A "Normal" Night

So, I have been living in Long Island now since March of this year. Since I've been out here I've gotten to enjoy some very unusually unique nights. Tonight was one of those.
After prayer last night a couple of us began talking about what we were doing this week. One of my friends invited me to dinner at a restaurant and then my pastor invited me to an event that a radio station was hosting to thank some members of the community. Before we knew it we had combined the events and increased our group size to eight.
It started with a open bar and appetizer night with an awesome band at the Muse. This band was fantastic and we could have stayed all night, but we left and made our way to our second destination.
At Pierres we had a live band singing Christmas music and absolutely fantastic food! We were the last ones out the door and I have to admit, the funnest table.
All in all, the night was an absolute joy and a great way to spend a Tuesday night.

Another one bites the dust...

This weekend I got to be a part of another one of my sweet friends getting married. Renee Head...I mean...Renee Miller.

It's always an amazing opportunity to stand beside a couple as they commit to love each other until death do them part. This past weekend was full of joy and laughter as we celebrated the union that God has created between Ben and Renee Miller.

Below is a picture of me, Renee and Brandi at Renee's bachelorette party.

Detox: day NINE

Today was the last day of my detox! Its over! It feels weird though that its over...there were some things I really enjoyed. Like knowing what I was gonna be eating and having a small list of thinsg to chose from made my choices easier.

I can have coffee tomorrow but I don't even know if I want it...now I don't miss it anymore - weird.

I'll write more later, I'm really tired, but it feels cool to have finished it!

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Detox: day eight

Wow, I'm almost done! Today was totally fine...I didn't have a headache, I had a delicious lunch of sweet potatoes, along with some veggies.

I went to the gym though and had a pretty hard workout and then I met someone afterwards for dinner and only had a small salad and some fruit - boo! I was still really hungry but I didn't get home till way later. Can't be doing that again!

Tomorrow...LAST DAY! Here we go!

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Detox: day six and seven

I have not written about day six and seven - which were yesterday and the day before.
On Sunday, I went to Sunday school and the church. I had a pretty bad headache and I almost had a cup of coffee while I was there because I couldn't take it, but I was able to push through! I thought "I really need caffeine." Turns out I really needed some sleep!
Yesterday was great! I had a meeting in the morning and I took snacks because I knew I'd get hungry. It was at a coffee shop and I ended up not wanting any of their delicious desserts. I also ate out for the first time - had a salad and a cup of fruit. It was great!
On to day eight today...

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Detox: day five

Over halfway done!
I've noticed that I have not been as hungry as I was in the beginning of this process. I also noticed that I am craving veggies more and more. Tonight for dinner I had a sweet potato - I cut them into circles, put them on a pan with some olive oil and salt. They were delicious! I had some beans to go with it but I wish I had some colorful veggies too, I missed them tonight.
I also had a frozen banana for dessert and it was very tasty - who knew?
On to day six...

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Detox: day four

It hasn't necessarily been hard today, I've gotten more used to what I'm eating, but for some reason I've been craving more sugar (desserts) and burgers today.
I really wanted to just cheat and eat whatever I wanted but I didn't...just wanna have a big glass of a sweet delicious drink - like coke, yum!!

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Detox: day three

So I woke up today and wasn't really hungry, so I didn't eat anything right away. I eventually had to leave though because I had a meeting, and I normally would have just left and then when I did get hungry I would have picked something up somewhere. Since I knew I wouldn't really be able to eat anything I had to eat at my house before I left. This is really good for me. To make myself plan better.

I still had a bit of a headache today because of the different things I'm eating and because of not having caffeine.

Yesterday i was making something to eat and I was gonna make rice but was craving veggies! That was fun! I haven't had this craving for veggies in a long time - I like that!

One thing I've learned is that I eat to not be hungry anymore, versus eating to provide myself with nutrition. I've had to cook a lot more since I have to make veggies and it's been delicious!

That's all for now.

Thank you Suntrust, for the reminder.

So yesterday, when I got home I noticed that I had received the usual mail. I had a letter from my bank offering me some "amazing deal" that I quickly threw away, along with a newspaper from this area with some coupons inside. And then I had another letter from a bank that I don't do business with, which I decided I should open.

It was from Suntrust and when I opened it there was one of those fake checks inside. This is what the letter said that went with it:

"Dear Adriana Pariz,
Your friends at Suntrust would like to congratulate you on your WEDDING. We know it's an exciting time as you start a NEW LIFE and plan a future TOGETHER. Now's the time to combine your earning power in a JOINT ACCOUNT."

Wow, I learned so many things in just three sentences: 1. I'm married, who knew? 2. I missed my own wedding. And 3. This is an exciting time in my life.

Thank you Suntrust, for the reminder that I'm single and the only joint account I have is with myself. Should I still claim the $100 gift?

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Detox: day two

So I woke up today and I wasn't hungry, which I thought I would be. I did have a small, lingering, headache. I guess its from not having caffeine and very little sugar. I think after one day I've already started to realize that my sugar intake (from drinks as well as carbs) is normally really high!
I had some fruit and oatmeal for breakfast and some almonds and a hot tea, that was yummy!
Last night I talked to Amy Alexander and told her about the detox. She used a few words like irritbale and tired and hungry to describe what she thinks she would be like if she were to eat what I'm eating and not eat what I'm not eating. She is right, along with some other ones like not focused, and light headed. Its really interesting to see how addicted my body is to foods that I unconsciously put in my system.
Well, here we go day two!

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Detox: day one continue

So I really miss coffee and feel like I can't focus, but I'm also learning that I don't plan my days well in terms of eating. I usually eat at my house if I'm there, but if I'm not there then I eat wherever I am - bad plan!
One take away from today: I have to plan better if I wanna eat well!

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Detox: Day 1

So I'm doing a nine day detox from junk. During these nine days you eat fruits, vegetables, beans, brown rice, yogurt, and a number of other things.
Here are a couple of things you can't have: COFFEE, bread (any kind), pasta (any kind), white potatoes, sugar, soda, meats (chicken, turkey, beef), etc.
So today is day one. I miss my coffee. I have a little headache from not having caffeine and I feel like I can't focus on anything. I haven't been home and didn't think through the fact that I have no snack foods with me, so right now I'm really hungry and feel light headed. Haha, this will be an interesting 9 days...

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The Seed

I am currently doing the Tim Keller study on Mark and today I'm reading Mark 4:3-9 and this is what TK says about the Kingdom of God:

"Jesus' kingdom will conquer through love and service, not force, through sweet persuasion, not coercion, and it will prodice loving obedience, not slavery, and therefore it will transform completely, not superficially. Jesus' kingdom is more like a seed on the heart than a boulder on the head. The boulder smashes from the outside, the seed penetrates to the inside. The entry of a seed is the most gentle of procedures."

I just love the reality of the kingdom of Jesus. He is patient and loving and I need that!
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why my weekend was marvelous

Saturday:
So, we had a retreat this weekend in Lynchburg with students from Radford, Virginia Tech and Lynchburg schools. The theme of the retreat was "The Pursuit" and Joe Naramore was the speaker. We stayed at a place called Eagle Eyrie, it's a retreat center in Lynchburg and it's beautiful - mountains everywhere!

On Saturday we played a game of "Amazing Race." Students had to figure out a clue and go to a station where they would get a task (or a question), which they had to complete before getting their next clue. I was station #3 and the task they received from me was to take a picture of four different fire hydrants and bring it back to me so they could get their next clue.

After the game a couple of us went apple picking! I had never done that before but it was AWESOME! I didn't really want a lot of apples, but when I saw a beautiful one, I just had to get it...so I left with a bag full of them!

Sunday:

After hearing an awesome message from Matt Bradner at Rivermont EPC, I left Lynchburg and drove to Charlotte, NC. I got here around 5pm and was exhausted, but I really wanted to go to Christ Covenant to see some of my friends who were visiting from South Africa - so I went.

MY HEART WAS SO FULL OF JOY as I began to see all these faces of people that I love so much that I haven't seen in so long.

I got to see Jamie Smith, who has been on staff with CO for 16 years and who I just loved being with while I was in South Africa. I got to see Haley Miedema who is a dear friend of mine and her baby Abby, and Brandon Paschal who I went to school with and who is a great brother in the Lord. I got to see Joel, Michelle and Christy, who I went to South Africa with years ago. I saw Neal Gooch and his wife and Tim Byrd and his BRAND NEW wife. I saw a lot of the staff that I haven't seen in a long time and that overflowed my heart as well! Every time I saw someone else, that I haven't seen in a while, I just got even more excited!! I kept thinking "Lord, what a privilege I've had to serve alongside these men and women whom I feel so honored to know." It was hard to leave, I feel like I could have stayed for a week in that room loving on people and getting loved by them! Which led me to think: Heaven is going to be UNBELIEVABLE! I will see so many people that I will want to be around and talk with and hug and listen to their stories, no wonder its eternity, it will take us YEARS AND YEARS to just catch up with people and to hear their stories!

My heart is full! What a great weekend!

What happens in bible study...

Tonight at bible study I gave away prizes for memorizing scripture. Natalie won these you see pictured. They are "grow in the water capsule monsters."

She decided to stick hers in her mouth.

Turns out your saliva works just as well as warm water, for those of you wandering.

But please, don't try it at home :)

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hello, my name is adriana...

and I'm addicted to coffee...again.

About once every two years I quit drinking coffee. I just get to a point where I realize that I'm addicted to coffee and I don't want to be, so I quit. The last time was last summer. It lasted for MONTHS. It was beautiful! I would wake up and drink water.

Well, one cup of decaf led to another, which led to a regular cup here and there...and well, here we are again.

This morning I woke up and I went to make coffee, but I was out of "the good stuff," so I just made some "maxwell house" coffee and i put some decaf starbucks in there to help with the taste. It didn't help. It tasted terrible, and it didn't have enough caffeine in it so I got a headache.

Maybe one day, maybe one glorious day I will over come. But until then...lets raise our coffee mugs up for a toast to the good coffee!

Bridge

I went on a drive a few days ago with Lauren Schoenborn and we came across this bridge. Its times like these that I really love living in Radford.
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is this for real?

I've been studying the Gospel of Mark this semester with the bible studies that I am leading at Radford. We're doing a study by Tim Keller, and it has been fantastic!

One of the reasons I've been enjoying it so much is because of the way TK asks really good questions that lead you to really examine scripture to be able to come up with an answer. There's something so exhilarating to see something new in scripture, something you've never seen before!

On September 30th I will celebrate my 9th spiritual birthday! I committed my life to the Lord back in 2000, at a retreat that Campus Outreach did in the mountains of North Carolina. The more I walk with the Lord the more convinced I become of how real He is...He knows "the depth of my heart, and He loves me the same..." The Gospel - the good news that has been proclaimed that Jesus, has come into the world to call me out of a life of slavery into a life of freedom in Him - becomes more and more real the more I defend it and the more I walk with Him.

In Mark we see Jesus calling men to follow Him. He says: "come follow Me and I'll make you fishers of men." These men were already fishermen, so Jesus calls them into something greater. They had been fishing for fish...now He's calling them to fish for men. To "pull" men out of darkness and into light. He gives them a calling that is UNBELIEVABLE and then He gives them the "how." He says I will make you fishers of men.

Before I became a Christian there were many things I was living for. I would say the biggest thing was the assurance that I was important in someone's life - that I mattered in the long run. I remember, as a senior in high school, wanting so bad to know for sure that my life was making a difference. My heart longed to know that I was valuable. 9 years ago I was beckoned to trust Jesus and to follow Him, and I did. I said "yes" to Him, I was scared because I did not know what all that would mean for me. I didn't realize He was calling me to be something greater. He was calling me to the very thing I was longing for - to make a difference. I have been following Him ever since, and it is very clear to me that He is the one making me into something.

I used to be scared that if I became a Christian I would be this boring, religious, non-relevant, person, that had none of the same characteristics and passions that I enjoyed about myself. Turns out He has awaken those passions and characteristics even more so.

Thank you, Jesus, for "waking me" 9 years ago.

My summer in pictures!

(Clockwise: Margy, Kate, Eric, J. Nel, Doug, Kaitlyn, Renee, Evan,

Sarah, Me, Nakasha, Clare and Lauren).
The Campus Outreach Virginia students and staff at the Summer Beach Project. Last year Margy was the only representative, woo hoo!

Margy and I at one of the meals at the Summer Beach Project. We had some pretty incredible meals this summer! Margy and I will be living together next year in Radford, couldn't get any better than that!

(L to R: Clare, Margy, Katie, and me)
My friends, Doug and Kaitlyn got married this summer and we got to celebrate by dancing the night away. It was absolutely great!!

(L to R: Marina, Vitor, Me, and Marina)

I got to got to Brazil this summer to visit my family. I got to spend all of my time with my brother, Vitor and his wife Marina, as well as my niece, Marina (right) and my new niece Beatriz (not picture). I hadn't been back to Brazil in six years, it was extremely refreshing to spend time with them!

Here's me and my niece at the mountains: Campos do Jordao. It was winter in Brazil, but not very cold.

This is me, my niece and my brother at the beach, Ubatuba. It was absolutely gorgeous!

(L to R: Margy, Me, Jim Lyndon, and Megan Long)

My friend and staff partner Collin Setterberg got married on the 16th of August. I had a great time at the wedding, we danced a lot and I got to catch up with some old friends!

Me and my friend Julia Bradner at the wedding. Second wedding this summer of the guys in our staff team, it has been a lot of fun to see each other so much :)

(Clockwise: Sarah, Luciana, Emily, Mara, Me, Indy and Isaiah)
On my way back from Collin's wedding, I stopped by to see my sister and her 5 kids! Needless to say, they're crazy!

Me and my sister, Luciana at her house.

All in all it has been a very fun, very busy summer. I have gotten to do a lot of things and see a lot of people. School starts on the 1st of September, I'm excited to see all the returning students. Alright, until next time :)

Street Performance in NYC

I'm going to start practicing and hopefully I'll be able to do this by next year!