Snapshot 7/28/12

I keep thinking I'm going to have a chance to catch up on...lots of things...once I get past (fill in the blank).

Only that stupid blank keeps updating.

Survived a fundraiser cookie baking marathon today.

Did you know there are actual adult American women who have NEVER baked cookies from scratch?

One of them can no longer say that after assisting us!

Our teen girls clubs baked well over 1,000 cookies today; they're in 500 sandwich bags, with anywhere from 2 - 6 cookies in a bag.

Depending upon how big the cookies were and who was bagging them.

We're hoping that we'll have 500 folks at church tomorrow who are willing to donate a buck for a bag and support one of our own young ladies, who is going to be spending a year with the girls at Stella's Voice in Moldova.

We had a little mixup with the ingredients; one batch of chocolate chip cookies got made w/instant bananna cream pudding instead of instant vanilla pudding.

It took us a while to figure out why they tasted funny; ultimately a quick check of the trash can confirmed the suspicion that it was the pudding.

Sometimes those things happen when multiple folks are buying ingredients.

But they actually aren't too bad, once you know what happened, and we now have a new exotic cookie flavor...'Banana Chocolate Chip'.

Which we have packaged at 4 or 5 to a bag.

Can I just say that one of these is very helpful when making quadruple batches of cookies?

Pity the only apron I could lay my hands on was the Christmas one...

A Blessing for the Flute Player

When she was in band (her PE substitute), she switched for a bit to a school-owned piccolo.   And she absolutely loved playing it.

But she had to give it back last year, as her schedule didn't allow her a slot in the day for band.

She's kept playing her flute, but she has frequently lamented that she missed the piccolo.

She dropped great hints that she wanted a piccolo for Christmas, for her birthday...but, wow, have you ever priced a piccolo?  Even a well used one?

$$$

Then, this past Sunday, she talked to an older friend who owned a piccolo.  And the friend suggested  she check Craig's List.

So, while she was sitting in the sound booth in the children's sanctuary waiting for her sound cues,  she  cruised CL via her iPod and found a piccolo, listed in 'excellent' condition, for the astonishing price of two hundred and fifty dollars.

Which, owing to her saving Christmas and Birthday money for a fall church trip to Disney, she had.  And she declared that she would rather use it for a piccolo, that she would have forever, than a trip that would last a few days and then be over. 

So, while she was at camp, My Sweet Baboo made the arrangements to meet up with the seller and purchase the instrument.

He discovered that it had been listed on Craig's List once before, but no one had responded to the ad.  She'd just relisted it Sunday morning.  They'd purchased it used for their daughter when she was in High School, and now were selling it for college funds.

MSB dropped it off at the local instrument store/repair shop for a check up, where they consulted whatever the equivalent to a Blue Book for instruments is and learned that this particular model, in that condition, was worth, well, a good bit more than 250 bucks.  My Sweet Baboo said that he kinda felt bad for the lady who sold it...but if it had been any more expensive, the Flute Player could not have purchased it.

I think it's an interesting detail that he actually picked it up for her on her 16th birthday.

Drinking Coffee Again

I've referred, once or twice, to a dream of mine that's been on hold for a while.  Last year, it looked like it might be time for it to come out into the light of day and, well, be something.

So I sent a text message  (or an email, I honestly don't remember which) to the person I needed to speak to about it, offering to to buy coffee for us both to sit down and have a chit-chat.

As I hit send, I heard a paraphrase in my spirit.  Remember Jesus telling his disciples that he wouldn't drink wine again until He drinks it new, in the kingdom with them all?  Well, I heard 'Don't drink coffee again until you drink it at that meeting.'

So, ok, I knew the summer was a busy one so I figured it be a month or two.  But before much time had passed, there were developments in other areas and it became evident that the opportunity for the dream to come out was not going to happen at that time at all.

So I debated my little coffee fast.  And I decided that the fast wasn't for that one opportunity, but to get a resolution to the questions I have about that dream.  Is it a God dream?  Have I heard aright, or have I been fooling myself? These questions have really been plaguing me.

So I decided to keep up the fast until I had the chance to present the dream.

Now, I don't want you to think coffee didn't pass my lips during the fast; I don't think fasting on a feast day is appropriate, so I did break the fast on Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter.  But the rest of the time, when I wanted a cup of coffee or I walked by a brewing pot and it smelled so good, that was my cue to pray.

I didn't pray heavily anointed, passionate prayers.  Mostly, my prayer was, 'Lord, You know.'

It was a year to the day.  We'd had meetings scheduled, but things happened and they got postponed.  Which was fine; I didn't want to rush it.  When the meeting finally came about, and I was in Starbucks buying two lattes, extra hot,   I had the oddest feeling.  Part of me really didn't want to go there; I was FINE just praying and not drinking coffee, because as long as I was at that point, there was the possibility that it might be a real, God dream.

But once it really comes out into the light, then the judgment is coming.  And it might turn out that I have been distracted, self centered, elitist...whatever...and the dream was not from God at all but a product of my own ego.  And I really saw that in the meeting.  I could be wrong.  And if that's the outcome, then that's it.  Move on.

But, you know what the coffee fast did?  It gave my dream some credibility.  I know that it is honestly being considered; I know if it doesn't go anywhere, it is not because I didn't try or because I missed something somewhere.  If it doesn't go anywhere...it's because it's not supposed to.

So, now, I'm enjoying my morning cup again.  Strong, sweet, creamy.  And every time I pour a cup, I find myself praying, 'Lord, You know!'

Snapshot 7/13/12

I turned 53 this week.

So I got a haircut today.

Nothing radical; just trimming back the frizzy overdried bits.

I also took The Flute Player shopping for clothes for youth camp next week, which is at the beach..

I'm taking girls from my Wednesday class to Girls' Ministry camp next week.

It is NOT at the beach.

Part time employees do not get vacation time; I basically worked double this week to make up for the time I took off last week for the 4th of July; I will repeat that scenario twice in the next 4ish weeks to make up for the trip to girls' camp and a trip back home.

Where I will attend my 35 year class reunion.

I just noticed the numbers...53 years old, 35 year reunion.

Hm.