my life...

by kimberly hennessy

ping pong diplomacy

you never know what might move you from day to day...

on the way to work this week i caught a few minutes of npr's morning addition. an excerpt on ping pong redirected my whole outlook for the day. as usual i began to feel very ignorant, not having a clue how "ping pong" has changed the world.

one incident in particular got me thinking: while competing in Japan, a seemingly insignificant act of kindness by a Chinese player towards an American player softened the heart of China's communist leader Mao Zedong. the American missed his bus after the match and was invited to ride with the Chinese team back to the hotel. assuming that Mao would be furious, is was in fact quite the opposite. Mao declared the Chinese player a "great diplomat"! 2 days later the American team was invited into China to compete.

now i know there were may things that played into a decision like that, but i want to believe that God makes it that easy for us. if we can remove ourselves from the heat of a situation, it is then that healing begins.

so often we past up the opportunity to spread simple acts of kindness... to our loved ones and to our enemies... (especially our enemies) we forget to ask ourselves..."how can i love this person" "how can i extend grace to this person" even when nothing in our earthly bodies tells us we should.

"Those games helped to open relations between the United States and China and pave the way for President Nixon's visit to the communist nation."

even when we love simply, we can transform our relationships, our homes, our citys, our country, our world.

inspired revival

a true lack of creativity and simple expression in my life has finally brought me back. ironicly, work as a designer is to blame... i'm beginning to realized how important it is to be an artist on a personal level... something so intimate yet communal... comfortable yet risky

it has been 8 months since my last post, and as any good relationship - absence makes the heart grow fonder.

freedom of expression is a wonderful gift and i am a fool for wasting  it. 

good conversation with friends, humility, and a new documentary are what's moving me right now...

got this inner-office email today...

As you all might know today marks my 7th year protecting our lifestyle brand. It's a sense of pride in its self, and an opportunity to belong to something highly exclusive, and utterly amazing as the brand. It's been a long journey and I hope the next 7 years are as fabulous and enjoyable as today. I'm overwhelmed with all types of emotion words can't explain the happiness and success the brand has brought into my life. Never thought cleaning the moose 7 years ago would take me places I only dreamt of. I have met most of my best friends here with friendships that will last a life time and I will always remember the brand brought us all together. Its because of you guys that Abercrombie & Fitch is such great place to work and I never want to be anywhere else in the world but right here on Fitch Path living and breathing our free-spirited and independent lifestyle.

Thanks everyone
old school
Rio

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yep 100% real.... not kidding... i'm serious!

poetry, prayer, song

i remember a friend reading the lyrics of this song at a home group meeting a while back. how beautiful the words whisper God's faithfulness in the midst of doubt and loneliness. i am endlessly humbled and eternally bound in God's grace.

it's been a long day.

Encompassed with clouds of distress,

And tempted our hope to resign,
I pant for the light of thy face,
That I and my beauty may shine;
Disheartened with waiting so long,
I sink at thy feet with my load,
All plaintive I pour out my song,
And stretch forth my hands unto God.

If sometimes I strive, as I mourn
My hold of thy promise to keep,
The billows more fiercely return,
And plunge me again in the deep:
While harassed and cast from thy sight,
The tempter suggests with a roar,
"The Lord has forsaken thee quite;
Thy God will be gracious no more."

Shine, Lord! and my terror shall cease;
The blood of atonement apply;
And lead me to Jesus for peace,
The rock that is higher than I:
Speak, Saviour, for sweet is thy voice,
Thy presence is fair to behold;
I thirst for thy Spirit with cries
And groanings that cannot be told.

Yet, Lord, if thy love hath designed
No covenant blessing for me,
Ah, tell me, how is it I find
Some sweetness in waiting for thee?
Almighty to rescue thou art;
Thy grace is immortal and free.
Lord, succor and comfort my heart
And make me live holy to thee.

Shine, Lord! and my terror shall cease;
The blood of atonement apply;
And lead me to Jesus for peace,
The rock that is higher than I:
Speak, Saviour, for sweet is thy voice,
Thy presence is fair to behold;
I thirst for thy Spirit with cries
And groanings that cannot be told.

from park slope church: kingsborough hymns vol. I

"take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." matthew 11:30

love and peace

tough love

"To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket- safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.”

c.s. lewis

seriously??

so a girl's gotta move out of nyc to ohio to get a billboard back in nyc???

wtf?

i think i peed a little...

Z.G. video

worth reposting

from 12-05

"I am a frayed and nibbled survivor in a fallen world, and I am getting along. I am aging and eaten and have done my share of eating too. I am not washed and beautiful, in control of a shining world in which everything fits, but instead am wondering awed about on a splintered wreck I've come to care for, whose gnawed trees breathe a delicate air, whose bloodied and scarred creatures are my dearest companions, and whose beauty bats and shines not in its imperfections but overwhelmingly in spite of them..."

annie dillard

doux et pur

nichole redinger has a new spot on the web... well, a few new spots... check her out and make a comment!

her homepage

work for amy butler

needed a laugh

duckie brown

was doing some trend research and came across this pic... it's like steve zissou meets prada!

praying through...

i have been meditating on and praying over each line of this poem. breaking it down line by line has had a much bigger effect on my heart than the poem as a whole. i found it in a tiny book of "unity poems" i bought in springfield ohio. it's helping me to remember who God is and who he desires me to be.

walnut!

it goes without saying i feel very strongly about the use of print and pattern in design.

and you would have thought that the metallic mod wallpaper in my downstairs hallway had been an aesthetic that attracted me to my house a year ago... i'll confess... it took me a few months to warm up to it.

now i'm obsessed! i like to think of this style as "Elle Decor mod".
since my new love and appreciation, i have found a few amazing websites for wallpaper that have been feeding my addiction. one of them is walnut wallpaper

this site makes me want to wallpaper EVERYTHING!

updates!

trip back east...


to the shore...



to the back yard...

to lake george...

changes come. turn my world around.

music and song often move me to write. i listened to "changes come" by OTR yesterday. it moved me to think about the word change and what it means in my life and what it means in the lives of my loved ones.

change: to become transformed or converted; a transformation or modification.

as i listened to the words i realized how much it resonated with me and my life right now. our lives, our world, our hearts are always changing. they're breaking, mending, pulling, pushing, sinning, praying, repenting, and being redeemed by our God. it's hard to see through the changes that hurt. strained relationships, brokenness within families, lack of patience, death, and sin in general... taking all our crap and turning it into something beautiful for His glory. more and more i am aware of God's mercy in helping me to change and become more like HIM, realizing he is the only thing in this world that is steadfast and unchanging. through growing relationships, through culture, though movies and books and art... through tears and joy and peace and quite... shaping us into a living example of the gospel.


..."You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end."

Hebrews 1:10-12

if i had a top 10 list...

leslie feist would be on it...

new single = new favorite song

go bucks!

*must watch with soundtrack

the rest...

easter morning 87'

simple questions simple answers...

i know you've heard me say this before:

at times i can feel God move in my heart much more plainly and clearly. i don't know if i would go as far to say the "best" is when He speaks and it is gentle and painless. sometimes i need to be broken before i'm humble enough to get on my knees and pray. twice this week i read the children's version of the Shorter Catechisms. once in a children's church email and once on goes on runs blog.

i don't think it is a coincidence that i read such simple questions and answers written to teach children about the True God. i don't have children, but i act like a child sometimes...it's been a looong week and so i'm thankful for God's tenderness - in speaking to me gently and teaching me in a way that is powerfully direct yet simple.

An Introduction to the Shorter Catechism

Q. 1. Who made you?
A. God.

Q. 2. What else did God make?
A. God made all things.

Q. 3. Why did God make you and all things?
A. For his own glory.

Q. 4. How can you glorify God?
A. By loving him and doing what he commands.

sometimes this is all i need to know.

love and peace to you all!
xo

2 corinthians 12:9-10
..."my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

(p.s. for more info on the catechisms see reformed.com)

sausage party at the surly girl (lol)

tongue? what?? lock and key?? party tricks!

-----------------------------------------------
ok so let me just redeem myself after that title...

tonight was gc lady's night at the surly girl.

this (to me) is one of the "not so midwest" spots in columbus - they do exist (thank goodness).
menu includes plates like:

Spicy Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich
Spicy Peanut Butter and fresh sliced bananas on toasted white bread with a side of mini marshmallows and chocolate milk. $5

Knife- And- Fork Chili "Dog" (*see photo)
Our Spicy traditional Italian sausage on a toasted hoagie, topped with tangy brown mustard, red onions, smoked cheddar and smothered in meat chili. Choose from meat or vegetarian. Served with a side of Fritos. $8

House Pizza - Crumbled gorgonzola, 6 cheese mix, dried cranberries, red onions and pecans over our thin crust. Drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette.

(SA) just before the waiter placed katy's meal in front of her (*refer back to photo) HE shouts out SAUSAGE PARTY!? now you can just imagine the looks that went around the table of girls. i mean COME ON! that's pretty funny especially when it is directed at a table of christian women.

(AAR) to the waiter's credit there is a special that they serve sometimes called "the sausage party" as he explained later. (what it is exactly i have no idea... do i really want to know?)

blah blah blahhhh!

to my point: really there are two reasons i posted this picture tonight

a#1.) one simple sentence - read comment from 1-31-07!!!! seriously!!!!

b#2.) i don't think i have ever stated my "what i love about katy d." list so here it goes:

lets just start with every picture i have ever posted of miss katy d. every last one captures her bright, silly, and uninhibited personality. she is herself and that is perfectly wonderful.

sometimes we have to pass a pen or a cell phone or some object to be able to have a conversation. (we both like to talk...at the same time).

she only takes cream in her coffee (skim what?)

she has a key to my house.
she uses it.

she is incredibly talented,
incredibly sensitive,
incredibly tough!

she's A.D... what?

she continues to help me unpack not only my house, but my heart and my life.

she has a desire to seek god's will in her life.

she is confident.
she is humble.

she cries.
and has a contagious laugh.

she gives tough love.

she doesn't tell you what you want to hear.
she tells you what you need to hear.

she calls...ALL THE TIME!

her servant heart is just bursting at the seams. it spills into my life and i reap the benefits.

she shares AND she listens.

and i could keep going on and on, but it's late...and i don't want this list to go too deep into her head. so i'll end on this for now:

she makes a wonderful friend and even better sister. i know she will make a wonderful mother.

BFF
love ya!

ps-if you would like to see more of katy d. see links below:
http://teeshirtsinnyc.blogspot.com/2006_08_01_archive.html
http://teeshirtsinnyc.blogspot.com/2006_02_01_archive.html
http://teeshirtsinnyc.blogspot.com/2006_01_01_archive.html

pps-chat slang - inside joke. (lol) i need to "GAL"

the gospel + the fruit of the spirit at it's finest!

love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control

like a vitamin packed bundle of jesus!

shouston sistas!!

dinner in st. martin...



banana rum in st. martin...



more banana rum in st. martin!

(ps-we weren't that intoxicated...one of us is holding the camera...can't remember who, but one of us!)

(pps- banana rum is "dith-cuth-din")

what can i say? girls!!!

watch this...

an artist worth noticing

this is an artist introduced to me (not literally) by ryan at MOMA. i was reminded of her tonight in a magazine article. she has a drawing retrospect coming up at the Hammer Museum @ UCLA.




i couldn't resist sharing some of her work. much is lost on a computer screen.
please! if you have the opportunity to see it in person...do so!







*title linked to the hammer museum

getting me through the morning...

working on a Saturday (again) :(



(and how great is that album art?!)

low down underground

while at work this week, i discovered the door to the a&f musical wonderland...

apparently we have local bands within the company, and this chick (who is now in s. cali) kicks some prepster ass! i mean come ON! she graduated from yale and played rugby for crying out loud!



(title linked to her myspace)

ps- gotz me a new music pimp at work (below on the right)... his name is mike and he has stacks and stacks of cd's behind his desk (sounds like someone else i know). creative director for hollister by day...rockstar by night. plays in lori, kola koca death squad, daredevil lover, and his solo act the sportsman's club.
OHIO = GOOD MUSIC


http://myspace.com/thesportsmansclub

oooooh no!

as i turned off my car last night "sabotage" by the beastie boys was playing on the radio.

as i turned on my car this morning...

"i'm tellin' y'all it's a Sabotage..."

yes we fight!

the fighting huston sisters...

i know, i know! it's hard to believe!!

*thank you cait for cleaning the house while i was gone this weekend and offering to pack me a lunch when i over slept on tues morning, and listening to me complain about "things", and praying for me, and letting katy d. in (even though she has a key) to host small group at my house while i was stuck at work for the second week in a row! you are appreciated and valued...now could you please go stay at dad's house while he's in florida??

(side note: we were crying b/c we got yelled at for fighting...go figure!)

view from the what?

shopping for work...

just some of
the samples we bought this weekend
at the rose bowl flee market!