Finding My Place

I miss my church family from Nashville. TRBC (now The Fellowship at Two Rivers) was home. Now I am in a place that isn't home. This town has never been my home, and unless God works BIG, it never will be. The best way I know to describe it is that it's like putting on a jacket that is too small.

It doesn't fit.

Today I visited a new church. The one I've been attending isn't a fit, but I've been trying to wear it for almost three years anyway. The new one came with several good recommendations, so I thought I'd give it a go. I got there a few minutes early in order to ask questions. Unfortunately the questions made me a tad late to the service, and I had an awkward time finding a seat.

My main question was about Bible study groups. The precious lady at the information station asked what type of class I thought I would like. She showed me the list of classes, and honest to goodness, her finger kept tracing all the women's 50+ listings. They were plentiful. 

Really?

She took one look at me and decided on 50+. I don't have ANY thing against being in a study group with people older than I, but I was hoping to find something more in line with my interests, or age, at this stage. Not that I fit into ANY category.

Ms. Adorable Lady once again pointed out the AARP list before turning to say, "I don't know how old you are, so you might like one of these."

I blinked a few times a stood staring. How bad did I look? Finally, she pointed to another class. It was described as being for women aged 30-40. That was better, but it made me wonder. Was there NO woman at that church from 40-49.

Armed with my new knowledge of classes, and wondering if I need to apply more moisturizer at night, I headed into the sanctuary. I finally found a seat in the near empty balcony.

I was a bit dismayed by the music worship. It was a bit bland, but that wasn't the issue. I am not going to choose a church based on how hip the music is, even if I am a bit of a bounce and sway, raise my hands, praise with abandon, and rock out for God kind of girl. The issue here was that the congregation reminded me of chapel services in college. People went because they were supposed to- to get credit. With the exception of one man, I didn't see any passion on the faces. I did see an eye roll when we were asked to stand.

When the pastor took the stage for the sermon, I had to guess who he was. He wasn't introduced, nor did he introduce himself. He just started speaking to those he knew, in a low key voice that was half a step away from monotoned. Again, there was no passion.

I found myself daydreaming. (Just keeping it real.) I looked in the bulletin to see if there was any information about the pastor. There wasn't. Late I looked and found no information about the ministry staff on the church website. They only show a picture, name, title, and email address. That is odd to me. Churches can do better than that. I think it's kind of nice to know a little about a man when you are trying to decide whether or not you want to sit under his teaching.

After the service I walked to my car. It was a grey, misty day, but it was beautiful to me. There was an intensity about the weather that I didn't get inside the church. Inside everything, from the music to the message, was beige.

I wonder where God will lead me, and I'm excited to find out. There is one thing that is certain. This is not my home.

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ

Philippians 3:20



Jake

It'd been a long time coming, but I finally got to take Jake out for pictures. I really enjoyed hanging out with him, and he was such a good sport. I hope he had fun too.

These were taken in Burns Park. I LOVE this face!

The next few shots are in the old building mentioned

in an earlier post.

This is the chair I got from Ouachita.

We had to have a couple of goofy pictures mixed in.

Alright, so this one is pseudo-serious. There was a LOT of poo in that old building.

This is a great 100 year old building in downtown Little Rock. We met the owner when he poked his head out of the front door to see what we were doing. He was cool with the pictures and invited us into the foyer to see the renovations underway. While the graffiti was cool for photos, it was sad to learn the owner had previously restored the entry only to see vandals destroy his efforts. The door windows in the shot below are painted over, so you can't see that they are both cracked.He wants to install a gate,

but the city won't allow it.

While I feel bad for the property owner, I can't deny

this is a cool shot of Jake.



TaterBug & Tiger Tunes

Caitie and I just had the best TaterBug Day to date. Considering all TBD's are pretty stinking FAB, that's saying something. It was our first overnight trip, and we did it right. For starters, we drove while wearing big, red, wax lips, and plastic Mater (from Cars) teeth. We were quite a hit on the highway.

Every year during OBU's homecoming, the Ouachita Student Foundation (OSF) hosts Tiger Tunes. There are really no words to describe Tunes, but I'll try. The men's and women's social clubs, along with Campus Ministries and the freshman class, pick a fun theme and perform a six minute medley of songs with choreography. The lyrics of the songs are changed to match the theme, and it's usually quite amusing.

This year we saw Lunch Ladies, Truckers, Professors, Zookeepers, Nerds, Housewives, Astronauts & Aliens, Pioneers on the Oregon Trail, and Anchormen. To get a better idea of a Tunes act, check out the men of EAO from 2010 here. The most amazing part about Tiger Tunes is that it is a fundraising event. OSF raised $85,000 for scholarships for students, and their largest money making event is Tunes. Their goal this year is $100,000! As a former OSF officer, and scholarship recipient, I'm pretty proud of the current crew.

I was fortunate enough to be a judge for one night of competition. That allowed me two additional tickets, so I invited Bug and my friend Kristi, who works at OBU. Kristi's birthday was the same weekend, and it was a bonus to treat her to Tunes.

Caitie and I stayed at the McNutt House. It was delightful. Our room was spacious and comfortable. The decor isn't my personal choice, but it was tasteful and clean. Clean is good!



There was a charming garden area behind the inn, and we took advantage of the beautiful venue. I got a few darling shots of Caitie the next day.

After a few pictures we had a late breakfast at the inn then relaxed until check out time. After check out we headed to campus to meet Kristi. Miraculously we found a great parking space right behind the library. Kristi and I met while doing work study in the archives of the library. She is now the circulations librarian.

I had the opportunity to introduce Caitie to a dear lady I worked with while I was a student. We also got to troll through the basement in search of treasures. Being a history buff, Caitie really enjoyed looking at old books (100+ years old). I scored a great wooden, arm chair. It dates to 1965 or before according to the sticker under the seat. The sticker says, "Property of Ouachita Baptist College." OBC added a graduate program and changed its name to OBU in 1965.

I also got an old card catalog. It has nine drawers, is solid wood, and insanely heavy. It's kind of sentimental to me because it's a piece of Ouachita's history, and it's from the library where I worked. Oh the fun we had in the back of the library. I worked in Special Collections with a great group of students, and a wonderful archivist. There were lots of laughs, an X-Files shrine, a wall full of photocopied faces, lots of 70's music, and tons of pranks. It's a good thing we were kept in the back of the building.

We ate lunch at The Honeycomb. It was packed, and we left stuffed. We went back to campus, said goodbye to Kristi, and walked around. It was fun to show Bug some of the campus. We didn't have time to tour everything, but I did take a few more pictures of Caitie.

I like the vintage action on this photo. Isn't she stunning!

These were taken at the McClellan aamphitheater.



Just before time to leave campus, I was able to see old friends Kecia and Angie for a few minutes. It was so good to see those sweet girls. What beautiful souls. Once we left campus, we headed back downtown where Caitie took a few pictures. I'm hoping she will post them, along with others, on her blog. The girl has a good eye.

The last stop was at Cracker Barrel to meet my cousin David and his family (minus one). We were literally meeting his family for the first time. It was so fun to spend the short time with them, and Caitie met her second cousin David for the first time.



We said goodbye and headed home. To my surprise Caitie Bug stayed awake the entire trip on the road - coming and going! That's quite a feat for her, and quite a treat for me.

It was a wonderful time.

New Stuff... Finally

I took my new camera out for a spin last week. While I am still learning (and will be for eons to come), I had lots of fun. The fun factor was ratcheted up because I had a camera buddy with me. Catherine and I made a three hour escape to take photos. It was SHORT, but it was FUN.

A friend told me about a cool old building missing its roof. When we got to the location, we discovered the site was completely grown over. BONUS! I think it would be such fun to take portrait shots here. What do you think?

Here are a few from another location.

 I like this one in B&W. I also like how some of the letters are wonky.

Is it just me, or does this look like a model town (like from Mr. Rogers)? Even with the boarded up window and bent strip of awning, it looks more like a toy set from this angle.

It was a beautiful, overcast, fun day. Thanks for going with me Catherine. We should do it again!

Homemade Camera Bag

I mentioned on facebook that I was in desire of a cute, affordable camera bag. Alas, that combination is pert near impossible to find. Most medium sized bags start around $50 and are U*G*L*Y black nylon.

A few of you may have seen the adorable, insulated lunch bag I decided to use as temporary housing. While it was cute, it was too small and didn't afford enough protection for my new camera. So I went on a hunt to find a stylish bag that I could convert into a camera case.

Here is the result.

It's a big bag. Probably too big (20" long), but I'm cool with that. Besides being super cute, the best part was the price. It's a $70 Liz Claiborne tote, but I got it for $21! (I added the LOVE key chain.)

One more thing- the colors above are true. The colors in the remaining photos are a little off.

That's because I'm still learning how to use my camera.

This is the inside (it's really raspberry, as you can catch a glimpse of it in the first picture). I made a foam box and covered it with taffeta (because it is slick and all the ripstock was in UGLY colors). The bottom layer is 2" foam and chipboard. The outside walls are 1" foam and chipboard. I also made a foam insert to fit inside the top of the box. The cute, dotted ribbon is a handle to make removal easier.

This is a view with the top insert removed. I sewed Velcro onto the walls of the inside fabric so I could attach my dividers. The dividers can be moved around, just like a "regular" camera bag.

This is the top of the bag showing the height difference between my foam box and the bag. By making the box this height, I am able to still use the pockets and zippered compartments of the tote, as well as snap it shut. Win-win!

Now the pictures don't show what a truly amateur project this is. I laughed and told my mom that I'm positive that either my bff Jef or my S-I-L Karen could have whipped this out in a couple of hours, but I'm not a sewer and it took me a day and a half. HA! (I also coated all fabrics with a water repellent spray... important!)

Still, I'm pleased with the outcome, and I didn't have to spend $150 - $200 for a stylish bag. My total cost: $45!

Design Idea

A while back my mom found a metal wall hanging she liked. Her obvious choice for display was the bathroom. Unfortunately the sign is rather small (about 11X14).

Too small for the preferred wall.

 

The solution? Hang the small, metal sign inside two empty, wooden frames. It not only fills the visual space on the wall - it also draws your eye to the center (which is the point). 

I think it is a charming solution. What do you think?

Flowerbed Friend

Everyday there have been hundreds of dragonflies in the front yard and flowerbed. I saw this beautiful guy resting on a fern. 

I've ordered my "grown-up" camera and am waiting for it to be delivered. Then I'll just have to learn how to use it. HA! In the meantime, I'm still going to use my P&S. It did alright here. You can see the hairs on the dragonfly's legs. (It is obviously a boy dragonfly!)