Fall in New York

Yesterday was one of those enchanting days living in the city...it rained really hard all morning, but then the sun came out and revealed more beautiful colors than were there before.  After attending a Fall festival in the morning with Sydney and her friends, we made our way across the city through Central Park.   Not all the leaves have changed colors yet, but in Central Park it has really started happening!  A lady saw Todd taking pictures and asked if we wanted her to take our picture - she was a photographer, so we got a couple of great shots of the family.  Enjoy these photos of the city!

Studio 60

I have waited way to long to talk about this...I have to tell you about my favorite new show on TV right now...Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.  OK - some of you are thinking that I have gone to the dark side, but you have to understand the fascination that I have with Aaron Sorkin and his writing ever since he wrote A Few Good Men and The American President. There have been 4 episodes so far and honestly, the ratings are only good in New York and LA and that makes sense because of the content of the show. BUT - I have to tell you that he is writing a Christian on the show the way only a person who has known a real deal follower of Jesus can.  So, with some research , I found out that he IS writing about someone - Kristin Chenoweth - from West Wing.  You need to watch this show - you don't have to agree with the politics, but you have to experience the writing and how unashamedly he is presenting "Harriet" as a real Christian who isn't stupid, unintelligent, and untalented.  You can view past episodes on nbc.com so do it!  We'll talk later...

Unity, Humility and Prayer

Yesterday, I gathered with about 60 other people representing church leaders, actors, models, photographers, musical artists, TV executives, and other creatives at the Times Square Arts Center to pray and worship together and claim New York and its creative people for Christ.  The event was sponsored by Artisan.  I was so blessed and encouraged to meet men and women from so many artistic backgrounds who are so burdened for their respective industries.  The group met from 3-6 pm and we prayed together, as well as in groups - we read scripture and worshipped together. It was amazing!  God is truly doing something fresh here in the lives of people who are believers in New York and there is a fire and passion to see Jesus lifted high above all else in this city.

It's a boy!

Yes, it is official!  Today, we had our 20 week sonogram and we are expecting a son at the end of February - Sean David Cullen.  Sean means "God is gracious" and David is a 4th generation name on Todd's father's side.  We are thrilled to have a son to add to our little girl, Sydney.  Everything looks well and I am feeling good.  We covet your prayers and thank you for your words of kindess to us during this exciting time in our lives.

Fall for Dance Festival 2006

Last night, I went to the Fall for Dance festival with a Gallery Church friend, Jessica, who is a dancer.  This is a week long dance festival of all types of dance from ballet to very modern.  My favorite was the Alonzo King's Lines Ballet who performed excerpts from the MOROCCAN Project.  We also saw the Martha Graham Dance Company,  New York City Ballet, Abou Lagraa, and The Parsons Dance Company.  This night had something for everyone no matter your taste.  Tickets were only $15!  A great bargain for such incredible artistry in one place.

My Passion

I am taking one of our team members through Andy Stanley's book Visioneering on a weekly basis right now.  I was struck in my re-reading yesterday with what Andy talks about when he refers to a passion about something specifically.  I have always been around church - done church, attended church, made fun of church - okay , you get the picture - but not until recently have been really overwhelmed with how passionate I am to see the local church flourish.  I have lost more sleep in the past 10 months as we have started this church up here in New York than ANY other time in my life.  Not with worry (necessarily!), but honestly, with such burden over what God has called me to do here in this place.  Andy talks about this - that when you are passionate about something, it affects every fiber of your being -eating, sleeping - everything!  I am realizing I guess that this is not what I do because i have always done this - I really am passionate about it - and sometimes, at least for me - I tend to self-reflect too much and over-analyze.  What am I doing?  Why am I doing this?  Should I do something else?  It was just a great week for me coming to that realization(see cullenhouse blog for more insight on this past week!).  Just because you are good at something or other people think you are good at it doesn't mean it is what you were made to do - I feel like I am realizing that I was made to do this and I am really all about this.  No matter what I think I would like to do - this is what I do - and I love it deep down - even if on the outside my life sometimes is so mixed up that it is hard to see that I really like what I am doing...thanks for reading this and indulging my crazy brainwaves this week...