A week, or something like that in pictures!

Well, finally I have access to a computer with the ability to download a few pictures. This week has been great. I have had some fabulous dreams that have made sleep really restful for me. A couple of the dreams have been healing. Thanks for the prayer. I have enjoyed moments alone, time with old friends and new ones.


Here are some pictures of the room I have been living in. I will be moving upstairs into my apartment on October 1st. Actually my new bedroom is not much different. It is a little wider, and I am thankful for that!




That TV doesn't work, and without a computer I feel shut out from the rest of the world. However, do not fear, I was able to get a people magazine and now all is well :).





That is my lovely bed and the fan that I am run constantly. If i don't have it on, I can hear the person next door and they can hear me.

I bought some new bedding so it feels more like home now. I didn't bring a pillow, so if you look closely you can see my coat wrapped inside a couple of towels. That worked for a little while, but then I had to find a Target and get a pillow. I finally found target and it was huge. i was so overwhelmed. It had two floors, and you cook take your cart to the second floor via the escalator. It had dual sides, one for people and one for carts. Pretty cool, I know.




There we are. J-ness and I outside of the brownstone where my apartment is located. I love the stoop. Janessa and I sat there waiting for Matt (who'll be pictured in my next post) to take us to Starbucks and church.




So off we went for good conversation and a cool church experience. The village church is great. I enjoyed the sermon and the liturgical part of the service. I hate the experience of going to a new church where everyone knows you are new. So, that part was not great. Also, it is a little too formal for my taste. I like to show up in jeans and a t-shirt and this was not that kind of place.
You can check it out here.


So, I am off to find a church where i feel like i belong. I was considering not finding a church and thinking that community would be like a house church. That is not realistic at this point. However, I hope for the day when it functions as a house church.

There is so much still left to share. Next time i hope to show you pictures from the Governor's Island MP3 experience. You can check it out here. I had a great time doing something so random!

Ok friends, that is it for now. I miss Manhappenin' and love you all.

I love New York!

I am here and loving it so far.

I have taken some pictures and want to post them, but can't do it at the internet cafe.

In Brooklyn, I just found the internet cafe today. Fun times. I am finding little treasures all over the place.

There is so much to say, and I would rather do so with pictures. So, hopefully they will be coming soon.

Monday I walked the city for about 5 hours....not on purpose. My feel hurt so bad that I had to buy some new shoes. I learned to take along some comfortable shoes in my bag. Otherwise I will have to walk bare foot in the nasty city streets, again!

More to come, stay tuned!

I thought I would get the two liberal posts out of the way!

On Cursing

So, I realized today that I have a potty mouth. I enjoy cursing. I know that there are other more descriptive vocabulary words that I could use to get my point across. However, sometimes it just feels good to say one. They say what I feel and it is a great summary word. Follow along with me. I am going to list some swear words and you nod along with me if you think you know what I mean.
1. I feel shitty
2. Damn it
3. Oh crap (don’t deny it this replaces shit in Christian circles)
4. I’m being bitchy today (1st person is socially acceptable).
5. Oh, hell no.
6. That’s bullshit

Now these are the words I feel like I can say aloud and people won’t look at me like I am a freak. Now we all know that the “F” bomb is not acceptable, but let’s face it sometimes I let that one fly.

I know some of you will say, what about that whole unwholesome talk business in the Bible. Well, I say that is a good verse. I like it too. However, I think there is a difference between using a curse word and swearing. Sometimes when I am really mad and I drop the “F” bomb I am sinning because I can feel the anger boil in the pit of my stomach and then come out of my mouth like battery acid. Other times I say, I feel shitty today so that people know what I mean and because it feels good to say and be understood without saying more.

I just thought I would let you know that I have a potty mouth and I am ok with it. Sorry if I offend you I wanted you to know where I’m coming from.



On cigarettes

For so long I have assumed that cigarettes were the most terrible thing you could ever imagine. I used to hate smoking vicariously through others. Second-hand smoke is still pretty terrible. Anyway, I was thinking the other day…why is smoking any worse than caffeine which is a socially acceptable form of addiction? I haven’t come up with (or heard) a good explanation of why this is so.
The other day my friend offered me a smoke. I said sure I’d like to try that. I mean there were no witnesses so why not. I had to ask for instructions. She gave me a short lesson and I puffed. I felt this delightful fizzy sensation in my brain. It was pretty wonderful. I haven’t had a smoke since then. I am not interested in starting a new addiction, but I now understand the calming effect of a good smoke. Next time I’m offered a smoke I’ll say no thanks, but now I can do so without judgment.

On Flip Flops

I love flip flops. Whoever created this shoe deserves some kind of medal or an award for being a freaking genius. Really, it is the perfect shoe. Your feet get air, but they have some coverage. You can paint your toe nails and feel really feminine and beautiful or you can leave your toes be. Everyone wears them so foot funk is barely discernible.
We live in a fallen world, so flops are not perfect. There is the roughness that crusts on your heels, also sometimes I wish they had an ankle strap. However, the ankle strap looks stupid. Others have tried it and failed. Oh, the rain. When you wear flops in the rain it wreaks havoc on the backs of your legs and your backside. So, be careful.

On Freedom

Here is a poem I wrote as I was thinking of freedom. There is such a desire to be free and yet at the same time we live in this world that is neither heaven nor the Garden of Eden, the ultimate places of freedom. My attempt at describing longing and reality falls short of the battle that rages on inside of me.

Can I be free
even while bound
Can i transcend chains
even when I'm living on the ground

oh, can i be free
Free, free, what is freedom anyway

in whispers of children laughing
in tastes from hearts that love
yet to hold, elusive freedom remains

Can i be free
pretending the past has no hold
Can i look back yet still move forward on the road

oh, can I be free

War rages, lives are lost, for a freedom we don't understand.
War rages, in my soul, longing to be whole

So I'm reaching, we're all reaching, reaching for free

On Coffee

Today I had a really great cup of coffee. It was the perfect boldness with a nutty flavor. That is probably because I put some hazelnut creamer in it. As I drank it, the smoothness literally made me smile. Ah the coffee bean.
I have been drinking coffee since the fourth grade. When I was at my grandma Mary’s house I wanted to be like her and she had coffee every morning with her biscuits, cheese and eggs, bacon, and grits. So I had that as well.
Coffee never tasted bitter to me. I guess this is because I always had plenty of milk and sugar. Now when I was little it didn’t matter what kind of quality the coffee was, I would drink anything.
However, I have become quite the coffee snob. Those name brand coffees that you buy at the supermarket no longer do it for me. In fact, I have to have the good stuff or I won’t drink it.
You’d think the way I am about coffee would filter over to different parts of my life. It doesn’t. I still shop at Wal-Mart and Target for clothes, shoes, and groceries. Just not my coffee.

On trees

I love trees. They are beautiful and there are so many different varieties. I love it that they raise their arms in worship to the creator no matter what. If it is storming they worship, if the day is scorching they worship, if the day is perfect they worship. It is pretty amazing that God has the trees when all else fails to worship.

Trees grow best in groups. There is nothing like the beauty of a forest. The trees dance in the wind, provide shade in the heat of the day, and witness the good and the bad of man. The way the leaves are always applauding the handiwork of the creator makes me remember why I am here, on this earth.