Worse Than Cain and Abel

 Almost everyone knows the story of Cain and Abel. They were the sons of Adam and Eve. Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain tilled the ground. When it came time for the brothers to bring their offerings to God, Abel brought one of the first of his lambs and it was accepted. However, Cain brought his fruit of the ground as his offering, and it wasn't accepted. It wasn't what God had specified, so Cain got angry. "8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. 9 And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?" Genesis 4:8-9 KJV The rest of the story is how Cain became a fugitive, so to speak, but God put a mark on him so no one would harm him.

But do you know the story of Isaac and Ishmael? They were also two brothers: one of whom was full of animosity towards the other. They had the same father, but different mothers. Their father was Abraham, who was known as the forefather of the Jewish nation. Ishmael was his firstborn from his wife's Egyptian servant, because Abraham and Sarah got impatient waiting for God to make good on his promise to give them a son. God had told Sarah that she would be a "mother of nations" but she didn't believe Him. So...she was 90 when she finally did give birth and Abraham was 100, as God made them wait 25 years for their unbelief.

Unfortunately, Ishmael did not like his young brother and was mean to him. Sarah saw this and said to her husband, "Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac. And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son. And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in they sight because of the lad, and because of they bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called. And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba." Genesis 21:10-14 KJV. 

Don't feel bad for Ishmael. "And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation." Genesis 21:17-18 KJV.

Until several years ago I had wondered if the two brothers ever reunited. I got my answer when I came across this passage: "Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people. And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre." Genesis 25:8-9 KJV. They came together to bury their father. And that's pretty much the last we hear of Ishmael, yet not Isaac. So it isn't as if they reunited because of a familial bond.

You may be asking yourself 'so what makes them worse than Cain and Abel'? Well, remember how each one was going to be the father of a nation? Isaac was the father of the Jewish nation, while Ishmael was the father of Islam. And that kind of sums it up, and explains the animosity between those two nations: even to this day. It's amazing what you can discover when you read the Bible and do some research.

Have a blessed day.

It's A God Thing

I had two interesting things happen to me this week, that could only be classified as tiny miracles. The first one happened on Monday. I needed to get some dog food and treats for the tiny terrors. Brie and I headed to Target after work. I had 2 gift cards with me: one with about $14 left on it and one from 2022 that said it was $10. I figured between the two of them it should cover the dog items.

So I gathered up a variety of Vivian and Lilly's favorite foods (not spoiled at all!) and a big bag of their favorite chicken jerky ($15 by itself!) and headed for the cashier. We chatted as he rang me up, and I opened my little clutch to get the gift cards. 

Uh oh: I could only find the one for $10! Frantically I dug around some more, but to no avail. I handed him the $10 one and continued to root around, finally realizing I would have to use some cash. Then the cashier said, "Thank you." I looked at him, and he continued, "You have $18 left on this card." "Um...say what?" The cashier showed me the receipt as he handed me the card. "Yeah, it has $10 written on it but it rang up as $50. Must be your lucky day!" "I'll say! Thank you!" As I walked out I thought 'what the heck'? I had purposely not used that card because it was only $10, but I guess the joke was on me. Or maybe the person who gave it to me! Hey, either way I was very grateful 😊

Yesterday after work I had to stop at Hannaford to get the dogs their oven roasted rotisserie chicken breast, which is what they prefer for breakfast 😖 So I had three things to get: the chicken, four cans of chicken for chicken salad for me and Brie, and my chocolate Pot du Crème, which is like very fancy (read expensive) pudding. So delicious! I knew exactly how much cash I had, and it was enough to cover my purchases.

I pick up my items and then leisurely made my way to the cashier. We chatted as she rang up my items. I then unzipped my clutch to get out my $20. Hmm...I didn't see it. I began a deep dive yet only singles, no $20 appeared. Mortified, I asked the cashier if she could just void my sale and I'd move to the side to find the rest of my money so I wasn't holding up the line. Then, the lady behind me said, "How much are your items?" "$16 and change," I replied. "I'll pay for it." I gaped at her. "Oh that's not necessary, I know that $20 is in here somewhere!" She opened her wallet and handed a $20 to the cashier. "I'm happy to pay for it. This is money from my Super Bowl winnings!" I had to chuckle. "Well that's the only good thing the Chiefs did for me!" The cashier gave her her change, and I thanked her profusely. "Thank you and may God bless you!" She smiled. "I could use that!" Then I left.

I made sure to say a prayer of blessing for that nice woman. Of course I was a bit embarrassed because I figured maybe they might have thought it was a scam or something, but nope! Just an opportunity for God to show he's in my corner. And who knows? That woman could have been an angel sent to make sure the dogs got their deli chicken! Either way: I am so very grateful for my two tiny miracles. And I'm not talking about the dogs!

Fat Tuesday

 Lent starts tomorrow, which means today is Fat Tuesday. I have never been Catholic, but in elementary school all of my friends were and they explained Fat Tuesday and Lent to me. So in solidarity, I would faithfully give something up for Lent each year. 

As you can imagine, after leaving school all of my friends stopped with that practice. Not me! I kept it up for decades. I gave up all the good and fun foods for Lent, which turned out to be the best way to jump-start losing weight for the year. When you give up Girl Scout cookies, ice cream, cake and candy: that doesn't leave much, ha ha!

However, after all those years I started to feel like that wasn't enough. Did Jesus really care if I gave up junk food? Did that further His kingdom in any way? I think we all know the answer to that. So a few years ago, I started a new tradition. When Lent started, each night before I went to bed I would message someone and tell them what I appreciated about them, or what made them special. I figured this way, when they woke up in the morning, they would have something positive to carry them through the day. I wasn't looking for anything in return: I just wanted them to know that someone out there was thinking about them and wanted them to know they are special and why. 

This gave me more satisfaction than giving up sweets ever could. And I found out how many people needed this affirmation too; and it seemed to come at the exact right time in their life. So this was definitely a God thing. He knew what these people needed, and I was able to provide it.

Tomorrow I will start this again for the...fourth year I think. It makes me feel good to do this, and to let people know I care about them. I don't start out knowing who I will contact: it's whoever the Lord leads me to on a particular night. So check your social: you never know if you'll be next!

Oh, and I'll still give up Kool-Aid and probably ice cream for Lent. But it's not what's important anymore. People are. And I want to thank you for reading my blog and making me feel special and appreciated!

Best Concert Ever!

I am late to the Pink Floyd party, but the important thing is I got here. When I was growing up my brothers listened to their music. But since I had heard that it was 'head' music, I knew that meant you listened to it while you were smoking pot. Since I said no to drugs, I wouldn't listen to the music because I didn't want to be a drug addict. Yeah, I know! So fast forward 40 years, and I was finally mature enough to know I could listen to the music and not get hooked on drugs 😎 

It was actually Clancy that got me listening to them a few years ago. It turned out that Roger Waters was going to be performing in Albany and he really wanted to go. Tickets were going on sale prior to his payday,  so he said he'd buy my ticket to go if I got the tickets when they went on sale, and he'd pay be back. I had heard a few songs by this time and agreed. Why not go to a free concert that he was so excited about? Of course, I was naïve and thought it was going to be a brother / sister bonding experience: right up until he said we needed 4 tickets so his best friend and his girlfriend could go. Sigh...whatever. But since he was paying for the tickets, I said I'd get limo guy to drive us.

Prior to the show, I felt I needed to familiarize myself with their music, since I had only heard a few songs. So I proceeded to listen to every album I could find on YouTube. And what do you know? I didn't become addicted to drugs, ha ha! Listening to their music is a surreal experience: it takes you somewhere else and immerses you in the sound. Plus, the musicality was amazing! I was looking forward to the show.

I had gotten us really good seats at the MVP Arena. I wasn't too sure of what I'd be seeing at this show, but I was prepared to like it anyway. 

This show absolutely blew my mind. Hands down the best concert I've ever been to. It was soooo good, and unlike any other show I had seen. I wish the videos I had taken weren't too large to load here because it had to be seen to be believed! When I take pictures or videos, it's never more than like 30 seconds because I want to live the experience, not view it through a lens. The special effects were the best I'd seen at a live show. There was one part where I got so caught up: I actually believed that this town was coming from the ceiling! (yeah yeah: I'm naïve with childlike wonder. I do have videos and pictures on my Facebook though) It's so hard to explain, but if you get a chance check out Pink Floyd live concerts on YouTube, even though that is just a taste of what it's actually like. And I promise you: you won't get hooked on drugs if you listen!

I'm just sorry I'll never get to see Pink Floyd live: only either David Gilmour or Roger Waters since they had a horrible break up years ago. But their musical genius will live on, and on. 

 

Thanks for Stopping By!

 Many of you know that every so often, I get a "visit" from someone who has passed on. Are they visits or dreams? Either way, it's become old hat to me now. So I'll tell you who recently showed up.

I must have had this dream early Saturday morning. In the dream my girls and I were living in a house we had moved out of in 1996. The girls were grown though, and Brie had company over. It was a young woman named Sarai and her young boyfriend. They have never been to our house before, but I digress. Someone knocked on the door and I asked Kitty who it was. She replied, "It's Uncle Dick."

Uncle Dick died 11.24.2023, exactly 2 months after Marie, his sister, died. But I still went to the door to find him in the front yard. "Um...hello there!" I said. "Hello! I was hoping you could help me with something." "Sure Uncle Dick, what do you need?" "Well, I've been trying to order these magazines but I'm having a real problem." I thought, 'of course you're having a problem because you're dead' but I only said, "Of course I'll order the magazines for you."

Then he came on the porch and came inside. I must say: he looked great! Big white teeth and smiling broadly: he looked to be about 50 (he was 88 when he died). "Then can you do me one more favor?" "Of course Uncle Dick." "I need three kinds of grapefruit. Can you get them for me?" "Um...sure." "Okay, three of each if you don't mind." I was trying to think of three kinds of grapefruit but said, "Sure, I'll get you nine grapefruit, three of each kind." "Thank you!" Then he was gone and I woke up.

I don't remember Uncle Dick eating any grapefruit, so I figured they were probably for Marie. She's a slick one!

This morning was part 2. In this dream, I was at work (but for some reason it always seems to be Financial Aid, and not the department I currently work in!). Apparently we were going to have a prom for the employees and I was in charge of it. So I was handling the arrangements and then discovered that no one had bought a ticket, and the last day was in three days! So I feverishly sent out emails to get some sales, but then had to go. Brie asked me where I was going and I said I had to pick someone up from work.

I drive up to this white building and park in the lot. I could see the window where this person worked. Then my sister Robin showed up in the window and I waved. She didn't wave back. I waved again, but again no response. Finally I yelled out the window, "Are you coming or not?" She yelled back, "Oh, I couldn't see that it was you! Coming!" Then of course I woke up.

I have a couple of thoughts about why this keeps happening. One reason could be unfinished business, which is kind of hard to finish when people pass on. And trust me: there is definitely unfinished business between me, Marie and Robin. But sadly, at this point it will remain that way.

Another reason could just be because I miss them, and this is how I stay connected. And at the end of the day: this isn't so bad. So Robin and Uncle Dick: thanks for stopping by!