Hot City in the Summertime

Newsflash: it's hot.  It was 90 degrees last night at midnight, but with the humidity it felt like 95.  At midnight.  I'm not so sure I like this part of New York life.  It is, however, an excellent excuse to eat a lot of ice cream. 

Good news:  Park across the street from my house has a ginormous pool.  And adult lap swim every night at 7 pm.  I've invested in a cap and goggles and am headed there tonight.  Maybe I will end up liking it so much that I'll do a triathlon by the end of the year!  Or maybe I'll just stay cool this summer.

Home for the weekend

One of the major pluses of being in NYC is that not only do I live in the same city as my brother, but I'm well within driving distance of my sister Monica in Richmond, VA and my parents, who live in western PA.

So when Monica went to my parents house for the week so her kids could attend VBS at our home church, and when my sister Dora dropped off her kids at Grandma and Grandpas last weekend while she and her husband moved into a new house, I got to go home and visit all my nephews at once.  A weekend of Thomas the Train, Bob the Builder (who knew there were so many different pieces of construction equipment!), swimming at the pool, playing at the playground, going for ice cream and settling disputes that frequently came up over a general reluctance to share. 

Best quote of the weekend:

Daniel, age 4, while walking to church:  Aunt Joanna, don't you love how the letter P is formed?

Pics:

Excitement (and a little danger) in the Hood

I was somewhere between showering and dressing yesterday morning when I heard of ton of sirens and, peering out the window, saw 8 cop cars barrel down Morris Mark Parkway.  Thinking they were all on their way to some sort of emergency call somewhere I else, I thought no more of it.  Until I heard the helicopters circling my neighborhood, so I got curious.

I looked up 'Harlem police pursuit' on google and found an early report of a car crash on 122nd and Lenox Avenue, two blocks away, so I went out and took a look.  I'll show you pictures, but they're not very good.

Turns out the police were responding to a robbery and pursued a suspect, the suspect's car jumped a very large median and plowed into an oncoming car and several pedestrians.  What I saw out my window was the police pursuing some guys, who were running away from the crash on foot into the park across my street.

And then I read this article today in the WSJ:  armed robbery in broad daylight.  An elderly nun killed in the pursuit.  I walk by her convent every day.  And all this two blocks from my house.  So sad.

Marcelina, Part I

I'm currently prepping Marcelina for a July performance of The Marriage of Figaro, which means I'm doing weekly solo coachings, some ensemble coachings, and a lot of external reading-- some fun one's like the play the opera is based on, Beaumarchais' La Folle Journee, and some yawners like Charles Rosen's The Classical Style.

It's honestly been a little touch and go.  I got the role because someone else dropped out, and I have never done this type of singing-- my voice is a huge and a sometimes unwieldy honking horn, and my weaknesses in singing lie in the language and word area.  The Marcelina stuff is elegant, precise and wordy.  Not a match made in heaven.  I was trying to describe this to a friend in analogy, and the best I could do was basically say, 'think of an elephant on ice skates'. 

My coach has really been extremely patient, with only one or two despairing remarks thrown in along the way.  But sensitive little me is not used to being the slow achiever in the room, and I've been in a panic that he's going to replace me.  So, I've been hard at it all week--trying to find ways to get this stuff programmed into my body, trying to stay relaxed and focused while at the same time working my ass off.

It paid off-- I had a coaching yesterday.  He seemed pleased with my progress.  I could actually relax and enjoy working with him.   Better yet, I could see how I might be ready in time.

Divine Conspiracy

Yesterday's sermon was on the Blesseds, in particular Blessed are those who mourn.  I remembered that years ago I read Dallas Willard's book The Divine Conspiracy and was floored by what he said regarding the Blesseds/Beatitudes.  So, after hearing what Milind had to say about it on Sunday,  I pulled out TDC to see what Willard had to say.

I had forgotten how powerful this book is.  Opening the book and reading a couple of paragraphs had the effect of a strong spiritual magnet for me this morning-- aligning me to what is important, reminding me of the joy and power of the Kingdom of God, and helping me gently put aside the distractions that keep piling in on me, or perhaps, that I keep piling on myself.

And that these moments keep happening to me, that the right word keeps showing up when I need it, just reminds me of how incredibly kind God is, how near, how loving, how infinite his mercies.

On Sunday I got to read Lamentations 3:19-30 for the church, and in the middle of a very sad passage, there is this beauty:

Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, "the Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him."
The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;
It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.

Favorite Headshot Ever!!!

Why I love me some liturgy

Because I'm wandering around my house this morning, feeling wayward, lazy and very human.  I'm studying Carmen and I'm thinking about treachery, selfishness, sex, power and jealousy.  I'm worried about the role I'm learning, fearful of getting replaced, worried about money, my body and why the hell I'm doing all of this in the first place.  I can feel it all like a weight around my neck.  And then I remember the words of a prayer, because I repeat them every week at church:

Oh Lord, to you all thoughts are known, and from You no secrets are hid.  Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy name through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

God is present in all things, I can be radically present to Him at every moment, without shame, no matter what.

Which is a freaking amazing thought.