Sharing the One True Love

Yesterday was Memorial Day and for those who attend New City Fellowship it means that it is also the day we have our annual Woodlawn Block Party. It is when the congregation goes into the heart of our ministry, our neighborhood, and throws them a huge bash. In the past weeks, Woodlawn has been getting media attention due to its high rise in crime. This didn't stop New City from going there in hopes to share the gospel. I love that about my church!

The Woodlawn Block Party is a big event for New City, as we live for community outreach. The church is working alongside our community daily, but the block party is a special way for us to show God's love. It gives us members the opportunity to go into the housing projects with free food and entertainment. But when it comes down to it, the block party is really the only time the whole neighborhood comes out of their apartments to be together as a community, getting along, and having fun. And instead of those in need coming to us, we are there in their midst, in hopes that God is working in us to share His love.

I was blessed to be apart of it all. Though I must say that I just really wanted to ‘kick it’ on my day off. Actually, Vincent had to coax me to go. It wasn’t that I was opposed to going-- I’ve been to the Block Party for the past two years. But this year I was SO tempted to just stay in bed. Going meant we had to start the day at 8:45--waking our youth group up (they had a lock-in), feeding them breakfast, helping the church load the U-haul with chairs, tents, and what not, then going door-to-door inviting people to the block party, and last but not least, being put in charge of the blow-up toys in the 90 degree weather. I’m exhausted, but I was glad I went. The thing that I feel most blessed for was the opportunity to minister with my husband and friends. There is something uniting about sharing the gospel together. I am able to rejoice today that we share the same

faith.

To top it off, we were able to end the day with more friends on the river. Ah, friends. Gotta love em. (Pictures on flickr.)

Oh Yeah I Can Dance on a Purple Cloud

This weekend, Chattanooga hosted the Who Fest, an outdoors folk art festival. I'm always a bit skeptical of folk artists, because I feel like a lot of them mass produce 'cute' art and at times I feel like if you have seen one piece you have seen them all. Especially after going to Howard Finster's Paradise Garden, I feel like people copy his style and lack uniqueness. I like/appreciate folk art, I like the nitty-grittiness of it, I like it's rawness, I like folk art at its truest form. I can't say that I'm an expert on folk art, however my skepticism for folk art is based on the fact that some artists lack the primitiveness and they try to darn hard to impress us.

ANYWAYS! All that to say, I was pleasantly surprised, to run into Danny Hoskinson, known as The Bucketman. Very original, very wacky. You gotta check out his stuff. He makes everything from buckets, he melts, molds then paints them into this crazy objects. I liked his art because it was one-of a kind, out-there-art. I wouldn't necessarily want to own any of his art work, because I think they are ugly, but I gotta give it to him for his wild creativity. Vincent on the other hand loved some of his pieces and wanted to purchase them. Thank God we didn't have money.We also ran into Mary Polk, a.k.a. Missionary Mary. Carrie Galpin and Marry Ferris had one of her pieces at their old house so it was fun running into Missionary Mary. You can check out her story on-line.

The other artists weren't much to comment about, there were some other artists that grabbed my attention, but when it came to 'folk art', these two people stood out the most. If you have time, check em' out.

Little Lamb

This weekend, a bundle of joy and energy, that I very much needed in my life, rolled into town. Carrie drove in from New Orleans Friday evening, calling me two hours before she arrived. Spontaneity is one thing you gotta love about Carrie, but that also means that you really don't know when she's coming or when she's going. Anyways, all that said, Carrie has a way of rejuvenating me so her presence is always welcome. Although we have never lived in the same town, she has become one of my closest friends, or as Anne of Green Gables would say, she is my kindred spirit. We have so many crazy funny memories, even if we have always lived 7 hours apart: trips to Savannah and New York, cooking turkey and baking pumpkin pie, dancing in the streets of FL, taking bike rides, eating thanksgiving dinner with a homeless man and last but not least, Carrie making her love potion at my wedding.

Carrie is the truest of true free spirits out there. (You may think you are one, but you'll never come close to Carrie.) Cheers! To my crazy friend.

The Most Hated Family in America

I can't believe this! Below is a BBC Documentary by Louis Theroux: The Most Hated Family in America. I don't even remember how I surfed into these video clips. The news regarding Westboro Baptist Church and their mission may be old news to some, but it's definitely new to me. You might as well watch the clips below to understand why they may have been labeled the "most hated family in America". They hate America, they thank God for 911, they thank God for the dieing troops, they thank God for the tragedy in New Orleans. Its crazy.

The first clip is an interview by Hannity and Colmes. It's short but you'll get the general gist of things. (For 5 Talbot: search Hannity and Colmes interview with Shirley Phelps)




This second clip is a lot longer, it made me sick to my stomach, so I haven't finished watching it.
Anyways, this is the BBC documentary.



So, at first this just made me feel sick to my stomach... I couldn't believe how disrespectful they were. It then reminded me of a Tim Keller sermon that Brady and Kristen gave us on our honeymoon. The sermon was on the importance of community. One thought that stuck out to me was the importance of telling the truth to others, but without love it's nothing. I've humbly tried to implement this in my life--at work, with friends, and especially with Vincent. I often have discovered that I am lazy in how I tell people the truth. And undeniably, I know how it feels to be told the truth without love. But you can tell if that person was doing it in a loving way or not...and you either accept it or you are hurt. I can be pretty harsh when I tell Vincent he is in the wrong, forgetting to love him while telling him so. It hits home when I think of God's love for me. In sanctifying me, He has never molded me with hate or laziness, but with love.

Gratulerer Med Dagen!

Happy Birthday Sienna!

And they're Back!

So, this isn't the clearest picture, but nonetheless, the Weaver's are back in town!

We hadn't seen Ben and Bethany since they got married so it was due time we saw them. Now, they live just around the corner so we'll be seeing eachother all the time. While our husbands work during the day, Bethany and I will relive the glory days of sitting around and drinking coffee.

(Here we are, having dinner with Bethany's older brother, Micheal and his wife.)

Holding down the fort

I'm eating deer track ice cream right now. Ice cream tends to remind me of Sienna and Kyrie. They just finished their first year at Covenant and have left Chatty, leaving me to be the only Howard girl here for the summer. Actually Lowen is currently in Uganda, which leaves Vincent and I to be the only Howards in town. It ain't the same without our cousins.

So, here is a post, looking back over the past year. Sienna and Kyrie, thanks for your friendship and the fun you brought to my life. If it ain't for you two, I don't know how I would have made it as a new member of the Howard clan :). It's been a great year and can't wait to have you guys back again!

At grandipop's and gradimary's crabfeast.

A puff of cigar: $.10

Tylenol for a headache: $6.95

Kyrie's birthday party: $20.

Nose picking. $30.

Beauty Sleep: Priceless

Via Chicago

This past weekend, Vincent and I drove up to Chicago to see Yuji, my brother, graduate from Wheaton Colledge. It was a hectic weekend as we crammed in sight seeing, shopping, visiting with old friends and attending graduation events.

It feels a little strange that my baby brother is no longer a 'child' and now an adult. I'm a little nervous to know what kind of phone calls I'll recieve now. Before, calls consisted of Yuji calling me about a prank gone wrong, where he and his friends 'kidnapped' a stranger and stuck him in their car. Another call would be of Yuji telling me that he's skipping classes to drive to Alaska and forgetting his passport to get into Canada. Or he would call simply to tell me that he's busy and can't talk for long since he's dumping water on his igloo that he's making infront of his house. So, you see, I'm a little torn because I have looked foward to hearing from Yuji and hearing his crazy stories, but maybe it's time he grows up...but then, if he has to grow up, that would entail me growing up, too. But then again, I don't want to get a call from him, telling me he's in jail either. Oh well. For now, congrats Yuji, for graduating from college! We are so proud of you and love you tons!!!

Hanging out with brother and sister!

Enjoying QT with the family. My mom is learning how to throw the foot ball.

Graduation feast at a Japanese steak house!

more picture on flickr!

For April, Em and Katie

So, here is the clip I mentioned in my last post. This is right when Brad Paisley walked on stage and people went wild...the video really has bad audio due to all the screaming around me, but at least you'll get the idea of what it was like.

Girls-here it is, for a little stroll down memory lane.

and I'de like to check you for ticks

So, has anyone heard of Brad Paisley? I hadn't, until Emily called me last night telling me she met Mr. Paisley's manager and he gave her four tickets. Do I want to go? Emily asked.

Apparently, he is one of the 'top of the chart' country singers. In my book, the most interesting fact was that he is married to actress, Kimberly Williams, who played the daughter in 'Father of the Bride' movies.

Anyways, when Emily called me up, I couldn't pass up the offer to experience something so 'American' as to going to a Country show. We made the best of it as we sat in our free sorta-front row seats and hung out with the band members after the concert.

Here we are: Katie, Em, April and me!
In front of the tour buses.

This is not an interesting picture, until you realize his new hit single is called, "Ticks".
While he sang, "...and I'd like to check you for ticks...". Ticks were "crawling" behind him.
Listen to it. No offense, but I don't get how the thought of ticks will make me lovey dovey.

Last but not least, here is Mr. Paisley himself!

PS- I video taped him a bit, and I'll post it later.

War in Iraq, about to end?

It is reported that the US House has voted to set a deadline for the troops to return home. The vote was 218 to 210. The president may veto it...well, it looks like it'll definitely be vetoed.

I really don't know what to think after I read the article in BBC. Apparently the Iraqi Foreign Minister doesn't want the troops to leave yet. He believes that the US withdrawal should happen after the Iraqi military is self-reliant. I mean, it kind of sucks for the US to create mass chaos and then leaving without cleaning up their mess. Well, it kind of sucks that chaos was created in the first place.

Anyways, I really don't have enough knowledge about the war to expound on it. All I know are friends who have family members in the military, and I know my friends wants their loved ones to be safe. I was just talking to one of these friends yesterday and I saw this article and thought of her and her family. (I'm praying for you.)

For Em

Here are some pictures of the puppies that Emily recently rescued from a parking lot:

Emily saying goodbye.

I babysat them for a day, and after being chased around my apartment all day, they finally sleep.

'this case must be returned to...emily' :)

This one is looking all innocent and cute after it tinkled on my floor.

Rough housing with Vincent.

They sleep again.

They made friends with the kittens next door.

The day Emily found them...

Timothy Treadwell Style

This past weekend Vincent, Lowen and I met up with Grandipop and Grandimary at the Great Smokey Mountains National Park. We hiked Abrams Falls, a 2.5mil trail. It was a nice change of pace as we counted over 25 different species of wild flowers and saw lots of wild life.

One of coolest things we saw were these black bears. A mommy bear and her three cubs (I circled them). How cool is that, huh? I couldn't believe how they just minded their own business while we took pictures of them.

Check out more of our pictures on our flickr site.

...and they are engaged!

Eric and Lauren got engaged April 14th!
We got to help the groom-to-be surprise his new fiance w/ a surprise engagement party.
Eric planned it so that both their family and friends could be there to celebrate the night.
So many of their loved ones came from within 13 hours away!
So cool.

Congrats guys...you are in our prayers.

The Joys of Eating

This kid knows how to enjoy life to the fullest. Nathaniel is two and by all means knows how to get anything he wants without saying a word.

Vincent, being his uncle and godfather, ate up all the attention Nathaniel gave him. The kid consistantly made me laugh, as he bullied his broken-butted uncle by pushing, lunging and jumping on Vincent. Natheniel also picked up on the fact that Vincent's donut was a so-called treasure, and to him it soon became a toy he used to taunt his disabled uncle.

Easter Egg

noun: an egg that is dyed and sometimes decorated and that is associated with the celebration of Easter.
-Webster Dictionary

This Easter weekend we were able to spend time with our nephews and help them decorate their eggs.

It was a messy ordeal but a fun one. I don't remember the last time I dyed eggs. Vincent was five. I think we should keep the tradion next year.

Here is Vincent with his soon-to-be multi-colored egg.
Please note the very straight line he was able pull off.
A very proud uncle...he wouldn't even let his nephew touch it.

Our Journey

So, Lowen, Vincent and I made our 11hour trip to Maryland this past weekend...

...to be with Jenny, our cousin...

...as she got married to Daniel Wold.

However, our trip was more then what we expected as the majority of our time was spent in the hospital. Nathaniel, Vincent's nephew had a bad case of asthma. He is okay now as he was released from the hospital today.

We were happy to be with our family, but nonetheless we are tired.

The Brothers H

My brothers, Vernon and Benjamin, share a birthday on April 2nd. Ben, on my left in the photo above, turns 17 today. Vernon, on my right, turns 28.

These men have been a tremendous inspiration to me. They shared the "best-man" duty at my wedding last August. Their reception speaches, according to witnesses, were full of generous wit, comic aplumb, artful sentimentality, and generation-defining savviness.

Vernon is a married father of two living in New Windsor, Maryland. He drives a Nissan truck my cousin Lowen has likened to a combination of a Dodge Neon and the P---y Wagon from Kill Bill. He is handy with his hands. He wears a tool belt whenever and wherever he can, sometimes to the bathroom, sometimes to the bedroom. He is a master of Flannery O'Connoresque humor. Vernon never met a cheesesteak he didn't like.

Ben is a high school student living in St. Michaels, Maryland. He is waiting for a sign from heaven to reveal to him the importance of obtaining a driver's license. Ben's school, fortunately situated a block from his house, will be the launch-pad for his up-and-coming music video enterprise. His current project is a video for Common's "Be." He recently brought his F-average up to honor-roll status. Ben is visited in dreams by Dave Chappelle.

Happy Birthday boys.

The Mitch