Picnic in the Park, and other fun things

First off, I DID leave someone off the list in my last blog...Jon Voight was also there. Now, how many of you can say you've seen the grandfather of Brangelina's baby?

So, as I'm getting to know more people, my weekends are definitely getting more full and fun. Friday night was my turn to help lead the "Movie Playgroup", along with Sarah, one of my co-workers. We went to see Mission Impossible, which was pretty entertaining. Afterwards, we ate dinner at Chevy's...somehow I think that eating at a restaurant that exists in Columbia, MO should be outlawed when you're in a city like New York. But, it's in the same building as the theatre we went to and I had no choice in the matter. This was my first experience with a Chevy's and I'll be okay if it's my last. People warned me about the Mexican food in NYC and they were right. It certainly made me miss Mi Cocina...where are my brisquet tacos?? Anyway, the evening was very enjoyable and I really liked some of the people I met and got to talk to. Afterwards, it was LATE, but Sarah and I decided to walk home...she lives near where I was staying. That turned into a few guys deciding to walk with us so we could all go see David Blaine. I hadn't seen it at night and heard it was a little cooler when David's bubble was a lit up. (Sarah won't admit it, but she went almost every day last week)! Anyway, we actually stood in the line this time and got up close and personal with D.B. The most exciting part was when a lady who had obviously had a few too many fell off the platform and screamed and everyone gasped. We thought something had happened to D.B., but nope, just a highly intoxicated chica wearing stilletos.

We had Servant Evangelism on Saturday-- handed out gum and flyers this time. I was on a corner directly in front of where David Blaine's bubble was. So, yes, for the 3rd time last week, I got to see David Blaine. But, it was a great place for SE because there were TONS of people there to see him and our gum went very quickly! SE seems to be an extremely effective tool. Most the people I meet in the church have found The Journey through SE and many of them were not Christians before coming to The Journey. In fact, one of our ministers found the journey 4 years ago when he was handed a flyer and gum or something on the street. He was not a Christian at the time, but has since accepted Christ as his Savior and is now on the ministerial staff!

After SE, I got to attend a fabulous picnic in Central Park! The weather was perfect for a picnic and you just can't beat CP! We picked up food at the fabulous Whole Foods and then headed over to Sheep's Meadow and lounged around. Super fun and I think I got a bit of a tan on my face!

Sunday was church-- no work for me this weekend- yea! I loved just attending the service and truly getting a worship experience. The music was fantastic. Nelson was sick, so the other teaching pastor, Kerrick, gave the sermon. I really like Kerrick and enjoyed his sermon on Balancing Your Time.

Sunday afternoon I got to attend my first Journey baptism. Amazing!! About 20 people were baptized and it was really cool because they were all given the opportunity to share their experiences or thank the people who helped them develop a relationship with Christ. The group of people were very diverse...one is a Jewish guy who got so emotional and seemed so passionate about the Man he now believes is his Savior. Another lady came all by herself, had only come to church 3 times and told us that she is physically alone in this world. Most people came with a change of clothes, but because she hadn't been able to go home and get them, she said she decided it must not be in God's plan for her to be baptized yet. Then one of the ministers told her we had extra clothes and she said she had to go ahead and do it. She has been a Christian for a while, but not walking w/ God and felt led over the past few weeks to go ahead and be baptized and said she's jumping in with both feet this time around. She's a rock-star-- has actually played base for some major-label bands and is trying out for The Journey band this weekend...pretty cool! There were several other cool stories, too. The baptism itself was really exciting with lots of screaming and cheering as each person was brought out of the water.

I honestly miss the depth of Dr. Denison's sermons..I learned SO much from that man's knowledge and wisdom during my 7+ years in Dallas. He captured my attention week after week. I experienced significant spiritual growth during my time at PCBC and my relationship with God went to a level I didn't know existed. But, I've been learning a lot this year on not focusing so much on ME when it comes to worship...even Dr. D spoke about that during a sermon before I moved. Yes, I should be growing and constantly developing my relationship with Christ, but worship should be about God...what I can bring to Him. The Journey really seems to be changing lives, bringing people to Christ and that's really what matters most. Maybe the sermons don't have the depth that Dr. D's did, but they are effective for this community and are reaching the goals of the church, which are in line with the goals Christ laid before us...to love Him, love others, and be fishers of men. So, I'm going to try to work on focusing less on me and more on God's plan and will and on loving others!