The city of Indulgence

At community group this week we were talking about living in New Orleans and how we can be "resident aliens". I wasn't exactly sure how to verbalize the difficulties of living in this city and yet standing apart from non-believers until someone else in the group mentioned that NOLA is a "city of indulgence". It takes what is beautiful and meant to be celebrated and turns it into gluttony.
The pastor at my church has said that New Orleans is one of the best pictures of heaven...and hell. We are always celebrating, enjoying the company of others, eating, drinking, enjoying music, art, and the other cultural gifts of this city and yet these things can be taken to the extreme--not to mention the politics and general poverty and crime of the city.
I have mixed emotions about living here as it is one of the most unique and culturally rich places I have ever been, but it is also a broken place where you cannot hide from the constant reminder that this world is not our home. I am encouraged and exhausted by this reminder. There is so much work that needs to be done to restore this city and it is easy to get caught up in thinking that the redemption of this city relies on me when I know that anything I do will be a minor drop in the bucket. God is mighty! PRAISE the Lord that he is our salvation--not me.

Freezing like a popsicle

Yes....that is an icicle IN my house! We left the faucets dripping so the pipes wouldn't freeze but with the combination of an old house and no central heat/air with below freezing temperatures, we ended up with iciles indoors and frozen pipes throughout. My landlord, being the wonderful person that she is, got my roommate and I hotel rooms for the next 3 days so I am now enjoying warm temperatures and running water. It is like a little "staycation"--the hotel has a heated pool, workout room, is located on St Charles Ave (so I can hop right on the streetcar and ride to church in the morning), and a little thing called rooooom service! AND cable television so I can watch plenty of football and law and order. Hehe.

Life Update

My Mormor (meaning "mother's mother" in swedish) making cookies. I was able to visit with her for a few days before going to see my family.

After visiting Mormor, I met my family and cousins in Florida and we spent a day at Disney's Magic Kingdom.

Most of the cousins at DisneyMy FAVORITE part was the castle. It was georgeous!!!!While we were at my cousins in Jacksonville, FL we got to meet Quentin Groves!! For you non-Auburn people, he was a defensive end for Auburn while I was in college and now plays for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Him and his wife were driving by my uncle's house and gave us a "War Eagle" after seeing our Auburn tags. They were looking for a house in the neighborhood and my uncle invited them in to see their's because there was one just like it down the street. They stayed about an hour just talking with us.

For Christmas all of the girls got boots. :)

I gave everyone a New Orleans themed gift--the girls got butterfly shaped Mardi Gras masks, the boys got juju dolls (meant for good luck), mom got a set of earrings made locally, and dad got beignet mix and community coffee.

Woot Woot!

There are so many things I want to write about and hopefully I can get to them this week...but right now there is one thing that I am so excited about! I just met up with a group from Auburn (they are in town working with my church for the week) to see a popular brass band called Rebirth at the Maple Leaf Bar. As we were waiting for the band to start playing, several of the girls start whispering to each other and telling each other not to stare--I did not hear what they were talking about but I turned to see what they were looking at AND there was Kate Hudson standing about 5 people behind me. Wow! I always see movies being filmed around town but am not sure which one she is in. I am so excited to have my first celebrity sighting!! Too bad I forgot my camera--I don't know if I would have tried to get my picture with her anyways; I love her but I can't imagine not being able to go out in public without being bombarded by people--so I settled on doing the stalker stare (short glances back when I think she won't notice). hehe.

Rainy Day

Ahhh...after a long week of finals I have just one left. Hooray! I worked all morning to finish a final and have spent the afternoon lounging in my room (it is the only warm place in the house). Right now I am snuggled up in my bed watching Mansfield Park on Hulu....Life is good...

This week I only have to work a couple of days in the office then intend to do some christmas shopping. Next weekend I will head to Florida to meet up with my family and visit the cousins. We will also be going to Disney!!! This will be my first trip to Disney!

Lord, Help my Unbelief

Ugh... I talked to my brother Jordan earlier today and he informed me that he wants to become a Marine. I tried to remain calm and rational while I talked to him but on the inside I was screaming "NO!!!".

The first thought that comes to mind when I think about him in the Marines is selfish and unrational but I can't help to think that I can't handle losing another sibling. It is ridiculous. I also think about how other friends who have been in the military have been changed by their experience. A few changes have been good ones but others have left scars.

Please pray for Jordan as he considers his future. Pray that God will grant him wisdom and guide him and that God will remind me that He is sovereign.

Don't laugh

I am thinking about buying a Snuggie. I know they are hideous and make you look like a Jedi but keep in mind that this is not something I will be wearing in public. It is seriously cold in my house. I live in a charming old house that I adore but the downfalls are that there is bad/no insullation, I can see the wind blow through the old windows and move the curtains, and we have LIMITED heating abilities. Our bedrooms have a space heater but on nights like tonight my roomie and I just got home and our rooms were a chilling 44 degrees. I am sitting in bed wearing 2 pairs of socks, pajama pants, shirt, hoodie (with hood on), scarf, and 3 blankets while I wait on the space heater to bring the temperature up to a livable situation. This calls for a trip to walmart; maybe they'll have a leopard print Snuggie in stock!