Lights out - Uh-huh

Bob and I aren't exactly avid hockey fans. We are fairweather at best. I recall a time in my life when Nikki Washburn and I were avid fans - for me mostly because Craig Simpson was cute and so was the majority of our high school hockey team. I was SOOO NOT into hockey that I waited after a game to have Craig Simpson sign my jersey. The up side was that I was briefly seen on Evening Magazine with Simpson signing my back. The down side is that I missed (read didn't care) to have the less attractive Mario Lemeuix sign it who walked out just behind him. Big mistake in hindsight. Who's ever heard of Craig Siompson 20 years later?

Later in life I watched a few games and kept track because my neighbors Chuck and Marrene Meckler were big fans.

When Bob's friend and ICC worship leader, Brandon, started talking about the winning ways of the Pens this season, Bob caught a little bit of the fever. And since about mid-April, Bob has paid attention. And since the Penguins were pitted against the Philadelphia Flyers in the playoffs, hometown of my boss/radiologist, I caught the competitive fever too.

So we've been watching. And last night was the third game of the Stanley Cup Finals back here in town. 0-2 we were crossing our fingers because hey - it's the 'Burgh. It was awesome to watch the players make a break in the first period and score against a seasoned and skilled team like the Detroit Red Wings. The second period had just begun and they were on a roll.......

Lights out. We lost power. For two hours. The whole rest of the game.

And today we woke up to news that they had won. The third period possibly one of the best in hockey history.

I guess we were just not meant to be avid fans.

We'll try again on Saturday night:)

God was there

Well, the first service with Bob and I leading worship is over and God was there. It was awesome because He was there, pushing us both to look vertically - not horizontally and when we did - it was to His glory.

"I lift my eyes up to the hills, where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord - the maker of heaven and earth."
Psalm 121:1-2

Testing - one, two

Well, tonight we had our final home practice. I think we were both on edge. Bob is nervous because there's no one to cover his mistakes and I'm nervous because - well, the same thing. But as I was typing that, it occured to me that we do. We have Jesus Christ covering for our mistakes - and WAAAAAYY bigger ones than a missed note. We have greatest accompaniment you could ask for - the creator of music Himself.

There will be much praying before. I'll let you know how it goes.

Gas Prices

GULP - gas has officially hit $4 in Western PA this weekend. It is unnerving, to say the least, to watch as the price of absolutely everything goes up when you are already in a major penny pinching mode. It has had me thinking all day - about visits to the family, our tenth anniversary (as yet unplanned), how we can cut any further just to make ends meet, and other family and friends that are either in jobs very vulnerable to this cost increase or in situations with similarly small margins for this kind of budget crunch. Another area of trust and prayer. I am grateful that I work very close to home. I am grateful that we have two tiny cars. I am grateful that Bob's buddy sometimes rides him to the job site. In God all things are possible - loaves and fishes, loaves and fishes.....

Hope that you all are finding ways to cope. If you have any ideas, please share. My newest ideas have been all Aldi's all the time, no junk food, trying to quit smoking and a garden.

Yellowpages.com

Doing the right thing is H-A-R-D. And this has been a really challenging test. I have been fighting to try and resolve this issue with this company for the last seven weeks to no avail. I patiently followed up with our account rep and his boss. And nothing. Before I called the first time, I felt compelled to do this the right way - approach it professionally and honestly and without throwing a fit. I've prayed about it over the last seven weeks and still they are unwilling to budge to let us out of our 12 month contract despite the fact that Bob has received exactly zero calls. We made it clear we wanted to try and resolve this honorably and to keep our agreement but the complete lack of results has made it financially disastrous. We made call after call and made suggestions for an amicable dissolution. They would have none of it. And I got angrier and angrier that there is no requirement on their end to do ANYTHING! Anyway, I was a moment from putting a stop payment on our account when I read a devotional the other day on waiting on God. He works in his own time. Our time appears to be running out with the money but rather than rushing into a rash decision, I changed the payment arrangements and filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and sent an email to our Congressman. I am still praying. I know that if God says no, it's for a greater yes...... Patience.....

A Sad Day for Steven Curtis Chapman

I am overwhelmed with sadness. This morning on the radio, I heard that the Chapman family lost their five year old daughter in a freak accident in their own driveway yesterday. Please pray for their family. I'm a fan of his music, had watched a Christmas movie this year that he was in and watched countless videos. In all of them he had a way of drawing you into his family and sharing the love his family had with his fans. Particularly the sharing he did about his family's adoption of those beautiful little girls.

http://www.stevencurtischapman.com/

http://chapmanchannel.typepad.com/inmemoryofmaria/

A little prayer...

On Saturday Bob and I headed up to Casa de Clackerino for some work on the house. The stone guys hadn't finished up the side of the house that he needed to put the meter socket on so we were going to hope it was done. They are moving in tomorrow so the clock is ticking. But before we left I walked into the computer room and told him I thought we should pray together before we left and since I prayed on Monday when he had his bad day, it was his turn. He said okay, grabbed my hands and threw one up there. What a blessing. Just being able to type those words when I dreamed of a day that I could pray to my Father with my husband.......

And then later in the day when a number of things went right, we were able to reflect back on that prayer. Okay - so everything didn't go smoothly but in retrospect, it worked out okay. He got on allen wrench stuck on the end of a bolt from the meter socket. It was freakish and weird. I shouted like I had just won the big jackpot when I pulled it out and laughed that what we thought was "wedged" stuck appeared to be more suction stuck. Then he couldn't find where the numnut contractor put this pipe out to the temporary service. They cut it way short of the phone and cable pipes and Bob probably dug for a half hour. He lost his temper pretty handily and then voila'! He found it. Nothing went horribly wrong. Lots went pretty smooth and even those things that didn't, turned out fine in the end......

Weird dynamics

Right now I have restless mind syndrome. Common but a bit frustrated. Can't get to sleep. Thinking about lots of things.

One is that there's a certain someone - who will remain nameless - that puzzles me. I'm thinking that I'm puzzled because I don't know who I am when I'm around them. I like the person, admire and respect even. Like how they interact with others but when it comes to me, I am not sure how to take them. I'm not used to people not liking me but the me I turn into when I'm around this individual isn't very likable. I'm awkward and I feel like they bring out the worst in me. I feel competitive even though I'm not competing. I feel diminished and condescended to although I don't think that's the intention. So it cycles and I am worse the next time.

I need to pray about it. There's a thousand different lessons in it. And the fact that I'm not angry or resentful about it could mean that I'm starting to learn that you can practice agape love with folks that aren't your cup of tea. And with some prayer, I bet this "thing" goes away or at least becomes unnoticaeble. But for now it's on my mind.

Straight from audition to debut

Trust in Jesus. There have been so many opportunities to practice this over the last few months. And here is another. I remember longing for Bob and I to play and sing together and yet another wish God has fulfilled. Bob and I will be leading worship next week. And now that it's going to happen, I'm VERY nervous. Bob can handle it - no problem. And I'll be relying on him to help remind me that this is a God thing - not a Dena thing. I'll sound good by His grace and NOT my own doing. And as long as I concentrate on this being to the glory of God I know He will carry us. It's funny - in all my wishes, I relied on the talent God gave me to sing. And now that it's here - smile - my ability to sing a pleasant tune isn't enough and He's given me the chance to give the glory back to Him. How awesome.

Don't know what we'll be singing yet but I'll keep this up to date. Please pray for me. My trust in Him and the strength of my voice and my nerves through Him. Humility and trust. What a wonderful chance to show Him how much we love Him.

Nana Update

A quick update on our beloved Nana. I've been a bit remiss on this but truly no news has been good news. I had a good long talk with her last weekend on Mother's Day. She's had good days and bad but her overall health has been holding steady. But her mental state is the best news. This new found sense of playfulness has sustained. My grandmother seems to finally be understanding that she is worthy of love. Oh, she's still a little surprised at it but she's coming to accept it and it is allowing her to be the woman God created her to be. And it is a joy to watch.

All those pictures earlier this week were from the letter I sent her. Wanted her to know - particularly with our conversation - that we really appreciated everything. She wants to know where everything went and to whom and then that we appreciated it. So I hope that letter will help.

I'll do better with keeping you updated.