Vancouver 2010 ~ Downtown

If a picture is worth a thousand words, here's a short novella.

Downtown Vancouver during week one of the Winter Games!

http://picasaweb.google.com/lauragimpel/2010VancouverOlympicsDowntown?authkey=Gv1sRgCOLO6oewyqSdDg#

Walking around Whistler

I'm so grateful for the remarkable opportunity to attend the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver! Many direct answers to prayer, namely gorgeous weather all week long. (I keep hearing about these cities where it constantly rains but when I've visited I've yet to see it come true ;-)
We had a fantastic week, luge at Whistler Mountain Monday, Ice Hockey Wednesday (Czech v Slav, 3-1 final), and Curling Friday (Go Canada Go!). Between times gorgeous food with the Lee family. More soon...

God's Playlist

Every day I walk to and from work. It's about 25 minutes each way, and I find it's a great break to not be in front of a screen.

Over the holidays I had time to add some CDs to the iPod, including some Christian music, some oldies, and some of the Bible on Audio Book. I put it on shuffle when I'm walking and was tickled the other day when the story of the Israelites rejoicing after escaping from Egypt played (Exodus 15) followed by the hymn "Great is Thy Faithfulness"!

Though I'm still trying to figure out the other playlist connection... from Abraham's willingness to sacrifice Isaac and Aaron Neville's "Louisiana Christmas Day"

Walking & Stopping

In the movie Dave there is a great scene with a tour guide in the White House. She leads the group, saying, "We're walking... and we're walking. And we're stopping. And on your right is..."

This morning I read Ps 27:14

¹⁴ Wait on the LORD;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the LORD!

At times God calls us to wait. Sometimes I think I know why. More frequently I haven't a clue. The story of the Israelites is helpful. We see, in hindsight, God sent Jacob and his eleven sons to Egypt purposefully (Genesis 46). There, the Israelites grew as a large nation under the protection of the Egyptian government. At precisely the right moment, God rescued them, parting seas and whatnot to make it happen.

Here's to courage during the wait, and hope for the future!

Playgrounds

Remember when you were five and you could walk up to another five year old and say "Want to be my friend?" And then you were.

I miss that...

Walking by the Tiles

On my walk to work are many tiles. It's part of the daily scenery, so some days I don't really see them. Other days I really do notice them, and remember the day they commemorate, September 11, 2001.

It was a day that is memorable for many of us. I was in NYC at the time, working for the high tech firm I still work for. We were a small office then, about 40 people in New York. On that morning, we were anticipating the first visit from our new CEO; he was coming in from California that day to meet us all.
A woman in our office got a call, stood up at her cube and said, "A plane just hit the World Trade Center." Immediately I had three thoughts. 1 - That was a really big mistake. 2 - My mom is going to worry! 3 - The verse I'd memorized that very week :

2 Peter 3
¹¹ Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, ¹² looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? ¹³ Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

And I was comforted. Strangely, I felt that God knew somehow that this would happen. The heavens were on fire right before my eyes. And the evil that brought this to be was in fact evil. In the future, in Heaven, God will see a perfectly just world. Although our world is filled with evil, it is not beyond God's notice. He is kind to point us toward the future - Heaven - and His perfect world of righteousness.

As a footnote, I'm happy to say that God allowed the phone lines to stay up long enough for me to call my mother, grandmother, and brother. Gratefully all those I knew in the city were well, and the memory of the day, though difficult, is highlighted by the memory of His promise of the future new heavens and new earth.

Orange Colored Sky

I was walking along... minding my business..

When out of an orange colored sky... Flash! Bam! Ala-kazam!

Wonder-full you came by...

Last week I was walking along, and yes, I was in fact minding my business. It was after a normal day at work, followed by doing something for a friend. Feeling a little - not low but not buoyant... quiet maybe - I got off the subway at an inconvenient stop. Just a little bit longer to walk home, it was cold, but I knew doing something for my friend was important that night. So I pulled my scarf up a bit, and began hurrying home. When I saw it! The WAFFLE Truck!

A month prior Nic & Vin had been raving about the Belgian Waffle truck that has the best Belgian waffles and was in a new location every day. Read: waffles, Yum! location, inconvenient. But this was Right There! Literally in my path. Of course I stopped. And it was delicious! A little blessing from God, a fun orange-colored (or yellow-colored) truck with lovely delicious Belgian waffles!

But that's not all....

I had been looking for the movie Love Actually, and it was difficult to find, actually. So as I'm munching on my lovely Belgian waffle, served hot on a chilly January night, what should I see but Flash! Bam! a dvd store closing! With tremendous discounts on... that's right. Love Actually.

God gave me little flashes of an Orange Colored Sky that night ~ as I was minding my business doing my best to do the right thing. Here's to a gracious God who delights in the little things.