.a day at the grammy's is immeasurably more.

"now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! amen."
ephesians 3:20-21 (nlt)

if you can wrap your mind around it, it's not big enough for our God. the past few days i have truly felt the weight of these verses above, and i know and can feel His mighty power at work within me. this is what God has been doing and teaching me lately...

tuesday, june 8, 2010.

my morning began slightly earlier than the "typical" since being in new york. luckily, monday i had off so i used that day to regroup, refocus and relax from a crazy first week in the city. being at work earlier in the morning meant not as busy which led to salon social hour! the stylists there are all very sweet and are eager to get to know me. it's cute. my hope is to show them as much love as my heart can muster and eventually tell them that it is really the love of Jesus they are experiencing through me :)

3:00 pm.

i walked into the brooklyn tabernacle for my meeting with todd crews. todd is the director on staff of transitions (young adult and college ministry) and helped me in many ways in coming out to new york. todd led me up to his (what i think) swanky bt office. he has such an encouraging tone when he speaks, that just makes me content to be talking with him. and what an encouraging talk we had! i was able to tell todd all about lifegroups at his house and my involvement there. since small groups is something they are thinking of starting within transitions, it was great to discuss and share what i know and love. from there, we talked about things i will be involved in at the brooklyn tab this summer and i got to meet several staff members. stay tuned to read about several things i will be doing there this summer! i'll be blogging about them as they happen :)

those of you who went on the spring break mission to nyc, remember the brooklyn heights promenade...check out this pic...(http://newyorkpanorama.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2006/12/2006-12-south-manhattan-from-brooklyn-BW-500.jpg), and that is where God led me next. after my meeting with todd, i had some time to kill before prayer. it was absolutely breathtaking to sit overlooking the manhattan skyline, munching on my fruit tart, and letting God wreck my heart as i read crazy love by francis chan. it's moments like these i can only praise God for because they are better than i could ever imagine or dream of.

prayer bt style.

prayer at the brooklyn tabernacle was powerful and awe inspiring. the Holy Spirit met us there and led us in prayer and praise to God. it was wonderful to end the night with my new friend, kadie, as we walked around brooklyn and talked about life.

wednesday, june 9, 2010.

i sat on the subway on my way to work and to my surprise a street musician started playing worship music in my train car. i couldn't help but smile as i rode singing along, "open the eyes of my heart Lord" and really praying that over my day.

if i ever had the desire to go to the grammy's, it might as well be satisfied. at the end of my night, i shook my head almost in disbelief of my day.

after only a few short days of working at the salon, i found out that we are not the average new york salon, but one that caters to many socialites and celebrities around the area. **you can google the name of the salon and see different press releases about who makes appearances there! my first celebrity client i had the opportunity to meet was actress, julianne moore! it was really cool to see her in person and realize celebrities are just like you and i. they just so happen to have a career where people see them in public places.

choir practice.

my day at the grammy's did not end at the hair salon, but continued as i had the privilege to sit in on the brooklyn tabernacle's choir practice. if you didn't know, they are a 6-time grammy award winning choir composed of about 285 members. it is so powerful when that many people are all singing out to God and they are truly believing what they are singing. there were 285 of them and one of me just being melted by their words and the Holy Spirit! they sang,

i stand in awe of the exceeding greatness of your power...

and all of their excitement, passion, love, determination, and might hit me in my soul which made for an amazing powerful night which was far better than i could have wrapped my mind around.

thursday, june 10, 2010.

the neighborhood church in greenwich village was quite a contrast compared to our huge congregation at the brooklyn tab. this cute little house(like) church was nestled around amy's bread (best cupcakes ever!) and murray's cheese (best cheese ever!) on bleeker street in the village. one of the cool things about new york, in my opinion, is every area of the city has a different feel, vibe, and crowd. after a casual stroll around the fountain and the yummiest mango popsicles, anna, kadie, landon , and i were quickly accepted as family into the neighborhood church. we shared a meal together, had authentic prayer and worship, and Godly fellowship. it was really refreshing to be with a small community of people and do life together as the Bible teaches. i love being able to visit, encourage, and pray for (and with) other bodies of believers in new york...oh how He loves us!

friday, june 11, 2010.

girls night!

it makes me laugh how universally similar girls nights are, no matter where you are or who you are with. (guys are really reading now because i am about to reveal a huge girly secret..hehe) i felt so special and loved when i got invited to the sleepover at kadie's trendy, brooklyn apartment. we had a relaxing, giggle filled night of blueberry/peach cobbler (with ice cream!), chit chat (about boys of course..haha!) and ended with a viewing of a classic chick flick (pride and prejudice...in the end we all decided are waiting for our mr. darcy..and he's out there!). i just sit here praising God for bringing me sisters to share life with during my time here because they are all truly a blessing. we were all created for relationships, and i am so grateful that i have found some girls to fellowship, pray, and talk with. thank you Lord! :)

saturday, june 12, 2010.

remember the lifehouse song, everything? it came on my ipod while i was riding home on the train, and these lyrics really spoke to me...

how can i stand here with You, and not be moved by you?

would You tell me how could it be any better than this?

cause You're all i want, You're all i need, You're everything.

my prayer is that i will allow myself to be moved by God because He is always with me. that is a promise He gives us in the Word (deuteronomy 31:6). nothing, absolutely nothing, is better than being in the presence of God. if you have never experienced this joy, i challenge you to get alone and call on the Lord. worship Him and experience His glory. it will take your breath away.

sunday, june 13, 2010.

whenever i am at the brooklyn tabernacle, i am constantly reminded of why i am here. this church (meaning the people that worship in this so called building) is changing me and leaving such an imprint on my heart. pastor was telling us about next sunday, we will be going out and distributing food to people in need. there were 2,500 bags of groceries paid for and donated by a church. guess where the church is? .michigan. ha! even just the smallest things like that make me smile, and let me know that God is in this with me. the choir sang a song that said this...

God is able to do, just what He said He would do.

He's going to fulfil every promise He gives.

don't give up on God, because He won't give up on you.

He is able!

isn't that so true? these past two weeks, i have found that to be so true in my life. i know that this is just the beginning of what God wants to teach me here. i told my roommate, pamela, last night as we talked over chocolate cupcakes and the tony awards, that even if i went home tomorrow, i would be a different person...changed for the better.

#22. listen.

just when i thought my night was over, there was a quiet tapp, tappy, tap on my bedroom door. it was my roommate, wendy and i quickly invited her in. she proceeded to ask if she could share a prayer request with me. of course, i welcomed the conversation. i knew this item on my list would not be an easy one to cross off. i listen to people all the time, but this was different. i wanted to only cross it off if God had me really listening to someone, catching a glimpse of their heart. i also knew, that the Holy Spirit would tell me, "this is the one". and He did. and i did. and wendy shared, and cried, and we had a moment that stopped time for just a few minutes. a moment that will be lifted up to God in prayer, but will forever speak that we were placed in each others lives for a reason. for a special time such as this. to be an encouragement, a friend, a sister, an ear to listen. in the midst of her distress and trouble, i want to tell wendy, don't give up on God, because He won't give up on you. He is able! He is able to meet every need we have. He is able to fulfill the desires of our heart, if only we seek after His face. He is able to provide us with a love, joy, peace, and satisfaction beyond our understanding or what we can fathom.

.He is able.