Sunday (May 22) I went to church with my friend, Summer. I am so glad she went with me, otherwise I am not sure I would have gone. I used to always need someone with me to do EVERYTHING.. I am more of a grown up now and I very likely would have still gone, but I may have backed out at the last minute. The church we went to was HOPPING. It was quite an experience. We walked in to see a little restaurant and an actual auditorium with a stage set up full of band equipment as if we were at a concert, video screens and all. The band was pretty awesome, for Christian music, which I am not usually a fan of. My excuses in the past for not going to church were things like boredom, crappy music and too many pushy Christians acting almost cult-like, pushing the religion on people. This was different.. we were able to keep to ourselves and kind of stay hidden in the back just to observe. The band started out first.. Pretty awesome with back up singers, lyrics on the screens and SMOKE MACHINES! I still laugh at Summer's "OH SNAP!" reaction to the smoke machines. She was pretty impressed right away, as was I. When the sermon started they mentioned people being baptized and I wondered if they meant THAT day.. wouldn't that be odd.. I have wanted to be baptized for MANY years now, especially in the past five years. The sermon seemed like it was aimed directly at me. He covered everything I ever doubted about Christianity and the bible. I was so glad to be there on THAT day.. the perfect timing to be there. At the end of the service they asked if anyone wanted to be baptized and I hesitantly got up after Summer agreed to do it with me. I could not let the opportunity pass me by.. so I went forward and did it. I did not wear a bra.. big mistake. The dress I had on was not bra-friendly.. and I had to change into a T-shirt for the baptism.. I was very self conscious.. I don't know how anxious I am to see the video of this. Haha! After the baptism we were congratulated by many happy Christians.. It was pretty great.
The next day (Monday, May 23) was the pre-sale for the Pearl Jam 20th Anniversary Festival at Alpine Valley.. mom had agreed to buy tickets for Steve and me as an early Christmas gift.. so I was at her house before noon to secure our tickets with her credit card. It was a huge event, just trying to get them. The Ten Club website kept crashing and we (the fans) were simply told to "keep trying". I literally tried for eight hours to get the tickets. Twice they appeared in my cart yet I continuously got errors and was not able to complete the transaction.. Finally, the fan club told us to stop trying for the day and that they would resume the next day at the same time, if they had their website server fixed.
Early into trying to get the tickets, Nico decided to reward me in his own little way, by rolling from his back to his stomach. He did this while my mother was gone, with me as the only witness.. then my mom came back and the little pork chop did it again for Grandma to see.. we are all so proud of our perfect little guy. He sure makes it easy to smile, even when things are not going my way. I was so excited to share the news with Steve, but by the time Steve got there it was not happening again. So, Steve will have to wait until another day to see his little miracle perform this new milestone for him.
The next day (Tuesday, May 24th) the tickets went on sale again, as scheduled.. and after some more errors and refreshing my screen several times, I got the tickets! It will be quite an amazing show.. two nights at Alpine Valley with Pearl Jam, Queens of the Stone Age, Mudhoney and soooo many other bands performing. I have seen Pearl Jam at this venue before and it is the BEST place to see them. Tailgaters, with every car blasting a different Pearl Jam song, people meeting each other and making friends..cooking on mini grills, playing horseshoe, bean bag tosses, hacky sacks, or just relaxing in the sun.. even before the concert is an event in itself. The venue is amazing.. Thousands upon thousands of fans singing along to songs I have known so well for so long.. it gives me goosebumps just thinking about it.. and I get to experience it again.. twice in a row.
I am so blessed with amazing gifts in my life. My children are a gift.. music is a gift, Steve is a gift, and my mother is a gift. I love them all dearly and I don't know what I would do without them.
Thought of the day (Wednesday, May 25):
People sometimes take your kind words and actions for granted and don't think to thank you or take the time out of their day to give you a compliment here and there. A great friend of mine on FaceBook named Lisa Menfi ALWAYS takes time out of her day to give me kind words and compliments and it means the world to me.. she always makes me smile and brightens my day with her praises on the beauty of my family. Remember this.. when you do not reply to someone's comments, compliments or random smiles/smilies people DO NOTICE. Silence is sometimes more harsh than negative words. Never snub a person who thought enough of you to leave you a random kind message or compliment.
Oh my Lord, I just left the longest comment on your blog Tonya and for some reason it didn't post :( I said.....I know what you meant when you said that your day in church felt like it was meant solely for you. When I've attended church (not often enough) I've always remarked on how it seems like the sermon being given was directed at me. I could actually feel your words as I read them. Interesting turn of events on purchasing your tickets, but as you well know everything happens in order when it's supposed to :) It was so nice of your mother to buy the tickets for you as an early Christmas gift...keep her close to your heart!! I like what your last comment was. I try to post a positive or uplifting post every morning in hopes of helping someone out there that may need some words of encouragement. Not too many people "Like" it considering I have 305 friends on facebook and only about 5 or 6 people "Like" what I say. I live on an island off the coast of Maine and it's as small town as they come 1200 people year round. I'll have people stop me on the street and thank me for my post that morning and saying that my post helped them with their issue that day...so I guess what I'm trying to say is...you don't always have to be recognized to be heard :) You're an amazing mother and great person, I know that simply by reading your posts...everyday.
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