Awakenings get props

The Daily Breeze did a great story on our new favorite coffee joint. Check it out here

Nowruz

In case you didn't know, we are an international family. I was born in Iran and Steve is Italian/Danish/American. So, now we have these kids that are half Iranian and half EuroAmerican. Every now and then, someone will ask me a question like, "Do you speak Farsi to your kids?" The answer is no... Only because I don't really speak it much myself. I am almost fluent orally, however the only time I ever speak it is to certain family members. English was my first language, the one that comes naturally to me and the one I think in. It doesn't stop with the language though... Since I've not been back to the mother land after escaping the madness in 1979, I haven't done much to go back to the roots for myself, or my kids.

Lately, I've been inspired. Particularly by Fatemeh of gastronomie. I came across this blog while looking for a recipe for gormeh sabzi. While browsing this blog, Fatemeh had some photos and information about the upcoming holiday Nowruz or Nowrooz, (depending on how you choose to spell it) otherwise known as Persian New Year . Nowruz falls on the first day of spring (in Iran). This year, Los Angeles will celebrate it at 10:30am on Monday, March 20th. I have a lot of fond memories of this holiday. Mainly as a child, I looked forward to skipping school, being with my family and receiving monetary gifts. Another tradition that I loved, was the requirement to wear something new on that day. What young girl wouldn't love that tradition?! As I got older, I realized more and more that this holiday was the equivalent to Christmas in the western world in terms of uniting families and symbolism.

Like most holidays, Nowruz has a recongizable symbol which is called the haft sinn.

"Haft Sinn, the heart of the Persian New Year
Every tradition has a material
element that symbolizes that holiday to its followers. The Christmas Tree,
Easter Basket, Shamrock... you might even call them the very best marketing
icons around.
Well, for Persian people the world over, the Haft Sinn (or
"Haft Seen"), an "altar" of seven (haft) things starting with the Farsi letter
sinn, is the immutable, immediately recognizable symbol of Nowrooz."

Seeing this beautiful display on Fatemeh's blog has inspired me to do the same this year. I'm not sure how far I'll get, but I'm going to try. Look for photos and updates in future posts. Until then, you can work on practicing your greeting "Sal eh now mobarak!"

The Magic Kingdom

We recently went to Disneyland along with Gigi, Papa, Uncle Zach, Aunt Holly and Ava. It was a really good time. Nothing beats seeing the wonder in a child's eyes as they "experience the magic." My favorite part of the day had to be Star Tours with Jason and the Buzz Lightyear ride with Silas. Jason is completely enamored by anything star wars and Jason's favorite person of the moment is Buzz. It was so fun to see them enjoy their favorite characters and action come to life (sort of).

Awakening

We do a date night switch every Thursday with our friends, the Ludwigs. It's been a great thing for our marriage to have 2 nights a month that we for sure get some time out alone, without having to pay a babysitter! Plus, our kids love Lily and Sofia and it's a fun little tradition they'll have growing up together.

So last night, after dinner, we stopped by a new coffee house in Lomita called Awakenings. This proprietors fine establishment are some friends of ours who actually pastor a church, Vineyard Xtreme . They have a great kid's room that takes up half the square footage, stocked with chalk board, coloring supplies and toys. They also have wi fi and around 7 computer terminals set up with free internet access.

The Olsons had a twin purpose in opening the coffee house, not just for business, but also to use as a means for building a church outward to the community. VX meets at Awakenings, has all their various meetings there. It is truely an innovative way of doing church. The VX community not only has church there on Sundays, but they also hang out there throughout the week. Awakenings feature artists and musicians that draw people from the community from all different backgrounds. Not only does it create an environment in the city that is peaceful, tranquil and family friendly, it also provides a place for someone who may be curious about Jesus but doesn't particulary have a desire to go to "church."

We talked a lot last night about the concept of making disciples and spurring others on in the Christian life. VX has a sense of burden for not just saving the lost, but for leading others on to the path of Jesus. Teaching people how to leave their idols and surrender their lives to follow Christ and hear God. There is also a strong sense of wanting to be among the people and bridging the gap between church and city. It seems like if you are part of the VX community... church is basically a conversation, or experience that takes place in a coffee house. It's pretty cool. If you are local, you should check out Awakenings. They make really good chai lattes.