Grace, grace, God's grace! Grace that will pardon and cleanse within!

What is grace?

So lately I have been pondering more and more what grace really means. Don't get me wrong I know the textbook definition drilled in my head from years of being in church "something I don't desearve and can't earn but He still gives willingly and freely". But its one thing to know the words and another thing to know it in your heart. So I put some thought into it.

First of all I have an attitude about me, in that I don't like taking things that I didn't work hard for. I enjoy working hard for a paycheck, or getting good grades or whatever it is. I believe what you put into something is what you should get out. But the concept of grace is just the opposite. I can do nothing to earn it . . . I can't work hard for it . . . I can't pay it back . . . . I can't pay for it. Think about that. You can't just go to the store and pick it up like a gallon of milk. You can't work towards it like a promotion or a raise. You can't do anything. It just shows up and we are foolish if we think we desearve it. The One who gives it is perfect. Now perfection is a whole other thing I can't fathom. Doing nothing wrong. Selfless. Humble. Unconditional Love. Life without ANY sin. Which I might add, I am none of these?

And He gives it as a gift. Now this isn't like a gift that we give at Christmas where most expect something in return. We don't send God a thank you note for it (the mail doesn't deliver there for starters). And though I can tell Him with my words (using the same mouth that I sin with, I must add) or with my actions (which also reflect my sinful heart at times) it will never compare to what I owe him. I can tell others how much I love and appreciate this gift but it's like someone buying me a Bugatti Veyron for my birthday (the most expensive car in the world valued at 1.7 million dollars- picture below, isnt it beautiful) and I giving them a piece of lint from my belly button in return. I could give them lint all day but it will never add or measure up to that beautiful gift. All we have to do is believe in Him and He saves me from Hell and gives me grace. WOW what a deal! And yet we take it for granted!

Grace isn't something that will ever run out or will ever not be needed. There is an endless supply, it's always there and there is always enough. Again WOW!

So I have to ask myself, what in my life needs to change in order to live the life that He gives me. To live in the life that He desires for me, wants for me and sacrificed for me. Also who do I need to be giving grace to today? There's an endless supply so why not share it?

Just a thought! :)

Round 1 of NYC Pictures!

Beth on the crazy winding stairs at the statue of liberty!

A picture of the winding crazy stairs from the statue of liberty!

The normal stairs of the statue of liberty!

the old torch! The current torch is not the original!

Me and Lady liberty!

Lady Liberty from the view of the ferry!

Beth and I freezing to death on the ferry ride! LOL

The view of the city from the ferry!

Inside Radio City! This picture does not do this place justice! It was amazing, to say the least!

Martha Stewart's decorating! Pretty nice huh?

This is Beth and I! By the huge tree is this row of angels! Angels with angels! ha ha!

SNOW!!! And it was cold!

All three of us in front of the tree!

The tiny skating rink (if you read my blog)!

I was so excited to be in front of the tree! It was awesome! 2 nights later there were 10 times more people there, lucky us!

NYC Day 5

January 1, 2011 Day 5 The final day

So by this time we were totally and utterly exhausted! We got up early again with the hopes of being on the Early Show again, this time making sure that people were watching :) to find out that they had prerecorded it. Oh it was not a good start. We were tired and we dragged out of bed for something that wasnt even there. So we walked to Times Square and if you know anything about NYC Times Square is not really close to where the Early show is taped. You would think as tired as we were that we would of taken the subway but we decided to walk. You see so much more while walking especially when its more than 15 blocks to your destination.

The aftermath of New Year's was every where in the street. Though the television stations broadcasted and bragged at how quickly the clean up was I must say that it wasnt all quite true. Yes Times Square was cleaned up and the block around Times Square but every where else was covered still in confetti and trash and it was a mess. Workers were working like crazy to clean up Times Square but very few workers were found on other streets cleaning. I guess its all about the perception that they wanted to give to the world.

Times Square the morning after and I mean 9:00 morning on a Saturday was dead. There were few on the streets and nothing was opened . . .except the huge toys r us. This toy store is so huge that they have a Ferris wheel inside the store. So of course we went for a ride. Now I hate and I mean HATE Ferris wheels but I wasnt as scared on this one, I guess since it was inside and it didnt feel like we were that high since I could see the other floors. While there we met up with one of Lauras old college room mates and one of her friends.

Since we had a little time before we had to leave for our flight we went on a hunt with Lauras friends friend to find a NYC fireman for her to get a picture of. I must admit that I was totally bored with the idea of meeting a true NYC firefighter! I mean it is a man in uniform in one of the largest cities in the USA so we went on a hunt to come up short, nobody was at the firehouse. But it was an adventure and a good adventure to end our trip on.

We checked out of the hotel, went for lunch and this awesome hamburger joint. Loaded our stuff onto a hotel shuttle and headed to the airport, which on a side note is one of the ugliest airports I have ever seen!

While waiting on our flight, this man walks in front of us. I look at him strange, and say to Laura that he looks familiar to find out that it is the band leader for the Jay Leno show, you know the short bald guy. Yep! By the time I put two and two together it was too late for a picture! :) Luckily there were no problems with the flight home or with our luggage! :) And as you can see we made it all back in one piece.

The next post will be pictures, I promise! :) Til then, Adios!

NYC Day 4

December 31 Day 4

So this is the last full day that we were there and I must admit we were EXHAUSTED! But we still got up early and took the subway so that we could be on the Early Show! It was so awesome to be there to experience it. I know it sounds small and silly but I really enjoyed it.

Since FAO Schwatz is right next to the Early show we thought we would hang out for a while on 5th avenue until FAO Schwartz opened (all so I could play the large piano). So we went on a hunt for Tiffany's so that we could drink our hot chocolate in front of the store. On the walk we saw every big-wig in fashion you could imagine. If it's expensive the store was there on 5th avenue. It was crazy! Finally found Tiffany's, but they were closed, so we just took a picture in front of the store. It was awesome.

Finally FAO Schwartz, which as you may have noticed I don't know how to spell and am too lazy to look up the spelling. So at 10:00, 2 men dressed in the crazy get up (wait for pics to understand) opened the doors while the entire staff lined the entrance and applauded! Of course I acted like a moron and pretended to be a star, walking the red carpet, blowing kisses and thanking them! LOL Laura and Beth I don't think were proud to be with me at that moment but oh well, it was so fun. I played the big piano and then finally Beth decided to give it a try! She wanted to do a duet but I had already had my turn. 2 guys from the store even put on a show playing the large piano where they danced and played a duet at the same time. Pretty cool!

After FAO Schwartz we walk central park for a while and took some very pretty pictures there. The snow was so beautiful which I am sure that central park is pretty as it is but with it covered in a foot of snow it was stunning. (Pictures to come) Since we didn't get to finish the uptown tour the day before we went ahead and hopped on the bus. And while riding on the top of the double decker bus as we drove through Times Square we got to see Ryan Seacrest do an interview. He was inches away it was so awesome! Mom's mad that I didn't tell him how much she loved him since we were that close but oh well.

We went out that night for a nice Italian dinner since it was New Year's Eve and all. We found this amazing little Italian restraunt and again Iwish I could of brought it back. It was amazing. :) We thought that it would be cool to get a look at times square since it was still early (it was only around 6:00 or 6:30) but we couldnt even get within 3 blocks of it because of how many people there were. It was so crazy! So we bought some sparkling orange drink, we were limited on choices, and headed back to the hotel room. We barely stayed up til Midnight but we made it, toasted and crashed! :)

Until Day 5, Adios!

NYC Day 3

December 30 Day 3

Again we had bus tour passes and this time decided to do the downtown tour. These tours were so great not only because of how informative they were but we could also get off and back on pretty much any time we wanted.

Our first stop we decided to go to was Macy's! The best part about Macy was not only how huge the store was but the window displays! I don't think I can describe the window displays but I will try. They talked or had music and they moved. Macy's used sceens from popular movies such as miracle on 34th street and so forth. They were so animated and detailed. By the way Macy's is located on 34th street if others didnt catch on to that.

While we were in the neighborhood we went to the empire state building. We hadnt planned on going up since usually the lines are so crazy long but when we were there the lines were only 15 minutes long. So we decided to go ahead and ride, yes ride not climb, up to the 83rd floor. The view was beautiful. You could see New York in all directions. There were no obstructions and you see as far as you could imagine. It was very windy and cold up there but it was worth it. I think the best view was of the Brooklyn bridge and of the statue. I can from any angle and any distance both of those would be an amazing view.

Then we went to China town where I had some of the most amazing (and cheap) Chinese food ever! It was so good I just wanted to bring the little Chinese woman home with us so we could always have food that good. We had heard about the amazing shopping in China town so while we were there we went shopping. All three of us bought new purses and I bought some pashmina scarfs. We didn't go and see little Italy since it is now so small, it is only one block now.

We went to Wall street which is named Wall street since their once was a wall there to keep someone out, I dont remember who though. We got to see the bull on wall street. We saw the United Nations which on the first day we saw it did not have flags flying which meant they werent in session but on the next day the flags were flying which meant they were there. The United Nations is not American territory so when you are there you aren't in America, which I found very interesting.

We saw the Brooklyn bridge and the port. And spent the rest of the day on the tour. Our goal was to do the city lights tours at night but once we got back to our room we were not leaving. So we went and got dinner and went to bed early!

Til day 4! Adios

NYC Day 2

December 29, Day 2

So, day 2 was quite exciting. We woke up early and took the subway to find the statue of liberty. Actually we wondered around, again, confused about where to get our tickets but we finally found our way. Since we bought our tickets so far in advance we were able to get tickets to the crown!
So after going through security we got on the very cold ferry and went to the statue. Lady liberty was so worth the cold though! There are 192 steps to climb to the pedestel (where most get to climb to) but we climbed the 354 steps to climb to the crown. The climb was quite tiring and scary. At some point you get to where the stairs wind and are as wide as my hips. It was freaking scary! :) But once you climb to the crown, there are 25 little windows. These windows allow you a close up look of the tablet and the torch. It is a site to see.

We got back on the ferry and spent a little time at Ellis Island. By that time we were really tired and hungry! So we had our first New York hotdog from and vender and it was GREAT! We had purchased tickets for the double decker bus tours and decided to spend the rest of the afternoon going on a tour of the updown. I learned so much about the city and saw so much from this bus tour. The bus tour is definately worth the money! Did you know that the building codes in NY once only allowed building to be 3 stories high, later extending it to 8 stories and then higher? If you look at older building in the city you can see where floors were added to keep up with building codes. Other interesting facts I learned from that nights tour:

1. There are only 9 gas stations on the island! (I only saw one the whole trip)
2. There are very few grocery stores on the island and they are all expensive. (I only saw 2 the whole trip)
3. Broadway street moves, yes it moves! (and Laura realized what it meant by a show being on broadway)
4. There are a lot of underground parking garages but they are expensive again discouraging people to own cars in NYC. In fact to park in a one of these can cost as much as my rent each month!
5. "Old money" means they inhereted the money while "new money" means they earned it themselves. Some buildings only allow "old money" to live there.
6. The steps that you see that go down into the street to enter a building was originally designed for slaves to enter.

Thats all I can think of right now but very interesting stuff!

Til Day 3 is posted, adios! :)

NYC

I AM DEDICATING A WHOLE ENTRY TO PICTURES! SO BE PATIENT! :)

I want to start with that I loved the trip and the ladies that I went with. I most likely will never go back but it was still pretty awesome. I learned so much about the city and about my travel buddies! :) I thought that I would start with what we did while were there.



December 28- DAY 1

Woke up early (4 am to be exact) got things together to meet Beth and Laura at Laura's house at 5 am! Left my phone at the house and then turned around to get it and ended up leaving it in my car (on accident). Great Start . . . I know!

Flight was on time, though for a second there we thought we were going to miss it. We got there an hour early and decided to get breakfast but while eating missed the calls for our flight to board and luckily Laura heard the last boarding call while I was in line for Diet coke and Beth was in another line for . . . water I think. Laura almost had a panic attack!

Got to New York, on time, and went to get my luggage to find out that . . . mine didnt show up. We waited for what seemed like forever. Beth went and asked about it and they assured me that it was coming. Beth and Laura were so positive and I ate lemon heads to keep calm! :) Finally after probably 20 minutes of waiting my luggage shows up . . . with an additional surprise. The back half of my luggage was covered in snow! Yay! But by Gods grace nothing in my luggage was wet!

After that we went to find out how to get to our hotel and the options were not looking good. With the road conditions being horrindously bad and mounds of white stuff that I sooned recognized by the freezing cold temperatures to be snow (LOL) there were very few taxis, busses or other modes of transportation available. So we waited in line for an hour and a half or so for a taxi. Yes taxi drivers are scary but from my trip I realize that its not their fault EVERYONE in New York drives like a maniac!

We get to our hotel, check in and see our room. Our teeny tiny room. It had 2 beds that were between the size of a twin and a queen. Between each bed was about a foot. Between the wall and each bed was maybe 3 inches, between the beds and the dresser and small closet was about a foot! So it was tiny. We moved stuff around to fit our luggage on the dressers and window seal.

After settling in we decided to go see Rockerfeller Center. We had tickets to the rockettes that night and wanted to see the tree and the ice skating rink beforehand. We decided to try out the subway while we were at it. (Just to make things clear, in one day we drove our cars, took a plane, took a taxi, took the subway and walked) The tree was beautiful but I am getting ahead of myself. Lets start with the subway . . . so we had no clue what we were doing so we had the bright idea to ask for help. On the plane ride over the lady sitting next to me told me all kinds of pointers, one of them being that New Yorkers were nice and would help me if we got lost. So we asked a store clerk and she told us to get on and ride to the end . . . we thought that sounded wrong so we tried an officer (after wondering around looking like lost tourists for a while) that helped us and we made it. The subway was NOT clean but it was a good way of getting around.

Rockerfeller center and Radio city was beautiful. The tree was amazing. The only surprise was the rink was much smaller than what was expected. At the time no one was on it but we waited and finally they let people on to skate. We chose not to embarress ourselves in front of the hundreds of on lookers that were watching. But with the angels, the tree, the skating rink, the huge fake snowflakes and the real snow . . . it was a site! Laura got in trouble by a cop, which was hilarious. Tons of people were standing on the benches to get a good picture but when Laura did it an officer came to her and said "Mam, Mam?" and of course Laura responded "Yes?" and he didnt respond so Laura asked "Do you want me to get down?" and he nodded yes! It was so funny but she got the shot!

That area was beautiful with the Christmas lights, decorations, and sounds. We went to the rockettes a little early. Radio City Hall was decorated so beautifully (Martha Stewart did the decorations). The Rockettes show was amazing. Yes everything was beautiful and they danced beautifully but the best part was that they acted out the Christmas story. They read the Christmas story as well, I dont think they mentioned that it was from the Bible and it wasn't word for word from the Bible but it was the Biblical version of the Christmas story! It was beautiful!

That night though, I crashed! They said I was asleep the minute I hit the pillow and was snoring (which I didnt know I did).

In all it was a great first day in NYC! Til day 2 of NYC, adios!

New Year's Resolution

For those of you seeking a post on my New York expereinces that is to come in the next couple of days or so when I have pictures to attach!

So every year I make New Year's Resolutions. I enjoy taking the time to reflect on the previous year and to think about the new year. Change is going to happen in the new year and thats just how life is. Anyone who knows me knows that I dislike change. It scares me, not knowing what is in the future and what is going to change. But things are going to change, the only question is what in my life is going to change and in what direction. The world is changing and therefore everything around me is going to change. I can either conform to the changes of the world and go with the flow or I can give God control and allow Him to change me. So my New Years resolution for this year is to seek God more and more each day. Allow Him to make the necessary changes to my heart and my life and surrender. Surrendering, in case you didnt know, is not giving up some or part but ALL. So if I surrender and give Him control things are going to change.

Now I don't believe in making a resolution without a plan on how to accomplish that resolution. So my plan is to spend time every morning with Him. Normally I spend time at night but I know that for my life spending time in the morning is best. It starts my day out right and on a good note. I plan to faithfully attend Sunday school and Sunday church services. And last but not least but to serve. Serve others in some way that will bring glory to God and not to myself. I have found that God reveals a lot to me through serving others. Not only is it humbling but it draws me closer to Him.

So with all the change that is going to occur in the new year I hope you have a plan. I encourage, no I challenge you to make New Years resolutions this year and a plan to stick to them.