name is Nadine. I’m a girlie giggleholic.

There I said it. That wasn’t too bad. If you’re not familiar with this condition, then you’ve never been around a young woman in love. It’s the sound that comes out when the one she loves calls or says something mushy to her.

My daughter teases me because when Tom calls out it comes – the girlie giggle. Why after nearly twenty nine years together the girlie giggle is still around? I don’t know – it must be love.

I recognize this is a problem, but not all problems need a solution. So there will be not GG meetings in my future. To all of you out there that have this problem – stand tall and be proud. Wear your GG badge with honor! There is no shame in being madly in love.

© Nadine Z. 2007

Dreamgirls - The Movie

Tom took me out for dinner and a movie last night. I was so excited to finally see Dreamgirls. This musical was well done. Without ruining it for anyone I just wanted to say the story touched me. I even cried in a couple of parts, but I tend to be mushy (just don’t tell anyone, I do have a reputation).

Tom asked me afterwards what moved me about the movie. I had to think about that, but the answer was simple – passion. The passion expressed in word and especially song touched something inside. There were two numbers I enjoyed the most and that’s because the characters sang their heart out. I felt their pain and disappointment.

I’ve been a fan of the musical all my life; Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, West Side Story, Singing in the Rain, A Star is Born, My Fair Lady, Grease, Fiddler on the Roof and Sound of Music to name a few.

I love all types of music from classical to rock. For me, I can’t hear music without picturing dancing in my mind. Maybe that’s why I love musicals. Sometimes there is dancing and sometimes just singing. When done well it makes you want to sing or dance along. It takes you to a place of make believe (because normally people don't break out in song or dance during normal conversation).

So if a musical can evoke passion, how much more does worship? There have been times worship was really good and other times I just didn’t feel it. What was the difference? For me it was what I brought to the table. If I came prepared to worship, it didn’t matter what songs were sung because I worshiped. The music was between me and God and everyone else disappeared. That was the difference for me last Sunday when I danced my heart out. I felt it deep inside and it stirred passion within me.

So Dreamgirls may move you or it may not. I went prepared to be entertained and I was not disappointed. If you see it, I hope you enjoy it.

© Nadine Z. 2007

Dancing in Freedom

Back in November I wrote a post about Freedom in Worship. Today I experienced a new level in dancing in freedom. I am not the best dancer in our church but when I stand before the Lord and worship Him in dance I feel free. I felt freer today than I ever had. I danced across the room and around it. I had so much fun.

I see dance as an expression of freedom in worship. It doesn’t matter if you lift you hands and sway or you bounce around the room. No matter how you express your love for God on a Sunday morning, when you do it with all that’s within you, you bless Him.

I realized one of the health benefits of losing forty five pounds was I’m lighter on my feet and my knees don’t hate me as much when I dance around. Another thirty pounds and I might just last the whole set without needing an oxygen tank on stand by.

I believe as time goes on God will move me more out of my comfort zone in this area. I’m excited to reach new heights with Him. I had a few people come up to me and say that they enjoyed seeing me dance. I believe when we do something that God calls us to do in freedom that it encourages others. It doesn’t have to be perfect. So next time, maybe some of you will come dance with me and the Lord. Or maybe have the courage to do whatever it is God is calling you to do in freedom.

© Nadine Z. 2007

Artwork by Diana Berek

Cruise Control – The Flip Side

In yesterday’s post I talked about cruise control being used to keep me within the speed limit and likened it to boundaries. I want to take a look at the flip side of cruise control.

The Autobahn in Europe has no speed limit. Let’s imagine that you’re driving a Porsche that has the capacity to go 180 miles an hour. If you set your cruise control to fifty five miles an hour, you are driving well below the capability of your vehicle. It would be freer to turn cruise control off, and go as fast as your vehicle and your driving ability allows.

There are areas in our lives where limits and controls are important – it protects us from ourselves and the enemy.

What if God placed your car on the Autobahn where there are no limits, only those you set for yourself?

It’s very scary at first but the thrill, excitement and freedom you experience going as fast as your able is – priceless.

At the end of The Matrix Neo made this statement: “I’m going to hang up this phone and show these people what you don’t want them to see – a world without you – a world without rules and controls – a world without borders or boundaries – where anything is possible. Where we go from here is a choice I leave to you.”

Cruise control/boundaries have their place in our lives. When it comes to our experiences with Him don’t you want to be on the Autobahn – where there are no limits to what we can do or experience? With God anything is possible if we just let Him take us where He wants us to go. Let go and let God should be our mantra. Passion for Him should be without limits. Freedom in Him is what He has for us. It’s important to know which road you’re on. Neither road is wrong, just different.

A sixteen year old who just received his license would be wise to stay off the Autobahn until he has more experience. I encourage you out there who have had your license for a long time to take that leap of faith. This world is big enough for the roads that go 55, 70 or are limitless. Reach for all that God has for you.

© Nadine Z. 2007

Cruise Control

I’ve been convicted several years ago by God about my driving. I tend to drive too quickly when I’m on the highway. I drive maybe five to ten miles an hour faster than the posted speed limit, but that’s still speeding. It’s been a while now but I’m very conscious of the fact that I’ve not mastered this area. My present car tends to go quicker and I don’t feel it like I used to in my old car. My old car couldn’t reach the speed limit if its life depended on it.

During a long trip on the highway, most people set their cruise control. It helps fight leg fatigue. I thought what better way to assure the fact I don’t speed by setting the cruise control whenever I’m on the highway, whether it’s just a few exits or not.

What if in life we could set cruise control on the areas of our lives we struggle with. We can. Another name for that is a boundary. Some people have trouble with boundaries. They feel stifled and restricted. They feel their freedom is taken away. Boundaries aren’t set to stifle us. Boundaries protect us from ourselves.

Alcoholics are told not to have just one drink. Why? Because one drink could lead to another and another. Is drinking wrong for everyone? Of course not. Freedom comes when you know your boundaries and respect them.

Another dynamic to boundary setting is where we are in our walk with the Lord. I’ve experienced in the past several years that what you can get away with in the outer courts, you can’t get away in the inner courts. The priests in the Old Testament would tie a rope around their waist before going into the holy of holies, because if there was sin in their lives they would drop dead. The rope was used to pull him out.

Sometimes our boundaries are pulled tighter by the Lord, but this is not a bad thing. To me it denotes promotion. Like the priests of old, the closer you get to the Spirit of the living God the safer your boundaries should be.

© Nadine Z. 2007

Stay tuned for the flip side of Cruise Control . . .

Dodging Tumbleweeds

Today was an extremely windy day in the Tri-Cities. Having lived in New York, I’ve learned to dodge many things while driving or walking around – pot holes, taxi cabs, pedestrians, bullets, etc. In West Virginia I learned to dodge deer, partridges, and other wild animals. Not once did I ever have to dodge tumbleweed.

This is a skill I acquired here. Driving home from church on the highway was an adventure. When tumbleweed the size of a small Toyota come at you your instinct is to get out of the way. A car in front of us had not quite gotten a handle on this skill and had to pull over because the darn got stuck in front of his car.

We did manage to make it safely home, but I had to go out again. The parking lot of Wal-Mart proved to be training ground again. Coming out of the store, I had to dodge one heading for my head. The good news is that I went into my survival mode and was able to quickly duck.

If you ever come to Tri-Cities and it’s a windy day, do use caution when driving or walking. Watch out for flying tumbleweeds.

© Nadine Z. 2007

Taking Down the Decorations

I believe that there are timing rules to putting up Christmas decorations and taking them down. They are allowed to go up the day after Thanksgiving and they come down the day after New Years. If you have to keep them up because of time constraints then don’t turn them on. When we lived in West Virginia there were many people who violated that rule and kept their lights on all year round.

Putting Christmas decorations up can be lots of fun. My favorite part is unpacking the ornaments. It’s fun to recall Christmas past when an ornament was purchased or given as a gift. During the last several years, Tom would give me an ornament to remind me of the gift he purchased that year. From now on when I look upon those beautiful pink ballet shoes, I will be reminded of Swan Lake.

Packing up the ornaments is another story. For some reason it takes a lot longer to pack them away. I have to confess that I still have my decorations up but I do plan to bring down tomorrow. But you can count on the fact that they remain unlit.

I have often been tempted to go up to someone’s house when it’s January 15th and their lights are still on and hand them a violation.

It’s been said that those who have recovered from a habit are most critical of those who still have that habit. Case in point - ex-smokers. I used to smoke fourteen years ago. At first I would sniff the air if someone else was smoking. I had missed it very much. But as time went on and it was out of my system, I became intolerant of the smell of smoke. Now the smell makes me physically ill.

Let me tell you a little story about when Tom and I were first married. We were both working and living in a nice apartment in Brooklyn. Our first Christmas together came and we put up a little tree. It was much fun. When it came time to take the tree down and put everything away, well . . . let’s just say people were wondering if we were going to put Easter eggs on the branches.

© Nadine Z. 2007

A Nice Cold One

This was a very long week considering the work week was only four days. Whenever there is a three day weekend the day I return to work becomes a double Monday. What made this week worse was that on Thursday, it felt like Monday. Which means this week I experienced three Mondays. That my friend is all kinds of wrong.

At the end of week like this there is only one thing to do – have a nice cold one. Tonight I enjoyed a wonderful rib dinner and an iced cold Corona. It really hit the spot. So thank you honey for a nice evening.

© Nadine Z. 2007

Hollywood Sign

I read an interesting story about the Hollywood sign. It was built in 1923 for a real estate development in Beachwood Canyon, CA and originally read, “Hollywoodland.” In 1932 a young aspiring actress, Peg Entwistle changed how people viewed the sign. She was depressed after a night of drinking about not finding work in Hollywood. So she climbed up the fifty foot high letter “H" and jumped. She was only twenty-four years old.

Far too often in life people give before they reach their goal. It’s so easy to quit in order to make the pain go away. Statistics taken in 2004 show it was the eleventh cause of death in the U.S. Most suicide attempts are not harmless bids for attention, but rather signs of extreme distress. At least ninety percent of people who kill themselves have a diagnosable and treatable psychiatric illnesses -- such as major depression, bipolar depression, or some other depressive illness, including: schizophrenia, alcohol or drug abuse, particularly when combined with depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, or some other anxiety disorder.

I listened to John Paul Jackson on AWE Web TV speak about storms. When the disciples were in the boat with Jesus and the storm hit, they woke him up because of their fear.

He replied in Matthew 8:26 "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.

John Paul states the reason they were afraid is because they didn’t know what Jesus knew, which was they got there. They made it to the other side and reached their destination. We are in the same boat as the disciples. Most people in that depressed state don’t realize that tomorrow is another day and they make it to the other side.

If Peg just went home and slept it off, she would have received a letter from the Beverly Hills Playhouse the next day offering her the starring role in their next production.

Lord for all the Pegs out there who want to give up, protect them from themselves and the enemy. Rescue them from hopelessness and remind them that tomorrow is another day.

© Nadine Z. 2007

The Straw that Broke the Camel’s Back

Recently I was watching an episode of Everybody Loves Raymond. I don’t know if any of you ever watched the show, but it was quite funny. The story was about Raymond, his wife Debra, their kids, his brother, Robert, and his parents, Marie and Frank. His parents lived across the street. In this particular episode the parents backed up their car into Raymond’s house, which caused a big hole in the wall.

Conflict ensued when Debra wanted Ray’s parents to pay the insurance deductible. Frank didn’t want to pay. Ray was his typical non-confrontational self and Debra insisted the parents pay. So his parents paid the deductible and the wall was fixed. When Ray came home he noticed the new wallpaper was slightly different than the old one (honestly you couldn’t tell at all). Debra explained that they don’t make their old wallpaper anymore and that it would have been extra to reproduce the original.

Raymond went crazy and insisted that his parents had to pay the extra money. He couldn’t live with the wallpaper the way it was. Debra, like any good wife, tried to talk Ray off the ledge. She wanted to know why he couldn’t be this upset when his parent's car landed in their living room. Raymond blew up at his parents when they stopped by, but the real issue wasn’t the wallpaper. The heart of the problem was he resented his parents not respecting boundaries. The wallpaper issue was just the straw that broke the camel's back.

When most people get upset, often there is something else going on. It’s usually their breaking point. Isn’t it better to just talk to the person who is making life crazy for you before it gets out of hand? Of course it is. No one really likes to confront someone that is making them nuts, but it’s better than waiting until your water boils over. When that happens the person is dumbfounded by your overreaction and it takes longer to resolve the situation if at all. I’ve learned the hard way that thinking before leaping gets me farther than leaping before thinking.

© Nadine Z. 2007

Thr3e - Extended Clip

I posted a clip of the movie Thr3e before, click here. I know many of you are excited about this movie and thought you might enjoy this extended clip.




Nadine Z. 2007