I'm going to Amsterdam for 5 months!!

Sweet Death

Those of you who are my friends on Facebook will probably know that my step-father died on Friday night after a 20 year battle with cancer. He married my mom 13 years ago, a couple of years after his first wife died. He treated my mom like she was a princess! He was an amazing husband and to watch his declining health saddened the whole family.

He spent the last month at a Hospice facility where he charmed all the nurses. He was one of those people who left a mark everywhere he went, but he left an imprint on my life that I will not soon forget, since I had the privilege of watching him take his last breath.

I have never seen someone die. I really didn't know what to expect, and honestly didn't expect to be there. Mom called me at lunch on Friday and said that they didn't think he'd live through the night. I asked her if she wanted me to leave work and come be with her, but she told me to stay, that his daughter was coming over and so was my brother. So I told her I'd see her after work.

I called on my way over and asked if she'd like supper. She wasn't really hungry but wanted some comfort food, so I stopped and picked her up something. I arrived about 5pm to find her doting on him as usual. His breathing was shallow but he was alert and following you with his eyes. He looked pitifully wasted away and had a very gray pallor.

Mom and I settled in beside him to eat our food and went through the preparations of finding plastic ware, salt, drinks, and such. Right before she started to eat, she stood up and asked him if he had another kiss for her. His little lips puckered with all the strength left in them. It may not have been a textbook definition of a kiss, but his intent was clear. She told him she loved him and turned her attention to her food. I think we both had taken two or three bites when we realized that we hadn't heard that next breath. Time of death- 5:20pm.

It was that easy. He was breathing softly and then just never took another breath. There was no fanfare- no other movement of his body. Just a soft slipping away to somewhere much more peaceful. It was the sweetest thing I'd ever experienced. I'm so glad that mom got her "goodbye kiss" as she is calling it. And I am pleased that he died peacefully and easily.

Thanks for all the well wishes. If you can, just pray for healing and comfort for my mom in the days ahead. She will have to find her "normal" again without him and will be lost without her friend and confidant. The rest of us will miss his humor, wit, and love.

So, tell me the best thing to do when the dog smells like skunk...

Ten Rainy Thoughts

1. It has rained all day. This is one of those days that started out warmer than it ended up. And the days are noticeably shorter now. *sigh* Winter is coming.

2. Work is much calmer this week! Thank goodness.

3. I have had time to work on my new business! I actually have THREE parties planned for this month with two more people who want to have one next month! These are mostly my friends who have agreed to help me get started, but I'll take it! Hopefully there will be some people at their parties who want to have a party!

4. That's www.mythirtyone.com/mommadish if you're interested- I can have online parties, too!

5. Speaking of parties, I got fantastic news today. Our church is sponsoring a trip to Belize in February to work with street children there. I was really interested but said no when I found out it was going to cost $1100. A man at church called me and told me I should go- and that he was going to pay for it!

6. Now I'm wondering- Belize in February. I'm going to have to Google it to see what the weather will be like. Central America I'm assuming is never cold?

7. My step-father is failing quickly. He has been with Hospice since June, but has been at a Hospice facility for the past three weeks. Mom is a wonderful nursemaid for him.

8. He is 89- I don't know if I want to live to be 89!

9. I bet I'll feel different when I'm 88!

10. Well that's all the news from here. Good night friends!

My New Business

I really need to earn some extra money. I'm going to need another car next year when Savannah gets her license and that will mean a car payment and more insurance (way more insurance!) I've been thinking about things I could do to earn more money for about a year but working 40 hours a week plus keeping up with the kids doesn't leave me a lot of free time.

I went to a Thirty-One party the other night. I love their stuff! I have several things of theirs and it is good quality, affordable, and stylish! The consultant there asked me if I had thought of becoming a consultant, since I liked the product so much. *ding* It was like a light bulb came on! Of course, a good way to earn a little extra with a flexible schedule. So I signed up!

My first party will be October 24. So say a little prayer that the people who come want to have a party of their own! That's how it gets going. Also, you can have an online party- no food needed, no cleaning your house, etc. As a hostess, if your guests collectively spend over $200 total then you get one item at half price and $25 worth of free stuff! And the rewards just go up from there. So think about all those people who might like Christmas gifts, and might help you get some free Christmas gifts!

You can go to my website to check out more!

Ten Thoughts for a Post-Vacation Tuesday

1. You know how work is always worse the day you get back from vacation? My whole week is going to be like that.

2. Three people died on Friday. One lady had cancer and was expected. Two were murdered.

3. Yep, murdered. I don't think I've ever known anyone who was murdered. Click here if you want to know more.

4. Their funeral is Thursday, and should prove to be the biggest circus I've ever seen. Media have been all over this story.

5. The sweet lady who died from cancer will have her funeral next week. She was my Monday office volunteer until she got too sick to continue. That one's going to be harder!

6. Then I got to work this morning and found out that another man, who had been ill for a long time, died last night. His funeral will be Friday.

7. As I was sending out email messages about news and arrangements to our members, the associate pastor told me (jokingly) to include that "deaths will be postponed for the time being. We will alert you when this service is available again." That was after I said "can I suggest that anyone else who is planning to die wait for awhile? We're kinda busy!"

8. I know, there's nothing funny about any of this. But sometimes you have to laugh or you'll just go nuts!

9. So I really don't wanna go to work tomorrow. It's just been stressful and over-the-top crazy. And I never feel that way about my job.

10. I know, I should pray and meditate. Believe me, I need it!

Dream Workshop- Session Four- Prayer and Meditation

How to pray and meditate:
Read Deuteronomy 30 and John 14-17...
- Read with the faith that Jesus is speaking to you
- Read 5-10 verses a day
- Meditate on them
- Apply the truths in them to your life

Meditation brings health, solace, peace, joy, affluence, brotherly love. You can be helped through meditation more than any other source.
- This is how you enter the Holy of Holies
- Meeting God within
- Builds our relationship with our creator
- Attunes mind and body to Source
- The ideal is given power in meditation

Role of Christ
- To awaken us to truths
- To transform us
- To protect and guide us
- To baptize us with the Spirit
- To meet us within

Requirements for meditation:
1- A desire to know God
2- Disciplined and consistent effort
3- Desire to serve

Global Consciousness:
1- Vision of the New Age
2- Start Now
3- Enter into Consistent Prayer and Meditation
4- Co-creating- become willing participants with God
5- Claim the Spirit- ask for it!

Find time to pray and meditate. If you don't have time, pray to find time! We find time for the important things in our lives. Use down time (car line at school, for example)

Measure of Meditation
- Find your own way
- You become more merciful, kind, gentle, patient
- "Consciously choose to become more lovely"

Dream Workshop- Session Three- The New Age

What is the New Age?
Hinduism measures periods of time in yugas. The age we are in now (the Kali Yuga) is coming to an end after nearly 3000 years. We are entering the Satya Yuga, or the age of truth. Edgar Cayce referred to this as the "Age of the Lily" - the age of Aquarius. He said it is a good time to be alive! This is an age of peace that only the pure will comprehend.

Signs of the Time:
- Cleansing of rebellion, hate, selfishness, sorrow, tears, and sadness
- Corruptions brought to light
- Leveling of power structures
- Strifes (Cayce predicted Lybia, Egypt, Syria, and Ankara!)
- Earth changes- upheavals in the arctics
- Volcanoes and earthquakes
- Atlantis will rise
- These will be gradual changes

Promises of the New Age
- A new heaven and a new earth- no desire to sin, glory of the Son
- Those who are prepared will be shown the way
- Revelation
- We will be our brother's keeper
- Spirits of light enter the earth
- Greater communication with God and Creative Forces

Christ- the 2nd Coming:
- Is His coming literal or symbolic... or both? Will be like the 40 days after his resurrection (Jesus appeared to those who knew him and believed in him.)
- Cayce says Jesus will return in his same body- will appear to those who align their will with his

When will Christ come?
- No one knows (not even Jesus) but it is not our concern
- We will be able to enter the Holy of Holies
- Matt 24 and Mark 13 (many will come in His name, there will be war, nation rising against nation, famine and earthquakes in new places.

To put all our efforts into looking for Christ to come is foolish; preparing for Christ to come is wise; asking Christ into our hearts now is wisest.

What will Happen? We will walk and talk with Him.

What is expected of us?
What will Jesus find us doing?
Jesus carried a message wherever he went.
Be ready to give an account- how did you use your gifts?
Be true to ourselves and our calling.
Abide in the truth- keep commands- love one another.

Preparation:
-Be in the world but not of the world
-Do not be worried or anxious (develop the Spirit to rebuke the winds). When worries come, turn within. Pray daily "Lord, use me."
- Work on the ideal- the spiritual foundation
- Service- the ideal is made alive by living the truth- meet anger with love and compassion (Ghandi is an example)
- We come into grace by helping others

We cannot contain Christ in Christianity
- any religion who sees the One True God has a Christ spirit.

Prayer...
- Engages God in our efforts to obtain our ideal
- Sets self aside- purges our selfishness (like Jesus drove out the moneychangers from the temple)
- sets the stage for meditation

Dimensions of Prayer:
- "Thy Will be Done"
- Learn how to carry the cross (that thing's heavy!)
- Pray about anything and everything- nothing's too big or too small for the Creator
- Meet crosses, trials, and temptations
- Repentance
- Faith makes things manifest (your faith has made you well)

Dream Workshop- Session Two

Four Stages of Dream Work:
1- Preparing your consciousness through prayer and meditation- show an interest in your dreams
2- Recalling (pray for remembrance- self-suggestion that you remember dreams before going to sleep)
- set the stage, have an inquiring mind, desire to learn and grow and be guided
3- Interpreting
- You are your own best interpreter
- Come to the core message of the dream
- review the dream in your mind and go back to sleep asking for the meaning to be revealed (same night dreams often carry the same message)
4- Applying
- honors the dreamer and the Creator
- Claim our own Christhood

Strategies for Recall:
- Review past dreams
- Record dreams, either in a notebook or on recorder
- Stay still- recall dream before you move
- Talk about your dreams to others
- Prayer and self-suggestion

Dream Work is Work! It takes consistent practice to see the patterns emerge. The more you work on it the better you can become at listening to God through your dreams. Coupled with prayer and meditation, this is a way to come into a complete relationship with God.

(Workshop Leader- Jerry Lazarus, speaker for A.R.E.)

Dream Workshop- Session One

Purpose of Dreams:
1- To take stock of ourselves
2- To build a relationship with our Source (God, Creator)
3- A way God provides aid and help
4- To instill profound changes
5- To prepare us for what is coming
6- To provide warnings
7- To aid and help loved ones
8- To be of service
9- To provide an unbiased report
10- To uncover what we are trying to ignore
11- To alert us to new opportunities
12- To encourage and empower us
13- To provide practical guidance
14- To answer the mysteries of life (visits from beyond)

We have three levels of consciousness:
1- Conscious- the body- like the outer court in Solomon's temple. Is awake when we're awake and asleep when we're asleep.
2- Subconscious- the mind- like the inner court of the temple. Active while we're in sleep.
3- Superconscious- the Spirit- like the Holy of Holies- where visions are seen- active while we are in sleep

Nightmares are usually caused by mis-functioning systems in the body:
1- Assimilation
2- Circulation
3- Relaxation
4- Elimination
(Haven't you ever eaten something that gave you nightmares?)

Varieties of Dreams:
1- Warnings
2- New Opportunities (when we don't understand or respond to our calling)
3- Assurance or Empowerment
4- Lessons or Corrections
5- Lessons in truth/honesty
6- Business or practical guidance (may remind you to change the oil!)
7- Unreasonable thinking (shows our flawed thinking)
8- Prophetic dreams- there is no time in dreams- dreams are perfectly timed to come when we need them
9- Service- how we can help
10- Telepathic dreams- consciousness between two subconscious minds.

What Do We Do with Information Received in Dreams?
1- Be a help- give aid
2- Give or use knowledge
3- Pray

Not the Blog I Wanted

I know, I was going to blog about my workshop this weekend. I ran out of time to get my notes typed up, and I think they need to sit another day anyway. We covered a lot of ground! So, here's a crazy quiz for you:

1. The most expensive thing that you have ever stolen: A glass paperweight- I was 7 or 8 years old. Can't think of anything else.

2. Something that would make you throw up if you ate it: Anything with tequila in it... blech!

3. Do you have any deformities?  Not until you get to my mind....

4. A liquor that you will never touch again:  See #2! Yes, there's a story, Super Bowl 1988- Denver Broncos vs. Washington Redskins. I was in college. We thought it would be fun to do a shot every time our team scored. I was a Redskin fan. I figured, how bad could it be? Super Bowl scores weren't usually outrageous. Wrong. It was 35-10 at half-time. I was so sick!

5. The worst accident that you have ever had:  I've never had more than a fender bender, thank goodness!

6. Someone you would like to be for a day: Hmm... that's an awesome question. I wish I could think of an answer. Oh, I could be Kat or Susan for a day and get them a better job!

7. Have you ever tried to kill yourself?   No, I like me!

8. An animal that you would like to come back as:  Definitely Kat's Bela. He's king of the hill, and well taken care of. Doesn't take anything off of anyone, either.

9. Something you can go buy right now that should be illegal: Tobacco

10. Something illegal that you wish you could go buy right now:   I can't think of a thing.

11. If my parents ever knew this, I would die: I'm sure if you'd asked this 25 years ago I could have thought of something.

12. Your dream car: BMW Z4 Roadster convertible. Well, while I'm dreaming, that is. I want a Nissan Altima coupe for my next real car!

13. *Poof* and you are there for a day: Greece. Or maybe Ireland. Or the Galapagos Islands. This was an easy one!

14. The worst of the 7 Deadly Sins:  Skepticism. Ok, that isn't really one. I'd pick greed.

15. My dream job would be: Retired! I like my job- except maybe tomorrow after having 3 days off last week.

16. Has an animal ever touched your genitals: Have you ever had a dog? They love to sniff!

17. What is the meanest thing that you have done to someone?  I can't think of anything specific- I'm sure I've probably said things to people that hurt them.

18. Something you regret doing: Probably talking too much instead of listening.

19. If I could wish anything away, it would be: Hatred of people who are different from you.

20. Your #1 guilty pleasure:  York Peppermint Patties.

I'm back from my mountain weekend retreat- it was lovely, but COLD! I'm planning to type my notes out later on tonight in blogs if you're interested in dreams and such! Great speaker this weekend!