Chain emails

I got a chain email from someone from my church the other day, and I've been thinking about it for about three days. The email was about how all of these famous people said that they didn't need Jesus and they died in horrible ways. I think that people take the famous too seriously as it is already, so I don't need some deaths of these people to prove the power of God. Secondly, I am much more worried about the 2/3rds of people in Northwest Georgia who are unchurched and going to Hell, horrible death or not. The final thing that is peeving me about this email is that at the end of it, of course there was the prerequisite "send to X people and you'll receive a miracle in three days!" This is what probably got me most worked up. It makes people who are not necessarily strong in their faith yet depend on something other than God. It's like, "If I send this to eight people, God has to send me money!" The emphasis needs to be on prayer to God rather than the dependence of an outside source. (If we wanted that, we'd all still be Catholic, right?)

Anyway, had to get that out of my head...more later.

Grades

Don't you have it when you have to wait for something? I don't mean Christmas this time. I took my two finals this week on Monday and Wednesday. Usually, it takes my professors about a day to put my grades in for posting. This semester, though, it took until sometime this afternoon! I was on pins and needles waiting for my grades, especially for my American Philosophy class since it is so paramount to my graduating in May (it's one of the main requirements for American History majors). I didn't really doubt that I would make anything below a B in my other class, African-American Music, but I ended up with an A! With American Philosophy, I constantly received Cs or Ds on pretty much everything save one paper. I ended up getting a B in the class. I still am not sure how I didn't pull a C, but I'm not complaining!

Another thing that happened is that I worked all three graduation ceremonies this year. Since I'm working in Events right now, I get the joy of working any of these major events until May. Amazingly enough, things went off without a hitch (other than the marshal almost forgetting the mace for the first ceremony!). Nothing like working 15 hours in two days (being that one was a 10 hour day, and we didn't get home until 9:30.

Tonight Tasha and I are going back down to Kennesaw to go to the Development Christmas party...I'm looking forward to this weekend so I can relax a bit.

More later! :D

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, we had 13 adults and one baby at our house today! Needless to say, it was a little interesting to fit everyone into a house that's less than 1200 sq. ft. We moved the couches in the den and put up two tables with all the chairs around. I still LOVE having a large kitchen because we were able to put all of the food out and only have the salad stuff on the counters. Also, we were able to have a good line going so that we weren't all bunched in one spot really.

Mom and Dad did a good deal of the cooking, at least in terms of meats. Tasha's Grams made a bit of ham, and Oma brought something like 72 rolls!! We also had a TON of other food from other places...needless to say, I was extraordinarily full after we ate.

It was nice having nearly everyone here at the house for Thanksgiving. I think that it's going to become a tradition (at least hopefully). We hope that anyone who is reading this had a great Thanksgiving as well.

NOW BRING ON CHRISTMAS!!!! :D

More later!

Painting...lots of painting!

So, we decided to paint the deck and stain the front porch this weekend, and it's taken until today for me to get everything done on the deck for the 1st coat. Ug! My arms feel like they are about to fall off. :P Thankfully enough, it's supposed to rain for the next few days, so I get some time off from doing that.

I ended up not taking the job with the park service for right now because they were only going to have four days in the next two months for me to be able to go and work. Didn't quite work out so well for me. Oh well...I'm sure that there'll be something coming up soon for me! :D

Got to run. Have to write a paper and get it ready for tomorrow...more later!

Jobs...

To update everyone on what is happening right now...
1) I didn't accept the job in Dr. Siegel's office (she's the President Emeritus) because it boiled down to the fact that they were only going to be able to offer me what I was already doing in the Office of Development (which is 5 hours a week, $6.50 an hour). I don't see the good in changing jobs in the same building when I have already made a lot of connections within my office right now, am getting more opportunities to do some things that student workers don't get to do most of the time, and also get another six months of work in with this office (i.e.: I'll have a year and a half of experience with them when I graduate). So, long story short, I'm staying with the Office of Development until May.
2) I am getting an internship with Dr. Scott this coming Spring. He's going to be able to pay me a little bit for helping him do various researching for his upcoming classes in Summer and Fall. In other words, he is allowing me to be his personal assistant. I will also be helping him with the syllabus, and also in creating some contacts with people who are familiar with the topics that we are covering. I am guessing that I'll be working about 5 hours a week in that job as well, but it doesn't start until January. I'll fill everyone in when I get more information with this one. :)
3) The job doing surveys with the Park Service has come open to me, and I am going to accept it for right now. I officially start on November 1st, and my big training is on November 4th. It's supposed to be 15-20 hours a week, not including driving times. I am hoping that this will work out for a while because it would be good money. They pay for my mileage from the house to wherever I would set up the survey sites, and they are paying the national rate. The pay is something like $12 an hour as well, so it's pretty good money. The downside is that they do the surveys on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and on the weekends. Also, holidays are included...
4) The final job that I'm going to talk about is the one that I didn't get. I was hoping that a church in Marietta was going to hire me as their Youth Minister. It's a smaller church, and as much of the smaller churches around everywhere, they are getting hit by the financial crunch. I was really put under conviction by God to apply for this job, and I was really hoping to get it. It wasn't necessarily the pay, even though that would have helped some, but I really wanted to be in a leadership position with a church. Also, I feel like this church's youth group is wanting something a bit more contemporary than what they are getting in the regular church service, and I already had ideas about how to do them. It's sad to me that churches have to make these descisions, but I do understand them. They told me that they might have the job reposted in January, but I have a feeling that they won't have the money to do it then either. I am going to have Tasha inquire to one of her co-workers about the youth position that they have open at their church...

Talking about leadership positions, God has been working with me a lot about being a leader. I have resisted it a LONG time, but at Oak Leaf Church, one of the big things about them is to get involved in the community. I know that they mean through their church, but I have always felt that I have a knack for leadership. I also feel like I had to go through a hard time for a while to realize this. I know that God will lead me to the place that I need to be, and that he'll take care of us until that happens. It's just weird and amazingly joyful to be fully within his will. But man, it's hard! It's frustrating when you think something is going to happen, and then it doesn't. I know that this was supposed to be an experience for me to get my resume and my ideas in order, and I know that something amazing will happen soon.

Got to get going for now...more later! :D

New basketball team

Ok, so this isn't going to be a sports blog, but please tell me that you see the similarities between these two pictures. Did Oklahoma City get the movie industry to design their jersyes?!!

Baseball

I love baseball, even if the Braves aren't in the World Series this year. I've been watching the first game tonight and it's been somewhat interesting. It's amazing to think that the Phillies haven't been to the World Series since 1993. I swear, the strike devastated them almost more than any other team in the NL (the most devastated was the Expos, now the Nationals). It's more amazing to me to think that the city of Philadelphia hasn't won a title in something close to thirty years now.

Of course, we have the upstart Tampa Bay Rays. Who would have thought they would have come out of the AL East against three teams that had winning records! Of course, the comparisons to the 1991 Braves are uncanny. Both are worst-to-first, and they have a collection of really no-name players before the season that have made a name for themselves now. Their rotation is stacked with guys who have won on every level, and their bullpen is stocked with guys who have seen a few years. I don't know if they will win the series this year, but I can tell you before the next ten years are up, they will (depending on who they are able to keep and who gets bought out by the high rollers).

For the Braves, it's another year of sitting at home. Amazing to think that their whole season came apart on just one play, and especially one that Tasha and I were there to see! Early in the season, we were invited to come with our neighbor and her boyfriend to go to the game. The Braves had the Phillies down to their final out, and their player popped out towards shallow right field. Instead of letter Jeff Francouer get it, Kelly Johnson (our second baseman) called him off and promptly dropped the ball. The Phillies tied the game, and then went on to win it in extra innings. We went on something like a 19 of 20 game losing streak after that and were out of it. It was also when Smoltz went down, then Glavine, then Hudson. I was amazed to see that our wins leader was Jair Jurjens (a rookie!).

The talk is that the Braves are going to try to get Jake Peavy from the Padres. What a great move that would be! If we get him, that would hold the rotation for next year, and then the year after that, we would be excellent! It's going to be an interesting off-season!

More later!

What a day...

So, I did get some good news today. The church that I put my resume into for their Youth Minister position contacted me earlier. It's a part-time position (which is just funny to me...no minister position is ever part-time!). It sounds pretty promising, but I'm going to be in a wait-and-see mode until something happens.

For those of you who aren't familiar with how Baptist Churches work, basically they present my resume to a committee, and if the whole committee wants to talk to me, they'll call me in. After that, if they still want me, they'll present me to the church in the next conference that they have (which is coming up within the next about two or three weeks, and this church meets only quarterly!). If the church then votes to have me as their minister, then I'll be in. :) It sounds a lot more complicated than it really is. :)

I'll keep everyone updated as things happen! :) More later!

I JUST WANT TO BE DONE!!!!!!!!!

So, I get another email from the Registrar yesterday, and they are now saying that I have to have six hours in my minor and two other classes in my major to graduate. I am getting SO frustrated with Kennesaw, and I don't know what to do. I emailed my advisor, so I'm going to see what I have to do to finally get out of school!! It's like the school is just trying to keep me there. Ug.

I'm so frustrated, I'll write more later about today....

Divinity School Address

I am working right now on a paper dealing with Ralph Waldo Emerson's The Divinity School Address and am realizing that much of what he has to say about the historical Christian church still applies today. Many of the churches around us do the tried-and-true methods that they have been doing since they incorporated. They stick strictly to the dogmas of what their parents and grandparents have done. They also have taken the humanity out of Christ and put him in a position that he becomes just a sort of eternal clockmaker God or Santa Jesus (this meaning that he gives you everything that you want when you ask for it). Christianity has become stale to these places, and they wonder why people don't come when they aren't reaching out to them.

Emerson states:

Jesus Christ belonged to the true race of prophets. He saw with open eye the mystery of the soul. Drawn by its severe harmony, ravished with its beauty, he lived in it, and had his being there. Alone in all history, he estimated the greatness of man. One man was true to what is in you and me. He saw that God incarnates himself in man, and evermore goes forth anew to take possession of his world. He said, in this jubilee of sublime emotion, `I am divine. Through me, God acts; through me, speaks. Would you see God, see me; or, see thee, when thou also thinkest as I now think.'

I think that it's important to remember that Jesus was a man and that he was perfect. He was tempted more than just in the desert, and he is the only way. I think that the last line from that quotation is the best, and it should sum up how the church should work.

Here's the online link that I'm using:
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Divinity_School_Address

Got to get back to work. I can't really put that in a paper since my teacher would probably call me a Christian kook and to keep my personal views out of my paper...grunt. More later!

A reason!

So, as many of you know, I am NOT going to be graduating this upcoming December. I haven't met the residency requirements for Kennesaw State. This would have been useful information about a month ago when I could still add another class! But I was emailed by Dr. Scott (who is my adviser and also was my Senior Seminar teacher) and he asked me to do an intership with him in the Spring. The great thing is that they will also pay me, and I'll be able to make some connections with some professors at other schools that could lead to a doctoral program. I know that a year ago I wanted to be a teacher and it looked like that I was not going to be able to, but now, it looks like my career might be guided into a collegiate teaching career. I would actually like that a good bit because it would put me into a comfortable zone, and I would also get to do research still. I knew that God had a reason for this upcoming semester!

Got to get to sleep...more later!

Well, that's just great...

As you can tell from the title, that's what I said when I got my first paper back in Philosophy. I received a wonderful D+. At least I didn't fail, but it's about as close as you can get without failing at Kennesaw. I probably didn't give it my best that I could have, but I thought that it was a tight paper nonetheless. I made clear points, and also backed up my statements with things from the text. However, the teacher said that I didn't go deep enough for her in my statements, and that I seem to have given the short shrift to the work in my 3 1/2 pages that I wrote (interesting to me is that she stated in class that anything over four pages, she would grade the first four and that was it. I really hate writing when I have a certain amount of pages and then get told that I didn't write enough).

On the positive side, it seems that Tasha and I are going to be joining a Journey (aka: small) group with Oak Leaf now. We really have been hooking in with this church, and I feel that we are going to be able to serve a lot easier than we would have anywhere else. Talking to one of the Journey group leaders on Sunday, and their goal is to have more groups than they did the year before. Now, this is not a "hey, everybody needs to do it" kind of thing. They are still selective about who becomes a Journey Group leader. However, I feel that either next turn or next year when they reform that Tasha and I might be the leaders of one. Of course, this is going to have to be prayed over quite a bit, and also it might take some convincing for Tasha to give up one of her nights to teach even more. ;) (I love you Sweetie!) I just know that in my prayers that I feel very good about this church, and I feel like we might have found a home church here.

Talking about home churches, I was thinking yesterday about Bethabara. What an amazing church that was when I was growing up. It was my first exposure to how good a church could be, but also in how some programs wouldn't work and having to try different ones. I hope one day that I can serve a church like Bethabara like Dad did, and I mean that in that Tasha and I could help a church grow and set them up into something that will become even bigger and better that will glorify God.

Got to head to bed..the thunderstorms are wracking my body tonight. Again, a reminder not to hit walls, fall down a hillside, do half-splits with Sousaphones on, or to try to stop a skate by turning the skate sideways...ug. ;) More later!

Home

I was just reading Nathan's blog, and for the longest time, I felt that I would never find a place as good as Athens was. As time has gone by and I have ended up living in the West Georgia (which for those who don't know, it's the area that reaches from Columbus to Rome, no further east than I-75 for the most part). I have actually now lived in towns in this area for almost 8 years so far. It breaks down like this:

1 year in Rome
5 years in Carrollton
1 1/2 years in Cartersville/Emerson

At first, I didn't like the region because of the people who lived here at the time. I still don't particularly like Rome, but it probably has more to do with the kind of people I met at Shorter (who are not Romans for the most part). In Carrollton, I liked the area that I lived in. It is beautiful country in that area of Georgia with the gently sloping hills that lead up to the Chatthoochee River. However, the area that I have come to clearly love is the area around Carterville, Acworth, and Emerson. This area has two major significant things that appeal to me. For one, it was Cherokee Land before 1832. There are many places in the rivers where you can still see fish traps, and also there are many different museums that deal specifically with Native American culture. Secondly, this is almost the exact route that Sherman marched to get to Atlanta. It's amazing to read books about Sherman's march and be able to drive to them within a few minutes. Just north of where Tasha and I live are the remains of the railroad bridge over the Etowah River, and also the Cooper Iron Works, where you can still see the blow marks from Yankee hammers on the brick. On the same exit as we live is the Allatoona Pass battlefield. Just today, we visited the Pine Log United Methodist Church and Camp Meeting site. It was founded at least before 1840, probably 1834. There are nuggets of information and sites like this scattered throughout the area, and it's just wonderful.

This is a place that I thought originally that I wouldn't be happy in, but now I don't want to leave it. Once you get this soil in your system, you don't want to leave!

more later! (Got to go to bed for real this time!)

Crazy weeks...

It's been an interesting few weeks in the newest of the Jones household. I am in my final semester of college and actually sort of struggling just a bit with the readings. I have never claimed to be a philosopher, nor do I ever think that I will be. However, because of the courses that I have to take at Kennesaw State, I am forced to take at least one, and it is American Philosophy. Talking recently with another student worker in the Office of Development, she stated that it takes a while for the 'novice' student to learn how to expand their minds to accept all that is philosophy. How absolutely absurd! I feel that my experiences and the way that I have learned how to learn have gotten me to the point that I am at, and I feel that I have an extraordinarily open mind towards ideas in classes. What is hard at this point is the fact that we are reading Emerson, and much like the orators and writers of the 19th Century, they tend to be long winded and write in analogies. I do, however, tend to grasp the ideas that Emerson is stating when he speaking or writing on the soul, and of how church and pastors had become stale during that time.

The second frustration in my life right now is that I am waiting on two different jobs to come through. The first one is with Dr. Siegel's office. She is the President Emeritus at Kennesaw, and she needs researchers for her office. However, I have now been waiting nearly a month to begin there, basically treading water in the Office of Development. I also have been cut down to only 5 hours a week working my work study. I am supposed to work 20 in Dr. Siegel's office, and I'm REALLY ready to move on. The other job is with Development, but it is within a sort of sub-office within the overall structure. I think that it would be a great opportunity for me becuase I already seem to have a good raport with the person who would be my boss. It's just a waiting game for him. He's got the money for the position, but the school has to sign off on what seems like a million forms to actually approve the position. Basically all I'm waiting for is for him to email or to call me and tell me that it is open for my resume, and hopefully he'll not interview a lot of people and I'll have a chance to work at Kennesaw for a VERY long time!

The final thing that is going on in our lives right now is that we are trying to get pregnant, but we are having a few difficulties. I've had to go for a few tests (another coming up on Friday), and Tasha has as well. The doctors think that they have the problem pinpointed, and it doesn't seem that it will completely keep us from having children. However, Tasha might be going on a hormonal drug that might cause her to release multiple eggs at once, which might get REALLY interesting in the next few months. I have resigned myself to what God has in store for Tasha and myself, and I am coming to a peace about this whole situation.

I've also been working through a Beth Moore book that looks at John. I am seeing a lot of what Jesus saw in John, and I am realizing that there is a lot of the same charachteristics that we share (not all, but some!). It's amazing to me to think exactly what God can do once we give ourselves completely over. I don't exactly know what I am supposed to do after I graduate. I've been praying quite a bit lately for wisdom and understanding, as well as signs for what I should do. So far, the curtain has not been raised for me to see it, but I know that God will do so soon (a strong indication of this is every time I pray, I am told to be patient and good things will come). I am also reminded quite a few times of the old joke of the person who prayed to win the lottery for years. Finally, God said to the person, You want to win the lottery? At least meet me halfway and buy a ticket! To me, it says to be patient, but also keep up contacts with certain people, visit certain offices, and also be open to the possibilities that might be put in my way.

Well, I have to go to bed because it's 12:03 right now and I have to be up in 8 hours for school. (Boo...) I'm sure that those of you who wake up at the crack of dawn are going to hate me for that, but hey, I'm sure that it'll be all too soon when I am working those long hours as well. :)

More later!

Completely random

Just felt like it!

Fried Chicken recipe...

1 c milk
2 eggs
2 c flour
seasonings to taste
2 chicken breasts
enough oil to fill the bottom of a cast iron skillet :) (i.e.: not enough to cover the chicken, but enough to fry the sides a little) - I usually cut my vegetable oil with EVOO. It makes it taste better, and it's probably better for you!


Warm oil on the stove. Combine the eggs and the milk in a bowl, and combine the flour and seasonings in another bowl. Take the chicken and coat it with the egg and milk mixture. Do not let the mixture fall too much off or else your flour won't stick to it. Put the chicken into the flour and coat evenly. Place into the skillet and let cook until brown.

I swear, it makes the best, crispiest fried chicken. I learned this from the people at the Yellow Jacket the few days that I worked there two years ago.

More later!

Politics

So, I've been talking politics more recently. I think that it's absolutely ridiculous that we have someone running for Vice President who is pro-choice (which of course means pro-abortion, meaning murdering unborn innocent babies) and who also claims to be Catholic. Last time I checked, the Vatican was pretty darn well against abortions, and pretty much have stated it clearly that you cannot be both Catholic and Pro-Choice. I think that my friend Michael put it best; he's a salad-bar Christian. This means that he can choose what he wants to believe and make sure its the things that make him feel the best. This is very scary to me! To think that we have someone who might be president who cannot stand up to his own morals is truly frightening. If he can't do that, what else can't he stand up to?

Also, dealing with the Democratic Party itself...Barack Obama claims to want change. What it seems to me is that he wants to return us back to 1994 or 1995 to when the middle class was being taxed around 35% or more, and also we were completely a mess overseas. The big bubble burst in 2001 or so that was blamed on President Bush was actually a backlog of bad decisions made by the Clinton administration dealing with the economy. It seems as well that under the Presidency of Obama that being successful in life is the new Cardinal Sin. As seen with John McCain, since he owns seven houses, it's seen as a terrible thing. He must have stolen the funds from hard-working blue-collar workers! He also must sit on a throne of those blue-collar worker's skulls and drink their blood from a diamond encrusted gold goblet. (Ok, so that's not really what they are saying, but dang if it's not close!) In any case, if for some reason that you actually work hard for your living, you'll be punished rather than rewarded.

For education, it seems that the Democrats want to continue down this dangerous road of making everyone on the same playing field; this means the continuation of No Child Left Behind as it stands now. It's very sad to me that children who excel are being held back because they can't get too far ahead. You see, it'll blow the curve for the children who are mentally retarted who still have to take the same exact exam that the high children take. Also, never mind about personal achievement by students. It all matters about one week in the year when the students take this test. It's very sad to me that all of a school's funding and all the pressure is based on how children from 5 to 14 do on a test.

I don't personally know if John McCain is the right answer for the country right now, but I know that he personally has dealt with more personal crisis in his life than Barry Obama has. He can cry and say how terrible his childhood was, but remember that he still went to an Ivy League school and has a law degree. John McCain is from a line of soldiers, and I feel a lot better with people who want to blow us to kingdom come having someone with military experience in place as the head of our country. I also feel that McCain would be able to convince the few moderate Democrats to vote in his favor in Congress better than Obama could convince the few liberal Republicans to vote for what he wants.

Needless to say, I'm a little fired up about this election. It reminds me a lot of the 1892 election between William McKinley and William Jennings Bryant (better known as the battle of the Williams ;) ). During that election, it was a choice to either be a highly industrialized nation with a concience or to remain with a weaker economy that was essentially isolationist. I feel that the election between McCain and Obama will determine if we are going to be a strong or a weak country for the next four years, and I hope that we will decide the right way.

More later! Not so political next time, I swear!

Weird Schedule

So, it's been a weird two weeks already for me. I still don't know when I am going to be starting in Dr. Siegel's office right now. They had told me that it would probably be this week, but no phone calls and no emails yet, so I guess that I'll be working in Development only 5 hours a week until something changes. Ug! On the positive, it'll give me a day off each week until I start working 20. :)

Only a short one today..have to make Tasha some lunch and get onto class. Talk to everyone soon!

More later!

Fresh outta school...soon!

So, I dropped one class and ended up adding another in its place. The class that I dropped was PE 1001 basically, and it was going to meet on Tuesday and Thursday nights from 5 - 6:45. The reason that I did this was because I was sure that I was going to get the job in Development a few weeks ago and I needed another class to qualify for financial aid for this upcoming semester. Obviously, since I got the job with Dr. Siegel, I didn't need to have this late class and be coming home somewhere between 3 and 4 hours after Tasha was home. (No fun!) The class that I will be taking is with Dr. Oral Moses, one of the leading scholars on African-American Music in the United States, and it looks like perhaps only 3 people (including myself) are going to be in it. Should be interesting!

I have been considering my future right now and God's been working with me a lot. What I really have dreamt of for a long time was to finish my history degree and be able to work in a research position. I honestly didn't think that this was going to be possible after my first few years of bombing my GPA in college. Most places that do research look at GPA and see that first, then decide who they can trust. However, this all said, I have gotten a part-time position with Dr. Siegel for at least this upcoming semester doing research for her and her special projects. She is the President Emeritus, and also is very well connected with the University and Cobb County. For once, it seems that God has given me a break to fulfill part of a dream that may lead to bigger and better things.

The other part is trying to decide what I am going to try to get a Master's Degree in. I want to take at least a semester off, but in thinking about how hard it was to get started back this time around, I'm almost tempted to apply for some places and see if I can get in this upcoming January. I would probably be looking at an online degree unless I could get into a program at Kennesaw somehow (maybe probationary?).

In any case, it's going to be an extraordinary semester. I can't wait to graduate (except having to pay for graduation fees..ug!)...

More later!

I swear I'm not going to do this every day!

I thought that this would end up being a once-in-a-while blog, but apparently, it's an everyday thing right now!

Today we went back to Oak Leaf Church. It was a lot different than last week because we are beginning to know some people. It's sort of strange to me that we sort of wrote this church off at one point, but God knew better. To be also more honest, we visited this church because we were too lazy to go to our own. God has been working with both Tasha and I in trying to find a church home since we moved to Cartersville. We visited many churches in the area and actually joined First Baptist Woodstock. It's a great church and has lots to offer, but as I stated to Tasha, I want to be in a situation where I can be used. It feels like to me that you really have to know someone who is in a ministry at FBCW or is someone who is just a complete standout where you could be able to be used in a ministry. There isn't anything inherently wrong with this, but I know that I personally don't have the time to wait for people to 'let' me into their ministry when there are people going to Hell in our backyard every day. Oak Leaf seems that they are trying to get whoever and whenever that they can. It's not an completely open process (i.e.: they don't let just anyone volunteer and they still pray over them before they do it), but they are desperately seeking those who are willing. We have already volunteered in helping clean their new building, and were thanked for coming out (which shouldn't be a major thing, but it does help!).

We also have been looking for a church in which we can find other newly married couples. As large as Woodstock is, they essentially overlook this part of their congregation (or so it seems since we could never get ahold of a group that was truly 'newly married'). This church has at least three newly-wed couples, and I'm sure that there are more. This was a large sticking point with most churches that we visited in that they really didn't have anything for us.

We're going to definitely go for the next few weeks to finish out this sermon series and also probably the next one. I also feel led to volunteer with the upcoming youth coffeehouse that they are starting in September, and I think that Tasha is warming up to the idea, too. I just know that it is wrong of me to just be a person who sits on the sidelines at church and doesn't or isn't able to do anything. Also, we are going to hopefully hook into a Journey Group (which is sort of their Sunday School) that meets during the week.

I know that God has great things for Tasha and I, and we are praying that we may have found a church home that will use us to the best of our abilities. :)

More later!!

Loooong day

So, Tasha and I ended up at the House of Rock (the new building at the church we visited last Sunday) and cleaned up the kitchen. In a word, EWWWWWW. ;) It looked like it hadn't been cleaned since the place had opened as a bar. The fryer was still full of old oil (this place closed down over a year ago), the char grill hadn't been cleaned ever, and the flattop grill was even worse. The grease trap in it was filled to the top and had coagulated for a long time, so it was extraordinarily hard to clean. The hoods hadn't been taken apart to be cleaned at all, either. Luckily, other people had already checked to see if they would work, and the oil in the fryer had been reheated so it was relatively easy to clean it out. The char grill took a mother and her daughter over two hours to get to a point where it could be used again. Tasha was a real trooper, though. She helped wash these disgusting, greasy parts that I kept handing her and helped me to keep the cleaning running smoothly. An amazing woman, I'm telling you!

It felt really good to get to meet some of the people at this church finally. On Sunday, we really didn't get a chance to talk to too many people because the church has to move out quickly so that the tear-down crew can work. It also felt good to be able to serve in a way that I know will help this church out.

More later! :)

Happenings

So, I have an interview on Tuesday at 9:30 AM for the research position at Kennesaw State. I called my supervisor in the Office of Development, and she is discouraging me to do it, but I am going to go and interview anyway. (She states that Dr. Siegel is crazy and that the work would be overly demanding. From what I've seen is that she can be hard to work with, but if you're flexible, you can do a lot more!)

Tomorrow, Tasha and I are going up to Cartersville to help Oak Leaf Church clean up their new building. Should be fun to get out some of my frustrations with my work situation out on some hard physical labor. :D

Talking about labor, I need to go and mow. More later!

Brand spankin' new

So, here is another thing for me to waste time on!

Nathan, Mom, Kayla, and many others have their own blog, so I've decided to jump on the bandwagon here as well.

Things have been sort of crazy this week. Tasha has started school with students this week. It's not exactly been a bed of roses, but I think that this year will be going better than last. Also, I'm basically out of a job as of right now. I was working with Development at Kennesaw State, but the monies for Federal Work Studies has dried up even into the Fall. Today, though, I received an email from Dr. Betty Siegel's Executive Assistant. A few weeks ago (while working on my term paper for Senior Seminar), I had the opportunity to talk to her in person and ask her a few questions. She apparently took a shine to me and asked me to send her a copy of my paper. She is looking for someone who can do research and also help with grant writing. For some of you that know, I have harbored a dream of one day being a historical researcher, but there has been little to no way for me to get into this. I feel that this is God's way of me being able to, at least for a while, do something that I love. I don't know if I'll get the job or not, and it's also only part-time, but I really honestly want it. It would enable me to finish my bachelor's, though.

Well, more later. I'll update tomorrow when I know what time my interview is. :D