Friday's Feast

Appetizer : Name something you think is “the best.”
Several things come to mind, the first thing is my salvation. The others are when David and Angela accepted Christ and watching them grow in their walk with him and watching a sunrise on the beach.

Soup: On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 highest), how stressed are you today?
It has been a stressful week, however today my stress level is at 3. The roofers aren't here today and it looks as if the rooms will be ready for Vacation Bible School and the A/C guys are here to restore the a/c in my office!!!

Salad :What kind of cleanser do you use to wash your face?
Aveeno Clear Complexion Cleansing Pads.

Main Course: Tonight is a blue moon! What is something that you believe only happens “once in a blue moon.”
I'll get together with friends.

Dessert:When was the last time it rained where you live?
It is actually sprinkling today! We need the rain badly. They are concerned about the lake level being so low.

My Own Laptop

I am now the owner of a Gateway laptop! When my brother, Robert, came down for David's graduation he brought his old laptop with him and gave it to me. It is so nice to sit on the couch instead of that old uncomfortable desk chair while on the computer. Thanks Robert, I'm enjoying the laptop big time!

Celebrating Friends

Eight years ago this weekend I met a wonderful friend. When we met I had no idea how much he come to mean to me. It's hard to believe with the miles that separate us that we have remained friends all these years. Through the years we have shared laughter and tears. Through email, instant messaging, and phone calls a month has never passed that we haven't been in touch.

Some friendships fade with time and distance or replaced with new ones. Then there are friendships that only grow deeper and stronger with time. I am blessed that the friendship that started eight years ago this weekend is one that has grown deeper and stronger with time. Friendships like these don't happen often, but I am glad I found you.

Construction

It's finally happening. . . the re-roofing process at the church has begun. In 2005 when Hurricane Wilma hit our church sustained some damages and we are still dealing with the repairs. The restoration company that we hired to repair the damages following the hurricane have not done what the promised to do, so our contract with them after 18 months has been terminated. One of the major jobs that had to be done was re-roofing the Educational wing. This roofing job is no simple re-roof job due to the fact that there are 3 layers of roofing on this area which requires removal of all roofs and new one installed.

On Wednesday morning the roofer came into my office and told me that I needed to move my office to the former youth pastor's office. They would begin removing the roof over the offices and old fellowship hall. As of this morning I am at home due to heavy dust that I was breathing in and the fact that I had everything done for the week. Not to mention that somewhere along the way of putting the new roof on this morning, something happened with the phone lines. So instead of a 3 day weekend, I get a 4 day weekend!

Here are pictures of what the office area looked like yesterday afternoon.

Friday's Feast

Appetizer: Name a sound you like to hear.
The voices of my children and rain on a metal roof.

Soup:What is your favorite kind of cheese?
Parmesan cheese on salads and pasta.

Salad:Do you sleep late on Saturday mornings? Why or why not?
I normally sleep later on Saturday mornings than any other morning depending on what I need to do. During the week I have to be at work at 8:30 and Sunday mornings we get up early to get ready for Sunday School and Church.

Main Course:When was the last time you forgot something?
What was it, and how long did it take to remember it?
Just this year I forgot a good friend's birthday until I read her blog

Dessert:Fill in the blank: I notice my day is better when I have begun my day by spending time in God's Word.

Increase My Faith

Do you expect to sin? Think about that question for a moment. . . when you get up in the morning do you say, "Lord, I know before this day is over I'm going to sin today, so I'm going to ask for forgiveness in advance." The word "expect" is defined as having the intention of ; regard as likely to happen. So by saying that we "expect" to sin are we saying that we have the intention of sinning? Is it any different than saying "I expect to return home from work this afternoon."

This was the question that our chairman of deacons, Glen Pridgen, asked last night as he led Bible Study. Glen's question made me think about how often I go about my day expecting that I will at some point sin. Now part of that is because of the sin nature within me, but it is also a lack of faith. As I have meditated on the things Glen said last night, I am reminded that we are to be holy just as Christ is holy. Therefore, if I anticipate or expect to sin I'm willfully sinning and saying that God's grace is not sufficient to keep me from sinning.

My attitude should not be that I am enslaved to sin, however it should be one that is freed from sin. God promises me that he who began a good work in me will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. So my cry this morning is that of the apostles, "Increase my faith!"

We have all heard "when I was your age, I had to walk six miles through the snow to get to school." When a friend of mine sent me this cartoon I couldn't resist sharing it. With gas prices on the rise it's no laughing matter.

More Photos of Graduation

David and Abi waiting in the cafeteria before graduation.
David, Abi and Chris
David and Angela after graduation
Abi and David after graduation




David showing off his diploma after graduation

Dinner with Family and Friends

Last night before graduation we enjoyed a meal at Sonny's with our family and friends. Among those there were David's dad and his girlfriend, Becky,Lawrence and Donna Worth, Elgin Shore, Brian, Katherine and Nathan, George and Grace Thall, Tommy McClusky, David's Uncle Robert, David's Uncle Andy, Aunt Fredia, Angela, Cheyenne, and myself. The Gutshall's came by for a little while but didn't eat with us. This gave David the opportunity to visit with family and friends prior to graduation. As I looked around the table I thought of how each person at the table had somehow influenced David's life.


We are so happy that some of our family was able to travel from Tallahasee for this special moment in his life. David has been blessed to have the support of his family and friends and we know that they will continue to pray for and encourage him.



Mrs. Worth sharing some words of wisdom
Ms. Katherine, Nathan, Ms. Grace and George
Angela, Alan (their father), David and Becky
Aunt Fredia, Uncle Robert, Angela, Uncle Andy, David and Mom

We Did It!

I now present to you a graduate of the class of 2007!

Friday Feast

Appetizer:
List 3 emotions you experienced this week.
It's been a week full of various emotions. The three that come to mind are joy, pride, and fatigue. That joy comes from seeing David completing school and embarking in the next phase of his life and just the fact the God has given me the privelege of raising David & Angela. Pride comes from the accomplishments David has attained. As well as being proud of both David and Angela. Fatigue from all the pre-graduation festivities on top of a normal week.

Soup:
Name a car you’d love to have.
I've always wanted a pick up truck. However, I am content with my mini van.

Salad:
Describe your typical morning routine.
Brush my teeth, drink a cup of coffee, smoke a cigarette while checking my e-mail, wake David and Angela up, shower and dress for work. Take Angela to school. Stop at Common Grounds Coffee Shop for more coffee before going to work.

Main Course:
Have you ever emailed someone famous? If so, who, and what did you say to them? Did they reply?
I don't know anyone who is famous.

Dessert:
Do you listen to podcasts? If so, which ones?
I don't listen to podcasts.

Baccalaurete Service

It's been a busy week with Pre-Graduation festivities. Tonight was Baccalaurete Service for the Class of 2007. This year's service was hosted by New Harvest Church and they did an excellent job of hosting.

It has also been a tearful week for mom. Last night at Class night I got teary eyed as David was presented with the Dan McCarthy Scholarship and talking with parents of his classmates. Earlier this week I got emotional as I read David's blog post about his father coming for graduation. Then tonight again as I tied his tie for the first time. Yes, I actually got it right but only after watching an instruction video off the internet on how to tie one. Tonight at the service as Marci from the Methodist Church sang "The River" by Garth Brooks I got teary eyed again (David use to imitate Garth when he was 3 & 4 years old) . Not to mention seeing the Class of 2007 in their cap and gowns for the first time.

Two of David's classmates, Chantelle Steele and Reggie Gray, sang specials as well at Baccalaurete. The Ministerial Association Scholarship was awarded tonight to Alton Edmons as well as the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Scholarship to David Fountain. New Harvest had a drawing for prizes (2 gift certificates, 2 ipod shuffles, and 2 televisions) for the graduates.

Pastor John Hicks from the Methodist Church brought the message tonight from Romans 8:28. Since this particular verse is one of David's favorites it was special. Not to mention that we are currently studying Romans on Wednesday nights at our church.

Following the service David wanted to go hang out with Tommy and Debbie. He's been busy every night and hasn't had the opporunity to just hang out with friends. Prior to the service I had taken some pictures of David in his cap and gown along with other snapshots of his classmates. But somehow they got deleted. I did manage to get home with some from the service.

Class of 2007

Jimmy Pittman speaks prior to announcing the FCA Scholarship receipent

Pastor John Hicks

2007 Class Night

Tonight was 2007 Class Night at Clewiston High School. Graduates were presented with Academic Awards, Scholarships (Academic and Community). It was a proud night for parents and graduates as we witnessed the various achievements of these young men and women. Many of whom we have known throughout the years and have watched mature into the fine gentlemen and ladies they are today.

David received two awards tonight. The Academic Achievement Award for obtaining a grade point average of 3.0 or above. The Bright Futures Medallion Scholarship . He also received the Dan McCarthy Scholarship (valued at $8,000) from the Lions Club.

Tonight Angela and I sat beside the parents of a friend of David's, Kristin Way. They have been in school together since we moved here in 1996. Her mom is a teacher at the Elementary School that David attended. Kristin's dad and I talked prior to the program about the many field trips that we chaperoned when they were younger. It was fun reminiscing about those times and realizing that now they are about to embark into a new journey in their lives.

David and Angela before entering the program

David, myself and Tuesday Tritt, President of Lions Club, with his scholarship award

Spring Fever

I know I should be working. . . but I keep thinking how I would love to be sitting on a beach right now with a book in my hand and a cool drink by my side just relaxing. Every year about this time I begin to have "spring fever" and I want to be outside enjoying the sunshine instead of in an office.

Friday's Feast

Appetizer:
Tell about a time when you had to be brave. Eleven years ago when I moved to Clewiston and became a single mom. Not knowing then how I would do it on my own.

Soup:
Which upcoming movie are you excited about seeing? Fracture (Anthony Hopkins) and Amazing Grace (when it comes out on DVD).

Salad:
Name an item you try to always have on hand. Coffee, I love my coffee.

Main Course:
Imagine the most relaxing room you can think of. Now describe it! A room with a view in the mountains with comfy chair or sofa with candles burning and the lights dimmed.

Dessert:
On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being highest), how spiritual or religious are you? I wish I could say a 10 because that is where I desire to be, but I am a sinner saved by grace. So I am going to say a 7 or 8.

Did You Get a Haircut?

I couldn't stand the long hair any longer, so today I went and had Julie cut it off. At first I wasn't sure what I wanted her to do, but as always she had the answer. . . "Cut it short." This is the longest I've ever gone with longer hair and it feels so good to have it short again. I've had different comments ranging from "I can't believe you cut it" to "I love it." Now that it's short again I feel much better. It's amazing what a haircut can do to make us feel better.

Full Sail Tour Concluded

Our tour of the Full Sail campus began on Sunday at 12:00 p.m. David was excited to have the opportunity to go into the different areas of the school and the main building for show production and touring. Angela and I were unfamiliar with all of the technology that we were surrounded by, yet amazed the people actually know how to operate the equipment.

Full Sail is a nice campus although small in comparison to other ones. David & I were both pleased to learn that show production and touring is kept to a small classroom size. They explained to us that show production and touring students go to school on a 24/7 schedule, learning to sleep in 4 hour blocks. They do this in order to keep lecture classrooms to a 32 to 1 ratio and the labs (where they do hands on) at a 6 to 1 ratio. David wasn't to keen on the idea of sleeping in 4 hour blocks, but I think he can handle if he sets his mind to it.

Another bonus, according to David, is the Project LaunchBox that provides all incoming students with a MacBook Pro notebook loaded with software. It will allow them access to their portfolios anywhere they are.

We all enjoyed the tour and I think David would enjoy being at this school for 13 months considering the passion he has for this field. Now it's just a matter of figuring out the financial end of things.

This picture is actually the Show Production and Touring building. It's across the street from the main campus.

Full Sail Tour Continued

As I mentioned in the previous post, we were ready to relax after looking at apartments. However, since David doesn't own a pair of black dress pants (he has to have them for graduation) we needed to purchase a pair. Since we live an hour away from a mall we decided to purchase them while in Orlando. We found a shopping center nearby and enjoyed window shopping after we purchased the pants. We happened to find a Barnes & Nobles and decided to go in for drinks and a coffee. The coffee hit the spot and to my delight I even pick up a copy of the book Amazing Grace. I have been wanting to see it in movie form, but the book will be just as good.

After we left the shopping mall we headed back to the hotel where David and I went swimming while I started on my book. Later in the evening we went to Olive Garden for dinner and then to Boardwalk Bowl. We bowled for an hour and then played on game of glow in the dark mini golf. I bowl about as well as I golf. Very poorly. The first game I bowled a sixty two, Angela an eighty and David won with 105. The next game was even worse for me. I managed to bowl 5 gutter balls in a row, ending up with a 52. Angela improved with an 85 and David continued to dominate with a 90. The golf game was fun but like I said I'm not good at either one. My golf score on 9 holes 35. Angela scored 35 as well and David won again with 27.

We enjoyed being together just the three of us and laughing at each other. I think this was my favorite part of the trip. It was on the way back to the hotel that I thought about when David is college we won't have those opportunities as often and made me wish we had done more of these kind of things.

Apartment Search

We are spending the weekend in Winter Park, Florida looking at apartments and attending the Full Sail Tour. Today we looked at 5 apartment complexes near Full Sail. We actually had a list of 8 apartments that we wanted to look at but after looking at 5 of them, we were ready to head back to the hotel to swim and relax before going to dinner and bowling. Our favorite apartment so far is University Walk. It is located two blocks away from Full Sail and has an individual lease agreement. The individual lease agreement allows you to lease a 2 bedroom/2 bath apartment for $598 per month. This way if your room mate bails on you, you are only responsible for your lease agreement. The other options for the same size apartment without the individual lease agreement is $980 per month. These apartments also come furnished or unfurnished. The one we got to look at was furnished.

Along with University Walk we also looked at other apartments ranging from $780 per month up to $990 per month with no individual lease agreements. University Walk also has Chick A Fil, Cosco, Target, Burger King, gas stations, and Sonny's all within a block of each other.

We will think more seriously on the apartment front once we figure out the financial aide and student loans. We will have the opportunity to find out all this tomorrow during our tour at Full Sail.

Friday's Feast

Appetizer:

Name something you would not want to own. The first thing that pops into my head is a snake. I'm sure there are other things, but this is top on my list.

Soup:

Describe your hair (texture, color, length, etc.). Since I just colored it Monday it is now a dark brown (which I am not happy with), but it is naturally light brown with lots of gray. I have let it go out and it's down to my collar. The texture is coarse.

Salad:

Finish this sentence: I’ll never forget the day David and Angela were born and how I felt the first time I held them in my arms.

Main Course:

Which famous person would you like to be for one day? Why? I'm happy being myself. But I desire to be more Christ like. Why? To glorify God.

Dessert:

Write one sentence about yourself that includes one thing that is true and another thing that is not. (True statement)I have been saved bygrace through faith and not from myself, but it is a gift of God. (False statement) I am not nervous about David leaving home.

Relationships

One-sided relationships are painful. You are the one that calls just to see how their day is going, but never receive one in return. You send cards, but never get them. You attempt to set dates to get together, but there is always an excuse why they can't.

It’s relationships like these that make you realize how empty everything is without the heart, without mutual affection. In a one-sided relationship you begin to realize that you are the only one reaching out, that nobody is reaching out for you. The other person is just going through the motions to fulfill some sense of obligation, and you feel they would prefer that you left them alone. It’s not a fulfilling relationship, it’s a one-sided affair, and you feel like a rejected fool.

I imagine that this is how God feels with us sometimes. He reaches out to embrace us, but we don’t embrace him in return. He tries to walk with us, but we hold his hand stiffly, fulfilling a duty instead of enjoying a tender touch. We go through the motions, acting like we belong to God, while our hearts are far away. We never reach for him. Sometimes we would prefer he weren’t in our life so we could be free to do the things we really want to do. We claim to be with God, but he knows that we have rejected him.

One-sided relationships are painful for both of the parties involved. The real joy comes in giving yourself body and soul to one who loves you in return. God doesn’t want us to just act like we are with him, he wants our hearts, our passions, our sincere love. That’s the kind of relationship that will last through the ages.