http://recycleabicycle.org/youthprograms/rideclub

Being a huge bike advocate and enthusiast, seeing all this proliferation of bike advocacy in the city really inspires me. I think bicycles can do a lot to revolutionize our society. It brings people together, it promotes good health, it conserves the environment, and it frees individuals. I think more cities should take the initiative to promote bicycle advocacy. Bike Month NYC should be an example to all big cities.

Wherever I eventually end up, I would like to use my passion for bicycles in a very similar way. It was because of a two week bike trip offered by my youth group that I am so strong in my faith. It was because of the opportunity in that group to lead, that I've come to know the responsibility and necessity in becoming a leader. I want to use the freedom that the bicycle inspires to reach out to the youth just like this group is doing and like my youth group back home did. For, “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them.” Ernest Hemingway.

A Building of Multiple Perceptions

The Empire State Building can conjure up an innumerable amount of reactions from different people. To some it’s an American icon that represents prosperity. To others it represents a place of learning and culture. Some might view it as a place of work, with no extraordinary qualities. Whatever the reaction, people will always be attracted to its enormity.

Since the Empire State Building has offered a skyline view in its observatory some 1,050 feet above the city, over 110 million visitors have flocked to the sky to get a bird’s eye view of the city. Every year more than 3.5 million people take flight in the building’s elevators to say that they have been a part of a, “National Historic Landmark.”

“It's an awe inspiring creation,” Annika Buxton, a rural West Michigan resident, said. “It was overwhelming, but fascinating.”

In contrast of its iconic qualities, the building also seems to represent the American mentality.

“We like things to be bigger and better,” Buxton said. “We like everything big, our cars are big, our waste lines are big, everything.”

Back in the '80s and '90s, when New York was known for its high crime rates, James Rose, a New York City resident, said some of the resident's viewed it as a, “giant syringe.”

Whether it is awe inspiring or a symbol of American consumption, the Empire State Building always leaves an impression.

“Being in the city has definitely made the world seem smaller,” Buxton said.

While the building fills with tourists, there are thousands of people who walk through the doors, bypassing security, without enduring the emotional whelm of being a part of this soaring building. These are the thousands of New Yorkers who call the Empire State Building, “work.” In 2007 it was reported that over 21,000 people worked inside the building. Aside from the Pentagon, it is the world’s largest office building. It even has its own zip code, 10118.

Aside from the thousands of employees, millions of New Yorkers do business inside the building every day.

“The building is close to where I work. It's kind of just another part of the city,” Rose said.

Lining the lobby are numerous shops including Europa Café, FedEx, A few banks, and soon to include a Starbucks. The building’s surrounding sidewalks are packed at nearly all hours of the day. Some people just go into the surrounding shops, while others will venture in deeper to conduct their business. Further up the building there’s even a store for Boy Scouts of America.

To some, this building is more than they could ever fathom. Cities make a big deal out of their first multistory building. In New York, it would be a big deal to see a building that was only one story. The culture that this building so thoroughly represents is like nothing else in the world.

Just walking outside the building, one could hear a multitude of different languages being spoken by people of all races. Whatever reaction is received by this building, it will always be significant.

“Americans will always remember the iconic images of construction workers sitting high above the city on the steel beams,” James said.

In The Arms of a Savior

Along a lonely road I walk
Not always knowing where i'm going
The trees close in around me
Which direction is the wind blowing?

I look ahead
see nothing
I look behind
See things out of reach
I look down
See only my feet
I look to the sky
See my savior pulling me so high

Life's road is a wonder
I seem to neglect my map
To think I can find my own way
Again to find myself in God's lap

I look ahead
Into the distant darkness
I look behind
Reaching for dreams in the night's starkness
I look down
My feet begin to hurt
I look to the sky
My savior telling me to fly

The storm is coming in
It comes and it goes
The rain and the thunder
The midnight wind blows

I still look ahead
droplets falling on my face
I still look behind
A past life that is dead
I still look down
Ignoring the truth
God pulls my eyes to the sky
My savior sets me free

Faith drives me
I am merely a leaf blowing in the wind of God's breath.
In the arms of a Savior
I flow gently down the narrow path

A Christ Like Calling

Few Christians know what it means to evangelize. Most Christians seem to ignore the call to evangelize. Others will base their entire faith on evangelism. One of the sacraments of Jehovah’s Witnesses is to share the gospel. The great commission is important, but there’s so much more to Christ’s life.

The word Christian means to be Christ like. To believe in Christianity means to have a drive to follow in Christ’s footsteps. We do this through one basic principal; to have a heart of love. Christ commanded us to love him, and equally as important, to love our neighbor. In our loving heart, comes out our evangelism.

Many Christians miss this important aspect of love, which implies to create a relationship before attempting to cause influence. How can one influence without the credibility of a shared love? In order to influence, the other has to share in a mutual love.
This will make our testimony so much stronger. We will no longer be afraid to bring up the subject of Christ, because there will be a bond built around trust. Christ will shine through us, and they will see him in us.

“We are never alone when we seek to communicate the truth about Jesus,” Jerram Barrs, author of “The Heart of Worship,” asserts.

God is always with us. If we trust in him with our entire life, his love will shine through us. Those around us will see that. His truth is undeniable. His love covers all. And through a Christ filled heart, others will listen.

I Never Thought Numbers Meant So Much

Among the many things that I am learning at WJI, today's lesson was by far the most intriguing to date.

As a journalist, I always thought to myself that, while I was good at math, it had no relevance. Participating in Mark Tapscott's class on Computer Aided Reporting has changed my thoughts. There is so much that one can deduce about a situation based on the numbers. Finding numbers to drive reporting is a wonderful concept. Why does one employee make more money than another? Why are there more female social workers than male? Why are state executive salaries remaining consistent while public service salaries are being cut? All these are questions that could result by looking at numbers. It is fascinating.

A Conflicting Tragedy

In a world where conspiracy and speculation rule, it would be easy to claim Armageddon in light of the past year's catastrophic events. While I don't deny that we might be nearing the end times, our time is not God's time. We are missing the plight of the world, to degrade their tragedy into a sign of the times.

China, a country known for its ill treatment of human life, is suffering. A recent earth quake has killed nearly 10,000 people. Recently before that, a cyclone in Myanmar killed over 10,000 people. Some would speculate that God is punishing these people for their evil ways. I think that is wrong. I think that is to miss God's compassion, and to place blame on him for the sin of the world. Yes, God is just. Where is the justice in killing thousands of souls when we live in a time where God has clearly purveyed his mission of redemption?

This isn't a time to speculate. It isn't a time to rejoice in God's justice. This isn't a time to sit on our hands. This is a time to pray. A time to call out to God. The world is our family. God has blessed us. This is a tragedy, and we need to bless those in need. It would be even more of a tragedy to refuse help when we are so capable.

First Night With WJI

My first night with WJI started at 5:00. I embarked on my first solo venture into the subway and headed towards 34th street to the Herald Towers. I ran into one of my roommates, Josh Sauders, at the entrance of the Herald Towers. We checked in and headed to get our keys.

It was a relief to finally enter my room and drop all my stuff. I felt like I could finally settle down and take a few breaths. A day later, that would no longer be possible.

The night was spent enduring an informative and exciting orientation followed by a group trip to Time Square. It was nice to have a night to spend in leisure with this group that will be my family for the next three weeks.