My First Breakfast

Today I cooked for the first time in my kitchen at my new place in Detroit. 

I made pancakes! Of course I didn't eat them all but it was fun making them!

I also tried out my new Allclad frying pan - my housewarming present to myself before moving. It cooks as nice as it looks!

Welcome to Detroit

Here I am. This is the sign I saw early that morning when I drove up to my new apartment in my new neighborhood.

I was greeted by my new landlord and saw for the first time my new place. Its a cute  1 bedroom on a peaceful and safe tree-lined block. 

My Journey Back Home

As life brings us all kinds of news with twists and turns, my also life has turned a corner.

After prayerful consideration and seeking wise counsel, I decided to move back to the Detroit area- the place where I was born and raised. It was a heart wrenching decision to leave the Bronx, the ministry and my job - everything was going well and life was good. I felt it was time to move on and it was time to move back home.

Not all my roots are pleasant roots. In fact, "home" has represented to me the land of pain and suffering. God has brought me though a long process of uprooting and replanting the hardships and hurts in my life. One day I asked God with tears and anguish in my heart why He would bring me back to the "land of pain". I told Him I would trust Him and be obedient to what He asked me to do - after all He's God. I heard a still small voice in my heart - God's voice and this is what He said to me --

"Daughter, I will bless you and use you in greater ways than before. Seek me and I will be with you every step of the way. The land of your greatest pain will also be the land of your greatest victory. Trust me and follow every step I put before you. It will be like you never imagined or thought. You must trust me and not look back to the former, but the latter. I'm opening doors even now says the Lord. It will be worth it."

I've only just begun the new journey around the corner. As I move and settle into my new apartment, I have peace - peace which passes all understanding and a promise from God.

Go Red Wings!

They won!

It was an amazing game and a nail biter all the way to the end.

Hockeytown lives on!

I wish I were he one who took this picture ....

Red Wings Continued

After staying up way too late to watch the Red Wings in triple overtime, they lost.

I'm still not giving up hope!

Red Wings Playoffs

I sit here watching the Detroit Red Wings - biting my nails and as they play in overtime in the Stanley Cup playoffs against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

If they win, they will take the Stanley Cup.

Being from the Detroit area, I will always love the Red Wings.

She got the job!

Hey Everyone......... just an update that Cuyler got an awesome job with Christian Dior! She started last week. All of her hard work payed off! She gets full benefits, great hours, a good work atmosphere and free stuff!!

I get to reap the benefits of elegant face cream and perfume!!

Congratulations!!!

To Catch a Kitty: Hunting in the Bronx

Last Saturday night, we were awakened by strange noises.

Curious about it, I opened the front door and when looking around I spotted a scared little kitten running away. Those strange noises were coming from a very frightened and cold baby kitty.

Wanting to rescue it, Cuyler and I put on our hat and boots, searching the yard and the neighbor's yard with a flashlight for the poor little kitty. No such luck.

Throughout the night, you could hear it crying and when we would try to find it, it was nowhere to be found.

Finally after two consecutive nights of hearing kitten cries and getting no sleep, Cuyler comes home from work with a trapping cage. Where on earth she found something like that in Manhattan is beyond me.

So she set it up, hoping and praying that we get the kitten and nothing else small and furry!
If it caught anything else, I declared I wouldn't go 10 feet near it!

The next morning, the cage was empty. Nothing yet - or so we thought.

Cuyler left for work and I jumped in the shower. After showering I heard noises outside and I knew what had happened. We caught a kitten!!

I went outside and sure enough, there was a scared little kitty in this little trap. It was really freaked out too!

My neighbor let us borrow a small cage, in which we kept the kitty until we could figure out what to do with it.


She ended up with the ASPCA.
She was treated with antibiotics and a week later, placed up for adoption.

My Roommates

I have two roommates, Shirley and Cuyler. I have lived with Shirley for the past four years and Cuyler joined us last August.

Originally, from Colorado Cuyler moved to NYC via Texas and found us through a friend of a friend. Normally we only have Christian roommates in our house (because it's most compatible with our personal values, ministry involvements and lifestyles) but as Shirley and I prayed about a new roommate, God put Cuyler on our hearts as our choice for a new roommate.
It was a good decision. We love her. She is such a blessing.

Snow in the City

We had a little snow storm yesterday. NYC is most beautiful when it snows. It brings a silent, fresh purity to an otherwise dirty, noisy and bustling city.

Imagine if the City of New York were to turn from their wickedness - I mean the whole city were to forsake their destructive ways and turn to Christ. A transformation would take place. The peace in the city would be like a holy hush, surpassing the temporal purity and beauty of a fresh snowfall. The best part, is that it wouldn't melt and turn black from the dirt - it would be forever and incorruptible. The beauty would be beyond measure.

What would it take for this to happen?


Pray for our city.

New York City needs a permanent transformation.


Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Ps 51:7

Missions Conference in Florida

I went to Good Shepherd Church of God in Pahokee, FL last weekend to attend their missions conference. They are a longtime sponsor of the work I do with Urban Harvest Ministries.
I travel there every year and give a report to the congregation of the work at UHM.

Each time I go, we have a great time and this year was no exception. One of the highlights and a nice surprise was seeing an old friend of mine from school, Silvina Gonzales. She is originally from Uruguay and is a medical missionary traveling all over South America. During her stay in the US to attend the seminary several years ago, we became very good friends. She is an amazing woman in her work and accomplishments.

Here is just one of many articles talking about her work:

Medical Missionaries Venture to Remote Churches of God

Prodigal Weight Watcher Update

I weighed in on Monday night and I lost 1.6 pounds!

I made it through my birthday and stayed on track - cake and all!!

My Birthday

It was my birthday Saturday.

The cake does NOT have a carrot for every year of my age.
I'm really 22!!!!

The Prodigal Weight Watcher Update

I lost 1.6 pounds this week. My efforts are paying off and I didn't even have to suffer this week!!!

I realize part of my problem was boredom - boredom of eating the same foods all the time and not mixing it up a little. This makes you wander across the fence into the danger zone of unhealthy foods.

I'm like that. I find something I like and I eat it so frequently that I get bored with it and move on to something else. I tried a few new things and ate a few things I haven't eaten in a while (Because I got bored of them).

Boredom can be very dangerous in any aspect of life!

Healthy Lifestyle

One thing that some of you may or may not know is that I'm a member of Weight Watchers.

Lately I've been the prodigal weight watcher.

I've been attending meetings for 3 years and have made it really close to being a lifetime member. In fact, I came so close it makes me want to cry!

A lifetime member is someone who made their goal weight and then maintains it for 6 weeks. After reaching lifetime status, you are able to attend meetings for free as long as you stay within two points of your goal weight. Going to the meetings will give you the accountability and motivation to stay on track. They're usually really good meetings if you get a good Weight Watchers leader (I have two really good ones! Thank God for Silmara and Courtney!)

I love the program because its not a diet as much as it teaches you to transform your lifestyle into a healthy eater - not a lifetime dieter with pent up hunger waiting to be unleashed.

Now that I'm in my 30's, I have to take my eating habits seriously and eat healthy to avoid potential health problems. Also exercise.

I've lost 25 pounds (depending on what week you ask me, it could be 20-22 pounds lost) but my total at my goal will be 29-30 pounds total weight loss. I've been at a plateau and stuck for almost 2 years.

Yes. Really sad isn't it? I made it to goal and was on my 5th week of maintenance (after your 6th week you turn into a Lifetime member) - then boom. Up a pound. Then up half a pound and stayed there. Then up another pound. I never made it to my 6th week to become a lifetime member.

I still haven't made it. In fact I was hovering just above the goal line for 2 years until last November I started to slowly cave in.

Now what was 5 pounds left to go is now 12 pounds! Yikes.

Most people would've quit, but not me. I'm determined to go all the way this time.

I want to be a lifetime member.

I want to make it and transform this area of my life.

Diet and exercise are key in your well being here on earth, outside of your walk with God

I'm trying to get back my motivation. My increasingly tight clothes and scale disappointments are starting to sink in.

Yesterday and today I tracked my points carefully.

I drank my all water as usual.

I dusted off my gym lock and went to the gym. I ran 1.5 miles. Its a start for someone who hasn't been in several months (good thing my gym membership is insanely cheap!).

I ate my vegetables!

Oh please pray for me!

New Years Eve

One of my good friends and former roommate, Diana came to visit us from Louisiana. She's living in the New Orleans area nowadays, teaching school.

After work, I met Diana and Peck near my job and we went to Chinatown for dinner. We tried what is called "Shabu Shabu". Its the Asian version of fondue. Instead of dipping things in a cheese pot, you have vegetables, noodles and meat that you put in your own personal temperature controlled soup pot full of savory broth. You customize it to your taste, adding oyster sauce, peppers, soy sauce, eggs and a wide assortment of condiments. The name "Shabu Shabu" derives from the swish-swish sound the soup makes while your making and eating it. Here is a link that explains the origins http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shabu_shabu

It was delicious, as you can tell by our pictures and really fun!



Afterwards, we headed back to my place for tea and coffee. We prayed together for the New Year and all thing things we anticipate in 2008. We had a beautiful time of prayer for one another and thanking God for what He did in 2007 and what He's going to do in 2008.

Just before the "Happy New Year" hour, we drove to the Church and celebrated with our Harvest Church family. We have some new additions to our family and it was a blessing to come together for a New Years celebration.

This is going to be a great year! Still with its challenges and trials that we can't avoid, they come with a victorious outcome, more so than we could have anticipated - all because God is with us and His promises are yes and amen! We will look back and say "It was worth it. Thank You Jesus!" Because we are promised to be more than conquerers through Him who loved us.

Happy 2008!

Home for the Holidays

When I went home for the holidays, I got to see family and friends - both old friends and new friends.

One of my friends, Tracy Wells emailed me an invitation to her Christmas Party. Tracy and I have been friends since the 9th grade. Some of our other friends from high school were at the party too. Its scary and fun, because these girls have known me since "back in the day". It was so nice to see them. All of them have careers, are married and have children of their own. Tracy inherited step children when she married 10 years ago and she's a grandma!



From left to right: Tracy Wells, Me, Dawn Roth-Kulpanowski and Julie Sandefur-Bird.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

I'm in Michigan for the holiday season.

I drove from NYC to Detroit. It took me 10 hours. It was a very nice drive across I-80, through New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

I hope you all have a blessed and safe Christmas!

Gløgg Night

Last night I went to my Uncle Nil's place in Brooklyn to have some gløgg and celebrate the holidays (pronounced "glueg"). Gløgg is a Swedish holiday drink that is spicy, warm, fruity and sometimes alcoholic. We also had various foods that are typical of the Swedish festivities.

My Father's side of the family are from Malmo, Sweden (Uncle Nils is my father's younger brother). They came here in the 1950's, first living in Detroit before moving to West Bloomfield, Michigan. My father still has a strong Swedish accent. I love my Swedish heritage and find it fascinating to partake in many of the cultural gatherings forgotten in my typical americanized life. Years ago, I had the opportunity to visit Sweden and loved it. The people, places, culture and the land are so lovely and intriguing. Unfortunately, its also one of the most atheistic countries in the world.

For all you Swedes out there - God Jul!
(God Jul = Merry Christmas in Swedish)

Christmas in NY

I really love Christmas. It's especially great in NYC.

I thought I'd share some of my own Christmas in NY pictures with you.....

Macy's at 34th Street- the land of amazing lights, front windows and shopping overdoses.


Bringing home the Christmas tree....


Santa is watching you....... from my neighbor's house...
so you better watching out! (he's like 12 feet tall!!)


Our Christmas tree at home, once we brought it in and decorated it.


We had a lot of fun getting ready for the Christmas outreach!


Here is where I want you to buy my Christmas present.....
The Broadway Panhandler
... hint hint ...


My neighborhood in the Bronx is called Throgs Neck.
They have great lights for Christmas. Its like being in a small town.


Christmas in NYC wouldn't be complete without the awesome
Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree in midtown Manhattan.

Its so beautiful!!
I play tourist when walking from the subway train to my bus stop going home.


The lights dancing on the side of Saks Fifth Avenue

Protection from What Lurks Around the Corner

Tonight was a sobering reminder of God's protection.

We live on a main road and I won't park my vehicle on the street in front of my house - even though its perfectly legal to do so at any time.

We have been eyewitness to several accidents from out of control speeding cars in front of our house. Its sometimes very frightening to hear the screeching and banging noises of crashing cars at 3:30am.

We also live on a nearly dead end part of the road we live on. We are one of the only two houses on our block - its very quiet with the exception of the traffic.

ok ....... here's my story ...........

After going to the grocery store, I returned home and parked my car in front of my house temporarily, so I could unload my bags (my roommates are gone for the weekend).

After loading my groceries into the house, I shut the house door behind me and hopped into my car to move it safely to the street around the corner.

I didn't lock my front door, bring my purse or my cell phone with me to park my car. I never do, its only like 100 feet away.

A car pulls up in front of me. When this happens, its usually company for the neighbors or a lost driver talking on their cell phone.

I pull around him and park my car.

I get out of my car and start walking towards my house.

The man in the car gets out.

It looks suspicious. He's in my pathway to my house.

I immediately turn around and walk back into my car, jump in and lock the doors.

The man starts following me and tries to ask me a question.

I cracked the window (which I shouldn't have done) to hear what he was trying to say.

He says "Are you trying to follow me?".

I replied "No, I live right over there".

He says "Oh" and just stood there looking at me.

Well, I wasn't going to sit there and stare him down, while alone on a half dark street.

I drove away.

Mistake number two and three and four: He knows where I live now, my front door is unlocked and I have no cell phone. I'm screwed if he's one of those psycho killers we read about on www.cnn.com.

I drove off and turned down the wrong way on the one way street directly behind my house, hoping to find an empty spot and run like heck though the backyard to get help.

No empty spot.

I see my neighbor with his wife and kids. This guy is one of those hardcore Italian guys from the Bronx. Nice guy. Never smiles.

I ran over and I told him what was happening.

He said in his Bronx accent "No problem. Where is this guy?? I'll make sure ya get back ok".

(I'm sorry, but he's a rough guy. Who knew God would use him as my guardian angel.)

I got into the house safe. I called the landlord upstairs to give her a heads up.

The strange man drove away.

It was all very frightening.

We must always be on guard. Not to be paranoid, but alert and aware of your surroundings.

Not so comfortable you get caught off guard.

We must do this in every aspect of life, whether it be street smarts for personal safety or to guard our hearts from things that get us way off track from what we ought to be doing.

1 Peter 5:8 NLT
Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.



What seemed like a routine to me could have led to a very serious situation.

God's Love and the Dentist

Yesterday, I had an unfortunate thing happen to me. One of my back teeth broke. I wasn't eating anything hard to cause it to happen. It just chipped off while eating my lunch. At first I panicked. 

First of all, I hate going to the dentist. 

Second of all, I don't have dental insurance. 

Third, I don't know any of the dentists in my area. Yikes. 

My first reaction was "oh no!" and then I prayed a quiet, scared prayer for God to help me with this situation. I heard God's still small voice say to my heart "Nothing can separate you from my love - nothing - not even a chipped tooth can separate you from my love". 

Thank God for His voice being heard at the right time and place. 

I scrambled around, calling friends for dentists they might know. 

NOBODY goes to the dentist around here! I called around and finally found a dentist near my house, I found his name from a flier I received in the mail. They were able to see me right away. Still scared, but feeling God's peace and remembering what God told me in my heart.

The next day, I saw my new dentist. He showed me my x-rays, only to show me my situation was worse than expected. He needed to drill out the filling and reconstruct the tooth, along with doing additional work. He showed me the x-rays to prove it. I had to trust him, after all I couldn't read the x-rays and I'm in God's hands. 

I'm panicking and the whole time, I hear a voice saying "trust me, I'm taking care of you". 

I'm more scared of the cost of the work than I am of the  pain itself.

The Dentist did his work and afterwards I sucked it up and paid up. Meanwhile trusting God to provide, because He said He would.

God provided. The pain is gone, my tooth reconstructed and I was paid a little extra when I went to work on Monday.

Romans 8:38-39 says: 

"I am convinced that nothing can separate us from God's love. Neither death, not life, neither angels or demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow - not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below - indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord." (NLT)

Nothing can separate us from God's love..... freezing rain, a sore throat, rejection of a friend, sudden death of a loved one, unexplained stomach pains, depression, worry, fatigue............ a broken tooth...... NOTHING can separate us from God's love. 

He's got us, whether we feel Him or not.

Will you let Him have you??

Small Moments

One of the girls I tutor in the afterschool program has been doing writing assignments about "small moments". She writes a story about something everyday that happened, sorta like a snapshot of the ordinary details that all of us usually forget. I love the simplicity and perspective of children.

It makes me look at my own life. Am I enjoying it and making the most of everyday? Do I cherish or forget the small moments? Am I taking it for granted, so focused on all the tasks ahead and the busyness of life. I won't be in NYC for my entire life, nor will I be doing the same things and I'll look back. Did I enjoy the walk while I was walking, or was my mind elsewhere on what is coming or what passed?

Everyday, I'm choosing to be content with today and to be there in the small moments, because tomorrow has its own set of moments.

Paul has some good advise in Philippians 4. I just love the New Living Translation and the way the wording reads without losing the message.

Philippians 4:6-13

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.

How I praise the Lord that you are concerned about me again. I know you have always been concerned for me, but you didn’t have the chance to help me. Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

I took this picture last weekend. Beautiful sunset.
It was the result of a nor'easter in Long Island that never reached us.

I was in the parking lot at my favorite store, Trader Joe's in Scarsdale, NY.

I received a phone call from a long time and dear friend of mine, Melissa Land while sitting there.
We had a very nice conversation, as she shared what's been happening with her life, health and graduate school at Univ. of TN. I've known Melissa for more than 12 years, since she was a teenager in the youth group and I'm always amazed at what the Lord does in her life.

This was a very nice small moment.

The Appliance Diva

My alter-ego at the appliance store is the Appliance Maven - sometimes referred to the Appliance Diva. (I guess being the first saleswoman at the store since 1918 has its merits!)

The Good Morning Lady

I commute by public transportation twice a week from the Bronx to lower Manhattan.

It's typical to have a long commute when anyone is working in Manhattan and my commute is no exception.

It takes me 1 hour and 15 minutes to get to work:
I start on an express bus (the stop is 4 blocks from my house) and it takes me from the Bronx to Manhattan. I get off the bus (at 23rd street) and walk a block to the subway. I ride the train 4 stops and then exit, walk up 4 flights of stairs out of the train station and finally 2 blocks to the store.

I wake up very early and am at the bus stop at 7am (which is early to me). I sometimes sleep or pray on the bus, because its the longest and most comfortable part of my journey.

As I take the final steps of my journey and I come up the last flight of stairs to be above ground, I'm met every time with a smiling older Chinese lady. She has a huge smile and yells out "GOOD MORNING". She is one of the people who hand out a free NY paper. Most of them don't say a word and are grumpy. They hand the paper to you and look away - its their job.

Now the Chinese lady isn't required have to say a word, but her morning cheer is sincere and contagious. I walk away smiling too and encouraged to pass it on. I'm really not the most outgoing person in the morning. A lot of people aren't.

Say Good Morning, whether they say it back or not. Initiate a smile, a word of kindness and go beyond your comfort zone, whether you feel its deserving or not. It goes a longer way than we'll ever realize!

Make someone's day. It could mean the world to them!