It may sound that we’ve got servant’s hearts, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say that the church plant’s location didn’t have a bit of a natural draw.

It is Myrtle Beach, after all.

Though the thought of heading to a popular tourist destination for the last unofficial weekend of summer was a bit cringe-worthy, I was so glad I went.  I haven’t laughed that hard for a while…it felt good.  It was great to help out…even in a couple of very small ways.

A few high (and low) lights:

- The gas station we stopped at in South Carolina smelled like Turkey to me, for some unexplainable reason.  It also was stocked almost exclusively with beer and dog food.  I wonder where you can buy ammo, or maybe we just missed that.

- I may be a swimmer, but this weekend was the first time I’ve laid out or swam outside in 2 years.  It’s weird to have tan lines again…at least lines that aren’t a farmer’s tan.

- Since 5 of the 6 of us were playing Game On!, our first stop when arriving in Myrtle Beach was the Walmart to buy healthy groceries.   We didn’t even make it in the front door before we were confronted with a heated argument and a fire in the trashcan.  Welcome to South Carolina, right?

- It’s amazing how many bathroom breaks you have to take when traveling with 5 people aiming to drink 100 ounces of water a day.

- I had the privilege of chasing a 2-year-old around in the waves.  While I was happy to do it, I was incredibly nervous I’d lose him to a wave.  I was thankful that while he hadn’t had perfect obedience to that point, he did when it really counted.  How do parents do it?

- My roommate stepped on a nail sticking up from the wooden sidewalk that led to the beach.  Just thankful she was wearing flip flops, or it could have gone in much deeper!

- And that was only the nail in the coffin of her day…earlier that day she was greeted to her car, stripped of her GPS and several other personal (though not monetarily valuable) items.  She was a good sport, in spite of it all.  Things ARE just things.

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taco bell sauce recipe

Not sure how that ended up here. I don’t even eat at Taco Bell (never been a fan of fast food Mexican).  Certainly have no desire to duplicate it.  I hope my food tastes better than that.

a little bit quady, orange tx

No words.

fairy thoughts

I’ve never met a fairy, so I don’t know what they think.

Why would a christian guy not pursue a girl he likes

I would like to know the answer to this one!

“new haircut” easier

The easiest way to get a new haircut is to pull out a pair of scissors and start chopping away.  Don’t know that that is the best way, though.

leftywater

Water is made up of one oxygen atoms and two hydrogen atoms, no matter your handedness.

happy birthday ignorant worm song

You want to wish an ignorant worm “happy birthday”?  How do you distinguish between learned worm and an ignorant one?

Ronnica Dull

Thanks…I’d like to think that I was at least a *little* bit entertaining, at least in the train-wreck sorta way.

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I generally only pack memoirs and fiction books for vacation, as they are easier to get into.  I figure out the max number of hours I’m likely to read over the trip, and multiple that by 60.  That tells me how many pages of reading I should bring to make sure I don’t run out.  It’s pretty common for me to have my bags weighed down primarily from books.

2.  Do you like to camp?

Though I don’t pursue opportunities to camp, I like it.  Assuming that I don’t have to hike to the camping spot…I’m too much of a city girl for that.

3.  What was your favorite vacation spot as a kid?

Several summers we would go to Kansas City.  I loved going to Worlds of Fun (an amusement park) and riding the Zambezi Zinger roller coaster, though later I was scared of it.  I’ve never been on another roller coaster like it, because you would sit in between of the legs of the person sitting behind you (cool safety feature, huh?) and there was a spiral you went up instead of the initial hill.

4.  How do you spend a day at the beach?

Reading, suntanning and sleeping.  Occasionally I’ll get into the water, but I have to get out when the thought of fish and other creatures swimming in there with me gets to be too much.

5.  Do you like any water sports?

I like canoeing and kayaking, if those are consider water sports.  I’ve never water skied, and probably wouldn’t given that opportunity.

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Monday, January 30, 2006

According to Facebook:

1.3% of Southeastern Baptist reads The Bible.

I’m thinking that number is slightly off. I hope.

Monday, February 27, 2006

I think facebook is taking over the world. Don’t get me wrong, I like facebook, and it helps me keep in contact with my friends all over. Yesterday on the news there was a story about a tragedy involving two UNC students. The pictures they had of them were off their facebook profiles (properly cited). Who would have thought that facebook would have become a reliable news source?

This weekend was so relaxing! I watched movies, read, and studied a little. I still have quite a bit of studying to do for my tests tomorrow, but I’m much more in a studious mood this morning than I was even last night. Maybe I’ll continue the semester’s work after all.

Three more days of class and then it’s spring break! It’s not as exciting without Glorieta, that’s for sure. I’ll just be staying around here, working, and catching up on school work. That works for me. The real break comes the next week when Miss Dana will be here! Yay for visitors!

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Miel Abielle asked, “Since you have been blogging for so long, what are your top pieces of advice for a new blogger?”

I’m so glad you asked this, as this was something I’ve been wanting to address, but didn’t feel like I had a forum for it.  I’ve talked about it before (see Blog Faux Pas and Post I Avoid), but there is still more to say.

I think the most important thing I could tell a starting blogger is to EDIT. Long posts tend to be skipped.  Posts with typos and unnecessary details will be, too.  Except for an occasional bulleted post, your post should deal with ONE event or topic.  As Jenna in 13 Going on 30 would say, we don’t need a play-by-play of your life.

A common mistake beginning bloggers make is to not post regularly, and when they do, spend time apologizing for their erratic blogging. Evaluate how often you can blog…and stick to it.  If you mess up?  Don’t dwell on it.  Move on.  When you begin a post with, “Boy, I can’t believe I forgot I had a blog these last 2 weeks!” or the like, you’re tipping off to potential readers that you aren’t in it for the long haul, and they’ll find another blogger to follow.

It might sound trite, but be yourself. We all make fools of ourselves regularly, don’t try to hide it!  If you are struggling with something, share it (or at least as much as would be appropriate in a public forum).

But, that said, don’t use your blog to vent. Never speak poorly about someone else.  As far as your blog readers should be able to tell, you’re the only sinner you know (though we obviously know that this is not true!).

If you refer to a previous post, link to it (like I’m doing above).  That helps readers to know what you’re talking about, and to read more if they’re interested. (Bonus: it may even drive search engine traffic to your blog.)

And I can’t believe I *still* have to say this, but do NOT have music automatically playing on your site. Chances are your readers do not have the same taste in music as you do, so don’t assault/scare/frustrate them.  Most of the times when I come across a blog with music, I close the window immediately, without even evaluating the content.  It could have been my new favorite blog, but we’d never know.

That’s the main points I’d share with a new blogger.  Do you have anything more to add?  I know I’m not an expert, but I’ve learned a lot the hard way.  Do you have any questions?

Photo by lapideo

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It’s now been two weeks since I started the Game On! Diet.

(Sidenote: I hate that it’s called a “diet”…especially since we’re not using the diet portion.)

And it’s been an interesting two weeks at that.

One of the first things I noticed was how much depriving myself of my usual self-indulgences increased my pleasure.  I love ice cream and Diet Dr Pepper, but it having it daily regularly doesn’t make me enjoy it more.  It made me enjoy it less…it wasn’t a treat anymore.

Day 1 of Game On! (see, I didn’t use the D-word!) I had an evening snack of Cinnamon Life with skim milk.  And it was heavenly.  While I was eating it, I was completely in the moment, enjoying every bite and sip from the bowl.

Day 2, I had part of a plain bagel with a little cream cheese that was out of this world.  My usual Panera bagel, the Cinnamon Crunch, wouldn’t have been that good.

Day 3, I had some canned pears that were quite scrumptious.

And by Day 4, I was enjoying every bite of my unsweetened applesauce.

By week 2, I was back in the pool.  While I have to fight through the first few laps, I love to swim.  Something about the rhythm of it (stroke, stroke, breathe, stroke, stroke, breathe)  and the way that the water turns all sounds into background noises.  In the pool I’m alone with my thoughts, without distraction.  Exercise without sweat, without strain.  In cleansing waters.

So why haven’t I been doing it more often?

I’ve greatly appreciated this opportunity to enjoy the little things.  I don’t want to forget that.

Photo by ƒernando

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“Many churches speak about homosexuality in terms of sin and judgment but about divorce in terms of forgiveness and grace. When a same sex couple goes down to the courthouse to petition for a marriage certificate, the Christians show up with sandwich boards. Do they also show up when their congregants go to the same courthouse to petition for an “unbiblical divorce?” Likely not. And the hypocrisy on this issue has not escaped the next generation.” -“Why Our Generation Doesn’t Care About Prop 8″ by Jonathan Merritt

“I asked the children [from the suburbs] where the slums were. But they said there were no slums near where they lived, only far away, in the city.” – The Love Wife by Gish Jen, p. 44

“We’re fickle, stupid beings with poor memories and a great gift for self-destruction.” – Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins, p. 379

“Annie, being a virgin in this day and age is something to be proud of…you’re like a unicorn.” – Shirley, Community, “The Politics of Human Sexuality”

“He is the God that understands that I just miss being loved by a lover….I am blessed in the truest sense of the word.  I am also a little lonely.” – Amy Beth Bullard, “The God Who Understands”

“Finally, he can see me for who I really am. Violent. Distrustful. Manipulative. Deadly. And I hate him for it.” – Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins, p. 232

“A proud person tries to reinvent reality. He tries to redraw the borders of human behavior to suit himself, displacing God as the Lord and boundary keeper of life.” – Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be by Cornelius Plantinga, Jr., p. 125

“I noticed, too, it was the cruelest thing you could say about a person–that they were small.” – Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl

(advice given against early engagements) “…if a man is going through a woods, and sees a good young sapling, he may mark it and come back afterward and get it, if he can.” – Most Famous Man in America

” ‘Oh, no. It costs a lot more than your life. To murder innocent people?’ says Peeta. ‘It costs everything you are.’ ” – Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins, p. 23

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Dad and me, 1983

I won’t tell anyone you’re a young 50 today if you don’t. ;)

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