Hosanna!

The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.  So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!"  And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written, "Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!" -- John 12:12-15 ESV

Quotable Quotes - Memories

Things that were hard to bear are sweet to remember. ~Seneca

Life is a rough biography. Memories smooth out the edges. ~Terri Guillemets

Nothing fixes a thing so intensely in the memory as the wish to forget it. ~Michel de Montaigne

I'm always fascinated by the way memory diffuses fact. ~Diane Sawyer

The Persistance of Memory, by Dali

Good Eats - Marathon on the Square & Philly Cupcake

Some good eats from this past weekend..
First brunch: 

Marathon On the Square

1839 Spruce St

Philadelphia, PA 19103

(215) 731-0800

http://www.marathongrill.com/index2.html

 
  and then an evening treat from:

Philly Cupcake
1132 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
(215) 625-4888
http://www.phillycupcake.com/

Reflections

Based on some discussions last night  . . .

*Why am I so afraid?
*Am I willing to be used in whatever capacity is needed to bring God glory?
*When I ask for God’s will, do I truly want to know the answer?
*How much of the joy I find today is linked to God and how much is linked to my circumstances?
*Will I still cry out His name in praise if He breaks me beyond my tipping point?
*I fear God’s power, but why don’t I find solace in it? Is it because I don’t trust in His goodness?

If I could get to the heart of these questions, how much more could I be a steward for His kingdom!?!

A Perfect Saturday

Yesterday,
A Saturday off from work,
The first day of Spring,
Beautiful, sunny, and 75 degrees,
A group of girlfriends,
Starting the day with a morning bike ride along Kelly Drive,
Followed by a great brunch in the city,
Then some leisurely walking and window shopping,
And ending the evening with some desserts from Philly Cupcakes.

I'm thankful for these simple pleasures and the people I can enjoy them with...a perfect Saturday it was indeed =)

50 Random Questions

Just because it's late at night, I can't sleep, and I need to find more ways to waste time . . .

1. Where were you 3 hours ago? - At the pharmacy
2. Who are you in love with? - No one, next question
3. Have you ever eaten a crayon? - Don't believe I have
4. Is there anything pink within 10 feet of you? - A pink bottle of pomegranate and mango hand and body lotion
5. When is the last time you went to the mall? - Today, Unfortunately I work there
6. Are you wearing socks right now? - I am
7. Do you have a car worth over $2,000? - I hope so, I just bought it 4 months ago
8. When was the last time you drove out of town? - Probably NYC
9. Have you been to the movies in the last 5 days? - Nope
10. Are you hot? - Nope
11. What was the last thing you had to drink? - Water....mmmm, delicious
12. What are you wearing right now? - PJ's
13. Do you wash your car or let the car wash do it? - Let the car wash do it
14. Last food that you ate? - Popcorn, I'm not proud of it
15. Where were you last week at this time? - Probably at home
16. Have you bought any clothing items in the last week? - I haven't, I've been good lately
17. When is the last time you ran? - Yesterday....5 miles...wohoo!
18. What's the last sporting event you watched? - Went to a sixers/knicks game on Monday..didn't know a darn player on either team
19. What is your favorite animal? - Animals and I have a sorted past, we don't seem to mesh well, it would be a lie if I answered this question
20. Your dream vacation? - Greece or Italy or Thailand....I'm not picky, any one will do
21. Last person's house you were in? - N's apartment
22. Worst injury you've ever had? No broken bones ever, can't think of anything serious (knock on wood)
23. Have you been in love? - Nope, next question  
24. Do you miss anyone right now? - I miss random people at random times
25. Last play you saw? - The Lion King on Broadway
26. What is your secret weapon to lure in the opposite sex? - Oh gosh...lure? secret weapon? really?
27. What are your plans for tonight? - You're looking at it
28. Who is the last person you sent a MySpace message or comment? - I don't have MySpace
29. Next trip you are going to take? - New Orleans
30. Ever go to camp? - Nope
31. Were you an honor roll student in school? - Yes I was
32. What do you want to know about the future? - That everything's going to be allllllll right
33. Are you wearing any perfume or cologne? -Yes, Usher, don't laugh
34. Are you due sometime this year for a doctor's visit? - More appointments than I care for, the joys of getting older
35. Where is your best friend? - At home
36. How is your best friend? - She's great
37. Do you have a tan? - Yes, the natural kind (it's called being Indian)
38. What are you listening to right now? - U2
39. Do you collect anything? - Personal mementos, things that carry memories
40. Who is the biggest gossiper you know? - Now if I answered that, wouldn't I be the gossiper?
41. Last time you got stopped by a cop or pulled over? - July 2001 for a speeding ticket..I don't know why I remember the date
42. Have you ever drank your soda from a straw? - Yeah, why? Is that bad?
43. What does your last text message say? - "Ha ha....don't be chicken"
44. Do you like hot sauce? - The spicier the better
45. Last time you took a shower? - This evening
46. Do you need to do laundry? - Already done
47. What is your heritage? - Indian
48. Are you someone's best friend? - Yup
49. Are you rich? - Nope, but I'm not poor...My life is rich in a non-monetary sort of way
50. What were you doing at 12AM last night? - I'm old, I was sleeping

Irish Potato Candy

I don't know much about St. Patrick's Day. What I do know is that I love eating these little indigenous Phila. delicacies that only come out during this holiday. Oh, how I love Philly.

From Wikipedia:

Irish Potato Candy is a traditional Philadelphia confectionery that is not Irish and does not contain any potato, but is a cocoa powder and cinnamon covering over a white inside of coconut nougat made to look like a potato. It is an extremely sweet treat, generally made up of some blend of coconut, confectioner's sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and milk or cream. The treats are about the size of a large marble and are especially popular around St. Patrick's Day.

Oh Ryan's of Boothwyn, Pennsylvania, makes the largest distribution of Irish Potatoes shipping about 80,000 pounds to major chains and smaller candy stores mostly in the Philadelphia area.

Many people believe that the Irish Potato was created as a commemoration of the Irish Potato Famine.

Seasons (of Life)

Today was beautiful: bright sunshine, a cool breeze, and not a cloud in the sky.

It was the first day of spring-like weather after experiencing many days of rain and gloominess (and being able to spend the day outdoors provided some much needed energy for the soul and body).

Funny how life can be the same way: first we have to weather the storms to truly appreciate the beauty that comes afterwards.

An Unraveled Life

"For your name's sake, O LORD, pardon my guilt, for it is great."

- Psalm 25:11

The word guilt in today's verse means literally to bend, to twist, to distort, to warp, to pervert, or to ruin. The word means sin. David in effect said, "For Your name's sake, O Lord, pardon my bent-ness; pardon my twistedness, God. Pardon my distorted, warped, perverted way of thinking, God. Pardon my ruin, what I've done with myself." It's an incredible statement of personal admission. David's prayer flowed from humility born of adversity. "I'm wrong, God! My actions are wrong! My words are wrong! My motives are wrong! I am wrong!"

When was the last time you were undone? When was the last time your life was unraveled by your own shortcomings? How quickly we are worked up about the shortcomings of others. When was the last time you were taken apart by yourself? Not by what your spouse needs to learn. Not by what your mom’s doing wrong. Not by the shortcomings of the leaders in your church or where you work, but by yourself. That's the moment that God’s trying to bring about. That's where all this is headed. Not that you should observe the shortcomings of others, but that you should have a better understanding of yourself and where you're failing. That's what God is always going for in your life.

- an excerpt from this week's The Weekly Walk by James MacDonald

Quotable Quotes

The man who comes to a right belief about God is relieved of 10,000 temporal problems, for he sees at once that these have to do with matters that at the most cannot concern him for very long; but even if the multiple burdens of time may be lifted from him, the one mighty single burden of eternity begins to press down upon him with a weight more crushing than all the woes of the world piled one upon another.

-A.W. Tozer

What happens to infants who die?

That's a question I've always had and have heard different things on the topic.  It's very hard to think logically about the security of salvation when it comes to our infants and children.

On the Desiring God blog today, here's how John Piper tackles the question:

How do you gauge...?

How do you gauge how well you’re handling life?

For example…
Physically I know I’m doing well if my blood pressure, sugar, cholesterol, etc. are all in check.
Financially I can gauge things based on my bank accounts or debts.
Socially I can base things on the quality of my relationships.

But how do you tell how things are going mentally, emotionally, or spiritually with yourself? Human feelings can be so fleeting and fickle: happy one moment, not so much the next.  It’s not something that’s so easy to gauge, is it?

Just something I‘m pondering tonight.

Good Eats - Lorenzo's

The birthday boy had a craving for a slice of Lorenzo's, so a few of us made a 10 pm run down to South Street for a couple slices of their infamous pizza...delicious!  What's interesting is that they DON'T allow any toppings on their individual slices, their pizza is that good with just your basic ingredients: dough, cheese, and sauce....and if you dare to ask for a topping, be prepared to be treated like the soup nazi from Seinfeld!

Lorenzo and Sons Pizza Inc

305 South St

Philadelphia, PA 19147

(215) 627-4110

http://www.lorenzoandsonspizza.com/home.html

And if you're wondering why I'm writing a post about pizza close to 2 o'clock in the morning....that would be thanks to a lack of sleep secondary to the scary stories my friends decided to tell tonight....I just need to remember: Jesus always wins! =P
 
Good Night!

2010 International Philadelphia Flower Show

We got an early taste of spring while attending the Flower Show this year.  This year's theme was "Passport to the World". The flowers and arrangements were of course beautiful, and the frangrance was even more divine....

                                               

Remind me to live here :)

http://www.theflowershow.com/ShowInfo/index.html

Good Eats - Penang

Dinner Tonight: Malaysian Cuisine in Chinatown

                     

HOURS: 7 days/week (11:30AM - 1:00AM)

ADDRESS: 117 N. 10th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107

TELEPHONE: (215) 413-2531 & (215) 413-2532

http://www.penangusa.com/index.html

Quotable Quotes

If you found a cure for cancer, wouldn't it be inconceivable to hide it from the rest of mankind? How much more inconceivable to keep silent the cure from the eternal wages of death.

— Dave Davidson