Joy

Feeling a bit like I am on the Intimidator {which is a roller coaster in NC} emotionally about living in this Huge crazy place, expressing one minute I love it here and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else!!! and the next minute, I'm curled up in a ball crying because I want to leave. Welcome to my roller coaster. 

What are you thankful for this week? 

After a really hard week, I ended up watching this video about Ian and Larissa again today and it reminded me of all the places of thankfulness in my life that I have about where I live, my marriage and my children etc! It doesn't take much just to tweak the focus of my thoughts to be about Thankfulness and Gratitude! I welcome it really! 

So here they are, my top 10 

1. Doing laundry at the Laundry Mat gives T and I time together and time to talk have a date, eat Thai food and its like having 5 washers and dryers ready on standby. Plus, by setting aside 2 hours a week, all laundry is done all at once (folded and put away!!). A dream come true!!! And, in reality, its no harder... just different, and that's okay.

2. So thankful for great victories with Lia's tantrums subsiding. Thankful for her art each day that makes us laugh, but sometimes keeps her in a perpetual state of imagination, so I am praising God for some answered prayer.

{I sat out here on my fire escape the other morning and cried and prayed for my crazy little artist and cried and prayed about everything, job, family, kids, relationships, everything, and I felt better. Things have gotten better, an answered prayer. I love her so}.

 3. Oh so thankful that our sofa saga is almost settled and we should be getting our new sofa in 4 days. And yes, we chose the sofa bed. So come on!!! NYC awaits your visit!! We have room for two-three people to stay. (very small apartment just warning). but it will be fun! We hated our first sofa that we purchased right away it was terribly uncomfortable, so we were thrilled to get a replacement.

The Redeemer Church believes that God designed us for work and a specific kind of work. Ministering to your walk with Christ by touching and disciplining you through your discipline in Work. They have artists, architects, actors, writers, etc.. amazing part of being able to go here. http://www.redeemer.com/

 4. Today, I am extremely thankful for the Redeemer Church, for an impromptu meeting with a young woman named Stacey Hess that gave me hope that God is still very involved and very personally in touch with all that we are going through. { Thank You Stacey!!}

Fascinated by the idea of this Faith and Work program, I am hoping that it will be amazing and I am so overjoyed to participate soon!! Below is just a photo I snapped of some Brooklyn Graffiti on a construction wall that captured my attention. Next to it, info for the Artists faith and work interarts fellowship at The Redeemer West side.

www.redeemer.com

5. Let me just give a shout out to God for arranging time for New Friends.  They really make this place way more fun.

6. Great views and interesting spaces always give me a fresh love for NYC.  Spaces and Places all over this great city to just discover, and that were specifically designed to give health to the senses and a place where the community can gather, exercise, get rest and enjoy nature a bit.

#brooklyn #nyc

7. I am soooo thankful for the random creative business findings. Fun to be walking around a corner of a street that you haven't been on before and discover a strong successful small creative business thriving. Just love that!!!
Here is an image of a new (to me) company I stumbled upon while walking back to the F train from Trader Joe's. This company called Flavor Paper has discovered a niche market in custom wall paper and these long machines are actually where they silkscreen the long rolls of paper that end up on the walls of exquisite places I am sure!!! I was totally fascinated!!! Will revisit and find out more for you if you like.

http://www.flavorpaper.com

8. Thankful for every now and then being able to stop into one of these little coffee/patisserie shoppes and just be in a creative raw space with a good cup of coffee and if I am lucky someone has left a NY Times Arts section on the table for me.  

{off the subject of thankfulness, a little few side notes}

I sat here and thought, what about this little joint do I like, why in its rawness is it something visually that I am drawn to. I mean its cramped and barely 3 people could fit in there comfortably. It occurred to me a bit later. I could visually see the reason kind of as I saw one of my pinterest boards up against this charming little scene, tell me you see the similarities too?  This particular coffee shoppe was called Parco on 7th.

What I liked about Parco was that it was cozy and kind of my own for about 30 min. Coffee was very yummy, but honey was hardened and hard to get out of container.. which means only one thing. Old. 

The other thing magnetic about this shoppe was the yummy smells of pastries, regardless of whether or not I think Wheat = poison to the body,  the aroma of baking pastries = yummy.  

{another side note about my experience at Parco} 

My private little cozy space space was soon engulfed with human bodies and voices; 4 women and one man sitting right there in the table next to me. Can you imagine being that close to people you don't know just carrying on in a really loud complicated deep personal conversation without knowing who is listening? They talked in subjects circuitously. Subjects confusinly jumping from one place to another, flowing from information about how to buy a ticket to a broadway play, traveling to Europe, and all the way to how to loose weight, who they were in a past life because they had seen a past life counseler, seeing psychics etc.  I fully expected someone to say, hey.. that's just crazy talk. You weren't a soldier in the the Chinese Pre Chirst war, that is speculation and never can be proven to be truth.  

Wanted to start talking and tell them about Jesus, but didn't feel like there was a time to break in the convo. Plus, I didn't want to be that woman on the train who is chanting the end of the world is coming and you are burning in Hell approach. That never works.  I do want to tell people about the Gospel, because it really is the life changing powerful message that everyone needs to at least hear and make a decision about. 

{okay, back to thankfulness}

8. I am thankful for some free time to just be creative. Believe it or not, walking out into the general public, in a crowded city, you wouldn't believe it, but very soon everything and every day starts to seem a bit monotonous!  Yes it is true. 

People. Pee smell. Iron gates. cafes. Tall buildings. water. big boats. busses. Subway cars. People. 

So to challenge myself to be creative each day has been just that, a challenge!!! Its not hard to drool over other people's amazing creative talents. But it is hard to do it myself. And especially hard for me to not compare or look at where anyone else is, and just to trust God and do. 

This week, I am challenging myself to be creative with my iphone. Why? because I think it is not the camera that you use, its the eyes of the photographer. 

How good good am I at seeing that image happening in real life? Can I be stretched to my limit? 

This matters to me because I feel most alive when I am  in the process of imagining, finding, making images or art!!! Which is why I know God made me for this Work. 

As I went for a " run forest run..forrest gump" type run through Brooklyn and the city, I just would stop when I saw "it" and snap images with my iphone.  Above are a few that I came up with. Now, I am challenging myself each day to find at least one.  You can do this too.. where you live!!! 

9. Thankful for a bit of time to figure it all out and discover what's out there and what will work best for us in the minimal. Not buying anything yet, because I will not ever collect stuff ever ever again. I am looking for "the one" in every department of my life. "the one" bag,  "the one" shoes, "the one" jackets etc. So, in my hunt, I have a bunch of places to check out and find out what Brooklyn has to offer!!! 

I just loved these carry bags by run run run. Creative, fun colors and nice to carry.   And when you forced to haul groceries back and forth, it matters!! And all you that aren't, they are still cute to take to the mall. 

10. Finally the last things I am thankful this week.. will be two of the biggest things yet. Time to spend with the Lord each day, and this book by Beth Moore called Breaking Free. It literally has taken me weeks and weeks to get through, but it is a life changer for sure!!! I Highly recommend it to everyone wanting a deeper closer walk with Christ and victory over sin and strongholds. Huge book, powerful!!! 

And, drum roll... My juicer!!! What would I do without my juice!!!! Yummiest way to get so much nutrition its crazy.