My sincerest apologies to anyone who feels neglected by my lack of recent blogs. I'm pretty sure that's only my mom, but her continuous prodding has lead me to believe that nearly all of the 7.1 Billion people on this Earth are dying to hear about my puny little summer adventure. I'm not sure how the primative tribes in East Asia are able to read it without computers or knowledge of the English language, but Kathy insists, so I will do my best to regulate my updates to prevent additional world suffering.

It has definitely been an interesting week.

I said goodbye to LA Digital on Friday with promises to stop by for lunch in the future. The weekend was pleasant, mainly because I got to sleep in, which was really nice. I went for a run around the pond in Central Park. I had my first run-in with a laundromat in the city (I got a month's worth of laundry done for $8 with a little bit of stuffing... I was proud). I've officially decided that Trader Joe's is every bit worth subway commute because it only costs about half what most grocery stores charge around here. The commute really isn't even so bad when I think of how long it took to drive to Walmart while I was in Montevallo. Everything is relative here. In the past few days I've been within 4 feet of Eva Mendes, Jason Sudeikis, Jason Bateman, and Hugh Jackman. I also started my new job at Dylan's Candy Bar.

BUT that's not the point of this blog...

Many seem to be curious about the new church I have so quickly come to love. Through subleasing from Shelly, I was encouraged to audition and fill-in for her at the Central Presbyterian choir. I was hired on the spot and attended choir practice that evening. While the choir is small (only about 12 people when we're all present - apparently there are a few more during the school year too) the people are incredible, and very passionate about worshiping God through singing. The choir has practice Wednesday nights, then again Sunday mornings. I love Sunday mornings because when we arrive, we start with Bible verses that have meant something to us that week, we pray and get our hearts prepared for worship, and we practice. THEN, we have a time of choir fellowship with scones (more to come on scones), and a devotional time lead by one of the sunday school teachers. At the end of the devotion we begin the service. After the service is over, there is a "coffee hour" for fellowship with others in the church. I love coffee hour - not only do they feed us, we just get to sit and enjoy each other's company. I've met some wonderful people with incredible stories at Central's coffee hour.

I've basically jumped in with both feet because the congragation is so welcoming. I attend a "Names of God" study on Sunday afternoons, which has really resonated with me this summer as I see different aspects of God's character revealed in various ways. I also attend a Women's Fellowship Group. I love the ladies of this church! There are a lot of older women, but then there are a lot of young families, and 20-30-somethings. It's a very diverse congregation. The only gap in the group is the "youth" age. I think that's mainly because the church is in a transition period, and these young families will grow and build the youth group in a few more years.

All in all Central is incredible. God is SO GOOD! And I have to go get ready for work!

More to come soon-ish, I promise ;)

Grace be with you,
Lindsey Shea