New York, New York - The City of Dreams

(Me @ Central Park)

Here are pictures of New York. I had a lot of fun. But there are too many people and it's too expensive for my taste. Lots of interesting things to see and hear, though. I WISH I could tell all of the subway stories.

Rockefeller Center

Left: I LOVE the brick buildings in NY / Right: Me on the Big Piano @ FAO Schwartz

Me w/ my funnel cake at Coney Island. Coney Island is pretty ghetto, by the way. Not what I was expecting.

Subway Performances: We saw LOTS of those. People are just SO willing to share their gifts w/ subway riders....and get money for it, of course. I was serenaded by a flute player, bucket drummers, singers, and even an accordian player.

Statue of Liberty: Probably the coolest statue I've ever paid to see.

The Big Apple

I'm in New York on vacation right now, so this won't be long.  But I had a little time, so I thought I'd drop a quick update and say "hi."

I've been in NY since Sunday (for about 4 days) and I've seen a bunch of stuff - Statue of Liberty, Rockefeller Center (including 30 Rock), Times Square, SoHo, Chinatown, Little Italy, Harlem, Coney Island, the Financial District (including the bull - same bull statue they show in "Hitch") and walked on the Brooklyn Bridge.  I've ridden the subway and taken the bus all over the place, but I've also done A LOT of walking.  My legs are so sore it's not even funny.  I'm going to need a massage when I get back.  However, the upside to that is I can eat whatever I want because I'm walking it off everyday.  LOVELY!

I get back on Sunday night, so I'll upload pictures as soon as I can.

Next Update:  Album status, new blog site for the album and ways you can contribute.

Captivating

This post is primarily for the ladies, but men can learn from it too:

As I watched the little girl twirling in her summer dress in front of the church yesterday, I saw something in real life that I'd been reading about in "Captivating" (by Stasi Etheridge) - that all little girls want to be seen and thought of as pretty.

Ladies - I definitely recommend this book, although, I think I'm the last one to read it.

"Captivating" tells us about who God created us to be as women. So far, I've taken 3 major lessons out of the book:

1. Woman was the last thing God created and each creation He spoke into existence was (arguably) more beautiful and complex than the one before. Each part of creation had a specific purpose, but God got more detailed with each succeeding creation. Again, woman was the last thing created. That says A LOT about our complex nature.

2. Woman was created because God saw that is wasn't good for man to be alone. That should give us a BIG clue about our purpose as women. It should tell us that our purpose is to reflect God's heart for relationship. That's why women are seen as more relationship-oriented and men more task-oriented. Women are here to remind that world that God loves relationships, the ultimate relationship being our relationship with Him.

3. Satan really hates women. Why? Well, Lucifer was beautiful and full of himself (Eze 28) and because of his inability to humble himself to God, He was kicked out of heaven. He hates women because we reflect God's beauty. He also hates us because He's all about death and women give life. So, Satan has pretty much been out to get us from the beginning (notice who he approached in the garden) trying to mess w/ our heads about our identity, causing us to doubt our beauty, etc. I'm sure I'm not making this sound as eloquent as the book, but that's the gist of it.


So what does this have to do w/ worship?

I think I've said this before, but an important part of worship is understanding and recognizing who God really is (how can you love and praise something you know nothing about?). As we get closer to Him in worship, we begin to see more of who He is. As we see and acknowlege more of who He is, we begin to understand more of who WE are.

So in recognizing who God created me to be as a woman, I am learning more about Him. That will deepen my worship.

Random Thoughts

A few things to ponder or try out:

• If hope deferred makes the heart sick (Prov. 13:12), then would hope that is killed permanently damage the heart?
• I wonder how close people have come to knowing the mysteries of God and the spiritual realm. Have you ever been trying to figure out a complicated spiritual matter and came up w/ some theories, but kinda gave up because you couldn't come to a conclusion? I wonder how close we've actually come "solving the mystery" of what God was doing or why something happened at this time, etc.
• Think I mentioned this in my last post, but check out Tommy Walker's "Do it Lord" and "When I Don't Know What to Do." They are great songs.

Okay, I'm done.

As an update, I'm crazy busy right now. Things should slow down a little after this weekend, but I still have a lot on my plate this summer. I don't want to give anything away prematurely, but I think we might see my vision of bridging the gap become more public by the end of the year. Yep, yep...things are moving....

Cure for the Short Term Blues

Hi,

Ever just have one of those days where you're kinda down, unmotivated and not feeling very chipper? You know it's not a deep depression or spiritual low valley. Maybe you feel a little under the weather and not ready to face the world. You know these blues are temporary and you'll probably feel fine tomorrow. But today is just not your day.

So I feel like that from time to time and I have a cure. Here's what you do:

1. Find an outfit that you love and you know you look good in it (make sure it's appropriate for your plans for the day - work, church, the grocery store, etc.).

2. Put that outfit on and accessorize. Prettify your hair too. (Guys: you can just make sure your hair is presentable I guess)

3. Admire yourself in the mirror

At this point, you should already start to feel a little better. You know you look good!

Here's the best part:

4. Go out into the world and show your AWESOME looking self off. Go to work, to church, the grocery store, out w/ friends, to a movie, on a walk around your neighborhood. Yes, today you want people to look at you and admire. And don't act like you're too saved or too cool to care about what others think. Compliments (aka affirmation) and appreciative looks make us all feel good on the right day (or everyday).

5. Accept the compliments gracefully. Remember, nobody likes a cocky, arrogant person.

Okay. So now you're feeling pretty amazing and you might be wondering why you had the blues in the first place. You can either stop here and soak up your exterior awesomeness (not sure what you're inward parts look like) OR you can go for the clincher. Brace yourself cuz this might sound crazy...

6. Find a place that is private and where you feel comfortable. Get out your digital camera. Set up a place for you to pose. And have a photo shoot. I'm not kidding. You might want to remember the day that you looked great so that you know it's possible again.

Yes, I do this sometimes and I promise it helps. Don't believe me?

And these aren't even the best ones I have...

Hey! Don't knock it till you try it!

Happy Friday!

Music to check out: Tommy Walker - "Do it Lord" and "When I Don't Know What to Do." Awesome songs. Check them out.

Update

Hi World,

Nothing super interesting or deep to report.

Still working on that jerk thing. Not easy. Might take awhile.

Life is great, though : ) I'm getting my act together in lots of ways. Yay for growth and change!

Lesson of the Month: Don't rush the process. It might be uncomfortable, painful or just annoying, but don't rush it. Not easy for me cuz I'm the president of the Process Rushers club, but I'm learning. Maybe May is going to be all about learning.

Are You A Jerk?

Jerk: someone who regularly gives sarcastic remarks (either under their breath or out loud), makes jokes (even if not overtly evil) at the expense of others, or someone whose words are used to belittle or embarrass another person.

That's the definition of a jerk in the community that I live in. And I must admit that I am a jerk. I use sarcasm like a 2nd language and I'm not sarcastic in a cute, funny way. When I am sarcastic w/ adults, it often walks a fine like between hurtful and funny. And if someone laughs, it's usually not the person the comment is directed at. No, I am not an evil person. I love my friends. I enjoy being around people. I don't walk around w/ the intention to hurt others. Still, there are times when my jerk status is undeniable.

God has been dealing w/ me about this so I've been thinking about it a lot and I'm still trying to work things out in my head, but I would like to share some of the things that I've been learning:

1. I've found that there are at least 2 reasons why someone is a jerk: a) They are bitter about life or a situation or b) On some level, they want to make others feel inadequate or look bad in front of others.

I don't think that A applies to me, so I'm going to talk a little about B. I know it seems harsh, but I couldn't come up w/ any other way to say it. Let's face it, we all belittle others at some point in our lives. The car in front of us on the freeway is driving too slow. We switch lanes, get alongside the car and give the driver "the look" before getting in front of him/her. We give the waiter/waitress a horribly low tip to make sure they know that they did a bad job serving you that night. We give a friend the cold shoulder until they apologize. In all of these situations we are screaming "YOU DID SOMETHING THAT I THOUGHT WAS WRONG AND YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT IT."

Now, I don't think that you shouldn't say something if you were hurt by someone you care about. But the situations I describe above are not good examples of showing love to others.

Let's bring in sarcasm. You are at an event for your church on a Friday night and the event planners have provided food for the people who show up. One of the participants complains that “There isn’t any fruit!” or “Why did they get this chicken? Albertson’s is better than this!”

Response 1: Welcome to a free event w/ free food! It’s customary to not complain if you aren’t paying for it.

Response 2: I’m just happy that it’s free.

You can imagine the tone of each response. Response 1 was sarcastic and didn’t show love, just chastisement, and Response 2 was subtle and calm. I think both responses drive the point across, but #2 was less “jerkful.” There is possibly a better response that isn’t rude, but I think you get the point that that Response 1 was sarcastic AND delivered w/ the intent to “put someone in their place.”

2. The tone we use is often more important than what we say. People often hear our tone before hearing the words we’re saying. So if you sound like you’re being a jerk (even if that’s not your intention), you still have a problem. Recognize it and work on it.

3. Unfortunately, people who don’t know you well are quicker to remember the times when you were a jerk. “Once a jerk, always a jerk” in their eyes. That makes it harder for them to receive when you are showing love or being truthful.

That sucks for me because I’m sure that there are people walking around who really think I’m a mean person and don’t want to get close to me because their experiences w/ me haven’t always involved me showing love to them.

No, I am not saying that you can’t tell sarcastic jokes or make side comments every now and then. What I am saying is that your context is important. Be aware of who is around you, who can hear you. ALSO, don’t assume that everyone is okay w/ sarcasm. Some people just don’t communicate like that. Sure, I can be a jerk to Tonee and Minah once in awhile. They know me well enough to know that I’m not trying to be hurtful and I really do love them. However, not everyone is cool w/ that, so I have to do better.