Sincere and Stable

"When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God." 1 Corinthians 2:1

After spending 13 hours transforming a  gorgeous flat on 5th Avenue into a fashion showroom, wrestling to get size 25 jeans on mannequins for a good portion of the day, and toasting the clients on a job well done...I'm home and quite frankly experiencing intense writer's block.

So I will keep it sweet and solid.

My absolute favorite and most refreshing aspect of  New Yorkers is, they keep it real. I know I've written about this before but the truth is so much easier to swallow than any delicate white lie said straight to my face or behind my back. From money, appearance, ridicule, opinions, preferences, and lifestyles...what southerners often think but rarely voice, they say it loud and they say it proud. I heard Oprah Winfrey say once that when she turned 40 years old, she quit caring what others thought of her.

 In Manhattan, that condition has a premature onset.

Again, I take such comfort in this as it takes the guesswork out of an acquaintance.  

This absoluteness makes talking about the Lord even easier for me. Not because people give me the benefit of the doubt, quite the contrary.  Often they adamantly disagree, call me crazy, say I'm brainwashed and naive, and I've got to be joking???

 Tolerance seems to go out the window.

 Today a new friend told me he doesn't believe in God, but believes in good. How could I believe Jesus was the son of God? Mary was actually raped my a Roman soldier and the good man Joseph saved her from a flogging. With the same certainty he went on to say Christians believe they are superior to everyone else...

If that is a genuine experience, I'm sorry I have failed in that respect because humility and acceptance are my commands.  I can argue my case, talk just as loud as the next, or be a living example but my best recourse in defense are God's breathed words..

"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love."

"He mocks proud mockers but gives grace to the humble."
"For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted." 

Here's the deal... Hear my words. I don't expect you to heed them. 

I'll attend to your beliefs. But don't expect me to adopt them.

Ain't freedom of choice a beautiful thing?