Hanukkah

I am Jewish. I am Christian. These two are not opposites. (as many people assume) I am a completed Jew. I believe Jesus is the Messiah.
At this time of year and at other holidays such as Rosh Hashanna, I often feel people choose not to recognize my Judaism. No, I don't go to a synagogue, I go to a Baptist Church. I don't celebrate the Shabbat. I don't even have Passover Seder. But I am Hebrew by birth. I am proud of my roots. The Jews are God's chosen people. That means something to me.
I love being Jewish. I love being Christian. Jesus is awesome. He is Wonderful! He chose me twice!
So tell me Happy Hanukkah. Tell me Merry Christmas. Remember me at the Rosh Hashanna and tell me Happy New Year.
I wish all of you the Merriest of Christmases and a blessed New Year. Have a very Happy Hanukkah.

Music

Music is so very important to me. I'm always a little surprised when I see people that don't really have a favorite music, or don't really care about music that much.
To me, music is how I express myself best. Not that I'm a good singer, I'm not. But Listening, singing, even thinking it helps me to express my feelings, thoughts and ideas. I worship God best through music. I think out my feelings best through music.
I wish I had a real talent for it. I'm amazed by people that can play an instrument, or sing. I would love to be able to bring the kind of joy to other people by singing that it brings to me to hear it. I love it when someone sits down at the piano at work and just plays some song. To think that a person can pluck strings and this amazing sound comes out flabbergasts me. Don't even get me started on how someone might have invented the instruments. That really floors me!
I love that some people can sit down and create a whole new song. A tune that never existed before combined with lyrics that mean something, that is a talent I really admire.
I guess that is why I am so much into listening to my music. I always want to have it playing. I want other people to share in it with me.
I am the only person in my circle that listens to the type of music I do. It would really enhance my enjoyment if there was someone next to me understanding why I love the music I do.
That's probably why I love a good concert. Other people around me all enjoying it. In addition, I get to see this person who took his pain, or his joy and created a song with it. Then he turns around and uses it to bring glory to God, and happiness to people. WOW!
I guess that's all I've got to say about that...
by the way the picture is from a recent concert I went to see. Kalel of Pillar playing in the rain. It's blurry but I love that you can see how hard it's raining and he's still rockin'.

See Spot Rock

Yesterday Todd and I went to The See Spot Rock Tour. We had SO much fun! What an experience! First of all our tickets said 4pm. I assumed that meant the concerts started at 4 pm. Well we showed up at 2pm. There were several people all with lanyards and name tags etc. Around setting up the stage, doing sound checks etc. The only people who didn't have ID were the band members, but I recognized them as being in the different bands, and us. We just stood there quietly watching everything. We didn't want to make a peep and have someone kick us out of the park. (where the concerts we being held) We watched several of the guys play a game of football. We watched Lester from Pillar set up his drums. We saw so many people doing different things, and we just stood there saying "wow" to ourselves.

Finally the gates opened and we got our spots right in front of the stage. At 6:00 Staple came onstage and they were really great! I loved their energy and their set was way too short. I got one of the broken drumsticks! I know it's just a drumstick but whatever, it's cool to me. I love rock and I love rock concerts!

Then came The Wedding. These guys were so much younger than I imagined them to be. They were really good. The guitar player accidentally spit on me while he was singing but he apologized, and I lived.

Next was Day of Fire! They were a huge reason I went, and the ONLY reason Todd went. They rocked! WOW! They were great! Josh Brown the lead singer is phenomenal! He was so cool. A couple of times he reached out to me and to Todd and hit fists and stuff. The whole band is great. They did an amazing set.

The next band was Falling Up. Now I had no idea that every teeny bopper in Melbourne was in love with them. I had some little girl standing next to me hyperventilating and trying to kill me by jumping up and down and screaming for the entire set. But I enjoyed them anyway. I think if somehow you could harness the energy that band has, you could never be dependent on foreign oil again. This band was also much younger than I thought they were. Maybe that means I am getting old.

After that set it started raining. Pillar came on and wow they were great playing in the rain. But sadly the show had to end early because the rain was too much for the equipment. I did end up catching Kalel's guitar pick. OK Todd caught it but he gave it to me. He is so sweet!

After they ended their set the rain stopped. We walked around and talked to different people. I got Staple to sign my drumstick. I bought some t-shirts. My favorite part though was talking to Josh Brown. He was so genuinely nice. He seemed so happy to be talking to us. He was really sweet. He let us take a picture with him. I don't know if he knows how much that meant to Todd.

So I had just a great day. Each band was worth seeing.

Farts, Dragons, Hulks, Giant Apes

I had such a fund great day yesterday. So much happened and I want to make sure I don't leave anything out. I always end up leaving something out.
I went to Universal Studios with My nephew David, two friends, Jacob and Jeremy and Jacobs dad.(I never remember learning the dad's name) David is 18 and I assume his friends are around the same age.
Before we got to the park and met his friends we got into the elevator from the parking garage which I thought was strange because David doesn't normally take the elevator. We got in along with a few other people and David stood facing away from the people and started farting. After we got out of the elevator he showed me his little fart machine with it's remote control. Let me warn you that the fart machine played a huge part in our day. I was the only female with 4 men, so you can see that fart humor played a large part in our day.
We met up with the first friend and rode The Mummy real quickly, then met up with the other friend and his dad. We rode the Mummy again, which is always good. I could ride that one a hundred times. Of course there was a lot of farting in the cue. After that we headed over to Men In Black. Before you get on the ride you ride in an elevator to the "real" exhibit. Naturally there was a great deal of farting in the elevator there as well. Strange how much gas there was that day. I normally love this one too, but I got sort of sick while we rode. But there was a problem with our car so we got to ride again. I should have waited it out but no I chose to ride again and I was very nauseous after that. It was a 60 degree day which meant I was wearing an undershirt, shirt, jacket and gloves. I had to take the jacket and gloves off for awhile to try to feel better.
We walked over to Islands of Adventure and by the time we got there I felt much better. We headed to a wonderful restaurant called Mythos. It was very nice. The decor is all rocks and looks like it's under the ocean. The food was fantastic. Throughout our dessert though Jacob and David practiced farting. Also Jacobs dad got in on it finding just the right way for Jacob to lean etc. So when the waitress came Jacob farted up a storm and we were all hysterical. Well the waitress wasn't laughing, she sort of rolled her eyes and smiled.
After Mythos we did Poseidons Fury (more farting) and then... (drum roll).. Dueling Dragons! This is a coaster that not only is floorless it is just one turn and flip and twist after another. And It was my first time riding it, as well as only my second time on an upside down roller coaster. Here is my impression of me on the ride.
Scream scream scream "Oh My Gosh!" "Oh My Gosh! scream scream scream and it just keeps going like that until the ride is over. I did like it! But I was really not feeling well after that! So David said we would do the fire dragon the next time. (Dueling Dragons is two coasters together Fire and Ice. The run close to one another and look like they will collide at one point. Very cool)
So once again the jacket came off my back and I got to recover while we watched a show. The jacket went back on just as quickly as it came off the arena where we watched the show was very cold. And strangely enough it seemed the actors that stood near my nephew all had gas problems.
We rode Spider-Man and I got nauseous again! Last but not least we rode The Incredible Hulk and of course that was great. David got our picture on it. He posed! He always does though. Rides don't scare him, movies don't scare him. I wonder what does scare him.
Then it was time to go see King Kong which had a special preview for employees of Universal. Being nauseous when you go see this movie, is not a good idea. I might have gotten nauseous watching it, even if I hadn't started out that way. It was very good! I was impressed. It was about an hour or so too long. It could have been just as good a film without the 5 minute scene of Kong looking at Anna and Anna looking at Kong, or two or three of the many dinosaur fights, or really any number of elongated scenes. But still I was impressed with the film and the effects. I never thought wow she looks fake in his hand or that ape looks fake or those dinosaurs are dumb. Kong looked very real, his facial expressions were great. Overall it was an excellent film.
And overall I had an excellent day.

Celebration Christmas

Last night I took my niece to Celebration to enjoy the Christmas festivities there. Every hour they have "snow" fall for 15 minutes. This is a big deal in Florida where kids only see it snow on television. The snow in Celebration is soap suds and it looks great falling down onto the street. The kids all run around and play in it. They get down and make snow angels. They catch it in their mouths. They only try that a couple of times before they realize soap tastes bad. Cyndi loved it. We also rode the Christmas Train around the town, which was fun, but over priced since the ride last about 5 minutes and you wait in the line for about 20 minutes. We looked in the stores,listened to carolers, watched a dance troupe, and drank hot chocolate.
Cyndi said she had a great time, and would remember it for the rest of her life. She is just a little dramatic.
It was nice but a shame that it took me over half an hour to find a spot where we could park. Every parking space in the town was taken. We did find a place to park about half a mile from the main street, so I was pleased with that.
I took pictures but haven't yet gotten the film developed. When I do, I'll post some of them.

Selah

Last night, a friend and I took two of my clients from work to a Selah concert. What a wonderful group they are! They have the most beautiful voices and they blend together in a phenomenal way. Anyway, how we ended up getting to go see this concert is remarkable!
I work with severely disabled people. When I am at work I often turn off the TV. (mostly so I won't have to watch stupid things like The View and Jerry Springer) I put on my CD's. Two of the favorites are my Selah albums. Both staff and clients really enjoy them. Especially one clients JB. He smiles right away when I play either of their albums. He can be in a grumpy mood, but I put that music in the player and he smiles and relaxes.
So my friend and Co-worker said to me on Tuesday, that she knew they were coming in concert but couldn't remember where or when. I looked it up on the internet and sure enough they were coming Sunday night and they were sold out. I was crest fallen! JB just had to get to see them! I had seen them several years ago and they were really good. I had not heard of them before that concert and fell in love with them that day.
So anyway, the Bible verse "you have not because you ask not" came into my mind. So I e-mailed the radio station Z88.3 (also streamed at Zradio.org) They were so nice they gave me 4 tickets! If you are looking to listen to a commercial free Christian music station, give them a listen.
So my friend and I took JB and another client to the show. They loved it. They smiled through the entire thing. It was pure joy to see how happy they were. Selah did such a nice show.
when I get my pictures back I'll post a couple.

Mr and Mrs D

I went to a wedding this morning. It was so very nice. The couple are both just lovely people. They have a really great story but it's their private story and I won't share it here. But I can say that they are so very obviously in love with one another as well as best friends. To watch them together is something special. The fact that they got married is just perfect. The ceremony was nice. She was glowing and her dress was perfect. He was very handsome and neither looked at all nervous but so happy up there. The reception was decorated in snow flakes which was very pretty. She is from Wyoming and now living in Florida. So the snowflakes had a double meaning as a touch of Christmas and a touch of Wyoming.
Oh it was just beautiful!