Does This Mean I'm Baptist?

*Disclaimer- If you go to BBC in Shreveport and are reading this... skip to the end... and read the asterisked statement... Thanks. Trey's Amigos-Staff*

I'm going to share a story from the trenches now...

2 Nights ago at Barnes and Noble (apparently all my stories in Shreveport revolve around B&N) I was in a phenomenally good mood, and I was singing songs, about what I was doing at work, for example "I'm toasting a Bagel, toasting a bagel... La, la, la, la, la. I'm toasting a Bagel! WITH CREAM CHEESE!!!!" And out of nowhere a lady in line responds back "Can I get it pretty Please??!" And it just took me by surprise but... it was nice that she wanted to play along with me... She ordered whatever she ordered and while doing so she, made sure to learn all the barista’s names and find out about their lives somehow. She was VERY kind, sweet and as loving as you can be in a line at a random coffee shop. I didn't talk to her much, but I felt the slightest tug at my heart to visit whatever church this lady goes to (assuming she goes to church), but if the Lord wanted me to go to whatever church she goes to, He'd have to provide a way for me to talk to her about it... (I explained all this to God in silent prayer... :)

Immediately afterwards, I got into a very nice conversation, with a Half-Korean, Half-Japanese med student, about Vietnamese food, and the one in St. Louis we ate at (Mekong), as well as the one in Shreveport (Dahn's Noodle House). I had such a pleasant convo with that guy, that I totally forgot about the lady and the church and the next thing I know, she was gone... sad. :(

However, yesterday she came again. She was like "I was here yesterday, and now I'm back again and here you are too!!!! :)" So I told her that she was one of my fave customers and I appreciate her bubbly spirit and that her happiness is infectious. Then I told her I was looking for a church in town, and I wanted to start visiting one this Sunday... and did she go to a church nearby, because I wanted to go to a church with people like her... and she said my worst nightmare... "YES! I go to BROADMORE BAPTIST CHURCH!!!!" AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (That's the sound my heart made, when she said that Church's name...) Then she said something that must have come from the Lord... (or she had seen the look of horror and shock on my face... ;) she said "Never in a million years did I think I'd end up at a Baptist Church!" Which is what I was thinking too... especially Broadmore (which I went to for 4 weeks when we first moved to Shreveport, and I didn't enjoy an iota of it... no one would talk to us at church to try to get to know us or make us feel welcome but every Sunday after church some random Deacon would stop by our house and ask us random questions to "get to know us".) We then went to Shreveport Bible Church after a month of trying to fit our square peg into a round hole at Broadmore... and from day one at SBC, we all felt loved! They were so happy to have visitors and they genuinely cared about us, and wanted to be a part of our lives... you know? I didn't know it at the time, but that's what I imagined The Church being for each other, rather than a check list, or a numbers game or whatever...

The lady went on to say... "I never thought I'd end up at a Baptist Church... But the People there are so genuine and truly love The Lord." I've heard they've changed a lot since 1992 or 93 when we went there at first... (And I certainly have changed a lot myself...) So I guess I'll go and check it out... at least for this Sunday. Who knows, I may even go to Sunday School.

** If anyone reading this is from Broadmore, I LOVE IT. It’s the most God honoring church in the world, and has always been since it’s inception! YAY! BROADMORE!** :)

Part 2...

4) A good friend of mine told me recently that I have "so much potential, and I don't even realize it..." not an hour went by that another friend told me "Andrei, you have such a great personality, you're such a magnet for people... but sometimes you become timid and unsure of yourself, for no good reason." I can't help but think that these 2 conversations are connected somehow...

I used to think that i had a hard time making decisions... (I can't decide if that's true or not... ;) but now I've come to realize more clearly, that once I've made a decision, I struggle moreso with "did I make the right choice? What's behind door #2" type thing, even though door #1 is a perfectly fine choice.

The lesson that should be taken away from this, and the one I'd like to be able to return to again and again is our instincts are usually right. It's the second guessing that causes problems, confusions, unclarity, and systematic weakening of our own decision making process. So trust yourself more... you actually do make wise choices... it's the 2nd guessing yourself that gets you in trouble. Be happy with your choice, don't worry about what "you're missing out on" follow The Lord where He has you, and be content in that moment. You're missing opportunities for service, right where you are, if you're questioning wether right where you are, is better or worse than the place you had the choice to go to but didn't...

which brings me to....

5) Living an Adventure- I've read this book "Wild At Heart" a few times... and I know not all people are down with that book, which is okay. I know it's NOT the WORD of GOD, but what it is, is, a seemingly Godly man, sharing his insights of what God has shown him, to others. And there's nothing wrong witht that. God relates to all of us differently, and some expirences when related connect with others deeper because God wired us differently. So John Eldridge says in "Wild At Heart" and in "The Sacred Romance" people are essentially looking for Beauty, Intamcy and Adventure. Yesterday I think I grasped a smidge more, of what "living an adventure" means. In my head and heart the definition has always been something BIG! Something like starting a Bible Study for prostitute orphans in Zimbabwe, or prayer walking the Sahara Dessert with a camel and a cactus as your water supply, as you eat locusts, to be like John the Baptist. Something like that... but yesterday I was at barnes and noble cafe working, and decided to let go and have fun with people, to encourage them, not based on "what I think they want to hear" but just on my pure instinct alone. You can tell the people that want to chit chat, and the people that want to be served in a hurry and go about their business... Of the people that you're working with, you can tell the ones that are having a hard time in life, and it's burdening them. It's just instinct and we need to not only trust our instincts, not only trust ourselves that we have something worthy to say... but Trust that God Wants to use us in that place... and this is the beginning of Living an Adventure. It's not going to Calcutta like Mother Theresa, it's being the type of Mother Theresa God designed you to be, wherever Calcutta is for you at that moment. It's bold, brave, and dare I say it... adventurous to live out your life in this manner. It's the tip of the iceberg... it's the first important step in living out an adventorous life for The Lord. My time at work at Barnes and Noble yesterday was fun, lite, confident and relaxed even when it became hectic. When we stop thinking about ourselves, and start thinking how can I encourage and serve that other person, it's just a better way to live. I pray that God will allow me to live that way again today, and not get discouraged when I falter but to help me press forward, and continue on in my relationship with Him as He wants me to. Maybe in doing so I'll be moved from Barnes and Noble Cafe to an actual Starbucks!

6) Working with your friends- Movies are inspirational. There are tons of movies that make you want to fight for freedom, or take down the baddies or whatever... and there's one particular movie that inspires me... in a way most movies don't... I wish I could say it was Braveheart or The Princess Bride, or Galaxy Quest or even Beethoven, but alas it's the Romantic Comedy “Return to Me”. David Duchovny and Minnie Driver star in this very cute movie... but it's the old men that run the restaurant that have been friends for like 30 years that are the most entertaining (that and a belly dance by Jim Belushi). And it's an inspiration to want to open up a restaurant, or a coffee shop, or used book store with friends, because working with friends is the best of both worlds... it's work and hanging out at the same time... So I'm plugging Trey's Amigos Coffee Cantina coming soon to Park Street in St. Louis. Be there or be square. I promise not to do a belly dance if you come...

So I've been here for 2 hours (some chatting with Nguyen was being done too) and this is all I've got... and I'm out of quarters so there are no more continues... I have four minutes left... and I'm going to regroup my thoughts and come back later on (today or tomorrow) and play some more.

dre :)

This Whole Thing Is My Fault!!!!! (A response to Shonnie's Blog Top 10) (Part 1)

I betrayed my peeps... in Trey's Amigos... a little over a year ago... It was never Jrey's Amigos, Or Trey's Amigols... it was Trey's Amigos. (For further analysis read the post entitled "A List Before Dying" and the comment posted by Nguyen.)

Now that I know that I was a MAJOR JERK (and have been absolved of my Jerk-ness by my fellow Amigos!) I'm going to attempt a top 10 list, of "important things" (even though I've had a year to prepare for this... I'm not exactly sure what format this is going to take... but it's going to be a fun adventure).

1.) God's Love- in the immortal words of Kirk Franklin' "I can't explain it/ I can't contain it/ Jesus your love is so amazing."
I don't understand how or why God can and does love us fallen humans, weak vessels, AND on top of that He uses us for His Glory! We fail daily, often times hourly, we lose faith and don't trust Him, even when we claim to, and in return He loves us and continues to give us the best He can offer us, Himself. Furthermore, we can hold firm to His promise that he is bigger than our screw ups... He'll make "robes form our rags" and He'll do it for our good and His Glory! Yay GOD!
2.) Friend's Forgiveness- I'm thankful for my friends in general... I have been blessed with an overabundance of them... I praise the Lord for every single one of them, and I've learned SOOOO much about Him and life because of them. Sometimes you do stupid things, sometimes you make mistakes, sometimes you single-handedly cause the near downfall of the greatest blog this world has ever known! And when it's revealed that you've been a big JERK, your friends forgive you and welcome you back into the fold. It's fun! It's nice! It's how life should be! It's how God wants us to relate to one another.
Because of our sin nature we all "fall short of the Glory of God". But it's nice to know that when a friend falls short, the others are there to pick them up, to grieve with them, and t0 help them along. It's what we've all done for one another and we'll continue to do so because God calls us to, and we actually WANT to because, we're friends! Yay Friends!
3) Parent's Wisdom- every once in a while (not often) :) you get into a pickle in which you need your parent's advice, guidance, support, and past experiences to help you through a tight spot. Today I called my mom, and she and I had a tremendously good conversation. She's a super kind lady, really funny, really intuitive, and flys off the cuff and makes snap decisions... so sometimes, I take her advice or judgment with a grain of salt. However, I come to find that 97% of the time she's right on the money. She's got an intuition and a way of expressing it (and she repeats herself ad nauseum, and it kinda waters down the poignancy of the message) but her words are for the most part steeped in truth, and wise council. I'd be wise to remember this about my mom and delight in her words more than I do sometimes... Yay Mom...
.... Okay, I'm at the library and have to be back at work in 45 minutes and I have to eat too... so this is alls I got for now... but rest assured I'm coming back to finish what I started... (and at some point (a year from now... j/k) I'll respond to "Is Ignorance Bliss?") But first things first... I have to wash Shonnie and Nguyen's car for a year... and cook them stir fry and Moo Goo Gai Pan, at least 3 times... so I guess I'll get started on that too... :) Then they'll think of giving me my access back to Trey's Amigos...