Truth #1

“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”- Isaiah 53:5-6

Do you believe me?

Love Hate

"And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat." Mark 6:31

"New York has a trip-hammer vitality which drives you insane with restlessness if you have no inner stabilizer." Henry Miller

"Most human beings are driven to seek security and comfort. But there is another group that can only thrive on change and the unexpected of New York."Cathleen Nesbit

"Robinson Crusoe, the self-sufficient man, could not have lived in New York City."

Walter Lippman

"When you leave New York, you are astonished at how clean the rest of the world is. Clean is not enough." Fran Lebowitz

"A hundred times have I thought New York is a catastrophe, and fifty times: It is a beautiful catastrophe. Le Corbusier

"You come to New York to find the ambiance that will evoke your best. You do not necessarily know precisely what that might be, but you come to New York to discover it."

Dr. James Killman

“It couldn't have happened anywhere but in little old New York.” O Henry

After imbibing late night with a crop of French, Italian, Filipino, and American models who all came to New York and stayed...cause there was no other place to be, I woke to driving, freezing, exhausting rain, my entire front soaked in dirty water, and wondered if they were as in love with the city today.

Despite my dire need for a regenerative respite, I felt like a New Yorker the first five minutes I was here.

I can't wait to leave her for a spell, only to come back home....

My vacation starts now.

Sleep?

Downpresser Man

"The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." Deuteronomy 31:8

Despite that my seminary graduate turned Trader Joe's cashier told me he likes to get stoned and read Deuteronomy because he laughs so hard, he pees his pants. I still find worth in its intensity.

Two men stabbed on the subway in Greenwich Village and Manhattans murder toll spikes...
Suicide Bombers kill 38 on Moscow's underground train.

Security with back to walls and AK47's in hand.
I point out a swollen backpack abandoned on the 72nd Street Platform.

To my surprise, the rotund MTA worker reacts immediately.

Nose to Nose with hundreds of my closest friends stalled in a tunnel, I realize just how vulnerable we all are...

And decide to take a taxi to Nancy's Whiskey Bar for two Knob Creek's on Ice and some ACDC choosing above ground transport on this, (yes Karen Carpenter) rather tense rainy Monday night.

If you let fear cripple your actions, tell me where you gonna run to?

**And for those that can stand the pain...

It's me on Gossip Girl.

http://cwtv.com/cw-video/gossip-girl/gossip-girl-the-sixteen-year-old-virgin/?play=634-7472

Start Spreading the News

“For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time.”- 1 Timothy 2:5-6

Every now and then I am convicted so strongly to get back on the path of my command in my Savior and evangelize of His glorious love that stamps out all guilt, condemnation, judgement, worry, and bitterness and lifts me up to an everlasting place of contented peace where I see so clearly.

I raise my hands in humble adoration of a lowly carpenter from Galilee from whom all of my hectic day in and long night out blessings flow....Damn Surrender feels so good.

Just when New York's offensive rejection of faith and a strong showing of local inhabitants with a serious god complex nearly blinds me...

This Palm Sunday, Dr. Michael Youssef showed me this eye opening word.....

Tetelestai

"It is finished."

The mission of Christianity..

What came to pass from Noah, Abraham, Moses and King David was so that the Son of God could utter those words on the cross of Calvary.

It is our Redemption, Salvation, and Strength in this Earthly World.

Tetelestai

The reason we bend our knees and bow our heads in Thanksgiving.

Tetelestai

The cleansing blood of Jesus that washes our crimson stains of sin. One drop reaches all of us and gives us an immeasurable grace for the taking when we come to Him and sing...

"I see His love and mercy
Washing over all our sin
The people sing, the people sing

Hosanna, hosanna
Hosanna in the highest

I see a generation
Rising up to take the place
With selfless faith, selfless faith

I see a near revival
Stirring as we pray and seek
We're on our knees, we're on our knees

Hosanna, hosanna
Hosanna in the highest..." Hillsong

It might be my so called agenda...but it is His perfect timing.

This is the good news. And I'm shouting it from the tar covered rooftops...

Anyone else for an epiphany?

Stand Back

"A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control." Proverbs 29:11

The Eastern Europeans have arrived and are swarming the streets of SOHO, filing in ques outside of H & M, and crowding the coffee counter at Dean and Deluca like their lives depended on it. I'm the aggravated fool that left the house on my one day off to brave the 40 degree blustery spring day along with the city's visitors who indecipherably converse in large circles with shopping bags in the middle of a should be fast moving pedestrian highway.

Looks like the manhole on 1st and 11th is feeling my pain.

You could hear it for blocks and see it miles out....excessive steam streaming out into the atmosphere. Trapped beneath the southern tip of Manhattan to 96th street, the surging energy Con Edison contains, violently thrusted itself into the air like a geyser and exploded for hours causing traffic congestion of rubber neckers and taxi pileups from impaired visibility. This supposedly FDA approved clean steam billowed out in front of a Patisserie landmark as the brave and belligerent bent over the hole with their iphones in hand to capture the boiling eruption and the FDNY arrived on the scene with the looks of a war torn city on fire, while most of us New Yorkers walked on by in a rush to get out of the cold.

Yep, with over 105 miles of mains and pipes under the streets, steam power is alive and well in Manhattan and its blowing hard tonight. And I'm in desperate need of a similar release.

Is a culminating climax a cure for what ails you?

Hopelessly Devoted

"Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise." Proverbs 19:20

Last night I dreamed I sat in the back booth of a stale Denny's on a Cul De Sac. The strangers seated in the booth with me all had pancakes piled high on their ash white plates with sticky syrup spilling out over the edges. They all looked out the window and up at the flickering fluorescent sign. And all simultaneously told me I should STOP writing my blog.

Abruptly I woke up to two delivery trucks outside playing the fun little tune of shave and a haircut, two bits on their horns at three in the morning!!!!

God I need some quiet.

And my stubborn tenacity to cease.

My head is saying forget him. My heart is saying don't let go.

Do you find the wisdom you need in a multitude of counsels or in you alone?

Not My Will

"Stop trusting in man, who has but a breath in his nostrils. Of what account is he?" Isaiah 2:22

This goes for you who still think your hands control the helm of your rocky ship.

And for those of you who put the pope, your pastor, or any deity on a higher plane than yourself.

We are all selfish, fallible flesh. >>New York Times.

And will be judged.

Quit living for man and start living for Him. It's as simple as that.

How do you pick up the pieces of the broken?