I know it's surprising for me to have this many blogs added in such a short time! Don't expect this on a regular basis. Since creating this blog, I have come to the realization that I don't have as many everyday thoughts as I thought! :-) Or maybe at least as many that I can share!
I did want to tell you a little bit about my Saturday and share with you some pictures that I took on Saturday afternoon.
Have you ever been pretty sure that something that you were going to be doing was not going to be a "spiritual gift," but for some reason you felt that you had to prove it? Well, I was 99.9% sure that landscaping was not my "spiritual gift," infact I will even say that "manual work" is not my "spiritual gift." However, in a moment of weakness, at Kairos, I decided that I should sign up to help with landscaping the church on Saturday morning. I'm not sure why I thought that planting a bunch of plants and shrubs in two very large areas at the church would be so much more fun that planting a couple of little flowers at home. Anywho...it was freezing Saturday morning and I had apparently forgotten that in the south they don't have dark dirt (soil), they have clay. Now, for those of you who don't work with clay on a regular basis and have forgotten art class, let me remind you what it is like to work with cold, wet clay. Let me use a cartoon analogy...remember when Wylie Coyote would always get smooshed with a large clay boulder or he would try and dig a trap and it was always at the end of the cliff, so he was left, falling to his death with the large clay boulder (although, did ever die)? I believe I would have had an easier time of digging it up if it had been at the edge of a cliff!
When we did get the clay dug up, it came out as large boulders. My thought instantly was "I'm leaving at noon, there is no way I am staying longer!" :-) I'm telling you, "manual work" does not bring out the best in me. Thankfully, there were alot of fun people to spend the morning with, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been and I believe there were a handful of people there as well that were confirming the same thing that I was, no "spiritual gift" found doing this!
So at 12:00pm (not 12:01 pm) I leaving Brentwood Baptist in pursuit of a shower. Well, my sweet friend Tauna had texted if I wanted to go for a walk with her. The day had really started to warm up and I thought, I would really like to go for a walk and instead of running home and showering, why don't I spend some time with Tauna on a walk and shower after ward. Tauna had brought two cameras so that we both could take pictures, thank you Tauna, that was so sweet of you. We had a great walk and we both took some great pictures.

This was the main trail that we took

I don't know why the tree looks blue, but I really liked the gate and I think the picture for the most part turned out pretty good!

This is my favorite shot, this is actually a road, although you wouldn't know it by looking at it, it looks more like a drive way to me

Bonfire 2008

Saturday night my friend Nellie invited a group of her friends up to her parents house, they have a lot of land and we had a hayride and bonfire. It's a great location, they are way out in the country and it's just beautiful out there. Thanks Nellie for inviting me out there and thank you Mr. & Mrs. Campbell for letting us all come out.
(You will notice that I have colored my hair, it actually gives me color to my face, however you can't tell in the pictures because of the insanely bright flash from my camera when taken at night, gotta love the "night scene" option) What a fun night! The trip up to Nellie's with Stephanie, Lauralin and Christa was a blast by itself, what a riot!

Me and my new friend Lauralin

Me and Stephanie (Judge's momma)

Me and Melissa, I love this picture, the flash was so bright!

Lauralin and Stephanie

Melissa, Nellie and Me

Christa, Amber and Kayla

Perri, Me and Lauralin

Me and Amber

Me and Tauna

Kim and Me

Nellie and Paula (They are not cousins even though they have the same last name and Paula convinced me that they were cousins, Nellie set me straight!)

Paula and Kim

Stephanie and Lauralin

Lauralin, Christa and Me

Tauna and Amber

Kayla and Paula

Hayride time!

Mr. Campbell let me stand on the back of the tractor, I wanted to sit on the side of the tractor and yes, dad it was a Ford Jubilee tractor!

Halloween!!

I found this costume at KMart and I fell in love with it! I couldn't stop laughing, so I thought "I've got to have this!" I had such a great response from co-workers and friends that I am already planning for next year!!!! Enjoy!

My co-worker, Janice and I

Stretching, very important, you don't want to pull a hami!

...and down 2, 3, 4

I got a lot of requests to sit down!

I found out at work that I can run in the costume, that became even more entertaining for my co-workers and then I displayed this skill for some friends. I really think it's just a matter of time before I take this show on the road!!!

What a Great Day!

Today I got to spend the day with a dear friend of mine (Tonya, who has been my best friend since college, she moved down here about 6 months before I did), who although lives in Murfreesboro, about 40 miles away. I only see her about once a month, if that. So it was great to hang out and catch up!
We started our journey to the Country Music Hall of Fame (Yes, I know that I am there about 2 or 3 Saturdays out of the month), however, Tonya needed to go there for a homework assignment. So, who am I to stop her from going there and corrupt her. Okay, in all honesty had it been another place, I would of probably talked her out of it! :-)
Anywhooooo...we were there for about 4 hours. It's so funny, as much as I am there, I still see new things.
After the Country Music Hall of Fame, we went an ate and then headed out for a long drive. I don't know about Tonya (which is weird to say, because I know Tonya better then she knows herself. She would say the same thing about me!), but as a kid, my family did a lot of drives. We would be gone for hours. In fact, I remember in high school, we skipped church one Sunday and headed out for a "drive", we didn't get back to the house until dark. We didn't even leave the state, that's impressive!!! All that to say, I really enjoy going for drives out in the country and just looking at all the beautiful things that God has created.
Tonya and I weren't gone as long as that "drive" back in high school. But we were gone for a couple of hours. I didn't realize that Tonya's goal was to get me lost. We both have a good sense of direction, well at least we did until we moved down to this state!!! I think I have my barrings strait now, every once in awhile though I get turned around! When I finally got Tonya out of Nashville (she kept thinking that she was heading out of town, but she kept heading downtown. She's still working on her barrings! :-) We ended up out in Lebanon and it worked out that I had my camera, so I took some pictures. My friend Tauna has inspired to take more pictures. The pictures aren't as good as Tauna's, but they work for me! You will notice that I am infatuated with old barns. I would like to renovate a barn sometime and get an old truck....aah the life!!!!!

I know that this looks like we were trespassing, but we never saw a
sign. Although, we did end up coming to a dead end, no sign, just
blocked by trees. We got a good laugh out of it.


What a great barn, so much potential!

Another great barn!

"Fireproof"

For those of you who have not seen "Fireproof" yet, I would highly recommend it. It's about a firefighter who begins a 40-day experiment known as "The Love Dare" in an attempt to save his marriage.
Kirk Cameron was the only professional actor in the movie, all the rest were volunteers.
I was told that Kirk Cameron did not get paid and had to audition for the role just like the others.
Because of Kirk Cameron's promise to his wife about not ever kissing another woman on or offscreen, the scene where he kisses "his wife" in the movie. The producers flew in his wife to step into the role for that scene.

Here's a trailer of the movie if you would like to see it: www.fireproofthemovie.com

We need to support more movies like this. Hollywood is continuing to throw out junk for people to watch, we need to promote these movies and maybe Hollywood will get the picture! :-)

Bible Study Fellowship (BSF)

I have been participating in BSF for 5 weeks now and I am really enjoying it. For those of you who have not ever heard of BSF. This is a non-denominational bible study that is done all over the world. The bible study groups for men, women, children, teens and I believe they have started or thinking about starting a co-ed bible study. The bible study follows the school year, summers off. All of the bible studies do the same lesson, so if you are on vacation and you find out that there is a bible study in that area, you are welcome to join in while you are there.
This is my first year with BSF and we are studying the life of Moses.
Before, I signed up to do this I was a little nervous about the commitment, there is homework (yea, never like homework) and we meet once a week. Also, if you would like to complete the entire bible study, it will take 7 years, yikes!
You maybe wondering how I had heard of it. Well, my mom did BSF when my brother and I were little kids, I went with her a couple of times when I had a doctor's appointment and had to get out of school early.
I had always thought it was more of a denominational bible study and since I don't go to a Mennonite church anymore, I didn't think I could do the bible study.
Last year, my friend Nellie had done BSF and that's when I learned more about it. Around February, I really felt God calling me to participate in BSF, so I talked to Nellie about it and she invited me to one of the "Introduction" classes that they have. So that's what I did and now I'm doing it, I have really been learning a lot. Here are just a few things that I heard or read that I thought were pretty interesting...

"In 1836 a world census indicated that there were then three million Jews living in many countries. A century later, in 1936, in spite of severe persecutions in which many Jews were killed, particularly in Russia, a second census indicated that the Jewish world population had risen to sixteen million, an increase of thirteen million in a century. The Nazis killed six million Jews in what they called 'the final solution to the Jewish problem.' But today there are more Jews in the world than before the Nazi era. The only explanation is that the hand of God has been on this people and that He has blessed them."
(This was in reference to when the Israelites were being oppressed by the Egyptians, yet they continued to grow in number)

Did you know that pitch was used to make Moses' basket and also was used to make the Ark. Pitch means "Atonement" - a second chance.

"God uses small things to engineer great events!"

When God calls us to do something, and we give him the excuse that this is not something that we would be good at. God's response is "Good, then I will get the glory and not you!"

"God does not speak and then ask for your advice!"

The BSF leader shared a story from something that she had read:
"There was a little boy that was trying to move a huge boulder into his sandbox. He was pushing and pulling, doing a lot of grunting. His father could see him struggling and went out and asked his son, 'Why didn't you use all your strength?" The boy's response was 'I did!' The father said, 'No, because if you had, you would have come in to get your father'!
That story really struck me, why do we make things so much harder then they need to be, why can't we just call on our "Heavenly Father" for help, for strength?

I will try to keep adding more things that I learn through out this year. So until next time...

Friends Are Friends Forever!

Many of you see this title and you think instantly of the song by Michael W. Smith. Good job, that is exactly where I got it from. I have loved this song for such a long time, it reminds me of the wonderful friendships that God has blessed me with in my life. I have been able to live in different states and meet wonderful people. Everyone reading this blog, has touched my life in some way and has helped me be the person that I am today, so if you don't like what you see, you only have yourselves to blame! :-)
This past weekend, some college friends and I have been able to get together for the third or fourth year in a row. However, this was actually the second year that we were all able to be together, so we have started a tradition. A tradition that I hope will go on until we are no longer able to travel.

(Kim, me, Marika, Tonya and Julie)

This really all got started with me wanting to come to the Mennonite Relief Sale in Indiana. For those of you who are not familiar with this relief sale. The relief sale is a huge bake sale, craft show, handmade quilt auction. 80% of the proceeds I believe go to Mennonite missions and the other 20% go to local charities.
I had grown up in Indiana and had gone with my Grandma and Grandpa H. to the sale when I was a kid. I have very found memories of helping grandma when she would help with the Quilt Auction. Now that my grandparents have passed away, this was a way for me to still feel connected to them in away. I know that sounds really silly, but I guess it's what I needed. My aunts and uncles on that side are in the area, so I am able to visit with them as well, it was great to see them!

Tonya and I had started our trip Thursday night. We drove to Indy and spent the night with her aunt and uncle and then continued our trip on Friday morning. My aunt Rosie and Jerry would be waiting for us at my aunt Letha and Jerry's house (yes, two uncle's name Jerry on one side). Anyway, when we got to the house, we all went out to eat at a neat little soda shop and then we went back to Letha and Jerry's house to visit. Tonya decided to go visit her aunt and uncle in town and then went on to Julie's house. (I usually spend Friday with my family and then Saturday with the girls and Bob, I'll talk more about Bob later)
We visited for awhile then met up with Aunt Verda and Uncle "Squeaky" Lowell at the Essenhaus for supper.

Jerry Letha and Rosie

Me, Verda and Jerry (Squeaky is taking the picture)

Afterwards, we all went over to Squeaky and Verda's house and had dessert and talked. There was a lot of laughing going on, I know it's hard to believe!
Jerry and Rosie took me over to Bob and Julie's house on their way home and I waited for everyone to get there. Bob, Julie, Marika (and kids) and Tonya had all gone to the relief sale for supper and Kim and kids (Milo and Sadee) were on their way from Illinois. It was great to see everyone, there had been some additions to the family since last year. Marika had a little boy, Quinn. Bob and Julie had added another son to their family, Aaron. Jonathon is now a big brother and is a good big brother. Unfortunately Marika's husband Tom and Kim's husband Arnoldo have not been able to join us yet. There were plenty of "Aunt's" around, so there was no shortage of love and attention to the kiddos. Personally, I think Tom and Arnoldo are scared of spending the entire weekend with a bunch of women. Poor Bob has no place to run, so he's stuck! Actually, Arnoldo was with us the very first year...that's right, yeah I think I have proved my point! :-)
Before I forget, let me tell you what a wonderful guy Bob is. First of all, he doesn't mind spending the entire weekend with us, at least he says he doesn't mind. He also does alot of the cleaning up and cooking for us, letting us just spend time with each other. Thank you so much Bob for opening up your home each year and letting us steal your wife for the weekend, it really means alot to us. Also, a big thank you to Julie's mom and dad, who let Tonya and I sleep at their home.
On Saturday we headed over to the relief sale for pancakes and sausage. They start serving from 5:30 am to 10 am. Yea, we got there at 9:30am. I did go with my great uncle Paul one year at 5:30 am because it was his birthday, now that's love!!! :-)
I had gone looking for uncle Paul when I got to the relief sale, my aunt Verda had run into him and told me he was looking for me. Unfortunately I didn't see him, but I ran into a great friend, who the last time I saw her was last year at this time. So I think we are going to have two traditions the same weekend.
Lisa, has been in my life ever since I can remember. Our parents have always been good friends, so we were introduced to each other at a young age. I think Karen (Lisa's mom) has a picture of us talking to each other in our walkers. I was probably the one talking. I came out of the womb talking! (Sorry for the graphic visual!) Anywho, even though Lisa and I don't see each other much, except I guess at the relief sale. It doesn't seem like much time has passed when we get a chance to talk. Lisa has been married to a great guy, Ryan, for 11 years and they have a beautiful little girl Greta! I was able to go visit them a few years ago when they lived in Alaska, that was a great trip.



After breakfast, we all went looking around at the different things. A few of us went into the Quilt Auction barn and watched that for a little bit. This auction usually goes on for hours and the quilts bring in the most money. It seems that there aren't as many quilts as there used to be. Although when you are a little kid things seem to be alot bigger then they really are.

Auction time!


Trying to show some of the empty racks and some of the quilts


More quilts

After we all had looked around, it was time to grab my favorite BBQ chicken (Nelson's Chicken) and headed back to Bob and Julie's.
There we hung out and played with the kids, we had beautiful weather, so it was great to get outside and play with them. The kids were able to run around a little bit at the relief sale, but it's not as much fun as a big yard, especially with the adults chasing them.






Tonya and I headed back to TN after we had a wonderful breakfast with everyone on Sunday morning. What a great weekend!
Here's a picture of all the kids.

(Milo, Kim holding Sadee, Jonathon holding Aaron and Quinn)

I will leave you with the Chorus of Michael W. Smith's song:

And friends are friends forever
If the Lord's the Lord of them
And a friend will not say never
'Cause the welcome will not end
Though it's hard to let you go
In the Father's hands we know
That a lifetime's not too long
To live as friends