Fall Back

I've hinted at this a bit on here without getting much into the details, but I've made some big changes to my regular activities this fall.  I had been feeling like I was in a bit of a rut and not liking where I was in several areas of my life.  My spiritual life was really lacking and the time I was spending studying God's word or in prayer was just not enough.  I wanted more, but needed to make some changes to kick-start it.  I needed to "Fall Back" into some old habits I had gotten away from.  Thankfully, the changes have helped and have also brought some newness and fresh air, new people and a busyness that I am enjoying this fall. They've also brought some reading into my life. 

A whole. lot. of. reading. 

So, what are these changes I speak of?

-- BSF. I used to do BSF in Dallas, but hadn't tried out the NYC chapter. My good friend Lucy has been doing it here for a couple of years and I've been wanting a good Bible Study, so I'm giving it a go this year. It's an International Bible Study (my sis even did it when she lived in Paris and she is doing it now in Dallas with the boys...they have an incredible kids program!), so you can find it in just about any city. And it's non-denominational...in fact, they ask that you refrain from giving specifics on your own church to your group. It's a Bible study in the rawest form...really just digging into the word. We are studying the book of Isaiah for 32 weeks (Sept-May). There are four parts to BSF 1) each week you have daily scripture reading and questions to do on your own 2) on Monday's we get together in assigned small groups to go over our answers to the questions 3) all the small groups come together to hear a lecture on the material we studied all week and 4) we are sent home with notes from the lecture to read through. So, it's a lot of reading, but I really was craving this. I have trouble coming up with my own Bible Study plans and sticking with it. BSF provides a structure and accountability that I really benefit from. It is held in a beautiful church on Park Avenue, so it's also nice to go there every week. Several ladies from my church decided to do it this year as well, so it's fun to see them and catch-up each week. My small group is amazing. These girls have incredible faith and trust and a huge desire to seek God and follow His will and are doing it so well in a city where things like materialism, sex, excessive drinking, etc... are constantly thrown in your face. I didn't expect to find this type of community at BSF, but I've been very happy with it.

- New Community Group. After about 3.5 years in the same community group, I was ready for a change. When I met these girls, I was fresh off quitting my job at the Journey...I was starting over in New York with a new job, new church, and new friends (for the most part). One of my big prayers was to meet girls around my age and same life stage. What an answered prayer! They were exactly what I thought I needed at the time. We have had a lot of fun over the past few years. But for the last couple of years, I really struggled with it being more of a social group than anything else. And as far as a community group goes, we really weren't a healthy one or didn't embody the things that define what true community is. This past year, I was giving it a final chance and then about half of our group started making some poor decisions not in line with scripture and didn't care (it's the not caring that gets to me...I make poor decisions all the time, too). Although I love these girls dearly and will continue to count them as friends, I just couldn't have my community group be full of people who weren't striving or even desiring to know God and His will better and to be obedient to that. It's really hard to always choose God's way and it's even harder when I don't have people encouraging me in taking that path - and although I totally take responsibility for some of my set-backs over the past couple of years, I was aware that right now I really need to surround myself with other people who were striving for that. It was time for me to move on. I explained it to the girls - they understood and were not surprised as I'd really been trying this past year to take us to the next level and we clearly weren't getting there. So, I immediately moved on to a new group...and I am loving it!! This group sort of exploded when I started going and it's pretty big...about twice the size of my old group.  Some of the girls I've known for a while, although not well. They were so welcoming. Ema, who I've known since my very first days at the church, hugged me no less than 3 times my first night there and told me repeatedly how glad she was that I was there. It was nice and I have felt so welcome there every week. It's a mixed group, so we have guys in our group which is new for me. I have really appreciated their input, though.  One of our leaders is a guy and he is so incredible...so Godly and prayerful. And the group is so sincere and everyone seems to really want to experience a deeper relationship with Christ and true community with each other. So, that has been a welcome change. I am looking forward to spending this next year with this group. And, I'm really enjoying getting to know a few of the girls who I didn't know before and think some of them may become dear friends. In fact, one of the girls, Katie, told me that she's just sure we're going to be close and she knew it the moment I walked in the first night - I have no idea what makes her think that - ha! But, she's adorable and we've been having some fun together.

- Katie and I actually decided to start reading a book together and have been meeting before group each week to discuss the book and eat a yummy meal - fun! We are reading a book that was mentioned on our women's retreat back in September.  Several girls in the church are actually reading thru it together in smaller groups.  So, that's neat that everyone is doing it at the same time.  The book is Beth Moore's "So Long Insecurity".  I have done a couple of Beth Moore's intense Bible studies in the past ("Breaking Free" and "To Live is Christ").  I have found those books to be life-changing.  Perhaps because they force you to really dig into scripture and the power of God's word has a way of transforming your mind and desires so that they conform to Gods.  I have also read her book "Praying God's Word" and that's one I should actually pick back up...it is a great tool for your prayer life.  This past spring, I read on several blogs that different ladies were reading "So Long Insecurity" or going to the conference tied to the book.  I don't feel like I suffer from insecurity as severely as many girls do, but of course, I think we all suffer from it to some extent.  So, I thought this might be a good book.  We're about half-way through and I still haven't gotten a whole lot out of it.  I feel like we haven't gotten to the "meat" yet....hopefully it is coming.  It has made me think about some things and realize some things about myself that I hadn't before or maybe I had and just ignored or pushed out of my thoughts.  I'd love to feel secure 100% of the time...to never walk into a room feeling like I am about to be judged or to always feel like I can be myself.  And I CAN feel that way, it's just a matter of getting to that point and always remembering that God made us in His image and He clothed us with strength and dignity.  He made me a dignified person, one who deserves respect!  If He says that is who I am, who am I to deny it?!

- My book club. I took a few months off of book club in spring and summer...no particular reason other than I was too busy to read or go to the meetings, so I backed off for a bit. But, I missed it, so I've incorporated it back into my life. I missed out on some really great books that I'm going to have to figure out how to fit in now! When I started book club, I liked it because it was a different group of friends outside of church, which is where most of my friends come from. I enjoyed having a different set of people to spend an evening with once a month (sometimes more). Book club started out with a bunch of Texans who knew each other through various connections. But, most of the Texans moved on back to Texas (first Stephanie, then Christina, next was Lynn, and finally Courtney)! Such is life in such a transient city. Only Rosella and I are left from the early days and Texas clan. Beth is still around too...although, she's not from Texas. And Beth has done an excellent job of recruiting more members. She works in the movie industry and has all these friends in the movie industry, so the Texans who left have all been replaced with movie people. Our book club now represents Focus Features, Paramount, Weinstein Bros, and the Tribecca Film Festival. Yes, free movies are in my future! When I went back to club for the first time in August, there were some unfamiliar faces and many I'd seen only once before. Book club had really evolved! I was actually a little nervous going there. It turns out I love it though! In fact, I think I may like this group better than I did the original one. They are so nice and really fun! I've read 4 books since I started back..."One Day" was my favorite. I did not like "The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie". "My Name is Memory" was pretty good, too. We've eaten at some really great spots, too...at the end of August we went to the Clerkenwell, which was a British pub (it wasn't great, but okay). At the end of September, I chose Pink Pony, which is where I went for Joy's birthday last year...super cute little spot with French food in the LES. And at the beginning of November, we went to Pulino's, which is a great pizza place owned by the same people who own the infamous Pastis.

So, yeah!  Lots of reading!  I'm enjoying it all though...I like it when I have deadlines to read because I'm not so good at doing it on my own time.  And all the reading of God's word is really effecting how I feel...in a great way!  It was kind of crazy, but back in September, my pastor made a statement at church and then our BSF leader made almost the exact same statement the very next night during the lecture and it really spoke to me.  This is what was said:

my notes from church -- "We were created in the image of God - to reflect Him, to meet His purposes.  If we flee from that, we are fleeing from what it means to be human."

my notes from BSF -- "Our present reality is this, when we depart from God, we lose our true humanity."

So, I pretty much knew this and it was similar thoughts that led me to make so many changes this fall with the CG change and adding in BSF.  However, I had never heard it worded quite like this and how crazy to hear it two nights in a row.  Probably not so much a coincidence.  It really reminded me how I've felt the past two years when I've often put my relationship with Christ on the back burner.  Basically, I haven't felt like myself!!  And it makes so much sense when I think about it in this way.  God created me to be in relationship with Him and when I am not pursing that, I am less than He created me to be.  I am dehumanizing myself.  It was like bells were going off in my head.  And, after the past couple of months of immersing myself deeper into the Word (not with perfection, but a whole lot more than before), I feel so much more like myself and like I know who I am.  It is so freeing and feels so much more light and easy.  Hope I do not forget this little lesson.  Ever.

Final Catch-Up!

Here is one of my typical random catch-up posts. And you know what?! After this, I am officially caught up after continually lagging behind for months now! Ah, it feels soooo good. So, here's some random fun things I've done recently.....

Mindy and I have hit up Alice's Tea Cup for dinner twice in two weeks! I normally think of Alice's for breakfast/brunch, but we had both gotten coupons and they were only good for dinner Mon-Thurs. We had a super hard time coming up with nights we could go, but finally worked in our 2 trips...just before our coupons were set to expire. I was super impressed with their dinner. Warm, delicious sandwiches...perfect comfort food for the cold fall nights! And one of their amazing scones for dessert - so yum!

Twice a year, the members of my church come together for a brunch and update. I signed up to be part of the baking crew this time and took my Butterhorns. There ended up being around 130 people there...the last one, we only had 90! Huge increase!! And there was a ton of baked goods and they were ALL gone. It was amazing. The updates our pastor and other deacons gave were so good and encouraging. It is such a blessing to be a part of that community where people really love the Lord and want to know Him more and also love this city and want to learn to serve its people better. I was so excited to hear the church is introducing a seminary-level type course in 2011. It costs a little to enroll and would be a major time commitment, but I think it's something I really want to do. I love in-depth studies of the Bible where other people are holding me accountable to keep up with it and I've always wondered about taking a seminary class. This isn't seminary at all, but would be a similar type class. I'm still thinking about it, but will probably do it along with a few people from my community group.

After the church brunch, Lucy and I grabbed lunch. Uh, yeah, we went from brunch to lunch!  I never eat much at those brunches and we ate at 10:00 and didn't leave until close to 1:00, so we got some food at a little Italian deli nearby. After eating and catching-up, we met some other church peeps at the movies. We saw 127 Hours. This was not an easy movie to watch, but it was made really well and the story was told well. I liked it a lot.

The New York Philharmonic put on a production of Mendelssohn's Elijah and I went with about 10 people from church. I've only been to the Philharmonic a few times (not counting when they're in the park, which is a totally different vibe and experience). I liked this one because it wasn't just instrumental and the singers sang the story of Elijah. It was good, but I really shouldn't go to the Philharmonic anymore...I get rather bored and it's probably not a good use of my time or money. Lesson learned - don't let me forget!

Last Saturday, my community group got together for a little shopping and brunch!  I was designated the job of "Angel Tree Ambassador" for our group.  Pretty important, yes?  My church supports Angel Tree every year...giving Christmas gifts and helping sponsor a party and church service for kids and their caregivers who have one or both parent's in jail.  It's a really neat organization.  The prisoners actually get to suggest gifts and write notes to their children so the gifts end up looking like it really is from them.  I got to participate back in October calling the kid's guardians to verify the kids names, ages, gender, etc... and make sure the toys and clothes the parent had suggested were still appropriate/needed/desired.  Some of the parents have not seen their children in several years and you get a dad suggesting a doll for his 14-year-old daughter.  So, the phone calls are to correct things like that.  I was a little nervous about making the calls, but it was actually a really neat experience and some of the conversations were pretty funny.  Anyway, my community group consolidated funds to contribute towards some Angel Tree gifts and then 5 of us went shopping for gifts.  My group was so generous!!  We were able to get all 5 of the Angel Tree gifts we were assigned as well as 4 other random toys we picked up to donate to His Toy Store...another organization my church supports (I helped at that one last year).  After having fun shopping for toys and clothes, we went to brunch at a diner nearby.  Fun times with friends!

My friend, Mindy, was in her first off-off-Broadway play. She was so excited for this. The play was The Seagull and it was recently on Broadway. It was actually a really good story and Mindy was the best actress there. I hope her success in this city continues to grow - she's been working so hard to make the right moves and meet the right people. I'm glad I'm not in the arts - I couldn't hack it!

And now, I'm officially caught up as we head into this busy Holiday season that is sure to create some blog-worthy material.  I'll keep you posted!

Carrie Underwood (cont.)

So, Carrie Underwood?  Yeah, she was AmAzing!!  I like Carrie Underwood, but I honestly didn't expect her concert to be that great.  It was beyond great...so good.  I probably didn't even know half her songs and I'm the type who enjoys music more the more familiar I am with it.  Her voice is so beautiful though.  Flawless.  If I could choose a singing voice for myself, I'd take hers.  And she's cute and fun and her costume changes were great.  I loved it so much that I've added seeing Carrie Underwood at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville to my bucket list!

The best part of the concert?  She created a nice little segue straight from "Jesus Take the Wheel" into "How Great thou Art".  Remember how I said I didn't expect her to pull that one out for this concert?  Well, she did and it was oh. so. good.  She brought the house down with that one.  I mean people clapped after every song, but after that little duo it was thunderous and lasted for a couple of minutes.  I was feeling kind of guilty for missing BSF for the second week in a row to go to this concert, but after that, I felt like I'd definitely gotten in some good worship time.  Loved it!

 Temporary Home was a pretty

worshipful moment as well.

 The flying truck was fun!

 Belting out the last few notes of How Great Thou Art

She said she almost fainted!!

Singing What Can I Say with Sons of Sylvia

Allergic?

So, I've always considered it a great thing that I'm allergic to essentially nothing.  My sister always had really horrible allergies every spring...she always looked and sounded so miserable for a few weeks and when she would rub her itchy eyes, the squishing sounds her eyes made never ceased to gross me out.  Eeew. 

Anywho, I always said I had no allergies, but truthfully I was extremely allergic to poison ivy.  I never really counted that because I thought that anyone who touched poison ivy would have a reaction (is that true?).  I will say, I was extra sensitive, if that's possible.  Or, maybe I just played in the woods a lot (which I did..there was a forest across the street from our house growing up).  I used to get poison ivy all the time and some cases were quite severe.  My parent's used to joke that I would have a reaction if I just smelled a plant nearby.  The worst was the time when I was 10 and I had a reaction all over my body...it was as if I had rolled in it naked and taken leaves and rubbed them on my face.  My eyes were so covered in the itchy bumps that they were completely swollen shut.  This was the only time my reaction was bad enough to freak my mom out and into taking me to the doctor (we were rarely taken to the dr growing up...it had to be really bad for us to go)!  You know, I don't think I've had poison ivy since then...I wonder if it's possible to build up an immunity to it?

Today, I had a new allergy realization.  I think I might be allergic to mollusks.  I ate calamari two times around 2000/2001 and both times got sick to my stomach and threw up later.  I've pretty much stayed away from calamari since then, although I recently had it in a seafood pasta dish, but there was so much other stuff in there that I don't think I really ate much calamari.  A couple of weeks ago, Amanda took Lucy and I to Mermaid Inn for dinner.  Amanda is the voice of Mermaid...she's their social media guru and does all the tweeting and facebooking for them.  This was a restaurant I'd been wanting to try since long before Amanda got the job there, but it was fun to make my first trip with the Mermaid herself and Lucy....plus we got a discount - sweet!  Anyway, we had oysters.  Amanda loves oysters and I told her I wanted her to educate me and order for me.  I'll admit, I didn't love the oysters.  I did, however, love my salmon and veggies...it was SO good.  Later, within a few hours of being home, I got sick to my stomach and threw up.

Today, it dawned on me that maybe there is some sort of relationship between calamari and oysters.  After a little google research, I learned that they are both mollusks...maybe something I should have already known, but I didn't.  The only thing is that scallops are also listed as mollusks and I think I've had those several times without getting sick.  In fact, I have a whole bag of Trader Joe's scallops in my freezer now and am hoping I don't have to throw them out!  I think I may be on to something though...do you??  The other issue is that mollusks are a shellfish as are crustaceans (shrimp, lobster, crab) and from my little bit of research, I learned that if you're allergic to any shellfish, you should stay away from ALL shellfish.  I don't mind staying away from calamari (done it for 9 years now and haven't minded) and I learned I don't like oysters anyway.  But, if someone tells me I can't have lobster the next time I go to Maine, we may have a serious problem here.  Oh, and shrimp cocktail is one of my favorite treats at fancy parties or receptions.  I've never had a problem with crustaceans, can I push my luck and continue to eat those and just ban the mollusks?  Do I have to go to a Dr for this (cause I'm kind of like my mom when it comes to doctors...only when absolutely necessary!)?  Goldilocks' mom, maybe you should weigh in here!

Transparency

Have you ever come across a person who you barely knew, just met, or never even met at all and knew without a doubt in your mind that they were a Christian?  It has only happened a few times in my life and I consider it a privilege that it has happened at all.  I count seeing Christ lived through another life (without even knowing that it is a life committed to trusting Jesus as their Savior) as one of my neatest experiences.  Some of you probably think this is crazy talk, so let me share with you a few examples....

Several years ago, while still living in Dallas, I went to the baby shower of a co-worker, Cari.  It was mostly co-workers and then a few other friends of hers.  One was an older woman and I don't think I even spoke to her...or maybe just exchanged names.  But, I watched her and saw her interacting with other people and I just knew that there was something Holy about her.  There was a gentleness, a kindness, a Joy that cannot be mistaken.  It was so strong that I wanted to ask, but I did not.  However, when it came to gift giving time and Cari opened the gift from this older lady, it was a collection of children's books...every single one of them was a Christian book.  I knew it!

"Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are FILLED with an inexpressible and glorious JOY, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls." 1 Peter 1:8-9

Another time this happened was a few years ago, here in NYC.  I was meeting a friend later, but had some time and needed to grab a bite for dinner.  It was a gorgeous day, so I picked up some cheap sushi to-go and took it to Lincoln Center to eat in the beautiful outdoor area they have.  After a few minutes, a girl came up to me and asked if I had a pen she could borrow.  I found one and gave it to her and that was the extent of our conversation.  There was literally nothing to it, but she had a joy and a light that was unmistakable.  I just knew she knew God well.  I was intrigued and I watched her.  She went and sat not far from me and pulled out her Bible and a journal.  When she came back a bit later to return my pen, I told her I noticed she had been reading her Bible and asked where she went to church.  She was a faithful member of the Brooklyn Tabernacle and I asked her a lot about that as I had always thought of it as more of a tourist attraction...turns out they have a really great community.  Anyway, she was definitely a Christ follower and her time spent with God caused her to glow.

 "When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the LIGHT of life."  John 8:12

I had another experience last week at the Glamour show.  I mentioned in my other post that it was SO awkward when Lisa Leslie accepted her award from Michael Bloomberg.  He was awkward.  She was not.  When she gave her speech, I began to feel like she must be a Christian...she gave God credit for her height (and not in a way that seemed trite).  As she continued to speak, I got the impression that the confidence she has in her height was something that is not of this world...I pegged it as a confidence that could only be gained through trust in Christ.  I just knew she must know God well.  So, I did a little google research later and had trouble finding much, but found this little quote that I believe confirms my thoughts... "I've grown so much since 1996. I think that was the turning point of when I started to go to church every Sunday and not just because you're supposed to. But because you enjoy going and listening to the Word and being excited about it."  Yes, I believe her love of the Word has transformed her.

"Blessed is the one....whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers." Psalm 1:1-3

GLAMOURous Evening!

I was lucky enough to get to be a seat filler at the Glamour Women of the Year Awards again this year!  This is MY Academy Awards.  I even got to take a friend with me this year, so Katie came along.  She was the perfect companion for this because she LOVED it.  We knew ahead of time who the winners of the awards were and were already excited about that list.  But, it was also very, very fun to be surprised with who the presenters were.

Poster at the entrance to Carnegie Hall

As we entered the theatre and made our way to some empty seats up front, I brushed arms with Gayle King and Katie and I crossed our fingers that her BFF, Oprah, might be nearby.

I started the show filling a sit on the aisle on the 3rd row.  Pretty important location, yes?  Easy access to the stage to receive an award, right?  Riiight.  I had no idea at the time whose seat I was in.  There was a lady in front of me who turned around to speak to the man I was sitting next to and she made a comment that the lady he was with looked beautiful.  His response?  "Thank you.  She just went backstage to touch up a bit.  Tory Burch designed her dress for her."  (Found out later that Tory Burch was actually at the show, but I didn't see her..probably wouldn't have known her if I had).  At this point I was clued in...this was the seat of someone important!  Okay, so it wasn't the biggest celeb of the night, but it was an award winners seat...Lindsay Vonn!  The famous Olympic skier who got so much press this year!  Fun!  I didn't get to stay there for long though and bounced around a couple of times before I ended up in a pretty dull spot on the outer edge for most of the show.  At least I had a seat for the show!  Katie lucked into a 2nd row spot and was sitting right at the feet of many of the celebs who spoke on stage...she freaked!

Besides all the great celebrity sightings, the show is also pretty fantastic.  There were so many women honored for some really amazing things.  This is a show you leave feeling proud, inspired, encouraged, and challenged. 

So, who'd we see?  Well....

*NOTE...none of the following pictures are mine.  These are much better than anything I was able to get.

Janelle Monae started the show off with a little song & dance

Arianna Huffington presented to Queen Rania of Jordan

This lady is an inspiration!  She supports her own family (4 kids!) while working to see that girls all over the world have access to good education.

Kate Hudson presented an award to Fergie

They were so cute!  Girlfriends!  Fergie said she requested that Glamour ask Kate to present her award just so they could see each other, since Fergie is always out on tour.  They had plans to go out and have girlfriend time after the show.

Both Hillary Swank and Janet Jackson

presented to Donatella Versace

I loved her dress, but you gotta admit

- she is one strange looking lady.

Plastic Surgery, much?

Hillary wore Versace when she won her Oscar and has considered Versace her good luck charms ever since.  Janet spoke of how Gianni Versace dressed her brother, Michael, from a very young age.  Then, Donatella started doing all Janet's clothing for her own tours.  When Michael died, Donatella dressed the entire Jackson family for the funeral.

Katie Couric presented to Dr. Hawa Abdi and her daughters

They are three women doctors running a refugee camp in Somalia - amazing!

Chelsea Clinton presented to 20 young women/girls

who have done crazy incredible things

One of the young girls (17-year-old, I think) had built a GPS system for spacecraft!

Mayor Bloomberg presented to Lindsay Vonn,

Mia Hamm and Lisa Leslie

This presentation was extremely awkward as Lisa Leslie was probably a whole foot taller than Mayor Bloomberg.  He looked extremely uncomfortable.  I felt extremely uncomfortable just watching it.  You know who wasn't looking too uncomfortable?  The 6'6" Lisa Leslie.  Completely confident, despite her crazy tall height.  And she talked about it a bit in her speech...being so tall wasn't exactly easy as a teenager, but she learned to embrace it and made lemonade out of lemons.

UN Ambassador Susan Rice (2009 winner)
presented an award for all the female
Heads of State across the world.

Only four of these powerful women could make it to the occasion from across the world...these 4 came from Slovakia, Trinidad & Tobago, Liberia, and Lithuania.

Elizabeth Glaser was one of the first Glamour
Women of the Year winners in 1990.  Her
son, Jake, was there to remember her.

Diane Sawyer presented to Katie Spotz

Katie Spotz became the youngest person to ever row across the Atlantic Ocean.  All to raise awareness for the need for clean drinking water across the world.  She was a beautiful and amazing 22-year-old.

And the crowd went WILD when
Oprah Winfrey took the stage.
She presented to her dear friend Julia Roberts.

Julia was who I was most excited to see and she did not disappoint.  So classy and beautiful.  Her speech was funny and inspiring.  She was honored for all the work she has done for children with Rett syndrome.  Her advice to the young girls in the audience?  "Never tuck your hair behind your ears.  It never looks good."

Stanley Tucci presented to Cher

Cher has supported men who have been injured at war.  Two veterans were there who each had lost 1 or 2 legs and gone on to climb crazy mountains across the world thru a program that Cher supports.

Kelly Osborne presented to Constance McMillan

Constance was honored for fighting for her right to take her girlfriend to prom with her.

I have to be honest. This part was tough for me. I hate to get all controversial here, but it's just truly how I felt.  I didn't agree with some things that were said and it is hard to stand up and applaud something that I don't think is best. Kelly said that judging and bullying is what is wrong and that her God loves gay people. And she is so right about all of that. But, what I don't think she gets is that God is a loving Father who wants the very best for His children. And He tells us this isn't part of His plan (it's all over the New Testament and it's helpful to remember that God and His Word was, are, and always will be. And that He alone is Sovereign and All-Knowing and we, clearly, are not). Just as (most of) our earthly fathers would grieve if we started making decisions that they thought were not in our best interest, so does our Heavenly Father.  The difference being that our Heavenly Father is infinitely wise, perfectly just, always loving, where sometimes our earthly fathers falter.  I know all too well that it's not easy to choose the path of righteousness.  I began to think...I struggle pretty intensely with some specific sins. Although I'm not ready to air all the details here, Satan has found the things that he can easily enslave me to and it is very, very hard on a daily basis for me not to fall into his traps. It saddens me and I know that I am missing out on all kinds of blessings, joy, peace, and hope that God freely gives the righteous. I can choose to be a slave to sin or I can choose to be a slave to obedience, which leads to freedom.  Unfortunately, I often find myself obeying the calling of sin. I am pretty sure that if I were to receive an award related to my sin, people wouldn't stand up and applaud the choices I'm making. The sins I struggle with are ones that our culture mostly agrees are not good choices. So, I think the audience would feel sad for me, rather than cheer me on and encourage me to keep doing the same. And that's how I felt when this award was given...sad that she's missing out on the freedom of life lived in righteousness and she doesn't even care or seem to know that there is something even better. It just wasn't something that I could celebrate.....

"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Romans 12:2

"Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness"?  Romans 6:16

I grieve my sins.  I desperately want to quit selling myself short of all God has planned for me and my life and pray to that end that His love would overwhelm me in such a way that I would be increasingly more obedient to Him and find the righteousness and freedom He so freely offers.

Whoops!  Serious tangent there.  On a lighter note, the gift bag rocked!!

H - A - double elle - O - double U - double E - N spells Halloween!

Regarding the title of this post, does anyone remember this catchy tune from elementary school days? This song and Super Turkey have always been big hits in my family around this time of year. My sister is sure to do her impression of Miss Linda Wright (our elementary music teacher) doing Super Turkey on Thanksgiving Day. Can't wait!

My Halloween was rather low-key this year. I was invited to two costume parties, but October was such a busy month that I didn't have time to pull together a costume. I had one free night the week before Halloween and I considered rushing around town to find pieces of clothing and apparel for a Chilean Coal Miner costume, but I just didn't have it in me. I skipped the parties and that was fine with me. Instead, Mindy and I went to a hockey game on Friday night. We had good seats and it was Mindy's first hockey game ever and she loves sports so it was fun to take her.

On Saturday, I got a bit more in the holiday spirit and went with some friends to Greenwood Cemetery. I went out here a few years ago when Julie was visiting and thought it was absolutely beautiful! So, when Sonia mentioned at book club that they were doing a Halloween tour, we decided to go. A few girls from bookclub went and Mindy came along, too. The tour wasn't great...it wasn't spooky or anything, mostly historical. But, it was a gorgeous day outside and we had fun just exploring the grounds on a fall day.

Love the grand entrance to the cemetery

And we're off!

  Our tour guide for the day

This is the burial site of hundreds of people killed in
a theatre fire in Brooklyn in 1876.  It was the greatest
number of people to die in one incident
in New York city, until 9/11/2001.

 Greenwood Cemetery sits on the highest point in
Brooklyn, offering amazing 360 degree views!
Here we have the Manhattan skyline.

The person buried in this tomb didn't have
any strong religious beliefs, so they just
decided to try to cover all their bases. 

Stained Glass window

inside one of the tombs

 I think the head sticking up through these trees

is the creepiest thing we saw.

Pepito is a lucky man to have someone decorate
his grave for Halloween.

All the Coopers and Hewitts are

buried out in Greenwood Cemetery.

Burial site of Frank Wupperman,

aka The Wizard of Oz

This was not on the tour, but we it should have been.

There must be a story behind this one!

The best part of the tour was that we got to go inside a catacomb...it was really cool! I wish there had not been so many people on the tour because I could have taken some really neat pictures inside there.

Entrance to the catacombs

Inside the catacombs

And that was pretty much my Halloween! I didn't do hardly anything the day of and, sadly, do not get trick-or-treaters at my apartment. Next year, I'll try to go all out on a costume!