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a story from Frankfurt

You got a quick glimpse of what my time in Europe looked like from my perspective: it was primarily seen through the lens of a Canon EOS 7D camera.

Now you can finally see what happened on the other side of that lens.

During our 4-city escapade at the end of March, our itinerary included meeting with church planters in European cities, shadowing each of them for three or four days, conducting video interviews, learning as much as we could about their city and neighborhood, and building stronger relationships with those church planters and their core group members. 

Upon returning home, my team's next task was to make a video to tell their story. This is the story Nordstern.Kirche in Frankfurt, Germany shared with us, and—get ready—because it's a tear jerker. Our team is thrilled about sharing their story and stories from the other three cities over the next few months.

hope tonight

I have a terrific music recommendation to share with you. It's a new album by my dear friend, Melanie Penn, that is hot off the presses–just released May 20th.

I've been listening to her songs for years now, practically since I moved to New York. I first heard her on an album called In The City produced and written by a group of local singers and songwriters. Then, through a mutual friend, I met her! Fast forward a couple more years, and Mel and I became cubicle neighbors at work. Funny how things work out isn't it? (AND, yes, sometimes she sings at her desk which is an absolute day-maker for me.)

There are so many things I love about Melanie, but one of my absolute favorites is how beautifully she sings. Just take a listen for yourself on her new album Hope Tonight. She's talented, she's creative, and the lyrics are profound and meaningful and will stick with you for days. So don't say I didn't warn you.

platform animals

Wouldn't it be great if animals—safari animals—were allowed on the subway? If they were just waiting around on the platform, impatiently, for the next train just like the rest of us?

I actually hadn't thought much about it before until I saw this City Lab post that left nothing to the imagination (and we're all the better for it). Now that I've thought about it, I definitely want a giraffe waiting on the platform next to me.

That would be pretty swell.

[Photos from City Lab "If Savanna Animals Took the Subway"]

hi there, baby Ty

IMG_5537.JPG

A few weeks ago I made a quick trip to Alabama to meet this little fellow. He was born while I was in Europe and I couldn't get down to Birmingham fast enough after he arrived. 

He was almost 8 weeks old but so teeny-tiny and just as sweet as they come. We ooh-ed and aah-ed over him and he slept like a little angel (during the day at least). I am so glad I got to grab his little cheeks and squeeze them because, as things always seem to happen, I'm sure he'll be heading off to kindergarten before I can count to ten.

Baby Ty, your aunt Perryn loves you. Be a sweet little boy for your momma!

sunbeams

The weather has fiiiiinally gotten nice here. Did I mention it was a long winter?

But finally there are no snowstorms in our forecast and I, for one, am rejoicing over it. It's been sunny with blue skies and high temps and I'm spending as much time out of doors as I possibly can.

The proof is in the pudding, and I don't even care that my face is almost blurred out in this picture—as long as the sunbeams were responsible for it.

Isn't funny how quickly we forget the bad things in life? At this moment, I can't even remember ever being cold.

new (blog) home!

Well, hello there!

If you're arriving at this page, it means you've found Big Apple Pear's new home. You may notice a few things are different around here. Different and better, I hope.

Instead of having Big Apple Pear function simply as a blog, I decided to tie all my work into one little nifty site. That was the dream and vision behind this new project and website—it's still a work in progress, and I have even more things I'd like to share in the future.

But in the meantime, I couldn't keep it to myself any longer. I hope you like it! 

happy mother's day

For whichever of the above applies to you and your mother, I hope it's a wonderfully special day filled with extra love and celebration of and for your Mom. I'm celebrating my Mom (and other moms in my life) from far away today, but I hope they feel my thoughts and love just the same. Happy Mother's Day!

(image: Paperless Post for JCrew)

small town

I'm a little late getting this posted (after I expressed my immense excitement last week about its release), but watch and be amazed at the talent and beauty of my friend Monica Allison.

Get the song on iTunes! https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/you-cant-take-it-back/id420706316 Shot and directed by Matthew Perkins. Filmed at ACME Studio in Brooklyn, NY. Shout out to the creative stylings of Shon Michaux-Simon and Perryn Pettus and much appreciated help from friends Kevin Feltes, Sharon Feltes and Angela Francine Bullock! www.monicaallison.com

the raw truth of social media

Now that I work in social media, I understand what an all-consuming art it can be. Especially for work, I'm constantly checking: how much engagement does this have? Likes? Comments? What's the most compelling comment I can come up with while still being positive and encouraging rather than sarcastic, biting, or—much worse—manipulative?

Through social media (ironically?), I found this very interesting graffiti piece in Vancouver entitled, "Nobody Likes Me" and then read an enlightening article about the artist's inspiration behind it. For me, excelling at my job was the initial motivation to become engrossed in every aspect of social media, but it's certainly so easy to let that motivation and obsession be clouded with thoughts of personal affirmation, identity, self-worth, and value. It's no doubt a slippery slope. The instant gratification when something's good is powerful, and the lack of gratification stings that much more when something is, well, the opposite of good.

Don't get me wrong. I love social media and am a huge proponent of the way it allows people to connect and communicate in ways they normally wouldn't. But, I was glad to see someone draw out a very real truth that is often missed and overlooked—or, maybe just taboo to speak of—in the vast world of online media. Thanks for the recalibration.

I went to Europe.

Oh, that's right. I knew there was something I had been meaning to talk about. I went to Europe on a work trip and visited 4 cities in 3 countries in 2 weeks. Things have been in full force since returning to New York a few weeks ago and I haven't had a single minute to figure out how I wanted to share my trip. It was a jam-packed, exhausting blast with many great memories that I'll hold dear to my heart forever and new friends made around the globe.

However, I thought a quick summary was in order. And if I sum up the 15 days I spent abroad, this is what it looked like:

can't wait till wednesday!

Want to know why?

Ok, I'll tell you. Last June, I was involved in a project with my friend Monica Allison who's an extremely talented singer & songwriter. She has this amazing album called You Can't Take It Back (which happens to also be her return policy, she says) and she made a music video for one of the songs on this album, Small Town.

In 40 seconds when you're done watching this sneak peek video, you'll know as much as I do about what the final product will look like—because the real deal won't be released until Wednesday.

I'm so excited to see it, I can barely stand it. Waiting with baited breath now...

Sneak Peek of Small Town Shoot shenanigans. Official Music Video out Wednesday, April 23rd 2014! Get the song on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/you-cant-take-it-back/id420706316

not just another easter sunday

We sang all my favorite Easter hymns at church today. We celebrated, we listened to stories of changed lives, and we ate and drank in remembrance of Him. It was a special day for this, and, I admit, I cried through most of it. What can I say—I am my mother's daughter.

The rest of the day was spent experiencing a small piece of what heaven may be like: in community, gathered around a table with families and friends. It was brunch in Brooklyn with some of the sweetest people I know in this city. And after a short rest in the afternoon, that led straight into a potluck dinner at a wonderful neighbor friend's house, also with some of the sweetest people I know. It was a good, full day and for no reason that I actually deserve.

Those are the kind that make you most thankful.