Rice & Noodles - THE BOMB!

So, I know that I just dated myself back to 1998 by saying the bomb, but - regardless - if you're in the Lancaster area you totally need to go eat at Rice & Noodles! We just experienced it tonight for the first time, and enjoyed great conversation with a super cool person (you rock Deb :) over wontons, spring rolls, and friend rice.

http://www.riceandnoodlesrestaurant.com/

Menu: Yummy Vietnamese - think delish spring rolls, tantalizing friend rice, famous wonton soup and salad bowls, refreshing jasmine lime iced tea, the list could go on.

They not only have amazing food, but also an amazing story.

Story: One family, flees from Vietnam and successfully starts a group of restaurants in New Orleans only to be displaced by Katrina. After being evacuated to Houston, they relocated to Lancaster where they had a family connection. Now they're sharing their culinary talents with us here!

Click here if you'd like to read more about their story.

P.S. They're between Boston Market & that bright yellow chinese place on the right as you're coming down Oregon Pike into the city.

You Know It's Cold When...

Every spring & fall we try to conserve some energy by leaving both our AC and heat off for a month or two. One time we made it two months, but we're usually doing good if we make it 6wks. Then, when we are using them, we try to use our programmable thermostat to conserve. In the winter for example, it automatically lets the house stay colder during the day while we're at work and at night when we're curled up under the covers. Then it keeps it warmer during morning and evening hours. Anyway, enough about that.

As usual, the heat & AC went off several weeks ago, so the temp in the house has slowly been dropping as fall set in. This morning it was finally down to 62. Now, I know some of you would say this is the temp you always keep your house at, but I'm cold blooded, so this is pretty chilly for me and I decided it was that time to turn the heat on.

I knew we had let it get cold in the house when, just a few minutes later, we found our dog Zuri standing over the heat vent letting it blow on her face and ears!

Good Art Makes My Heart Happy

Prodigal from Stephanie Mathis on Vimeo.

I had the coolest moment today

I talked to a guy on the phone today. He's interested in volunteering where I work, at Water Street Ministries. Water Street's vision is transformed lives as they work with the poor and homeless in our area.

His daughter is one of the employees here, and he wants to support this.

Here's the only thing. He's deaf.

Yep, I did say that I talked to him on the phone. There's this awesome video phone translation service where my call to his house gets routed to a translation center. One of the translators picks up the phone, sets up a video feed with their deaf client, and then proceeds to translate between the two parties--signing on video to the deaf person, and relaying their signed message in speech back to the hearing person.

How awesome is that!?

The situation almost brought tears to my eyes. It just felt redemptive somehow. Here's this guy who's been dealt crap, but he wants to give back to others and there are others in the world partnering with him so he can do things hearing folks do, like talk on the phone.

Sweet.

How Do You Stay Sane?

As you all have seen in my silence over the last few months, life is crazy right now. Being in school is an amazing thing but also has a way of sucking you into a giant black hole. ☺ Each day, I have to make choices about priorities. What relationship do I need to invest in? What homework must be done? What task at home is pressing? What is the next step for the launch of Pearl Street Photography? I’ve started realizing a few things: 1) I have to choose. Choose what I can and cannot do. Where I can invest and where I cannot. 2) I have to take small bites. Just accomplish one thing each day instead of trying to take on everything at once. 3) Take time to rest whether you think you have it or not. If you don’t, you won’t survive.

How do you prioritize your life and not only stay sane but also thrive in the midst of craziness? I would love to learn from you!

Jesus' Hands & Feet

I was at an all staff training for work when a co-worker shared something profound.

We find in the story of God that he calls his people to join him in his restorative work in the world. In the modern world, this work often involved intellect and the building of systematic theologies, sometimes to the neglect of action. God calls us not only to love him with our minds, but also with our hearts and hands.

So this staff member is also a current resident of our Mission, which I think is profound all by itself. But his words struck me when he shared something like this:

"I can't just be told that God wants us to love because my understanding of the whole idea of love was messed up. I needed someone to show me what love is."

This guy gets incarnational theology--the truth of who God is being acted out in our lives. God's people coming alongside one another and alongside our neighbors, putting hands to love, feet to faith, and action to hope. How true that we all have broken understandings of God's truth, and we need each other to put flesh on it to help each other see God. Theology is not meant to be merely an intellectual exercise. Those around us should experience our theology by the way we live.

Thank you, brother, for reminding us of this truth you understand so well. May we heed your words and engage our worlds with the loving truth of Christ...

I Am Still Alive

By this point, many of you must believe I have dropped from the face of the earth, so I thought I would drop in and confirm I do indeed still exist. Who knew full-time work + full-time grad school = crazy? It has, however, also been an amazing last couple months. I will be posting a few mini-blogs over the next couple weeks to share a few highlights and glimpses into my life right now. (Sorry all you get is mini-posts when it’s from someone fighting a daily battle against burnout :)