is there a spell to stop the tears....

It's just one of those weeks. Three words to describe it: cold, tired, malnurished. It's weird cuz although the tests concluded yesterday there's still this unsettling feeling lingering in the pits of my stomach... being malnurished definitely has something to do with it. it's funny cuz ever since i started taking nutrition, I notice what foods I eat and everytime i eat some random fact from class pops up in my head. it's actually rather exciting realizing that I'm learning! So this whole concept of not getting enough nutrients came about after I did this project for nutrition where we had to record the eatings of our day. It's actually rather hard to get enough fruit and veggies in the diet...especially when it comes to getting on the go food. I stopped at jester market to get a hamburger and I think it's the saddest thing that they dont even have a pickle in it. The whole burger consisted of a gigantic patty, the bun and a slab of cheese. Even chick fil a has a pickle! Is a pickle too much to ask for?

Despite the nature of this week, there were a few highlights. My small group was definitely one of them. When we went out for dinner last Sunday they joked around about stealing marshmallows from j2 and drinking hot chocolate at our next small group. With that in mind, I went out and got some hot chocolate and marshmallows and one of my gals actually snagged some j2 marshmallows =) but i gotta say...nothing beats hill country brand marshmallows...please help me eat the leftover ones I have. we spent the night drinking cocoa and talking about goofy stuff as well as the more important things in life. my small group never ceases to surprise me with their insight and everytime I talk to them...i learn something new about them or i'm otherwise enlightened. good times.

I guess another highlight would be watching Bewitched yesterday. For some very odd reason, I thoroughly enjoyed that movie.... Maybe it was just my mood but I really thought it was funny. I usually don't like Will Ferrell but for once I felt that his humor was clean enough to be genuinely entertaining. There's really not enough good humor to go around these days. And I never realized what a good actress Nicole Kidman is. good movie...although I know many would beg to differ.

when i think of winter, i think of cold toliet seats.

not that i have just come to this realization but my parents are the best people i know. when is the point that one realizes that your parents know a thing or two...and perhaps they're always right about stuff? I still remember when I was younger, I use to get into petty arguments with my parents and the most common phrase I said was, "you don't understand." Throughout the past 19 years of my life I've learned that that may not be the best way to communicate with the parents. so now that both parties have had the time to hone such communication skills, civilized conversing causes me to conclude that my parents are the people that understand me the most. In the past that whole "you dont understand" lie was probably the result of my parents speaking some truth that I didn't want to listen to.

my mom always likes to tell me that it's a sign of maturity when your home life coincides with your life elsewhere. i believe that the real you is who you are when you're with your family. it's ironic cuz sometimes even with God, I know I'm not completely honest....and seriously, what doesnt he know about me?

I dont really know why these thoughts randomly spilled from the pits of my brains. I guess every now and then I entertain the question, "why am I who I am today?" And my parents have a lot to do with that. Not to mention, I'm just really happy about the way my relationship with my parents are now...compared to how it use to be during my dark ages =P my parents and i can now joke about my stupidity as a youngster as well as being able to talk about the more meaningful things in life.

a while back I was talking to my folks and i told them that i thought that they had changed. My mom's reply to that was "ophe we're too old to change, you're the one that's changed." I guess that makes sense. the next time i get older...i'll be increasing by 1/19th of my age....while my parents on their next birthdays will be increasing by only a mere 1/40ish of their age. the change for me is HUGE...the change for them...not so much. it's all simple arithmetic =)

the point of this entry? who knows. maybe I miss the idea of waking up in my own bed, in my own room, in my own house...to the sound of the Messiah playing and my mom singing at the top of her lungs while she's mopping the floor, my dad's mowing the lawn, and my sister's watching Kim Possible.

there are many things i could be posting about but studying leaves me without the time to conjure up something intelligible therefore I will express my words through pictures.


can someone say reliant k?




a bunch of girls i adore. Connie's not in the picture but I think she's awesome too.

ten thousand spoons but all you need is a knife......

this week has been very conversationally fulfilling. I think there's some great value in having good conversations. I love hearing how God works in everyone's life a little differently, how Christians have the same faith but different struggles and learn different lessons. Every person's relationship with God is a little different and hearing how that is paints a more extravagant picture of God's character. You think you know yourself well but it's interesting how other people can help you understand yourself better.

there must be some logical explanation for why so many children were birthed in october.

there are three boys and a girl laying on a matress outside my room asking people to hurdle over them...im tempted.

what does it look like to walk by faith?


Pastor Ed said something on Sunday that I really liked. He said, "nothing happens outside of God's control."

we may question God but I have a feeling his knowlege extends beyond our understanding. all we can do is pray and grow to believe what we cannot see. faith

an email i got...

I just returned from New Jersey. While en route there,
I was stuck in traffic on Interstate 81, just below
the Virginia state line, (Bristol, Tennessee), due to
a traffic accident with a fatality involved. This
accident involved a tanker truck hauling a hazardous
material load that developed a leak, which meant that
we weren't going anywhere for several hours.

After being told by the Tennessee state troopers that
we would be sitting still until the clean up was
completed, I set my brakes on the truck and got out to
stretch my legs. Other truck drivers did the same, and
at one point there were 5 of us standing there by my
truck, complaining.

Sitting right beside me in the left lane, were two
elderly people in a Silverado pick up truck, which was
loaded quite well. The man, (Joe), lowered his window
and asked what was going on regarding the traffic
situation.

Soon we were all talking with this couple. I mentioned
that if I had known about this, I would have bought
something to drink, (water), for I was becoming
thirsty. The lady, (Anna), said that they had plenty
of water and sodas in the cooler in the bed of the
truck, and offered everyone present something. While
she was back there, she said that she had plenty of
tuna salad made up, and asked if we would be
interested in a sandwich.

After some urging from Joe, we agreed to a sandwich.
While Anna was making the sandwiches on the tailgate
of the truck, she was singing like a songbird. To be
close to 70, (I guess), she had a remarkable voice.

When she finished making the sandwiches, and putting
everything up, Joe raised the tailgate of the truck to
close it. I noticed a Mississippi license plate on it.
I inquired as to what part of Mississippi they were
from. Joe said Biloxi. Knowing that Biloxi had been
ravaged also by hurricane Katrina, I asked if they
sustained any damage. Joe said that they lost
everything but what they had on and what was in the
pickup. All of us drivers tried unsuccessfully to pay
them for their drinks and the sandwiches. They would
have nothing to do with it. Joe said that their son
was living around Harrisonburg, Virginia and that they
were going there. He was in the real estate business
and that there was a home that became open, and that
they were going to start all over there. Staring over
at their age would not be easy.

I will soon be 48 years old, and I have to say that I
have never eaten a tuna sandwich with side orders of
reality and humility. These people lost everything
except the pictures, important documents, and some
clothes. Joe had managed to get their antique heirloom
grandfather clock into the bed of the truck and Anna
got her china and silverware, but that was all. These
wonderful people lost practically everything they
owned and still would not accept any money for their
food and drinks. Joe said "it was better to give than
it is to receive." They sought refuge behind a block
wall that he had built years ago, and they watched
their belongings and their home disappear in the winds
of Hurricane Katrina. Joe said that during all this he
had one hand holding onto Anna and the other holding
on to God. Their truck and themselves came out of
Katrina unscathed.

As I stated before, Anna was singing a song while
making the sandwiches. The song is titled "I know who
holds tomorrow," an old gospel song. She knew every
word, and was quite a gifted singer of it. Have you
ever heard it?

The chorus of this song is, "Many things, about
tomorrow, I don't seem to understand. But I know who
holds tomorrow, and I know who holds my hand."

There is no doubt, in my mind, who was holding both
their hands. I know there have been many, many emails
that have circulated over the years about things that
will touch your heart, but this one I personally was
involved in.

Forget all of the politics that the news is striving
on, and think about people just like Joe and Anna. If
you can, help out with the victim’s relief funds.

If you cannot, at least offer a prayer for everyone.

Do what you wish with this email, forward it, delete
it, whatever. I know that these two elderly people got
to this old boy. I will always remember them. Joe and
Anna, if by some strange way you, or someone you know
gets this, and shows it to you, God Bless you!

Mike Dowdy

Hartselle, Alabama

Have a blessed day!