Surprise Speaker @ Hillsong NYC

July 14, 2013July 17, 2013 • by admin • In July Home, Travel • 0

Priscilla Shirer

I love love love our Sundays in NYC. Not only because the day seems longer but also because we get to choose from 6 services to go to at Hillsong NYC. The church doesn’t ‘post’ in advance what pastor is speaking when or if a guest is in town-I am assuming because it is a lot for one person to speak/be available from 10am-9pm in one day. Long story short we had the privilege of listening to Priscilla Shirer speak on patience!

She is quite powerful and enthusiastic when she preaches and her teaching through the old testament on God’s character in just a few short minutes blew me away! After the service we had lunch at 5 Napkin Burger and both had amazing tacos believe it or not! Union Square is a pretty enjoyable place to walk around to the different shops or sit on a bench in the shade-not to be controversial or anything but there was a protest going on, on behalf of Trayvone that day so the square was packed! And it was an interesting thing to observe as I personally had never seen a protest in person. (it was very calm and not violent in any way)

This is up above from one of the department stores we were in… mostly to be in the Air Condition!

Coney Island

July 12, 2013July 16, 2013 • by admin • In July Home, Travel, Where We Walkers Are • 0

The Boardwalk & Hot Dogs

This morning we ventured down to Coney Island to walk along the famous boardwalk and experience a different part of New York. We arrived just as the park was opening which was perfect as it was overcast and not too many people were there.

We wandered around for awhile (the boardwalk is three miles long) people watching, browsing through Luna Park which seemed tempting but as soon as it started to rain we decided to just sit and wait for it to pass… which it never did. So we ate at the well-known Nathan’s Famous Frankfurters enjoying their hot dog, burger, french fries and old-fashioned lemonade after a 30 minute wait-which it may not be organic but you know with a long wait that the food is a little fresher than most places! Cordie thoroughly enjoyed his lunch.

There was a whole wall of dates and details of when Coney Island began and what has happened over the years-as Cordie would say it was very ‘INTERESTING’.

Lowdown House Blues Festival

July 11, 2013July 16, 2013 • by admin • In July Home, Travel, Where We Walkers Are • 0

BB King & Co (July 10th/11th)

Blues. I thought I knew what ‘blues’ music was… yet had no idea there were so many different ‘types’ or genres within one category. Anyways, on Wednesday and Thursday night Cordie and I made the trek to the Brookfield Plaza which was formally known as the World Trade Center… a couple hours in advance to get in line for seats. Forgetting that I am not a huge fan of lines the wait was not that fun when the actual ‘seating’ of people started LOOOONG after what was communicated. I must say though, seeing BB King and his crew in person was definitely worth it!

BB King is now 87 years old… a great singing voice, talented at his guitar playing and LOVED to talk more during the show than do either of the previous two things. He was very humorous and the team of guys on stage with him were just as amazing! The crowd went wild when ‘the thrill is gone‘ started playing!

For the second night of the festival we went much later to avoid all the lines and in hopes of just seeing the Los Lonely Boys and to hear their infamous “Mamacita” which was fantastic!

A few highlights of being at the festival was being two rows back from a commercial that was being filmed both nights in a row (the actors/actresses had the same outfits on both nights) and watching all the crazy people trying to move seats…walk towards the stage to be told to sit back down again…over and over and over.. yes I may have paid much more attention to all the people than the actual show. (guilty) And the gorgeous view of the water, the beautifully constructed buildings around us and spectacular yachts just lounging in their place.

9/11 Memorial

July 9, 2013July 16, 2013 • by admin • In July Home, Travel • 0

In Remembrance & Prayer (July 9th)

Today we went to the 9/11 Memorial to honor the lives that were lost and to help support the efforts of building a ‘new’ place for the city of New York in that specific area.

There are two fountains (30 feet deep) in place of where the two towers stood-the names of each individual is nice and large so it is very legible. The last picture is of the new Freedom Tower (now the tallest in the United States) and I believe 4 new World Trade Towers will be built as well. We spent a lot of time at the memorial amongst others reading about the events and all that happened on that day praying for those that are still mourning the loss of their loved one.

Hillsong NYC

July 7, 2013 • by admin • In Uncategorized • 0

Stand Up

This morning Cordie (husband), and I went to my sister Elizabeth’s church Hillsong NYC. I am not used to arriving an hour before the start of a service to wait in line, in the hopes of getting a seat for the service, but this morning we did! In the ‘excessive heat warning’ that was going on here in New York City with temps of 90+ and with the humidity according to the weather forecast felt like 105 F! The wait and walking in with sweat running down my brow was definitely worth it! Stepping into an environment where more than just one person is expecting to meet with God and worship together was very refreshing. The church does not have their own building so this week’s service was at a club near Union Square and had gorgeous chandeliers, I was offered water, mints, a Popsicle and a cupcake in the three hours of attending and waiting-I was very impressed over all.

We had the privilege of being able to watch one of Pastor Charles Nieman’s sermons that was recorded at the recent Hillsong Conference in Sydney, Australia. You can go check out his story at the link above, in a few words he recently lost his wife to ovarian cancer (she was diagnosed then died 6 months later) and preached about what to do when ‘life doesn’t go your way’. His teaching was straight from the word and was enlightening to be reminded of a few simple things. The main thing he emphasized was when life hits you in a really bad way or something awful happens and there is nothing in you to ‘stand up’ or keep going to let God ‘STAND UP’ in you and do the work for you. To fully be dependent in your weakest moments rather than avoiding and trying to run from God and those that love and care for you as well. It was an awesome word. You can listen to it here. The message reminded me of one of my favorite songs that my husband has written called Your Corner. Have a listen and hopefully this same message will speak to you through his song.

After church Cordie and I had lunch at beautiful Mediterranean restaurant north of Union Square then wandered around ending up in the Air Conditioned Barnes and Nobles to escape the heat and enjoyed our very first Argo Tea. It was a wonderful Sunday and I am looking forward to the days ahead here in New York City.

Pictures to come later when my computer and phone decide to interact together again.