Pronouncing All My T's in Huntington

Jeremy played a show in Huntington this weekend and guess who came along?
I left work early and met Jeremy in Upper Sandusky. Roughly around the same time Jes left Lynchburg, VA with some friends, Danielle and Daniel. We converged on Huntington, WV around 9pm and enjoy some great Mexican food. We then headed over to some friends' house and I got to see some of Jeremy's friends from before and they got to meet Jes. Such fun people.

Happy Trees and Backstreet Boys
Saturday we woke up and watched a little Bob Ross. Then off to the New Mini Lunch (third attempt), only to find it closed...again. We found a little cafe. After lunch we lounged around while Jeremy got everything around for the show. Danielle and Daniel had stayed up the night before watching some movies and I wasn't sure how they were functioning. They decided to stay behind, while Jes and I went with Jeremy to the venue.

We'd been hearing about this show for a while and were pretty excited to be roadies. Jes and I's first task was to set up the tent Jeremy would be changing in. Only when we unwrapped the tent, there were no poles. We made a quick trek to Wal-Mart and bought a replacement, hoping to use it for the show and then return it. Upon opening the box we found a leaflet that said, "Do not return to retail store." Whoops!

After our task, Jes and I explored the old elementary school/church. It used to be the old African American school and there seemed to be a lot of history there. Also the structure and rooms were interesting. Especially the bathroom. This is the ladies bathroom:



After a quick sound check, we grabbed some dinner, and the last of the props, and then it was show time. Tons of people came out and we got to meet a lot of them.

Cade read some original poetry.

The show started with some original songs. Jes and I got a shout out before Roscommon Sense.

And then things took a creepy turn when Jeremy shaved his beard down to this mustache. No mustaches please. The warning was not heeded.

Michael sang guitar backup to a Foo Fighters song. Hilarious!

The mustache was then shaved off on stage in time for As Long As You Love Me by the Backstreet Boys. We were encouraged to sing along and we did. Not surprisingly, I still know the words.

The big finale included Cade, on drums, and Michael, on bass. Neither had previous musical experience. Jeremy showed them what to play and they rocked it.

The show went really well and Jeremy seemed pleased. We hung around afterwards to clean up and tear down the set and then to the after party at Michael, Cade, and Brian's house. I love spending time with these guys and a lot of Jeremy's other friends came out. After staying for a while Jes, Jeremy, Steven and Becky (Jeremy's roommates) and I decided to hit up the Taco Bell, which is apparently the only place open at the time, because we waited about 15 in line.

Jesus and the Park:
Sunday we went to church and then to Nanna's Country Kitchen. True West Virginia flavor.
Then onto a park to take some pictures.

I'm so lucky for these friends!

What am I listening to?

After the park, we headed back to the house and packed Jes up. Sad day. She headed off to Virginia and I took a nap. Sunday night, we went to Ground Zero, a ministry, where I met someone else from MI. She asked me how long I had been here. "In Huntington?" I asked. I pronounced it Hunt-ting-ton. They laughed at the way I said it and I asked how do you say it? "Hun-ning-ton." That's my MI accent for you.

The rest of the night consisted of dinner at The Waffle House (my first time) and seeing Quantum of Solace. We met Michael, his girlfriend Jackie, Cade, his girlfriend Anna, and Brian at the theater, where Michael stuffed about 8 Capri Suns into my purse. We were well stocked. Too bad the movie wasn't that great. Then back to the house.

Food and More Food:
Monday, we got up around 9 and made our way to Tudor's Biscuit World and then down to the Ohio River, where we ate. Those being our only plans before lunch we got back to the house and hung out with Steven for a while. When we had digested enough we went to The New Mini Lunch. Finally it was open and we ate. Then the four hour drive to my car. We did stop at an overlook and took this picture for Jes. She made us these hats.


I always have such a wonderful time, but I don't think I realize how wonderful until I'm going through withdrawal the next day.

Living on Hope

I'm spent; shattered. The toxins of stress in my body have formed knots in my back. Hope seems frail in my hands.

But I hope...it's what I have to do. I hope for the future, even though I cannot see past my own nose sometimes. I hope for reconciliation though the differences seem insurmountable. I hope to be made perfect...SOON. I long for heaven and to be made new. I long to sit with Jesus and find rest from troubles. HOPE!

Hope does remain. Faith. Love.

After seeing the reaction of my friends and fellow Christians on Facebook, I thought about addressing the issue in my post, but my friend Natalie did it so much better then I could have. You should check it out at her blog.

Perspective on this night...

This is pretty much how I feel. I respect both McCain and Obama. I'd like to meet both and maybe play some Bocce Ball.

Another article to summarize.

I post articles like this because there is a sound of hope in them.

If it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven, then why do we try so hard to be rich?

I Think This is Beautiful

What we can and must do in the present, if we are obedient to the gospel, if we are following Jesus, and if we are indewlt, energized, and directed by the Spirit, is to build for the kingdom. This brings us back to 1 Corinthians 15:58 once more: what you do in the Lord is not in vain. You are not oiling the wheels of a machine that's about to roll off a cliff. You are not resoring a great painting that's shortly going to be thrown in the fire. You are not planting roses in a garden that's about to be dug up for a building site. You are--strange though it may seem, almost as hard to believe as the resurrection itself--accomplishing something new that will become in due course part of God's new world. Every act of love, gratitude,and kindness; every work of art or music inspired by the love of God and delight in the beauty of his creation; every minute spent teaching a severely handicapped child to read or to walk; every act of care and fir that matter one's fellow human beings, and for that matter, one's fellow nonhuman creatures; and of course every prayer, all Spirit-led teaching, every deed that spreads the gospel, builds up the church, embraces and embodies holiness rather than corruption, and makes the name of Jesus honored in the world--all of this will find its way, throguh the resurrecting power of God, into the new creation God will make. That is the logic of the mission of God. God's recreation of his wonderful world, which began with the resurrection of Jesus and continues mysteriously as God's people live in the risen Christ and in the power of his Spirit, means that what we do in Christ and by the Spirit in the present is not wasted. It will last all the way to God's new world. In fact, it will be enhanced there. -Surprised by Hope, NT Wright

Co-Worker Profile

The Grand Rapids Press did an article on our Social Worker. Check it out.