Crazy week, but then, aren’t they all? I had this weird ‘Jurassic Park’ dream the other night… I was in a chemistry lab with several classmates and this family of dinosaurs came out of nowhere and started eating people in our school. We were working on a chemical that would kill them, but I think I woke up before we discovered the right mixture (guess Kathleen wasn't working with us...). That, or our lab teacher got eaten. Either way, the dinosaurs were still on the loose when I got in the shower that morning. Hmm….

Due to the above certifiable insanity, it’s time to head for the hill country! Leaving tomorrow afternoon with Chris and Stacey and a few of the high school guys from church to go work at Camp of the Hills for a week. An entire week! I’m quite excited about that one.

Looking forward to trading in vehicle traffic... for that of children running wild. Exchanging a busy schedule... for some quiet time. Cashing in the treadmill... for the hills (maybe not too pumped about that, honestly). Taking a break from the guy that lives below us who likes to smoke on his balcony while I’m trying to enjoy my hammock... for time sitting on the front porch of the dining hall in a rocking chair. Swapping the daily 9 hours on a computer... for helping out in the kitchen or outside or wherever I can be of service. Switching my ringing phone... for little voices singing at worship time every night.

Should be good.

Pictures to come, I'm sure… see you in August. Where has this summer gone?!

Big news: Strokes -n- Stitches is officially in full production mode!

A little explanation... A while back, an idea came about that my mom, grandmother, and I should have a booth together at a craft show. I mean, we're crafty people, right? Could make a little cash. Could be a lot of work. But could be really fun.

Back in May I started looking around for a fall show and found one through a friend of mine. It was a juried show and entries were due by the end of June, so we had to get it together quickly, but we decided to give it a shot just to see what would happen. And low and behold, Monday morning my inbox boasted a response from the 'head show people' saying we were selected!

So mark your calendars for this generational debut at Market in the Meadow, October 10-11, here in Dallas.

Here's part of what we submitted along with our entry, as well as a few shots of potential product. Time to get painting!

Strokes -n- Stitches comprises three generations of family-oriented craftiness, hailing from the Texas Panhandle. Our master stitcher, Margarett, has been painting, sewing, and quilting for many years. Putting love and energy into every project, she enjoys working out of her local sewing shop along with several of her stitching friends. Terri’s expertise encompasses a wide variety, specializing in hand-painted lettering and small gifts. Most of her projects are born out of a love for sharing with and teaching others to appreciate the little things in life. While she can’t sew a stitch, Gretchen works as a Graphic Designer here in the Dallas area. She dabbles in illustration and painting, as well as exploring new possibilities in the art realm. Combining our efforts and crafty talent, we offer a wide range of product, from ‘strokes’ of handpainted signs, custom-made lettering, and illustrated cards, to a wide variety of ‘stitches’ ranging from quilts, table runners, and aprons to seasonal gift items.

So Rachel and I went to see Harry Potter on Saturday. Of course it's fantastic, and I’m ready to read the books all over again. Not only was the movie great, but we discovered the coolest little theater as well. Check out the downstairs screening room at the Inwood Theater. Giant beanbags, couches, pillows, and blankets – all re-arrangeable. And surprisingly, super clean (I had my doubts…). They don’t have as many movies out at one time as, say, a UA or AMC would, but the prices are equivalent, so it's a pretty sweet deal.

Along with the photo catch-up, here are a few shots from Kaboom Town on July 3rd. We got there early for the fireworks, so I walked around the fair area and took a few shots with Rachel's Canon. Of course I lost light too quickly, so there were some serious grain issues, but as a result, I enjoyed taking serious liberty with the editing. I think the carousel horses turned out well, but see what ya think...

So this is a little late, but over the July 4th weekend, I went with Eric, Laura, Tim, and Rachel to McKinney for the 14th Annual Killis Melton Ice Cream Crank-Off. It was... amazing.

3,000 people... 1,500 pounds of ice... 400 pounds of salt... 39 entries totaling 100 gallons of homemade ice cream... and unlimited tasting for $3!

Entries varied from Grasshopper Guts to Dutch Oven Cherry Blueberry (fondly referred to as Dirty Black & Blue). The winners included:
Best Gourmet: Grandma Beverly’s Milky Way
Best Fruit: Watermelon Breeze (by our friend DeLena)
Best ____& Nut: Turtle
Best Chocolate: Aztec Chocolate Finale
Best "You Made What???": Mango-Habenero
Best Vanilla: Angelica Frangelica
Best overall: Strawberry Marshmallow

A few shots...

I was reminded yesterday (and through our time at Conversation Café on Wednesday nights) what a blessing it is to sit down with people and wrestle with tough questions. Deep life questions. Questions that are way beyond our understanding, yet worth absorbing various perspectives on. Not because it means we'll discover all the right answers and have everything figured out, but because it means our hearts are open to the growth and challenging of our faith.

Some questions from study time this last week...

What is God’s system for answering prayer? Obviously He can't answer everyone's request as they wish or everything would be a complete mess. What about when two faithful people pray for the same thing, and those prayers contradict each other?

Does God get frustrated when we ask for/think we need petty things when He can see a much bigger picture? How do we reconcile a God who gives and takes at will, yet wants us to be able to make choices freely?

Do we limit God when we pray for something specific over and over, so adamantly (and naively) thinking that one answered prayer will ‘make us more in tune with’ Our Father if He'd just grant what we ask?

Since God created everything and set the world in motion… since He is omniscient and knows the choices we will make… how is it that at times God can ‘change his mind’ due to our prayers? (Consider Moses: God tells Moses he will speak to Pharoah, etc. Moses asks God to send someone else. God says no. Moses pleads and gives excuses and asks again. God eventually sends Aaron to speak for Moses. So did God let that entire diatribe play out in order to further develop his relationship with Moses, or was Moses able to ‘change God’s mind’?)

Is prayer about changing us or changing what's happening around us? Does it stand to reason that a disciplined prayer life would cause us to be more aware and focused on other people and their needs and less concerned with ourselves?

Loaded, yes? But I like to think that God smiles down on his people as they discuss and wrestle with difficult things, as they seek to know Him more. I’m sure our thoughts and prayers are incredibly humorous to Him on some level. Don't you know He sometimes shakes His head at the ridiculous words we direct to Him?!

I do know that when we gather together and seek to know our Creator better, blessing occurs. And at the end of the day, we just have to know that God is God. He is in control, He knows all. He is loving and compassionate, even during those moments when we doubt that. God is good. He sees the big picture. And He desperately desires His people to be in relationship with Him. I think I need to work on that part quite a bit more. You?

Due to all the flags flying and America the Beautiful’s and such, I’m feeling a need to contribute some dialogue to the weekend’s events. A reflection on my patriotism, if you will...

This morning at 7:30 AM, 55,000 runners participated in the 40th running of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta, GA. The Peachtree is the largest 10K road race in the U.S. and is arguably the best and most prestigious race of its kind. This year, Peachtree hosted the USA Men’s 10km Championship and crowned the country’s fastest 10k runner.

An interesting history…
According to the Atlanta Track Club, a carload of ATC members were heading back from Fort Benning's Independence Day five-mile run when they came up with the idea of Atlanta holding its own Fourth of July race. The next year on July 4, 1970, about 110 runners participated after paying the $2 entry fee.

1980: the field of runners first reached 25,000

1990: a staggered race start lasting 30 minutes was introduced in order to support the field of 40,000 runners

1994: the field was expanded to 50,000. 62,000+ applicants vied for the spots within 48 hours of opening.

1998: the field was expanded to 55,000. Over 70,000 applicants applied within 24 hours of opening for these spots.

2004: in celebration of its 35th anniversary, the 110 original Peachtree finishers were invited back. In addition, Peachtree hosted its first satellite race at Camp Victory in Baghdad. Dubbed “Time Group Ten – Baghdad Division”, 500 soldiers wore Peachtree race numbers to earn the prestigious Peachtree T-shirt – a special edition with “Baghdad Division” on its sleeve.

Course records…
The fastest men's time in the AJC Peachtree Road Race is 27:04, set by Kenya's Joseph Kimani in 1996. The fastest women's time is 30:32 set by Lornah Kiplagat of Kenya in 2002.

2009 race day stats…
Over 900 volunteers helped coordinate the start alone (over 3,200 total volunteers), and it was a full hour and 15 minutes before the final runner got a chance to begin his or her 6.2 mile run down Peachtree Road to finish on 10th Street. As a result, the winner finished a good 50 minutes before the last competitor crossed the starting line.

The 55,000 runners burned approximately 34 million calories running the 6.2 mile course.

There were close to 600 portable toilets to accommodate the runners.

More than 500,000 recyclable paper cups and 65,000 bottles of water were used.

The oldest registered male and female runners were both 88.

3,200 runners participated in the overseas Peachtree editions in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait.

191 of the 55,000 Peachtree runners celebrate their birthday today.

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If you've read this far... it's been a fun weekend, though quite full... Kaboom Town last night was quite the experience, got some good pictures that I'll have to get uploaded... Cafe Brazil: breakfast at midnight, can't beat that... McKinney Homemade Ice Cream Crank-Off earlier today, Mango Habanero flavor?!, more on that later... off to the gym for awhile and then regrouping to see what else can be crammed into the weekend. Whew! Happy 4th...

Time has been flying by, yes? It's shameful that it's taken me so long to get a few simple pictures edited, but... it just has. So long story short, I took a quick road trip down to CS a few weekends ago to hang out with Jeff Wischkaemper, who invited me down for a day of photo work. If you know Jeff, you know that he’s an amazing photographer and has a gift for not only the technical side of capturing images, but the artistic side as well. Saturday was full of swapping cameras and lenses, playing around with macro shots, editing, a bridal shoot that night, and loads of learning on my part. It was such a great opportunity for me to dive back into that realm and get exited about some new possibilities. SO, huge thanks to Jeff. I brought back nearly 600 images to go through, half from random flowers and things around the A&M campus, the other half from our shoot in downtown Bryan. I’ll post a link when those images are up for viewing on Jeff’s site, but here’s a few of my macros from the day. Nothing too professional, but it's a start.







When taking these pictures, I was just in awe of the detail and complexity that could be seen through the lense of a camera. (The whole macro realm is new to me... ask Jeff, I was like a kid in a candy store the entire day!) And this morning going back through them, I am again reminded of the magnitude and depth of my Creator. Words cannot describe the beauty and love that was put into so many simple things all around us.