Thoughts

You can give without loving. You cannot love without giving. - Amy Carmichael
Let my heart be broken with the things that break God's heart. - Bob Pierce

More hiking, more pictures

This one was on the Lake Trail and the CCC trail at Hungry Mother State Park. Actually, I should give partial credit to Friend Cameron, who said "why are you carrying your camera if you're not going to take pictures?" So I did. And they turned out pretty cool. Thanks, Cameron.

Looking up inside a hollow tree.

Same tree, no flash.

A view of the lake from the CCC trail.

A Favorite Place

Last week I went on pretty good hike. A friend and I went to Grayson Highlands State Park/Mount Rogers NRA, which is without question a favorite place of mine in Virginia and quite possibly in the world. The day started out overcast, at least, down where we live. When we got to the parking lot of the park, we were literally in the cloud bank, surrounded by fog. We decided to hike anyway. For the first mile, we were surrounded by the fog, watching trees eerily appear out of the mist. Then we walked out of it, above the clouds, where we enjoyed sunshine and great views. Coming back down, we went back into the clouds, just at sundown. To the west we could see pink light filtering through the mist. To the east, the moon was rising over the trees. It was a beautiful, unforgettable sight. Great day! Here are the pictures to prove it.

This is what it looked like when we started.

The wild ponies are always a favorite part.

The ridge line, up above the trees and the fog.
We followed a short portion of the Appalachian Trail.

Starting our descent...


We stopped to admire the moon.
And then we heard coyotes in the distance and skedaddled on out.
A little creepy. It was Dia de los Muertos, after all...

If you're going to England...

...bring your hiking shoes. A 5,000 year old trail? Awesome!

Hiking Into History: England’s Ancient Ridgeway Trail
By HENRY SHUKMAN
Published: November 1, 2009
For one traveler, a hike along the 87-mile, 5,000-year-old Ridgeway in southern England is both a trek along Britain’s oldest trail and a journey into his own past.
http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/11/01/travel/01ridgeway.html

Good Friends

As I wrap up my summer season posts, I have to give a shout out to my friends from my Marion bible study. In February, a group of us decided to intentionally come together weekly for fellowship and study. There are not a lot of options for twenty-somethings in our town in terms of meeting places and socializing, so we have to make our own fun. Amber, Shelly and I decided to meet, and we invited some other young Christians who were looking for community. We ended up with a great group who came together to laugh and eat and study the Bible. I met some new people, like David, Josh, Jamey and Jason, and got reacquainted with others like Ginny and Megan. We went hiking and played frisbee. Josh opened up his living room and let us use his monstrous tv to watch Nooma. I am really thankful that God provided this group of like-minded individuals for me to be with. It is so important to have community. When I moved back home I thought that I would be cut off from others my age and with my beliefs. I would be in a community desert, I thought. But God laughed at me and proved me wrong. I'm glad he did. Here are some members of my Marion community!

Josh, Jamey, myself, Shelly, Megan, Ginny, Jason, and Amanda. I thought Amber was in this picture, but sadly no. :(

Josh, Jamey, myself, and Shelly.

There's Amber! On the far right.

Brush with (semi) fame

One week, the canoeing staff at Hungry Mother State Park (that is, me, Candace and the rest) had the privilege of escorting a local hero and his gang down the river. "Big Tom" Buchanan, a finalist on Survivor: Africa, decided to show his fellow Survivor Lex and his family all that beautiful Southwest Virginia had to offer. (Lex has tattoos everywhere. Up and down both arms, chest, back, stomach, legs, neck...and no doubt there are more in other unmentionable places. His wife is equally well-decorated). Lex and the family were really nice and friendly. Big Tom is equally friendly and generous, and has an outsized personality that suits his nickname. Tom's name is well-known in our area because he owns and operates a farm in the county. So unless you are from Smyth County, this encounter with fame is not really of any significance at all. But this picture cracks me up, so I had to show it to you and give some back-story for it. Candace's end of the canoe is so far out of the water!

Big Tom and Candace

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

I don't know about you, but I had a fantastic summer. It might even qualify as awesome. Definitely a top-ten list-maker. Alas, September has arrived, and I am trying to enjoy it for what it is and not be bitter. But that is not the point of this post, rather, it is to share some of the things that made the season earn its superlative.

Sometime in May, I ran into a high school classmate at the local Mexican restaurant. She stopped me and almost the first words out of her mouth were, "are you still looking for a job?" I hesitated, because I had a somewhat steady job at Advance Auto Parts, but Candace works at the state park, and so I wanted to hear what she had to say. She invited me to put in an application to help her as a park interpreter. I did, and I have to say, it was a good decision! I worked with Candace and other park staff to present various programs and activities to park guests. It. Was. Awesome.

Now, "park interpreter" can be a deceptive name. It does not mean "person who communicates with visitors in their native languages". The cheesy, new-age, definition is "person who interprets nature". It's really more of a park guide, the person who explains the surroundings to the visitors.

Among some of the cool things I got to do: night-time nature hikes, campfires, geocaching activities, field trips, visitor center tours, host concerts, and teach canoeing. The very best thing? The canoe trips! Once a week, we led guided canoe trips down the New River. I received basic canoe training before the season, so I was somewhat competent at the start, and I'd like to think I improved over the course of the summer. Tuesdays were my favorite day of the week, by far. When we got to the end of the trip, I invariably asked if we could go back and do it again. I have a new favorite hobby!

I learned a lot this summer, professionally and personally, about all kinds of things, like owl calling, tree identification, paddling techniques, catching salamanders, teaching, leading, and safety. I had some good teachers in Candace and others. It was really a great experience, and I wouldn't be adverse to doing it again.

While that was a focus of my summer, I did do some other things this summer. I went hiking and played ultimate frisbee with my bible study friends. I worked in the garden - I was so proud when the corn that I planted reached over six feet tall! I experienced the anxiety that every homeowner has when the grass is growing too fast but it has rained every day that week and so you can't get out to cut it. I fixed the lawn mower and fought with the string trimmer and cut brush. Shelly and I ran on the Lake Trail and talked about life and jobs and the lack thereof. I worked with some good people at Advance Auto Parts. I drove with the windows down and slept with the windows up, and listened to the birds in the morning and old-time music in the afternoon. I really don't know how it could have been a better summer. This upcoming winter has a lot to live up to.

The Hungry Mother State Park canoeing staff: Cameron, Candace, myself, and Geoff.

I got to go canoeing with my mom!

Look out, weeds! (Insert evil laugh here.)

Rain and rainbows

Tonight, as I was driving through the end of a storm, a rainbow appeared in the sky. And while I was watching it, the song "Somewhere over the rainbow" came up on my cd player. And I thought about God's promises, represented by the rainbow. And it made me hopeful.

"Oh, somewhere over the rainbow,
blue birds fly, And the dreams that you dreamed of,
Dreams really do come true."

Anecdotal Reading

I like naps. A lot.

The New York Times
A Look at Who Naps
By SAM ROBERTS
Published: July 30, 2009
In a national survey, one in three admitted to being a napper.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/30/us/30nap.html

Tristeza

That means "sadness" or "sorrows".

My heart has been burdened lately by the news coming out of (or rather, not coming out of) Honduras. If you haven't been able to hear it, Honduras expelled their president two Sundays past, and the days following have been filled with demonstrations and anxiety as citizens and outsiders try to come to an agreement. Friends who know tell me that so far things have been calm, but tense, and I imagine a small incident could change that instantly. If you are looking for facts, the BBC seems a little less prone to rumors and The Washington Times has some good editorials.

Regardless, please pray for this little country that wants peace.

!Viva Honduras!

Now what?

For the past year, I have been telling people that I am going to start graduate studies in Fall 2009, in library and information science. But I just received my financial aid offer from UK. I was only awarded loans. No grants or scholarships. Nor did I receive a graduate assistantship. I promised myself, when I started planning this, that I would not use loans to accomplish this. I am already in debt from my first education and do not think it fiscally responsible to deepen the hole. So, since I have not been able to secure other funds, I am left wondering about my next step. Do I go back on my promise and accept the loans? Do I stick to my principles and refuse them, and start looking towards another future? As this process has unfolded, from taking the GRE to applications and beyond, I had decided to keep walking through doors until God closed them. Is this the final door?

Sometimes....

...I wonder about which country I live in. For example, in the past few months I have experienced or witnessed the following: power outages, dirty water, internet outages, animals in my house (uninvited), and drivers committing possibly illegal actions. And these have all happened since I have been back in the States!

What am I doing now?

Perhaps you have heard this song on the radio: "While I'm Waiting" by John Waller. (If you don't listen to Christian radio, then you probably have not heard it.) Friend Shelly sent me a link to a YouTube video of the song, and I was inspired to share it with you, too. I think the song sums up what I am trying to do with my life at this time. I can't claim to be waiting in perfect peace, and sometimes I have to struggle to be productive while I wait. But know that I am trying!



While I'm Waiting - John Waller

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am hopeful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait

I will move ahead, bold and confident
Takeing every step in obedience
While I'm waiting
I will serve You
While I'm waiting
I will worship
While I'm waiting
I will not faint
I'll be running the race
Even while I wait

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am peaceful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it's not easy
But faithfully, I will wait
Yes, I will wait

Since coming back to the States, I have felt a reawakening of patriotism and interest in the cultural things of my country. I don't think I've ever been against such things, but I feel that I am seeing them in a new light. When I was in Honduras I drank in every experience, every detail of life, treasuring each as a cultural gem. But being surrounded by things that were not of my own culture seems to have brought out a new appreciation for the things that are of my own people. I am more curious about the the things that make us unique in the world, "Americans", and it continues to be an interesting education. It is an enjoyable study, to be sure, but I am somewhat ashamed that I had to go to another country in order to discover my own.

This journey of re-discovery has most recently stopped at music. I have started to listening to old-timey music. I have heard it termed so many things that it is hard for me to pin down, but I am reluctant to call it "bluegrass" since in my mind that seems too narrow a term. "Mountain music" might be appropriate, and I've heard it called "roots" music. My new favorite radio station, WETS 89.5, calls it "Americana", since what they play covers everything from true bluegrass, traditional songs of the mountains, "new-grass", celtic influence, and even Bruce Springsteen and Rodney Cowell. As I listen I ponder upon the points that make each style unique, try to trace the evolution of the music, and imagine the reactions of my Honduran students to such sounds. Some of them were pretty redneck and so they might enjoy it! If I ever go back I might have to try a music appreciation class.

In what surely must have been designed to further my musical education, Shelly called last week to invite me to the Lincoln Theater for a concert featuring some famous bluegrass bands. The Lincoln is an old theater here in Marion that has been refurbished as a concert hall, catering specifically to the bluegrass and mountain music culture. Because of my newfound interest, I found it fitting that we should go. Shelly and I had not been inside the theater since it was renovated, and the visual experience alone was rewarding! And the music was fabulous, of course. All in all, it was great fun: good music, good atmosphere, and good company. Singing John Denver's "Thank God I'm A Country Boy" with 200 other people is pretty darn cool.

When I was in high school, the Lincoln was just an empty building with a hole in the roof.

The theater is beautiful inside!

Shelly and I, after the show.

PS - I've been trying to publish this post for a couple of weeks now, but technical difficulties kept from it...sorry!

Delusions Of Summer

We have been blessed with two gorgeous days out here in the mountains. Temperatures in the seventies, numbers I haven't seen since November. Admittedly, most of my readers have been suffering much longer than me, so I shouldn't complain too much, right? I suppose we can all celebrate together.

So what have I done with my beautiful days? First, I brought out my faithful friends, my Chaco sandals, who had been hibernating in the closet. Then I went outside and cleaned my car, in short sleeves, no less. The next day, I went to the lake, with no particular goal in mind, just that of being outside. It was fantabulous. There is just something about that sunshine that makes my heart sing. The sounds of peeper frogs in the evening, and birds in the morning, are welcome sounds indeed.

I know that it is only March and that cold days are due to return and remind us that winter is not done with us yet. But I will enjoy what I have right now, and hopefully it will sustain me until summer comes back for good.

I hope you have had as good a weekend as I have.

Hello, old friends!

Some Thoughts

This song came up on my ipod, and I've been hitting "repeat" a lot. I particularly like this part. Just wanted to share!

This Is My Father's World -

This is my Father's world
Why should my heart be sad?
The Lord is King
Let the heavens sing
God reigns
Let the earth be glad.

Current Hobbies

In case you were curious, here are just a few of the things I have been doing lately. Note: the following pictures were taken in December and January.

Emily and I are cutting firewood. That's Emily with the chainsaw in hand. Along with Richard, we moved almost a ton of firewood that day!

A piece of the garage roof came off, and I was the only one around to fix it.

The past month has been spent helping my mother around the house. I keep it moderately clean, and help with firewood and other chores. What these pictures do not show is that I have been very busy applying for jobs and graduate school. But those activities don't make for very interesting pictures, so I didn't take any.

Along with these activities, I am becoming reaquainted with my local library. I am also enjoying the luxury of a well-stocked kitchen, leafing through cookbooks and trying new and old recipes. My mother took pity on my poor soul and bought me a membership to the gym, so I am getting back in shape.

I managed to pick up a few hours at my old haunt, Advance Auto Parts, but I am still looking for something along the lines of full time. So, if anyone has any ideas...

And that, my friends, is about as interesting as it gets around here!