It's Saturday and I'm here watching the Space for a couple of hours and working on the computer. Which is fine since my personal laptop is sick at the moment. I was glad to come here and check emails and such.
I have 2 teams coming in the week after Easter. We will be working at some area agencies that minister to the homeless and we will be out on the streets blessing the homeless in any way we can. There will be a lot of prayer walking going on, too. Cover our work in prayer.
Well, to catch you up on a few things...
Kenneth, my friend and guard at Lincoln Center, has been stopping me each morning to talk for a few minutes. We have joked about going to the beach since it has hit 50 degrees for a few days. One morning he was telling me about how much he doesn't like Starbucks and how he misses the 'bush tea' from home. I found out that home is Jamaica. No wonder I like his accent! This week I hope to talk to him about his family and spiritual beliefs and such. Keep him in your prayers.
Tiffany and I got to have dinner together about a week ago. It was the first time that she and I have done that since we met last April. She's missing Josh and he is missing her terribly! She wants to finish her acting classes and she tries to travel back on weekends to see him, but she has a parttime job as a waitress and it's very hard to get the time off. Pray for their relationship to grow into a new focus and for them to really concentrate on the path that God has for their lives and not just what their 'wants' are. I will be seeing her every so often for a while since her mail still comes to my mailbox at the apartment.
I was walking behind a lady on a scooter the other day and was thinking about how this is her normal life, running to the store and coming home with the bags hanging on the handlebars. It's like her car. Then I had to smile when I noticed she even had a 'bumper sticker'. It was only about 2" x 4" and was definitely on her bumper. (by the way, it just said 'OBAMA')
I walked to work this morning in the rain. In New York you can't let the weather stop you from things. You can't afford to take taxis every time the weather is bad, it's too expensive. Sometimes you get just as wet walking to the subway or bus stations as you would if you just walked to where you are going. Back in Arkansas I would wimper if I had to walk too far in the Wal-Mart parking lot in the rain. Here, I just grab my coat, umbrella and 'get it done' attitude and take off. Funny isn't it?
I got to spend some time with my friend Barika last night. We went to the MoMA (Musuem of Modern Art) since it was free. We covered 3 floors. I'm not all that cultural and didn't see the point in a lot of it, but I did like the work of Jackson Pollock. His paintings were very textural and pleasing to the eye. Even the Picassos and Monets and others didn't really impress me. They are pretty, but so are some of the kids' paintings I've seen. It's amazing that man can put high value on material things. A painting can be worth millions of dollars just because someone says so. Sorry, that's all over my head...
I'm going to try and use my time more wisely to see and experience things that are unique to NYC. I'm trying to be more disciplined with my time (and always my money). I've had the opportunity to have meals with different friends. It's hard to find time for people to catch up with each other. I always wondered why people had to meet for coffee or dinner or whatever. Why not invite them to your home? Well, in New York, your home might be too small or too hard to get to or you might share 1 room with 2 or more people, etc. People live in different borroughs and even if they live in the same one, it's a pain to get across town sometimes. Time is precious and a lot of it is spent on getting from one place to the other. So it's easier to meet somewhere in between and everyone has to eat eventually, so...
Speaking of home, I do miss cooking. I can feel this urge building up inside to make yeast rolls and pies from scratch and real mashed potatoes and such. I may have to meet someone with a real kitchen and take over for a day!
I'm like everyone's mama here. I'm 10-20 years older than everyone in our church and most of the people who come to the Space. They don't know that, though! They just think of me as a big sister or mom. I love them all. But I do miss having someone in my same 'stage of life' to talk to sometimes.
But on that note, I'm going to be volunteering myself (as well as organizing teams) to work at 5 different Senior Centers here in midtown. They have opportunities from helping in the kitchen, helping with homebound, helping with homeless drop ins, helping lead craft classes, being a companion, etc. I'll be the 'kid' and they can mother me and give me good advice on life and stuff. I'm really excited about getting to work with them.
Well, it's later in the afternoon and I have stopped off to treat myself to a pedicure for my birthday. I used to think that pedicures were frivolous and a waste of money. Then last year a few dear friends took me for my first pedicure as a birthday present. It was wonderful. I loved the foot and leg massage as much as anything. But the little flower painted on my big toe was fun, too! Today's pedi is just the 3rd one I've had. And I truly enjoyed the foot and leg massge since I walk so much here.
I got to thinking that unattached single gals need to have these pampersings often. You see, you don't get the touches that couples do. Or even parents do from their kids. One thing that is nice about New York is that people don't feel the need to be socially friendly if they don't truly like you. Either you hit it off with people or you don't. And those friends that you do make sincerely care. We hug when saying hi and bye. I think it comes from the detached feeling you get living here. My suggestion to you is don't take for granted the people you are around. Hug each other hello and goodbye. Hold hands with your wife or husband. Put your arms around your kids. Don't take the human contact for granted. A touch from someone means you care about them personally. Show that. And don't take it for granted when you are the recipient.
I think I will carry a little notebook (maybe one that I got from a missionary in Thailand) with me so that I can write down all the little things that God blesses me with each day. Then I will remember all those things I want to share with you. God is so busy all around us. He has so many opportunities for us to even just smile at someone or say hi. We miss so many of those times. Maybe we think that God's divine appointments for us are all set up and prepped and all we have to do is start witnessing. Well, sometimes these little encounters are the beginning of those divine appointments and need to happen before you start talking. We have to listen for the little encounters to be able to hear Him speak to us about those bigger ones. With so many people here in NYC it sometimes feels like a training ground for learning to be more discerning in listening to Him. I have to admit that I don't remind myself of that often enough.
I'm also trying to be better about taking more pictures of people who are crossing my path here in NYC. I want to always remember them. And I want to share them with you. I have put a lot of my pictures on a website called flickr.com. My pics are under the user name vickiejocline.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot to tell you that the noise that was keeping me up at night finally got fixed after 2 weeks. I can still remember the first morning I woke up after getting a whole 6 hours of sleep. And the second morning, I was back to my regular self. (I'm not sure that is good-ha!) Anyway, I am much happier.
Speaking of Vickie getting cranky... There's a lot going on here with the church and I'm concerned for a lot of people and am taking on more responsibility than usual for a while. Sometimes it gets overwhelming. (just like everyone else's life, too.) I walk to work whenever I can and sometimes by the time I get to the Space I've put so much burden on myself that I'm pretty cranky. It's not always the safest thing to walk in the city. Sometimes you just get enough of drivers bullying pedestrians. And a lot of times cars will push across the intersections instead of waiting for the next light. One day this week, a car pushed across during a red light and stopped a bunch of us from walking across 42nd street. The car was blocking the walkers as well as the cars trying to go across the street at their green light. The driver was even with me when he stopped his car and I almost walked into his car. I held my hands up and looked at him like 'what are you doing?' He told me to f myself. I then hit his window with my hand. I then walked around his car and crossed the street. This was the end of the incident. Needless to say, it was not a very smart thing to do. And it made me realize that I had allowed my crankiness to go too far. It was time to have a little talk with myself and especially with God. I was taking too much upon myself and not letting God direct what I should and shouldn't be worried about. I had to remind myself that God is in control and it's not up to me to stress over things and leave Him out of it. It was a good reminder that God will never leave me and that it was me being too controlling over my thoughts and not letting God direct me. I'm much better now and even though I won't do that again, it was a good reality check for me. I'm thankful God is in control and I will listen to Him to get my orders about what to stress over (smile).
Just to show you that I haven't turned totally into one of those grouchy New Yorkers, I've made it a point to say hello to every bus driver when I get on. I've noticed a few other people do that but most just get on. I think the bus drivers need to have a happy moment every once in a while.
I do have a few people who smile at me regularly. We don't know each other's names, but we see each other weekly. These are the delivery guys from one of my favorite restaurants. Golden Chicken is just a block from work. They have just plain old grilled chicken at a good price. I usually order lunch from them on Mondays. I don't think the delivery guys speak much English, but they smile at me when I see them on the sidewalk.
There is usually a new person every week who tells me how much they enjoy using the Artist's Lounge. It's so unusual to have a place to come and rest and use computers and all for free. I love meeting new people. Even if it's just for 5 minutes.
Mike (our teaching pastor) is doing a great job with our Sunday worship times. It's a very relaxed atmosphere and people feel comfortable asking questions and sharing their thoughts and beliefs. We've been studying spiritual disciplines and doctrines, the New Testament churches, etc. I'm really enjoying it.
Keep the church body in your prayers as we study, grow, worship and minister together. This is a time of transition, examination and transformation for us. It hurts sometimes, as it usually does when God teaches, corrects and stretches us. Pray that we will be totally honest with ourselves and Him, that we listen with open hearts and minds for God's leading and that we focus on God's plans for our lives and our church. Pray for the people that we touch throughout the week as well as those who are new to our congregation. Pray for God's provision for those who follow Him. Pray for blessings on all our wonderful prayer partners who love us and raise us up to God.
I am so thankful for this opportunity to serve here in NYC. It really makes me look at my life differently. The more I serve Him, the less I care about material things and success as measured by worldly standards. I wish everyone would experience looking at their lives through God's eyes. I know many of you do. Simplify your life so you can have the time and energy to do what He plans for your day.
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