The calm before the storm

This week has been rather uneventful. I am actually very greatful for that. I have been able to have some productive alone time. I've spent most of my time running errands and getting ready to be gone for 2 weeks. My car is in good condition, with a full tank of gas and an audio book in the cd player! Now I just have to work Friday night and all day Saturday then I head out on Sunday morning! So, If we haven't made plans yet give me a call so I can put you on the calender. My second week home is still pretty open.

Father's Day with The Father: God, Me, and my ipod.

I didn't go to church today...I know,I know I'm a heathen. After an exhausting week of playing tour guide then working all weekend I just needed to sleep in. Plus, the thought of sitting down and listening to someone talk for an hour was not very appealing. After I got up I decided I needed to go work out and get a few things done today but the thought of walking on a treadmill inside made me sad. So, instead of going to the gym I went to Rockland lake. While I work out sometimes I like to listen to sermons. So I set my ipod to a Safe Harbor Sermon I had not listened to yet and I started walking. As I walked I very quickly noticed all the families that were out at the lake today cooking out and playing games. I began to feel a little sorry for myself that I was all alone walking around the lake while my family was back in Alabama together celebrating Father's Day. I then began to think about the fact that this is not the first holiday that I have spent by myself and certainly won't be the last. Because of the life that God has called me to, I will be a part from my family and friends for the majority of the time. I began to pray and I felt the presence of God with me and I suddenly did not feel so alone anymore. I felt a real peace and comfort that God was right there with me and I would never be alone.

About half way around the lake I came to a another large section of families enjoying eachother. I felt very joyful for them and how fortunate I am to live in such a diverse place. It was beautiful to look around and see people of all nationalities celebrating in thier language and in thier own way.

Towards the end of my walk around the lake I saw some swans resting in the water so I decided to sit on a bench and watch them. As I sat and praised God for the beauty around me I realized that as much as I see myself as a tiny ugly duckling, God sees me as His beautiful swan. After swimming around for a few minutes they decided to fly. I don't think I have ever really watched swans take off out of the water before. It was very interesting to see how they started flapping thier wings really hard just to get thier feet on top of the water. Then they actually run on the water for a few feet until they can get enough air under thier wings to actually take off in the air. Once they are in the air they still have to flap thier wings really hard to get up enough air under thier wings to soar above the lake and really fly. It was a beautiful site that I was very fortunate to see. I also noticed though that after all the hard work to just get up in the air they still had to work once they got up there. They floated for a few seconds but then they would have to flap thier wings to keep them in the air and then float for another few seconds. It was a continual cycle but I am sure well worth it just to be in the air flying.

After they left I continued on my walk but I kept thinking about the swans. Thier taking off is really symbolic of a Christian's life. We could be content to just float along in the calm cool water all day and just be the cookie cutter little Christian that we have always been. Or, we can begin to flap our wings by spending time with God and put a little more effort into KNOWING him. After flapping our wings for a little while then we can finally have the faith to not walk, but run on the water with the promise that He is the air under our wings and he is going to lift us up to new heights. Finally, after our faith is strong enough we can fly and rest on the Wind of our God, never forgetting to spend time with him to continue building up that wind underneath us.

I'm so thankful that I have a Heavenly Father that sees this tiny, awkward, ugly duckling as His Beautiful, graceful, swan and who is willing to be the wind that carries me. This promise is why I am willing to go wherever He takes me.

Leah does NYC

 

Leah came to visit me for the week and I got to play tour guide again. We went on the same tv and movie tour that Aunt Connie and Heather went on. It was great fun. We made it to the tour bus on time this time! Leah was very impressive with her trivia knowledge!

 

We started off our second day in the city with Central Park. We went to Strawberry fields first, which is somewhere that I have always wanted to go. While we were in central park we were very excited to see the M. Knight Shamalan(don't know how to spell it). He was on the phone while we walked by. I am guessing he was scouting out the location for his next movie!

 

This was Leah's first time in NYC. It has been fun experiencing things with her for the first time. She was very impressed with the lights of Time Square. We went to see Mary Poppins Tuesday night. It was FABULOUS! The sets alone were amazing but the songs and actors were also great! I would reccommend it for anyone coming to the city! Warning: don't expect it to be just like the movie.

Tea Time and Sushi!

 
Molly, Sarah and Katie took me into the city for my birthday on Wed. First we went to Magnolia's(a trendy bakery in the Village) and got cupcakes. Then we went to "Tea-rific" in Chinatown. It is a chinese tea house that has great bubble tea. We had nice tea and conversation. It was the perfect end to a great birthday. The picture is just of Katie and me. We look very buisness like because it was rather chilly so we had to wear jackets. Sorry, I don't have a picture of all 4 of us who were there.
 
Friday night I got very lucky and walked into work to find somebody wanting to pick up my shift. Some of my friends were having a "make your own sushi" party so I very quickly agreed to not work. Making my own sushi was rather fun since I am pretty picky about my sushi. This picture is of my rolling my sushi. Impressed?
 
Isn't it beautiful? I must say I was pretty impressed with my first attempt. In case you are wondering what I put in my roll, it was carrots, avacado, and cucumber. No crab or any other raw meat for me!
 
It was very yummy, if I do say so myself!

In Honor of Jennifer Stone!

Happy Birthday to Jennifer! I had a big idea of a photo montage in honor of you but that would involve messing up a hundred times and crying alot so I decided against it. We love you lots Jennifer Stone and I can't wait to see you next month!