My son, Matthew has been taking piano lessons for the last 5 years.  I know you must be thinking, “Here comes the part where we hear all about how talented and gifted he is.”  Well, I’m not going to do that, because this is a story about more than his God given ability.  The music teacher who first began to teach Matthew at age 5, had to deal with a squirmy little boy.  She taught him to the best of her ability until she told me in December that she was going to be recommending an advanced teacher for him.  She recommended a pianist from Russia, who teaches out of her home in Simi Valley.  Yeah, for me!  No more trips to Thousand Oaks.  She told me that the recommended teacher was disciplined and very serious and that Matthew needed a change.  He was quite pleased to hear that he “graduated.”  I explained that his 30-minute sessions would be increased to 45 minutes and that he must get very serious about “reading” the notes and not just memorizing or feeling his way around a song (part of his amazing talent and ear for music, oops, I said I wasn’t going to do that). Continue Reading »

Valentine’s Day at the top of the Empire State Building, how romantic!  “Sleepless in Seattle” and a pound of See’s milk chocolate, how girlie!  No, I didn’t polish off a pound of chocolate.  If I did, I think most of you would be saying, “How pathetic?!”  I did have a couple of yummy pieces out of the box I bought my sister-in-law.  We spent the evening together.  First we attended her church.  Even though it wasn’t my church, I heard the message of the sermon, which was all about how God speaks to us, if we’re ready to listen.  We can hear Him through the Word, through lyrics, through a friend, through a different church, whatever, as long as we are ready to obey and listen. Continue Reading »

1.) The film, “Friends With Money” (Nicole Holofcener)
2.) The lyrics, “The more I see the less I know” (”Say Hey” Michael Franti)
3.) The book, “A Prayer for Owen Meany” (John Irving)
4.) The film, “Little Miss Sunshine” (Michael Arndt)
5.) The lyrics “That’s why it hurts so bad to hear the words that keep on falling from your mouth” (”Why” Annie Lennox)
6.) The book, “Simple Abundance, A Daybook of Comfort and Joy” (Sarah Ban Breathnach)
7.) The quote, “A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle” (Irina Dunn)
8.) The lyrics, “I mean to tell you all the things I’ve been thinking deep inside my friend (”Crush” Dave Matthews)
9.) The book, “Silence of the Lambs” (Thomas Harris)
10.) The quote, ” Why is it that when we talk to God we’re said to be praying, but when God talks to us we’re schizophrenic?” (Lily Tomlin)

You know those emails we all get, “Send this to 10 people and you will see something amazing or you may become rich or DIE!”  Sometimes these annoying chain emails contain some insightful messages, that you’d really like to pass along, not just to 5 or 10 people but to everyone you know.  Today, I received an inspirational email from a good friend.  The first sentence read:

“God doesn’t give you the people you want, He gives you the people you NEED   - To help you, to hurt you, to leave you, to love you and to make you into the person you were meant to be.”

 I thought it was a great message because for me it’s the Truth.  It reminded me of the Garth Brooks song, “Unanswered Prayers,” where he sings “Some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.”  In the song, he was able to look back at how God’s plan had unfolded in his life.  The challenge for most of us is waiting for time to pass to see how an experience shapes us into what we’re meant to be.  As I pass along this message, without threat or empty promises of wealth, remember to be patient and trust God’s plans for you.

 ”Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” (Luke 22:42)

Last night I thought about discussing with Matthew the possibility of my ex-husband or I dating other people.  My intuitive son has read my mind many times before, so really I shouldn’t be so surprised by our conversation.  Sometimes I’ll be thinking about what to make for dinner en route to picking him up from daycare.  “Hmm, maybe we’ll have tacos tonight.” Within seconds of getting in the car Matthew will say, “Can we have tacos for dinner?”  I usually tell him, he read my mind.

Yesterday, I thought a bit about how to approach the subject and decided to start with, “Mom loves love and God is love.”  These seven words were met with, “I don’t want a stepfather.”  “WHAT?” I laughed.  The conversation continued with me reminding him he already has a father.  His answer to that was, “Well just don’t get married.”  Mind you, I haven’t even mentioned potentially dating and my eleven year old is doling out advice on love.  Needless, to say, I dropped the subject pretty quickly and thought if I ever need to bring it up again, all I’ll have to do is “think” about it and he’ll just pick up the thoughts.

As some of you know, I love to drink Yogi Green Tea, from Trader Joe’s, not only because it’s oh, so delicious but because each tea bag comes with a thought provoking quote.  I love to sip my tea while pondering the message.  Tonight, the quote was, “The universe is the stage on which you dance, guided by your heart.”  It made me think about my heart and my heart’s desires.  Sometimes in the past, my heart has led me down the wrong path and I wish I listened to wisdom and not my deceitful heart.  “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?  I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings.” (Jeremiah 17:9-10)

In today’s pop psychology people are told “follow your heart,” “if it feels good, do it,”  but I believe things can “feel” great yet still be wrong.  I really love the idea of the universe being our stage, I love the analogy of dancing for living but if I were to improve this quote, I’d say be guided by Love, with a capital L, Divine Love.  I know for me Divine Love will never lead me in the wrong direction, God will “search me…and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts.” (Ps. 139:23)

The more I trust, the better I understand I’m being led or guided by the best “dance” instructor there is and yes, the dance is a beautiful one.

Living by the ocean should not be taken for granted.  In Southern California, where the beach is so accessible, I’ve heard of people who haven’t visited the beach in decades or ever.  It’s such a rejuvenating experience to witness infinity, the infinite number of waves is what I like to ponder as I sit by the ocean.  Today, I was lucky enough to see four dolphins playing by the shore.  It may have been the closet I have ever seen them not counting SeaWorld, of course.  I’ve seen dolphins plenty of times in Southern California but no matter how many time I see them, I get as excited as a little kid.  I make sure everyone around me, witnesses them too.  I’m not sure if it’s an old wives tale that seeing them is good luck, but for me, I feel blessed every time it happens.  Today, the four dolphins leaping in the infinity of waves brought a tear to my eye (no it wasn’t the smoke from the fires) and I thanked God for such beautiful ideas!