I’ve a more of a spiritual post on what God’s done in my life this past week.  But that shall come tomorrow. 

I was “yes ma’amed” today after church.  I guess that’s one sign that I’m an adult now.

I’ve used the phrase “I’m an accountant” twice in the last 24 hours.  Wow.  I never expected that to roll off my tongue!  I have an actual job by which I am identifying myself.  Guess that’s another sign I’m an adult.

I think the biggest sign that I’m an adult is the fact that I start work on Wednesday.  Every time I had a big event in life (first day of school, SAT testing, AP testing, birthday, etc.), my mom made a big hearty breakfast.  As brain food, dontcha know!  It’s strange having such a huge first day on Wednesday and not having a mom cooked breakfast. 

And lastly, you have to watch this video.  The last line Abraham Piper says it’s priceless. 

So I have a few random oddities to relate to you all….

1.  We’re about to get some tropical storm rainage up here in the Carolinas.  Guess I can’t escape that weather phenomenon after all!

And speaking of hurricanes, I was just on weather.com trying to look up Hanna’s projected path I’m looking at this map of the state of North Carolina and I realize I have NO IDEA WHERE CHARLOTTE WAS.  I know it’s south.  And I know it’s close to the South Carolina border…but beyond that, you got me.  It’s weird not knowing exactly where I am on a map.  What is that called? Perspicacity?  The knowledge of one’s self in space?  Anyways…apparently I need to buy an atlas and study it. 

2.  Roads here are windy, and twisty, and turny.  They are pretty much amazing to drive on.  Now if only those twisty and turny roads could be close to a beach I think we’d have an ideal geographic location. (And speaking of driving, I got a new car before coming up here.  It was both a frustrating event and a blessing in disguise.  God’s wise are infinitely wiser than ours, including when it comes to the mechanics of our cars!  But I’m enjoying driving my Gator Blue Toyota Camry.  And I’m enjoying knowing that it won’t break down on the side of a windy, twisty, turny road.)

3.  I have used my brights more times in the last week than in the last 5 years of driving in Florida combined.  Roads here are DARK!

4.  I start work on Wednesday.  Can we say hello real life?  When did this happen?  I have 4 days left of being a slacker post-graduate pre-work start person.  Such a paradox of feelings. 

5.  I really want to go hiking.  We grew up doing that sort of stuff and I know Grandfather mountain is pretty close by.  So I think all you beachy kids from Florida should make your way up here and go with me. 

GO GATORS! DESTROY THOSE HURRICANES!!!

First off, for explanation of the title, see this previous post.

Ok.  So in case you weren’t aware, Charlotte, NC is not Tampa/Gainesville/Orlando/Jacksonville, FL.

My family isn’t 2 seconds away anymore.  Amber isn’t 2 hours away.  JJ is in Wales.  I can’t go visit Aimee at school.

Hurrican Gustav had absolutely ZERO effect on my life.  No more hurricane days? Whatever shall I do?

Pools here close on Labor Day.  What is this travesty?

There are NO Publixes..(ha. what is the plural of Publix? Is it really Publices?)

There is NO Zephyrhills water.  But the same company makes water which is packaged as Deer Park water up here.  Can we say marketing to your target audience?

This isn’t a football town like Gainesville.  Lives do not revolve around college football kickoff times.  I mean, I don’t know anyone else that watched the TN game tonight….or anyone else that was aware of the LSU v. Appalachian State game on Saturday.  DEFINITELY not in Kansas anymore Toto.

But you know what? Charlotte, NC is not Tampa/Gainesville/Orlando/Jacksonville, FL.

The architecture here is not all stucco.  It’s brick and wood siding.  It’s pretty phenomenal.  Also, housing prices are AMAZING compared to Florida.  You should all move here.

There will actually be a winter….my favorite season!  It will no longer be a thing of movies and books, but of my real life.  And dare I even say it, but perhaps a SNOW DAY?!?

I was a resident of Charlotte for all of 10 hours and was already told by 5 other families that they’d love to have me over for a meal.   Southern hospitality…aka the servant hearts of these fellow believers is wonderful.

I was a resident of Charlotte for all of 10 hours and was already invited over to a family’s house for lunch.  I can’t even tell you how much sitting in a room filled with family and friends, food and fellowship warmed my heart.

I go to this really awesome local body of Christ called Grace Community Church. I pretty much love them already.  It’s amazing how the Lord has knit them into my heart already.

Nope.  Charlotte, NC is not Tampa/Gainesville/Orlando/Jacksonville, FL.

So for the past 11 weeks, I’ve been in class for 40 hours or more each week.  I’d get home at 5 and have perhaps a test and a quiz the next morning beginning at 8 AM.  I was on two intramurals teams, started swimming again, and was a faithful fan of our basketball team.  I also still had a life-hanging out with my friends up there of course. Needless to say, at the end of 11 weeks, I was EXHAUSTED. 

I’ve now been home for about a week and I’m going a tad stir crazy.  Sure, I’m packing and studying for the CPA and catching up with old friends but there’s neither routine nor structure to my days and it’s starting to get to me!  Believe it or now, I’m actually looking forward to Charlotte!  Wow.  God is good! 

Saw this clip on America’s Funniest Home Video and it just made me smile.  Enjoy!

I don’t know if you have noticed, but I change my header picture to go along with my current season-be it actual weather season or summer at UVA or my decision to move to Charlotte.  Currently, it’s a picture of a road as you can clearly see

This is because there is a Derek Webb/Caedmon’s Call song that has been playing round and round in my head as of late.  It is an old old favorite of mine and so appropriate for this season of transition and moving away from all my friends and family.  The song is called “Faith my Eyes”  and he says “keep ‘em coming, these lines on the road….”  As if to say, keep the changes coming, keep the journey going.  For each step brings me closer to you my Lord…each steps brings further sanctification.  So I’ll walk each step with grace in my feet and faith in my eyes.  I hope you love it as I do!

As I survey the ground for ants
Looking for a place to sit and read
I’m reminded of the streets of my hometown
How they’re much like this concrete that’s warm beneath my feet

I’m all wrapped up in my mother’s face
With a touch of my father just up around the eyes
And the sound of my brother’s laugh
But I’m more wrapped up in what binds our ever distant lives

But if I must go
Things I trust will be better off without me
But I don’t want to know
Life is better off a mystery

So keep ‘em coming-these lines on the road
And keep me responsible be it a light or heavy load
And keep me guessing with these blessings in disguise
And I’ll walk with grace my feet and faith my eyes

Hometown weather is on TV
I imagine the lives of the people living there
And I’m curious if they imagine me
Cause they just wanna leave; I wish that I could stay

And to visit places from my past
But only for an hour or so
Which is long enough to smell the air
To tell the tale and find the door

But I get turned around
I mistake some happiness for blessing
But I’m blessed as the poor
Still I judge success by how I’m dressing

So I’ll sing a song of my hometown
I’ll breathe the air and walk the streets
Maybe find a place to sit and read
And the ants are welcome company

And I’ll walk with grace my feet and faith my eyes.
And I’ll walk with grace my feet and faith my eyes.

Once again, I seek your prayers for the church I grew up in-Bell Shoals Baptist Church.  Just a few months ago, they lost their senior pastor Forest Pollock and his son in a plane crash in North Carolina.  This morning, they lost their Worship and Music pastor Simeon Nix to a heart attack. 

Again, we are fully confident that he is with Christ his redeemer in Heaven, but our human minds struggle to understand the whys and whens of God’s sovereign plan.  But we know that God is fully sovereign, and trust in all his plans for our lives.  May this church body seek and find comfort in the Holy Spirit.  May this church’s reaction proclaim the glory of God to the watching community.  May the cross of Christ be anthemned throughout all the earth in Simeon’s death, just as it was in his life. 

Please be praying for Simeon’s wife Beth and their two children-Sterling and Bre’Ana.

He loves the Bar-B-Que sauce from McDonald’s-to dip his fries into.

He orders his subs with no pickles, and all the peppers.

His favorite dishes are dirt cake, chicken enchiladas, strawberry pie, baked beans, and fruit salad.

He LOVES raw cookie dough.  

He hates peanut butter, and he hates chocolate.  But he loves Reeses-not the big ones, just the little ones. 

He’ll eat all the corn souffle at Thanksgiving, if you’ll let him.

He was born with every athletic talent imaginable.  He has disc, ball, feet, hand-eye, skills galore and will dominate anyone at anything.  For serious.

He likes a more traditionalchurch service-like Episcopalian-even though we grew up Southern Baptist and PCUSA.

He knows how to make the most mundane and boring things into an adventure-if I know how to organize a group, he knows how to energize a group.  If I am throwing the party, he is the life of the party.

He loves musicals-Evita. 

He loves this one opera-La Boehme.

When you look at him you’ll see this tough, all together guys guy.  When I look at him, I see the boy who played Barbies and G-I-Joe with me…the boy who let me doctor up his boo-boos…the boy who was in love with all things stuffed (that is, animals)…the boy who got scared watching Are you Afraid of the Dark?…the boy who sang out all the words to Newsies with me….the boy who played the part of Greta from Sound of Music when we acted it out and let me carry him up the stairs.

He understands me better than he realizes.

He’s the only person I am ever fully comfortable around in any and all situations-never doubting, never questioning, never fearing.

He calms me, handles me, rationalizes me, and balances me.

He is my little brother and it makes my heart hurt to know that I won’t see him again until Thanksgiving. For three days this week, we were both home.  We didn’t do anything.  Just stayed up late watching the Olympics every night.  But I loved just being with him, talking to him.   I don’t think he will ever know how much he means to me, and how proud of him I am, and how he is really and truly my best friend. 

Phildeaux-I’ll love you forever.  I’ll like you for always.  As long as I’m living my little brother you’ll be.

So it’s been a while since I’ve done a favorite things post….heck, it’s been a while since I’ve done a post period!  What can I say? Virginia got busy. :-)

It’s hard for me believe that my time here is quickly coming to an end.  It seems like just yesterday I was dreading the 10 weeks of summer and now, I have 7 days before it’s all over.  Little of this will mean anything to most of you, but I wanted to share some of my current favorite things up here in Charlottesville.  And I figured at the very least, Janelle/JJ would get a kick out of it!

1. Cafe Europa.  This place is amazing.  The Majorca sandwich (chicken, chipotle pesto, provolone cheese, hot peppers) is my fav, along with a side of Greek salad.  Eating here once a week is a must.

2.  Smoothie King after softball, soccer, frisbee…heck, anything.  I fell back in love with this high school drumline must.

3.  Bodo’s Bagels.  I never really believed people when they talked about a bagel place being JUST THAT GOOD.  But I attest to the truth of it.  There’s just something about breakfast from Bodo’s that makes a 9 hour class day that much better.

4.  Sand volleyball.  Hopefully, my Jax friends might see somewhatof an improvement in my skills…or lack thereof as the case may be.  Either way, it’s been tons of fun. 

5.  80’s music.  I’m quite glad I missed the fashion insanity of this decade.  However, I’ve fallen in love with the music.  Let’s just call it my guilty pleasure.

6. Not working I’ve heard such horror stories from the 2nd years here.  This last month before being an adult for real for good will be wonderful. 

And my last current favorite thing is the thought that I will get to see so many of your faces once more in just a short while.  11 weeks.  That’s the longest I’ve ever gone without seeing my family and my heart hurts to think of it.  And I miss my Brandon/Gainesville/Jacksonville/Pace/Orlando friends too! So my favorite thing is anticipating seeing you!

So you know how there are those people on this earth that you connect with instantly?  Those people who you might not get to see all the time or talk to all the time, but you know they are your forever friends? Anne of Green Gables called these people kindred spirits.

I have many kindred spirits, and one of them is named Janelle (JJ) Leach.  JJ lives in Orlando and is an absolutle blessing in my life through and through.  The Lord has recently led her to go to Wales for the next 11 months on a missions trip.  To document her journey and let us know how we can be praying for her, she started a blog.  I know that you will be encouraged by her writings!

My supposed schedule:

Leave Jacksonville FL at 7:55 pm

Arrive in Charlotte NC at 9:15 pm

Leave Charlotte NC at 10:00 pm

Arrive in Richmond VA at 11:15 pm

Get to Charlottesville VA at 12:30ish….

Sleep until class at 8

None of which happened. 

Due to crazy weather in Charlotte, the airport world exploded.  So here I sit in Charlotte NC, spending the night in the airport terminal until my flight leaves at 9:30 AM. 

Let’s just say, I’m learning patience.  And the thing is, what’s REALLY the big deal?  So I have to sleep on the floor for the night, and miss 5 hours of class at UVA.

I’m sitting here next to an army man who spent 21 months sleeping in a fox hole in Iraq with a gun next to his head.  What’s the floor compared to a foxhole?

I’m sitting here next to a pregnant military wife who is missing her husband while he is overseas fighting for our country.  And she longs to be with her daughter in the hospital who may or may not survive.  What’s missing class compared to missing a husband and a dying child?

I’m sitting here a daughter of the crucified and resurrected Savior, who was crushed…persecuted….forsaken. 

So I’m learning patience.  And finding joy in all things.  And hoping to perhaps point my weary airport comrades to the Savior-the only true comfort and solace in all situations.  If you read this, pray for me