pasadena

Last night I joined over 80,000 others at the Billy Graham Crusade at the Rose Bowl. Though I've been a Christian most of my life, I've never been to one of these huge gatherings. I never had any interest. I guess I viewed it as a bunch of fanatics experiencing a spiritual high and then returning to their lives unchanged once they came down. This year, the Crusade caught my attention. I saw the billboard off the freeway and was excited to see that it was a local event, on My home field. I got more interested when they played a clip at church and my pastor said this may be the last year Billy Graham actually presents, as he is getting up there in age and his health is declining. Then I made the conscious decision to attend when my friend said we could carpool with people from my old church.

Saturday's program was "A Concert for Our Generation" with musical performances by Kutless, The Tait Band, and Third Day. Billy Graham spoke for about 30 minutes. His direct, simple message reached out to the youth. He then invited people to walk onto the field where there were counselors ready to pray and distribute books about how to live a life with God. Some of us were disappointed not to hear Billy Graham say the word literature with his No. Carolinan accent :). Thousands of people went down to the field. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn't the phenominal religious experience I thought it would be. Maybe because there were just so many people! Still, I liked being a part of something greater than myself, a people hungry for God.

Afterwards, I joined my friends at one of our favorite Pasadena haunts, Holly Street Bar & Grill. They've really spruced the place up since we last visited. They put in new carpeting, curtains and chairs and opened up the bar area to put in a full stage. They have live music there four nights a week. We met up for dessert in celebration of my friend passing the CA State Bar. She got the results this week and has been floating ever since. We had chocolate torte (how appropriate), tiramisu, creme brulee, and New York cheesecake, a great ending to my dinner of popcorn and cotton candy.