Thank You

Movie Quotes Game & Book Tag

I don’t know about you, but in my family we quote movies all the time. Tom often sing songs. For him life’s a musical. I was visiting Dust Bunny Hostage a while back and she did a post about movie quotes. This is my twist on it. Anyone who wants to participate, please do and let me know.

List at least five movie/TV quotes you’ve used in a regular conversation. Tell what movie/TV show it’s from and which character said it and how you use it. You can list more if you wish.

1. “Liar….liar!!” From the Princess Bride said by Valerie to Miracle Max. Anytime I think someone is stretching the truth.

2. “Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.” From the Godfather said by Clemenza. No particular reason, we say this all the time because we think it’s funny.

3. “You jump, I’ll jump Jack.” From the Gilmore Girls said by Rory. Every time Tom wants to do something adventurous I say this to him.

4. “Have fun storming the castle.” From the Princess Bride said by Valerie & Miracle Max. Anytime someone is leaving to go somewhere.

5. “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.” From Godfather III said by Michael.

6. "How you doing?" From Friends said by Joey. It's a fun way to greet people who love your New York accent.

I could have done this with just Godfather quotes, but I wanted to mix it up a bit.

Book Meme – I was tagged to this by Happy Baker. The rules are simple – pick up the nearest book of at least 123 pages. Open the book to page 123. Find the 5^th sentence. Post the next 3 sentences.

When I did this, the closest book was a comparative study bible.

And he said, “God be gracious to you, my son.” Deeply moved at the sight of his brother, Joseph hurried out and looked for a place to weep. He went into his private room and wept there.

If you’re looking for something fun and easy to do, pick which one you’ll like to play with or just enjoy these. Have a great weekend.

© Nadine Z. 2008

Double click on the picture above to see a larger version.

Do Not Worry

I want to share something that happened on Easter. I got a new dress and was looking for my gold necklace and tennis bracelet. I thought it would go perfectly with it. I don’t have a lot of jewelry, but what I have is very sentimental to me. I usually keep it hidden in a safe place. I had placed it in a new hiding place. Why? We were going to be gone for a week and just in case…well you understand right? It was such a good hiding place that I couldn’t remember where it was. I didn’t want to upset anyone, so I didn’t make a big deal of it. We had a good day and a wonderful meal together as a family.

Throughout the day, I kept thinking about the jewelry. After Tom went to sleep, I decided to look a bit more carefully. The more I looked, the more upset I became. I was really upset about not remembering. As some of you know my mom has Alzheimer’s. Memory deficit of any kind is very bothersome to me. I started to weep. Tom woke up, held me, and prayed for me. I was able to calm down enough to sleep.

I woke up the next day, still upset. I stood in the middle of my bedroom and asked God to help me remember. I went directly to where I hid it and there it was. I was so relieved that not only did I find it, but I remembered where it was.

Afterwards I sat down to pray. The scripture I turned to was Matthew 6:25 -

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?”

I was so worried, but God had it in control. It may seem trivial to be so upset about misplacing jewelry, but truth be told, I was more upset about the forgetting part. God didn’t let me stew. I would have found it eventually. My piece of mind was at stake. I’m grateful that I have such a loving God, that I seek, asked and then found what I was looking for.

Thank you Father for showing me constantly how much the little things matter to You.

© Nadine Z. 2008

A Simple Prayer Goes a Long Way

I was reading some blogs during lunch today and I happened upon an interesting story from A Daily Dose of Debbie. She had not been feeling well and her son prayed for her. It reminded of my own son.

When he was about three years old and his sister was five, I was coming down the stairs. I started to slip and grabbed the railing. My arm got caught in a funny position while my body kept going. I thought I broke my arm. I couldn't believe the pain. My son came running up the stairs. I was being very brave and tried not to panic in front of a three year old. I reassured him I was fine.

This was my son Tommy's reaction:

Tommy: "Lisa hurry up, we got to pray!"

My daughter came quickly and both of them laid hands on me. Their prayers were simple and lasted about thirty seconds, but it was enough. I looked at them and thanked them. Now mind you their faith was considerably more than mine at that moment. I was just so proud that my son sprung into action and got his sister to help.

I got up and immediately my arm felt better. There was no bruise (and I tend to bruise very easily). There was no pain or discomfort. I couldn't believe it.

In reading Debbie’s post, a fond memory came to mind. I needed to remember that today. I needed to remember the goodness of God and how a simple prayer goes a long way.

© Nadine Z. 2008

Vancouver, BC

This past weekend Tom and I had the opportunity to go to Vancouver, BC for a very short visit. It was a six hour drive and we had a great time being alone together. Life gets so busy and it was wonderful to talk and enjoy one another.

Streams Canada is based in Vancouver. They have a great intern program. Tom and I just love these young people. It was wonderful to see them again and catch up.

We went to a conference that John Paul Jackson was the speaker. He talked about the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. It was excellent. John Paul is the founder of Streams and Association of Bridge Churches (ABC) which our church is part of. He rode back with us because he was going to speak at our sister church in town. His message on our purpose in God was exceptional.

Sunday morning we went to a church in Vancouver that meets in a movie theater. At one point during worship, I notice this child about one or two. He’s waving hello to someone on the stage with the biggest smile on his face. I lean over to my friend Joanie and pointed him out. She told me the little boy was waving to his father, the worship leader. He stayed there in the third row just waving and smiling until the set ended. The father walked over and his young son came running to him. The father bent over and scooped him up in his arms. The son held on to his dad, placed his head on his shoulder and looked so content.

This got me to thinking. Isn’t that the way we should approach our heavenly Father? We see Him at a distance and the excitement builds. When He approaches we leap into His arms and hold on with contentment on our faces and in our hearts. That’s the way I want to approach prayer, filled with excitement that I’m going to spend time with my Father.

© Nadine Z. 2008

It's Tough Being New

There has been quite a bit of turn around at work in the last four months. I work for a doctor as most of you know. I’m the main receptionist/scheduler/pretend-a-nurse/and whatever they need person. It’s safe to say that I keep busy.

The other office staff consists of an office manager and two part time workers. One works in billing and the other is a file clerk. The lady in billing quit four months ago and they hired a very capable gal to take her place. She trained for two weeks, worked for one, and then gave her two weeks notice. Apparently she got the full time job she had interviewed for. The lady who took her place, trained for two weeks, worked for three weeks and then quit with no notice at all. The office manager hired a new gal. She took a while to catch on, but she’s been here for longer than the other two combined and is doing fine.

The file clerk worked in our office for about five years. She got into an argument with the manager and quit. She did more than file. She helped me with the overflow of phone calls, taking patients back on occasion, etc.

Enter the new gal. She’s been here about two weeks and never worked in a doctor’s office before. It’s been tough on her. I can tell she’s losing heart. I find myself asking her if she’s okay. I tell her all the time, she’ll catch on. She’s trying very hard. It’s tough being the new person. My heart goes out to her. Everything is foreign to her. She realizes how much she doesn’t know and gets flustered. I think part of the problem is she wants to be perfect at everything right away.

Nobody is born knowing how to do their jobs. There is a learning curve. So next time you have the trainee, remember to be kind, smile, encourage and be patient because of it’s tough to be new.

© Nadine Z. 2008

Editing Process

Back in January I wrote about starting the editing process on my book. You can read it about here. Before starting this process I didn’t know who Lauren (my editor) was. I’ve come to learn that she worked on some books and with people that I have respected for a long time. She has also written some books herself.

She just finished Chapter eight and we are approaching the half way mark. So how has it been? It’s been really good. She has opinions and instead of telling me, she asks questions. She’s made some great suggestions and I’m happy with the changes. She’s smart and knows what she is doing.

The best part has been her encouraging words. She’ll send an email with a chapter attached and say a few encouraging words like; my story is exciting or she’s enjoying reading it. It makes me feel better knowing that she not just doing a job, but really reading the story and engaging in it.

Everyone can use encouragement. We learned this when we do our outreaches. If you’re new to my blog you can read about our Boat Race outreach here or the one we did at the fair here.

I’m excited about this process. I’ve learned more from my mistakes than any English class I’ve taken. Have I mentioned before, that English was my worst subject in school? Isn’t that funny that God would lead me to write a book? I’m sure to give updates as I pursue this endeavor.

© Nadine Z. 2008

Reading

I love to read. Is that surprising? No, not really because most writers I know love to read. If I read a book that I enjoy, I’m known to re-read it. I own the books I read because of this fact. Maybe it’s the details I’ve forgotten because some time has passed.

I guess you can say the same about a good movie. Sometimes knowing the end and then watching it from the beginning you pick up on things. I remember when we watched the Sixth Sense. I saw the end of that movie and immediately wanted to watch it from the beginning.

As I’ve shared before I’ve been praying for God to transform me. He’s been showing me areas of my life that need improvement. One area is my prayer life. It’s been sporadic in the past and I’ve been unhappy with that. I find that God has been waking me up earlier than my alarm to make sure I have ample time to pray before my day starts.

In reading the Bible, I’ve been doing something my husband suggested and that is read it on Bible Gateway. It’s very easy to check out different translations on the same passage. I’ve been enjoying this because a slight word change has helped me see the verse in a new way. In the past, reading the same chapters repeatedly, I found new insights each time. Right now I’m enjoying delving into Matthew 5 and the Beatitudes. The Message translation has really bought these verses to life for me. The first Beatitude is this:

You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and His rule.

This has been my prayer to God. It truly blessed me and moved me to repentance. I’m continuing to enjoy exploring God’s word. For me reading has been a new gateway to His presence.

© Nadine Z. 2008

Welcome to the Ultimate Blog Party

Hello and welcome to my blog. Come in and look around. I hope you enjoy your stay whether you are here for the first time or a regular. Last year I participated in the blog party and had a blast visiting new blogs. I discovered some that I visit still today.

Let me tell you a little bit about myself. I’ve been married to Tom for more than twenty six years. We were high school sweethearts and he’s still the love of my life. You can read about how we met here and here. We have two wonderful grown children. The female child (24) has gone back to school to study psychology. The male child (22) is pursuing his dream in LA. You can read about them in these previous posts here and here.

My husband is a pastor. I love our church and the people in it. Most people might say we are a bit out of the box. We meet in an old JC Penney building downtown. Our church has couches, tables, chairs and a coffee bar. We serve lattes, coffee, tea, bagels and donuts on Sundays mornings. You can read about more about it here.

I love the Lord with all my heart. I’m so grateful for the life He’s given me and the people He’s placed in it. I enjoy doing many things. I love writing, reading, dancing, playing games, entertaining, scrap booking, watching movies and the ballet. Hum, I’m sure I’ve left something out.

I’ve written a book that I’m in the process of self publishing. I’ve been working with an editor and I’m enjoying the process. I’m learning so much. If you’re curious, it’s about a woman, a mobster, a cop, a prophet, murder, betrayal, secrets and choices. I’ve created a book blog posting the first two chapters.

So make yourself at home and take a look around. I hope you like what you see. I look forward to visiting you too.

Don't forget to visit The Ultimate Blog Party Prize Page (click here) and follow the instructions to win some cool prizes. My top three are:

o No. 33 - Porcelain Easter Egg offered by Such Time as Now

0 No. 100 - 3 books from Who Could Ask For Anything More

o No. 55 - A $25 gift card for Amazon.com from Welcome to My World of Dreams

If my top three are taken I would also love any of the following 122, 124, 94, 59, 70,102, 21 or 112.

© Nadine Z. 2007

Star Trek

I’m a big fan of Star Trek. There I said. I’m not ashamed. I liked watching the original cheesy version with its bad special effects and worse acting. Don’t you just love the way William Shanter spoke? No one butchers a sentence better than he does. It’s a classic. The many movies they made years later…priceless.

Star Trek The Next Generation – three words: Jean Luc Pickard. I can listen to him speak all day – classic voice. Special effects and acting improved greatly from the classic version, but hey it’s still Star Trek.

Star Trek Deep Space Nine – interesting new characters. I watched it for a while but it wasn’t the same.

Star Trek Voyager – cool female captain who takes herself too seriously. Still it feels like classic Star Trek. It’s enjoyable to watch.

Star Trek Enterprise – I’ve never seen it. A girl has limits and other interests.

Why the fascination with Star Trek? Today I was thinking about some of the cool gadgets of Star Trek. Who wouldn’t want to create a force field around their vehicles (especially if their teenagers are driving)? Why spend money going on a vacation? Instead visit the Holodeck and be anywhere you want to be.

My favorite is the transporter. Tom left on a business trip today and he’ll be gone until Sunday. When he travels, I wish there was a transporter that he can leave in the morning, do his business, then come home to me at night.

I want a transporter in my future – don’t you? I mean we have the flip phone. It’s the next logical step in technology. Okay, I know I’m stretching that a bit, but I’m missing him.

I’m counting the days honey.

© Nadine Z. 2008

Wake Up Call

My alarm goes off at six o'clock most mornings. This morning I was awaken at five. It wasn't one of those days when I wake up, see what time it is, and then go back to sleep. I was fully awake. I knew God wanted me to get up and spend some time praying. I wanted to "quickly" check my email because I have been having issues with my blog loading with Mac users. It appears my cute little counter from NeoWorx was slowing down and causing script errors. I had emailed them to find out what can be done. Besides it would only take a second to check.

There was the email I was waiting for. They suggested I just not use one of the special skins (background picture) to see if the issue resolved. After playing with it and getting no where fast, I decided I should go and pray. I realized I had spent the first twenty minutes of my day working on this stupid computer issue.

Needless to say I felt convicted that I just didn't go pray first. I've been asking God to transform and change me from the inside and believe me He has been working overtime. So I asked forgiveness for not obeying His gentle reminder to pray this morning right away.

After I finished praying, I went upstairs and took a second look at changing my map. It took literally two seconds to remove the skin. It still has not solved the problem my Mac friends say, so I might be saying goodbye to my cute little counter if NeoWorx can’t resolve the issue.

Note to self; when God wakes you up, pray first.

© Nadine Z. 2008

123 Tag

This tag has been all over the place. I was tagged by Knitting Mania. I’m not sure I know anyone who wasn’t tagged to do this. Here are rules:

1. Pick up the nearest book of 123 pages or more. No cheating!

2. Find page 123.

3. Find the first 5 sentences.

4. Post the next 3 sentences.

5. Tag 5 people. (So if you haven’t been tagged and want to play along, please do so.)

My book is Skin by Ted Dekker:

A railing ran the perimeter of the second floor. No sign of a killer. He faced the others, “You found a body?”

© Nadine Z. 2008