Thanks for Your Prayers

Quick, pre-service coffee!

Praise God, we are back in school. Yes, we are officially able to rent public schools for meeting places again. See previous blog, Praise God for 8800. (Through His grace, we gather every other Sunday at the school which worked to our advantage. The opposite Sundays we meet in designated apartments.)

Sunday, March 18, 2012 we held our first after-the-reprieve service in Muscado School. Many other churches are now allowed back in their former rented school locations as well.

Months of ligeslation and media coverages were dissolved by a nod from the Father. We all thank you for your prayers.

Selected images of fellowship, March 18, 2018

Pre and post goodies! We have lots of fellowship bakers...

 

 

Coffee in hand, reviewing the day and week ahead!

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Start packing up...

 

50% Angle + One Piggy Bank + Perimeters

Math tutoring on Saturday morning this March has been a huge step out of my comfort zone. The last math class I had was called arithmetic and my college degree predated calculators. Adding machines were allowed in classes if you could carry them. I wont even mention such big math words as calculus or trigonometry -- oh wait, I just did. Obviously, those studies were not on my educational journey.

St. Patty's Day in math tutoring 

Last year, Everyday Christian Church offered and executed a math tutoring program preparing neighborhood school children for national testing. The tutoring was a hit and ECC was asked to repeat the program.

These bright minds are this neighborhood's gold and to be their friends is a privilege. Even if they are all better than I am in math!

Random Images

Please forgive the lack of images here and yon. Its not so much my thing as that I simply leave my camera on the table! Here are some mixed up images ....

First is my brand new NYC do!

However, its all grown out and time for a newer, new NYC do!

Adam and the rest of Home Group

Welcome home from Texas

Subway tile work. 59th & West Central Park

How to dry a mop, apartment style

Not our remembered Southferry terminal of old!

Can you read it? In our neighborhood park / legend where Manhattan was sold.

Thanks guys! Sanitation rules

and their trucks...

1st night on patrol, uniform in bag!

 

Edification

There are precious moments when you sit along side that unknown lady in her regular Sunday morning pew, open up those singing pipes and bellow with abandon, opening your heart to God. Oddly you can not hear your voice but it is her music you hear. It is not a sound but rather memories of the years of her journey, a joy and ache, a longing and peace, an intimacy you dare not intrude upon yet she has you by the heart and draws you in.

This horizontal edification unifies strangers worshiping the Father. As He hears and smiles and in turn, vertically returns His love.

Now that is pretty amazing. And the humans don't know each other yet.

And those that do know each other...its all good.

Yesterday was Home Group at our apartment. People who love each other offering love to God...it was not a God-moment. It was a God-day.

Yesterday before we opened up God's word, we shared our week. And then prayed for one another. Prayer was our song, lifting our pipes and bellowing our hearts to The Father. The entire time was so edifying.

He was among us though out the day as we learned about Paul's nephew's courage and our experiences in which one of our own actions made a difference.

A majority of the group enjoyed the day together. Morning brunch, meal, worship, area live opera and lots of fellowship. Not every worship day is so full but yesterday, loving each other, celebrating the love of friendship, being children of God and God the Father made it a special day indeed.


PS:
Varieties of individuals attend HG. However one of our human regulars made a comment that is sure to become a T shirt mantra, "Parasites come and go". It brought the house down!

Right Place, Right Time

Today I felt a desire to accompany my husband downtown to help pick up his AUX police uniform. Normally I would never consider such expenditure of energy if I could help it. After all, that would include two subway transfers, three different trains, 16 different stair cases around the city and at least 100 miles of sidewalk (perhaps I exaggerate the sidewalk mileage a bit.) But under a surprising heartfelt urging of wifely support, I really, no really I did want to go.

All bundled up and at the first subway entrance the head police guy calls to tell us that there was no place for me at the store. I would have to wait outside. Um, okay. Still doable. Adventure is adventure. Love is love. Support is support. And the promise of a Starbucks has strange powers.

Crawling out of the concrete outdoor stairwell, trying to keep up with Skippy, my new nickname for hubby, we headed for the NYC City Hall. That landmark pointed the way to both the uniforms and in the opposite direction, Starbucks.

In other words, he went his way and I went mine. A healthy marriage requires dependent independence from time to time. We depend on the other to be independent. Today we happened to be doing it in NYC. (One time I was in Mexico while he was in California. One mile or 3,000, space and time is all part of the covenant. But that's another blog...)

He is now off gathering public safety gear, I am in the throws of caffeine delights. And I even discover a seat! Thus began another NYC miracle.

She had strawberry red hair. Her hair was the same color as my sister's. That fleeting remembrance made me want to communicate, so I asked her a question. She had a nice camera by her side so...

"Did you get any good pictures today?"

We talked for two hours. About many things.

Before parting we discussed God's will in her life and future.

She came from Seattle for her trip. I came from Inwood, the upper most part of Manhattan. We met across the street from NYC City Hall. After a short period, we two strangers shed our barriers and opened our hearts in a crowded coffee shop within earshot of whoever.

I hope I'll see again. I'll know her in Heaven.




Tomorrow I'm going a few blocks down the street. Jesus will be there. Wonder who else I'll meet?

PTL for A8800

Never did I think that a ban on church locations could possibly be a good thing for the name of God. Perspective plays a role here, semantics and even longevity. But once having made headline news for six months in the dailies in NYC -- somebody is going to notice.

Bill A8800 bans churches from renting public schools beginning last February 12.

Elected officials thought that they were doing well politically. But apparently God is winning the popular vote.

Past by the state legislature some time ago, A8800 only recently is being put into action. Last week, the polls were 54% to 7% against the bill.

I've been confused about the whole thing and sought information from the media, pastor and the Internet. Only one thing was clear, February 12. That was the date the churches had to be out of the schools.

ECC was not in school that day! We were in Home Group celebrating worship services in three apartments that day. Our normal is bi-weekly Home Groups meetings and bi-weekly joint meetings at Muscota School.

Most churches are now left without facilities and are now scrambling to locate something. Creative measures are fascinating and sad at the same time. Costs are a major factor.

One church in the Bronx got a ten day reprieve.

One church met in the streets. (And vows to continue meeting there.)

Several have combined. A few have disbanded.

We are blessed to continue in our location.

As explained to me, in order to stay at the school, we now call our time a "teaching" period rather than a "worship service." We teach songs and prayers, bible reading and even give speeches. According to A8800, as written, these activities are allowed.

The bill becomes more confusing as to what acts of worship are actually banned. And what is to happen next.

Watching an entire body respond to governmental degrees about how they should and should not worship is a history lesson to me -- like that of the first church under Roman rule.

Only a taste-bud of an inkling of what they dealt with in order to praise God causes me to rejoice that this silly bill has seen daylight. God's name is in bold print in NYC. People are singing in the streets and demanding He be praised aloud.

The effects of this bill will last for years. Every child in every school and family unit is already asking why, what's going on, did I do wrong? The conversations begun between teacher and students, board members and administration are about the entire affair, what action should or should not happen plus community hearings.

One thing the NY State Senate is right about, God does not need to pay rent to be in public schools.

Conversation and Coffee

Coffee is just black / brown liquid sitting in a cup unless someone is sitting on the other side of the table. I used to think this stuff was smelly, yucky and expensive to boot. Now, this is the true liquid gold, not oil from the ground, but perhaps oil from coffee grounds counts as a jumping off place. Oh, all right, hot tea will work in a pinch.

Lets go get a cup of coffee. It translates in all languages or the sentiment does. It opens up deep heart felt longing found in the bottom of the cups. No one needs to make small talk over a warm cup of any thing, small talk is in the steam and passes out-of-the-way. Getting down to real conversation is exposed with every drop.

The fact that I love coffee helps--soda too actually--steam in the hot months works just as well. Asking for the date is the thing.

Do you know every heart needs a cup of coffee?