From the Inside Out

After church today (see previous blog), we did some shopping and then headed to Hibachi Rock in Allen for Clarissa’s birthday.  She turned 13 this week.  I can’t believe she’s already that old…how quickly time flies. 

With this birthday, Kathy is now the mother of a teenager, and my prayers go out to her.  *smiles*  The odd thing for me was the realization that if I’d had a child at the same time as Kathy and Laura H., then I would also be the mother of a teenager — isn’t that a weird thought?

Anyway, I’d never been to Hibachi Rock before, but it was great.  Hibachi Rock is a sushi bar and grill.  None of us are sushi fans, so we opted for the “grill” part of the restaurant.  It’s a Japanese steakhouse, similar to Benihana.  Dinner started with salad followed by miso soup.  Then the cook came out and put on a great little show for us.  The kids loved it and so did the adults.  The food was outstanding — a little pricey, but good.  If you are looking for a fun dining experience, you should check it out.

That was the theme of Pastor Jeff’s sermon today.  He talked about the odd instruction that was given to Naaman (commander of the army of Aram) when he sought healing from the prophet, Elisha.  Naaman was insulted when he was told to go dip in the Jordan river seven times.  Basically, he was saying, “You want me to do what?”

How many times have we done the same thing when God asks us to do something we didn’t expect (or didn’t want to do)?  Sometimes you have to go ahead and trust God, even when it doesn’t make sense, even when you don’t know why.  It’s all about obedience. 

Naaman’s servant reminded him that if Elisha had asked him to do some great thing, Naaman would have done it.  But he didn’t want to humble himself and wash in the dirty Jordan river.  It was beneath him; it was too simple. 

The funny thing is, it worked.  Naaman was healed of his leprosy, and God’s glory was revealed.  It didn’t happen because Naaman had faith (in fact, he was a heathen).  It happened because he was obedient.   

When God asks you to do something uncomfortable or you are going through something you don’t understand, keep following His guidance.  Keep trusting His plan.  In the end, His glory will be revealed and healing will come.

Well, I finished writing Scene 2 of ”Pirates of Patmos” much earlier than I planned.  To be specific, it was 4 am this morning when I shut down the PC and finally headed to bed.  The good thing about writing late at night is that my ideas really seem to flow well – it’s when I’m most creative.  The bad thing is that once the creativity starts, it’s really hard to shut it off. 

After sleeping late, we headed out for some shopping today.  We also picked up the snowboard and skis.  They are tuned, waxed and ready to hit the snow – only a few days left until we’re in Breckenridge, yay!

Tonight, we met up with the One Life Group (young married’s group) from church for dinner at Two Rows.  Good conversation, good food and great friends.  What more can you ask for?

Gary rushed home tonight because we had a party to attend.   It was supposed to start at 5 pm — an odd hour to start on a Friday since most people are just getting off work at that time.  “Oh well,” we thought, “we’ll just be late.” 

The theme for the party was “black and white”, which means you have to come dressed in black and white (or all black or all white).  Anyway, I’m frantically getting ready around 6ish, when Gary suddenly announces that the party isn’t on Feb. 22nd; it’s on Saturday, March 22nd.  D’oh!

Gary had called to get directions and learned we had the wrong date.  I am so glad he called.  Otherwise, we’d have shown up at their house like idiots….whew, pretty funny, huh?

So, since we were all dressed up and had no where to go, we ventured out for dinner and found ourselves at Pei Wei eating edamame and orange chicken. 

I finished writing the first scene of “Pirates of Patmos” (our summer drama production) last night.  It’s coming along nicely and should be ready just in time for casting in April.  Hopefully, I’ll have scene two knocked out by Sunday.  Anyway, Gary and I were discussing the script and brainstorming at dinner.  When I opened my fortune cookie, I started laughing. 

It said, “You have a love of words.  Someday you should write a book.” 

Good timing.

Tonight, Gary and I caught dinner at Ricardo’s and then headed over to Plano’s Cox Building Playhouse to watch a stage play.  One of Gary’s friends from work (Brad) is in charge of the lighting for the production.  The play is “1984″ by George Orwell, and it was performed by Frisco Community Theatre. 

According to enotes.com, “Published in 1948 and set thirty-six years in the future, 1984 is George Orwell’s dark vision of the future. Written while Orwell was dying and based on the work of the Russian author Yevgeny Zamyatin, it is a chilling depiction of how the power of the state could come to dominate the lives of individuals through cultural conditioning. This apocalyptic satire shows with grim conviction how Winston Smith’s individual personality is wiped out and how he is recreated in the Party’s image until he does not just obey but even loves Big Brother. Some critics have related Winston Smith’s sufferings to those Orwell underwent at preparatory school, experiences he wrote about just before 1984. Orwell maintained that the book was written with the explicit intention “to alter other people’s idea of the kind of society they should strive after.”

The story is rather dark (and a bit long), but the performances from the principal actors were outstanding.  During the cultural conditioning scenes, the emotion was intense and very believable.  The staging/sets were simple, but effective – sometimes less is more. 

The Cox Playhouse is a small, intimate theatre.  Some of the seats towards the back didn’t have a great view, but I was sitting on the aisle so I could see most of the action.  If you go, try to sit towards the front.

All in all, it was a good evening, and I’m glad we went.  It got me out of the house and kept me from working all night, which is a very good thing.  And here’s even better news….tomorrow is Friday (yay!).  Have a good one.