The weekend: fun times and frustrations

We went to Belechare on Saturday. We were going to go camping, but it rained the night before and we weren't sure it was going to be pretty, so we decided to head to the big festival in Asheville (Belechare). Belechare (really not sure if I'm spelling that right) means "Beautiful Living" in Scottish. It's got a lot of artsy things there, really really cool junked-turned-art kind of things and beautiful paintings and stained glass windows. They also have lots of wood creations as well they inspired the hubby for future endeavors. The festival had six different stages spread out through downtown playing all different kinds of music. We ate dinner early at one of my fav's (Doc Cheys) and listened to live reggae music outside. All in all it was an awesome day and we had a great time walking around and seeing all the different things there were to see.

However...

There were corner "evangelists" all over the place with their mega-phones and crappy signs. And I put the "evangelists" in quotation marks because they did NOT represent my Jesus well at all. Their signs were in large letters, and they had a list of all the verses where Jesus talks about homosexuality and how it is wrong. I'm not saying the verses are not true, they are, but the way they went about this evangelizing was completely wrong. Their preaching was falling on deaf ears because they were doing it all backwards! In Romans 5:8 it says "God commendeth His love towards us in that while we were YET sinners Christ died for us." It does not say, "and once we were without sin Christ died for us"--NO! We cannot change our sinful nature or even get away from it without Him. We are to come to Him as we are, and once we hand our lives over to Him, He helps us change that sinful nature. We can never attempt it without Him. It made me so sad to see those people doing that. I just thought, "that's not my Jesus...these people are being turned away from my Jesus because of these people with mega-phones." It made me want to scream and cry at the same time. Jesus came with love first. He sat down with sinners, and through love and conviction changed their lives. He did "not come to call the righteous, but the sinners to repentance" (Matt. 9:13).

So...we had a great day at the festival, but it made me sad to hear the mega-phones not preaching Christ's love, but preaching the "you're going to hell" message to all the people of Asheville.

Must see!!!!

I just got back from seeing the cutest, funniest, most enjoyable chick/musical flick ever! Two other girlfriends and I went and saw the movie version of Mamma Mia today. IT WAS FANTASTIC! I'm not really a musical person, honestly, but this was just hilarious! The cast was amazing--Meryl Streep, Christine Baranski, Colin Firth, Pierce Brosnan, and Amanda Seyfried. They were phenomenal. I laughed all the way through and even cried a little bit. Shannon and Mom, you guys should go see this together. You would have a blast! I will buy this AS SOON as it comes out on DVD. I could have gone back in and watched it again right afterwards!!! Definitely the best chick flick I've seen in years....especially considering it's a musical too!

p.s. The Dark Knight was awesome as well. Great action, but a very very dark film.

Recent Proud Achievements

1) loaded a raft bus with 6 rafts (130 lbs each) from the top--I pulled them up all by myself
2) finally vacuumed out the car
3) kayaked and still had the ability to roll--most of the time
4) figured out how to make an odd numbered group of people fit into the right amount of rafts
5) went to a party where I only knew the host and still had a good time

Here are a few photos of my boys and my new hair color. The ones of Dave and Sleepy outside are from their backpacking trip last week.

new hair color--can ya see it?

I was talking on the phone to B at the time I took these. Not very clear really. You can see it better in the sunlight. Maybe I'll take some more tomorrow so you can see it better :).

First time I've actually replied to a tag

I don't usually do tags, cause I feel they are kind of like forwarded e-mails, I usually ignore them. But, this one isn't too ridiculous or difficult so I'll consent.

What I was doing 10 years ago:

Well, I was 15, so I was probably at camp for the summer, maybe AWANA camp. I probably spent the rest of the summer with friends around the pool, pining over the boyfriend I had gotten at camp that year, or elsewhere, lol.

What are my favorite snacks:

I love salt, so some of my favorites are roasted peanuts and salsa w/ corn chips. When it comes to the sweet stuff I like Terry's chocolate oranges, which are hard to get over here, so Helen and Mervyn & Sylvia sometimes bring me over some when they come or mail me some for specially occasions (thanks Helen for the two for my birthday! One is already gone!). I love nice creamers to go my coffee too, those are great for desserts or nights of coffee w/ board games. OH, and I LOVE Coke. I crave it sometimes. And when I go to the movies I almost always get chocolate covered raisins--love those too!

What are 5 things on my to do list today:

1) go to the grocery store
2) tidy the house and try to put away Dave's camping stuff
3) take the dog for a walk, if he's not too tired from backpacking for the last 4 days
4) vacuum and clean out car (done)
5) take trash to dump

5 (plus 1) Things I would do if I were a billionaire

1) give more away! Wuhoo! I love to be able to give things/money to people that need it. It's so much fun!
2) start a trust fund for children we MIGHT have in the future, B & D, my adopted sister, and all my nephews and nieces
3) build a fully energy efficient house wherever Dave wants to live
4) buy a motorcycle for both Dave and I and a green camper van (like the VW van but better) that can run on vegetable oil
5) travel, travel, travel, travel......TRAVEL!!!!!!!!
6) buy my parents an awesome, brand new car, and fix my dad's Maverick.

5 jobs I've had:

1) worked in a camp kitchen for the summer-hot, dirty, exhausting job!
2) lifeguard and swim lessons teacher at RCP for several summers--good times!
3) worked in an after school program at a christian school with 3-5 graders for a year in Winston-Salem
4) was ropes course manager and climbing club coordinator at Medeba for a summer
5) lead instructor and raft guide for Group Adventure Programs at NOC (still there!)

5 places I've lived:

1) New London, NC--grew up here (1983-2000)
2) Winston-Salem, NC--went to school at PBC for 2 long years (2001-2003)
3) West Guilford, ON, Canada--Medeba LDP program for a year(2003-2004)
4) Richfield, NC--lived here for the year before I was married and during summers off and on (04/05)
5) Bryson City, NC--moved here when we got married and still lovin' it! (2005-?)

5 random things people wouldn't know about me:

1) I don't really like animals, honestly, but my dog is special, I love him, but I really don't like other animals, unless I can eat them.
2) I am pretty certain I want to adopt children in the future
3) I want to be a teacher, but I'm scared to death I'll suck at it.
4) I'm scared of ladybugs. I know it's stupid, but I just am.
5) I am an advocate for christian love to people of all races, religions, denominations, political parties, and sexual preferences...and i understand that you may not understand this.

5 cd's I would take to a desert island:

1) Pressure Chief by Cake
2) Willie Nelson's Greatest Hits cd
3) a dance music cd, probably R & B or some kind
4) Newsboys greatest hits
5) a James Blunt cd

And I'm not tagging anyone, cause you guys have already been tagged. Enjoy!

Good times w/ Mom

Since Sunday mom has been visiting. Dave is off on a camping trip this week with the youth group, so I asked mom to come and visit for a few days. Sunday I met her in Asheville and took her to lunch at the Olive Garden for a late birthday lunch. It was so nice just to sit down and talk and laugh with my mom, I have missed her badly. Afterwards we went to the mall and did a bit of shopping. We stopped at Starbucks for coffee, and again, it was just nice to have a conversation with her. I used to really enjoy sitting down for coffee with mom, but I hardly ever get to do that now. I realize I only see my family a handful of time per year, and that is difficult since I grew up with everyone around. But I've always been the traveler and the adventurer, and I try my best to balance that with time spent with the family. Sunday night Dave, a friend of ours, and I taught Mom how to play my favorite game now, Settlers. She really liked it, but I think it's still a bit confusing. It's ok Mom, it's a lot to take in :). Monday Mom and I went tubing down Deep Creek. She really loves tubing there and it was pretty relaxing and funny as well. We got stuck here and there and I got tipped out once. I love to hear her laugh. We went out to eat for lunch. That night we curled up on the couch and watched a movie. Tuesday we had a relaxing morning and I cooked brunch around 10:30. She talked to Dad a bit on the phone and figured out B's school schedule for the fall. That afternoon we went rafting. It was a nice time just to talk and get soaked, but then it started to rain and we got a bit cold. We were both a bit worried about going through the Falls in such a small boat, I hadn't guided one that size in a long time, but we made it through without tipping over. Mom would have killed me if I let her fall out, again :). After that we were pretty chilled and decided to have homemade potato soup for dinner. It turned out pretty well. I got the recipe from Grandmama's church cookbook. Best cookbook I have ever gotten, seriously. Well, Mom left this morning, I was still in bed, I think she left before 7, and I have to head off to work in a couple of minutes. Just wanted to update you on what I've been up to.

P.S. Mom, you'll be glad to hear I replaced Fred's water. He looks much happier not swimming in green goo :). I love you. I had a wonderful time this week. I wish I could see you more often. Call me to talk more often ok?

Happy Birthday Daddy!

I know you are out of the country right now, but I wanted to send you some birthday love anyway. You taught me how to ride a bike, though I bent my arm without my training wheels shortly afterwards (seriously folks, BENT, not broke it, at an 45' angle). You taught me how to shoot a basketball, kick a soccer ball, and hit a baseball, and practiced with me for endless hours. You gave me my love for the outdoors and now I love working and playing in them. You showed me that heights were ok with the right kind of gear, and now I can do my job with a calm heart, knowing my rope will hold me. You introduced me to "horsey trees" and taught me how to identify trees. You spent time with You modeled what it looks like to have a Godly father and showed me how my Heavenly Father feels about me. You showed me what real love is and what to look for in a future husband. I love you Daddy, thanks for being there for me, past, present, and future.