You should try it too!

So, during my quiet time I'm reading this wonderful book, The Valley of Vision, edited by Arthur Bennett. It's a collection of puritan prayers and it is amazing. Yes, you do have to get past some thee's and thou's to get to the heart of what is being written; but I've found that a lot of the time whatever I'm reading is really putting into words some of the stuff I am struggling with and unable to express.
Anyway, I thought I'd share an exerpt from one of the prayers that hit me pretty hard. It's called Paradoxes:
My mind is a bucket without a bottom,
with no spiritual understanding,
no desire for the Lord's Day,
ever learning but never reaching the truth,
always at the gospel-well but never holding water...
My heart is without affection, and full of leaks.
My memory has no retention,
so I forget easily the lessons learned,
and thy truths seep away.
Give me a broken heart that yet carries home
the water of grace.

100 million points

To Moira! Do whatever you like with them! I realized which movie it was as I walked away from the computer. I also started thinking about college when Jess would write movie quotes up on her white board and we would have to guess which movie it was from. So, in honor of those days and in tribute to the Hitchman sisters: "Hey Luce, do you need me to come over there...it looks like he's leaning."

Doors and Windows

What's the movie that has the cheesy line, "When God closes a door, somewhere he opens a window?" 100 million points to the person who can tell me. Anyway, as I said before I applied to two jobs in NYC. Last night as I was trying to fall asleep I suddenly thought, "I don't want to move to NYC, bad things happen to people there; there is no such thing as suburbia, I'll be the hick from the sticks." Of course, I realized then that it was just fear overtaking me and I did a lot of praying that God would prepare me for what he had for me. Apparently (after a reply back from one company) it isn't working outside NYC, the other company is right in the heart of the city. So, yes, I'm still afraid, and I really would like something to work out for me, but I am trusting that God will point me in the right direction, you know, either walk through the door, or jump through the window. Speaking of, does anyone else ever feel like God is telling them to take the window and when they get to it they realize its on the 10th floor? Well, I'm outta here, my mom's making dinner and I'm starving!

Anyone want to live in New York?

Maybe I'm crazy, maybe I'm off my rocker, or maybe I'm just desperate to not spend the rest of my life working in Mulberry, Fl. - I think it's the latter. Anyway, crazy or not I just applied for two jobs in the publishing industry. You know, books! Anyway, both jobs sound right up my alley and both jobs are for major, and by major I mean MAJOR, American publishing houses. The only catch...both jobs are in New York, one actually in NYC. Now the timid little southerner in me is coming out. Moving to New York seems much more scarry than living in a country where I don't speak the language. I mean, New York is filled with, well, New Yorkers, and most of my experiences with people from there haven't been entirely pleasant. But, I still want the job, I really want the job, so we'll see what happens.

They're Baaaack!

My family left last Saturday for what was suppose to be the best family vacation of the summer - white water rafting, the mountains and the beach. While they were gone my job was to stay here and work and make money. Which I did, yea!
The fam arrived home this afternoon. They went to the mountains, but they didn't get to go white water rafting because the river was too dangerous. And, they went to the beach, but it was plagued with this lovely phenomena called red tide, so that was unpleasant, as well as the fact that the roof started leaking over my sister's bed on Wednesday night. It's a bummer for them, but instead of being on this big downer because they are no longer on vacation they are actually excited to be home, which is good for me because I don't feel too left out.
If you didn't know it there are six kids in my family, I'm number two and the one boy of the fam is 18 months younger than me. My brother and my older sister live in different parts of Florida and aren't at home ever. But the rest of us (the fab four) are actually having a pretty good summer relationship-wise. It's so nice that my sisters are growing up or grown because we can actually do stuff together like normal adult siblings (okay, well, not normal, but normal for us). And, instead of being annoyed that they're home I'm actually looking forward to spending time with the sisters - which they have officially dubbed Super Sister Time! Tonight, we go shopping! Should be interesting!

Bleh!

So, I worked my tail off this weekend. My dad had a Boutwell family work day all planned for us on Saturday...the meany. The Hitchman's have to call in the troops for a work day at their place, my dad just has to wait for all of us to be home at the same time...lucky him! Anyway, my sister Callie and I shoveled mulch for about five hours on Saturday. Speaking of, did you know that there are about 30,000 spots in your lower back that will ache if you've shoveled mulch for five hours. Also, mulch, when it has been rained on and then sits out in the sun, radiates heat better than Nebuchadnezzer's fiery furnace. And, when you have to go to church the next morning and sit on uncomfortable pews you are reminded every second that you have muscles in your back, and legs, and (dare I say) butt!
You would think that after a grueling day of work we would veg for the rest of the weekend. Call us crazy, call us stupid, call us gluttons for punishment, Callie and I played tennis today, at 11 am, in the Florida heat. Stop shaking your head, it was a good idea at the time, plus Callie has some wierd disease so we can only play before she eats and she was starting to get hungry.
Now, those who have ever played tennis with me know that I stink, truly, it's pitiful to watch, but I held my own pretty well, we played 14 games and I won 4...that's good for me. And, we've decided to play some every week, but in the evening after work, not in the middle of the day, we did learn one lesson this weekend...we shouldn't have too many great ideas, they're dangerous!

More Pictures, what else!

So, by request, kind of, a few more wedding #2 pictures!

So, Charissa's Dress didn't have a bustle originally, but, um, Patty made some adjustments!
The Tivoli is a Chattanooga must, it use to have $5 entrance fees for students, oh yeah!
Erin and Charissa in Clumpies, talking on the phone to Bob...who should have been in Chattanooga that weekend but copped out! Just kidding Bob!