The Chaplain and I spent the first week of 2012 on the east coast. I typed this blog post from New York City where it was freezing outside, but we had a crazy good time eating and shivering our way through the city.
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Here are a few highlights from the trip…
An amazing gravity defying show in the NYC subway
A sobering visit to the 9/11 Memorial
A meaningful tribute
I had a hard time watching people take pictures in front of this Memorial with big smiles on their faces. Am I wrong?
Took a quiet stroll down Park Avenue
Snapped this in front of a Park Avenue brownstone. Pretty and simple for an outdoor winter arrangement.
Subway tile art...so cool!
Saw this fun show on Broadway
Enjoyed a most delicious meal here in Little Italy
...followed by cannoli from Parisi Bakery
Grabbed a bagel both mornings from Times Square Bagel shop
Couldn't leave without NYC pizza after a visit to...
Metropolitan Museum of Art
...followed by Junior's cheesecake
Added these to my winter gear--by necessity! It was cold!
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NYC is fun any time of year, but I think our next trip will take advantage of warmer weather. Oh, and yes…I haven’t eaten since this trip!
The Chaplain and I have lived without most of our worldly goods for well over a year. Funny what you can do without.
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I feel both eagerness and dread to see this sight:
via istockphoto.com
My favorite 11-year-old made mention of my lack of blog posts, in her words, “for a long time.” She asked me why I had not written anything to post and the word that came to mind was deadlines. The summer was filled with deadlines. What’s up with that? Summer is not for deadlines! Summer is for fun and play, vacation and rest.
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Please don’t mistake these words for complaint. I really don’t think I am complaining. There was much accomplished—books read, papers written, contracts fulfilled, and (imagine me doing a happy dance as I type these next words) a house completed.
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I’ve noticed when I have so much to do I tend to retreat from social networking. There’s no energy for Facebook, blogging, and often, even email. The problem is, I start to feel disconnected. There must be a happy medium for times like this—or perhaps I need to be content with my deadline-imposed sabbatical. Can anyone relate?
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The early fall has brought more deadlines, but deadlines or not I need to be connected. So, here I am–connecting. Strange, but I feel a little shy about it. I also feel better.
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©Brenda Pace, 2011
What you and I might rate as an absolute disaster, God may rate as a pimple-level problem that will pass. He views your life the way you view a movie after you’ve read the book. When something bad happens, you feel the air sucked out of the theater. Everyone else gasps at the crisis on the screen. Not you. Why? You’ve read the book. You know how the good guy gets out of the tight spot. God views your life with the same confidence. He’s not only read your story…he wrote it. ~Max Lucado
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Isn’t this a comforting view of life? I sometimes wonder if I’ll ever get to the place where I don’t gasp at the ‘crisis on the screen’ as my life story plays out. But, think about the great stories you’ve read. Isn’t there always conflict and challenge to overcome? Isn’t that very conflict and challenge what makes the story great? Conflict in your life? Challenge to overcome? Be encouraged, God’s got the pen. He’s not finished writing!
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©Brenda Pace, 2011
Discovered on my iPad:
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Makes it worth every penny paid for that device!
Summer is the perfect time for lemonade, but often it’s too sweet or too tart. Well, this lemonade from Trader Joe’s is the perfect balance of sweet and tart. For a bonus, it’s low-cal. Our family is on the last bottle, so it’s time to find a TJ’s and stock up to get us through the end of what is proving to be a very short summer!
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What’s your favorite summer refresher?
Today the Chaplain and I are visiting Fort Bragg, NC. The Chaplain’s two favorite tours of duty were here at the home of the All American 82d Airborne. There are so many memories of this place etched in our hearts.
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People ask me what was our favorite military assignment and I tell them without doubt it was the times at Fort Bragg. For all you natives of Fayetteville, NC–I have to be honest and say that it wasn’t the town of Fayetteville we particularly liked. Sorry! It was the professionalism of the airborne soldiers. It was the comaraderie and esprit de corps that permeated the place. It was the mission and purpose of these soldiers that brought with it a sense of community and cohesion as they worked together toward excellence. It was the life long friends we made as we served soldiers and their families together. It was the faith lessons we learned as we exerienced God’s grace and mercy in the midst of tragedy and war.
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It was all these things and so much more–not the least of which–the Chaplain looked pretty good in a maroon beret.
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Airborne!
The Chaplain and I are getting excited about our house being close to completion.
It could look like this…
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Or this…
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Or this…
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Or this…
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Nope, it’s not like any of these interesting houses–with the exception of having a great view.
I don’t need to live in an interesting and unusual house–I just want the one I’m going to live in to be filled with love, laughter, family and friends.
We’ve almost reached the destination–home!
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To the loved, a word of affection is a morsel; but to the love-starved,
a word of affection can be a feast.
~Max Lucado
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