Tesas Day 1 - Thursday 6/28/06

Why go to Texas?! Well.... One of Susana's close friends from college, Jungo is getting married! Jungo (native Kenyan) is getting married to Igho (native Nigerian raised in England) on Saturday.

Thursday morning Bright and early (Ok, it wasn't actually bright at all it was completely dark!) at 3:05 am Susana and I got our ride from a 'Supper Shuttle Van' and left midtown. We headed out together to catch our flight from Laguardia to Dallas Fort Worth.

It was a good thing that we got to the airport early! Apparently with all the crazy thunderstorms we have been having a lot of flights have been delayed and cancelled. The line at the check in counter was probably 50-80 people long!!! Praise the Lord, we managed to skip by using the automated check in system! We were then able to simply relax... Also, getting there early meant that our luggage was on first and it came off first when we arrived! Seeing that we both checked our clothes fort the wedding (her Dress, and my Suit). We were really happy to see that our luggage didn't get lost.


Here are the two overly tired new yorkers getting ready for take off!




Off to Dallas!



Plane ride was not memorable at least for me, I slept through almost all of it. I totally missed the drink cart, and we didn't even get breakfast... gosh! But hey that is OK! Landing and luggage worked out perfectly, rental car went well too. I seriously wish Jeff had been there to help mitigate all the rhetoric we were hit with by the car rental guy. Talk about not understanding NO, we are on a budget! This guy just kept trying to up-sell us and up-sell us... 'no we don't want an SUV' 'No I think we will be fine without a GPS system' 'Umm No I don't think we want to get the superduper upgraded if your car gets picked up in a tornado, robbed, vandalized, and has scratches that are not your fault... you are still covered insurance!' This guy was just way too nice. But we still escaped with a solid insurance deal and our bank accounts still intact.

Next order of business, the Long awaited Texas Breakfast! My sweetheart sure knows me... She found a breakfast joint online that had rave rave reviews! "the Mecca Resteraunt." Such a good plan, and such a good planner. She (and I too) printed out mapquest directions to and from every location she had researched to every other location she had researched. I was armed with my trusty atlas and a fist-full of google map directions myself. Much to our chagrin, the directions were not nearly as helpful as we would have liked. A combination of closed roads (due to flooding - Note the digital signs on the highway said "If you see water, turn around don't drown") and inaccurate mileages on our directions put us in a bit of a disarray. We finally found our way to breakfast... and it was well worth the wait.



According to their website, their specialty is their cinnamon bun. "Its so huge its the size of New Jersey!"

They weren't kidding. Thank goodness it didn't taste like New Jersey!




Of course, no Texas Breakfast would be complete without an assortment of Hot sauces



After a wee bit of an appetizer (the aforementioned cinnamon bun) we dived into our food:

For Susana - Chicken fried steak, home fries, a biscuit (with sausage gravy), and two scrambled eggs.
For JOnathan - Two eggs with peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, tortilla chips all scrambled together with beans and flower tortillas and salsa.



We are not in Kansas any more... these are Texas sized breakfasts. Don't mess with Texas!




As one might have guessed... we were about this stuffed when we were all done.



We took a quick visit to the historical site where JFK was shot and reexamined once again. Was it one or more shooters?! CIA-FBI conspiracy or an act of a crazed man.

Here is Susana on the grassy knoll...



And here is the book depository... we will let you decide what actually happened.



Oh yeah, And here is an old mansion from the gilded age of Dallas... Ok Maybe not... I think that is just the municipal building. Beautiful though.



Of Course no city is complete unless it has its very own 'Egg Roll Hut'



Obviously we are in the bible belt now... Blessing the mic on Sundays with your own rendition of Jesse's Girl, or maybe a Chris Tomlin song instead.



Believe it or not, we did find that the flat nature of Texas did lend itself to being beautiful.



After flying into DFW airport, having a gargantuan breakfast/lunch, visiting the site of the JFK assassination, seeing Deep Ellum, and the beautiful West End of Dallas (and managing to get really turned around and slightly lost on at least 3 occasions), we found our way to the Hotel and grabbed brief naps... Before we headed out to Southern Junction! Southern Junction is a real live Texas private family and nightclub. Thursday nights is their all you can eat Ribs and Steak night. Notably they are also the only place that gives free line dancing lessons on Thursday nights. They have a mechanical bull that you can ride, live band, really good food, huge dance floor, and a family friendly atmosphere.



Your Texas dinner comes with a Texas sized salad,



baked Potato



Dance lessons (here we are all ready for our lessons)



A ridiculous amount of meat



And a ride on the bull!

more details on the night to come... stay tuned for day 2!

Dad and I Enjoyed a very special night at the opera. He and I went and saw 'I puritani.' This was my first opera wtih dad since he and mom took me to see the magic flute, way back in the day. Here we are, and there is the fountain... awesome! Got to love the Met.

Thoughts on Psalm 104

Here are my thoughts on the Psalm for today (104):

The Lord is strong and mighty! The psalm, to me today, is a reminder of the wisdom and power yet tender mercies of the Lord. He provides food shelter for all living things. He created all the beautiful things AND he maintains them. Even the Lions seek their food from the Lord. All our food is from the Lord, all our rest, our Hope, our peace, everything is from the Lord (for from him and to him and through him are all things, TO Him be the glory forever, amen Rom 11:36). It is all in his wisdom, therefore I am grateful for the mysterious wisdom that he choose me. In his grace I am free, in his Love I am complete, in His will He is glorified.

Here is the psalm itself:
Psalm 104
1 Praise the LORD, O my soul.
O LORD my God, you are very great;
you are clothed with splendor and majesty.

2 He wraps himself in light as with a garment;
he stretches out the heavens like a tent

3 and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters.
He makes the clouds his chariot
and rides on the wings of the wind.
4 He makes winds his messengers, [a]
flames of fire his servants.

5 He set the earth on its foundations;
it can never be moved.

6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.

7 But at your rebuke the waters fled,
at the sound of your thunder they took to flight;

8 they flowed over the mountains,
they went down into the valleys,
to the place you assigned for them.

9 You set a boundary they cannot cross;
never again will they cover the earth.

10 He makes springs pour water into the ravines;
it flows between the mountains.

11 They give water to all the beasts of the field;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.

12 The birds of the air nest by the waters;
they sing among the branches.

13 He waters the mountains from his upper chambers;
the earth is satisfied by the fruit of his work.
14 He makes grass grow for the cattle,
and plants for man to cultivate—
bringing forth food from the earth:

15 wine that gladdens the heart of man,
oil to make his face shine,
and bread that sustains his heart.
16 The trees of the LORD are well watered,
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.

17 There the birds make their nests;
the stork has its home in the pine trees.
18 The high mountains belong to the wild goats;
the crags are a refuge for the coneys. [b]

19 The moon marks off the seasons,
and the sun knows when to go down.

20 You bring darkness, it becomes night,
and all the beasts of the forest prowl.

21 The lions roar for their prey
and seek their food from God.

22 The sun rises, and they steal away;
they return and lie down in their dens.

23 Then man goes out to his work,
to his labor until evening.
24 How many are your works, O LORD!
In wisdom you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.

25 There is the sea, vast and spacious,
teeming with creatures beyond number—
living things both large and small.

26 There the ships go to and fro,
and the leviathan, which you formed to frolic there.

27 These all look to you
to give them their food at the proper time.

28 When you give it to them,
they gather it up;
when you open your hand,
they are satisfied with good things.

29 When you hide your face,
they are terrified;
when you take away their breath,
they die and return to the dust.

30 When you send your Spirit,
they are created,
and you renew the face of the earth.

31 May the glory of the LORD endure forever;
may the LORD rejoice in his works-

32 he who looks at the earth, and it trembles,
who touches the mountains, and they smoke.

33 I will sing to the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

34 May my meditation be pleasing to him,
as I rejoice in the LORD.

35 But may sinners vanish from the earth
and the wicked be no more.
Praise the LORD, O my soul.
Praise the LORD.

Psalm 94

Here is today's Psalm:



Psalm 94 (New International Version)
1 O LORD, the God who avenges, O God who avenges, shine forth.
2 Rise up, O Judge of the earth; pay back to the proud what they deserve.
3 How long will the wicked, O LORD, how long will the wicked be jubilant?
4 They pour out arrogant words; all the evildoers are full of boasting.
5 They crush your people, O LORD; they oppress your inheritance.
6 They slay the widow and the alien; they murder the fatherless.
7 They say, "The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob pays no heed."
8 Take heed, you senseless ones among the people; you fools, when will you become wise?
9 Does he who implanted the ear not hear? Does he who formed the eye not see?
10 Does he who disciplines nations not punish? Does he who teaches man lack knowledge?
11 The LORD knows the thoughts of man; he knows that they are futile.
12 Blessed is the man you discipline, O LORD, the man you teach from your law;
13 you grant him relief from days of trouble, till a pit is dug for the wicked.
14 For the LORD will not reject his people; he will never forsake his inheritance.
15 Judgment will again be founded on righteousness, and all the upright in heart will follow it.
16 Who will rise up for me against the wicked? Who will take a stand for me against evildoers?
17 Unless the LORD had given me help, I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death.
18 When I said, "My foot is slipping," your love, O LORD, supported me.
19 When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.
20 Can a corrupt throne be allied with you— one that brings on misery by its decrees?
21 They band together against the righteous and condemn the innocent to death.
22 But the LORD has become my fortress, and my God the rock in whom I take refuge.
23 He will repay them for their sins and destroy them for their wickedness; the LORD our God will destroy them.



This is incredible... Here the Psalmist starts out by reminding us how JUST God is, then how evil and depraved the world is. How the evil of the world hurts Gods people, all of which we can easily identify. The sin of this world in others and in ourselves is constantly reeking havoc on our lives daily.

But the Lord (through the Psalmist) directs us back to the Truth, he is wiser than us. He knows us, he is all powerful and all loving! Through his discipline and his Law (vs. 10, 12) He upholds us (vs. 14). All of our hope past and present and future is in Him, the one that Loves us (vs. 17-19). Therefore we can take refuge in Him, he is a strong tower. In whom shall we fear!!??!

Then, in Isaiah 38,

9 A writing of Hezekiah king of Judah after his illness and recovery:
10 I said, "In the prime of my life
must I go through the gates of death
and be robbed of the rest of my years?"
11 I said, "I will not again see the LORD,
the LORD, in the land of the living;
no longer will I look on mankind,
or be with those who now dwell in this world. [b]
12 Like a shepherd's tent my house
has been pulled down and taken from me.
Like a weaver I have rolled up my life,
and he has cut me off from the loom;
day and night you made an end of me.
13 I waited patiently till dawn,
but like a lion he broke all my bones;
day and night you made an end of me.
14 I cried like a swift or thrush,
I moaned like a mourning dove.
My eyes grew weak as I looked to the heavens.
I am troubled; O Lord, come to my aid!"
15 But what can I say?
He has spoken to me, and he himself has done this.
I will walk humbly all my years
because of this anguish of my soul.
16 Lord, by such things men live;
and my spirit finds life in them too.
You restored me to health
and let me live.
17 Surely it was for my benefit
that I suffered such anguish.
In your love you kept me
from the pit of destruction;
you have put all my sins
behind your back.
18 For the grave [c] cannot praise you,
death cannot sing your praise;
those who go down to the pit
cannot hope for your faithfulness.
19 The living, the living—they praise you,
as I am doing today;
fathers tell their children
about your faithfulness.
20 The LORD will save me,
and we will sing with stringed instruments
all the days of our lives
in the temple of the LORD.

We see how this is reflected in the Life of Hezekiah....

Got to Love Robert Murray McCheyne for putting these things together, but more importantly The Lord for his Mercy and Love for us!