Well, it seems we have two days of vacation we must use before July 1, the new fiscal year. I know that Mom will be very disappointed we're not coming home! I will miss going home for our vacation, but hopefully we'll be there soon - and until then, here's a tentative idea of our throw-together vacation. The planning, all occurring within the past few days, has been surprisingly easy - and it seems, cheap.
We're going to... KENTUCKY!
Why? Here's a tentative plan:
Thursday, June 23:
Mammoth Cave
Abraham Lincoln Birthplace
and Knob Creek Farm
Gethsemani Abbey
Bardstown, KY
Staying and dining here (maybe we'll run into PAULA!)
Friday, June 24:
St. Thomas Parish
Basilica of St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral
Bernheim Arboreteum
Zappos Outlet (OMG!)
Maker's Mark Distillery
Beaumont Inn(One of Paul's ancestors, "Miss Sue", was a student here when it was an all-girl's school!)
Saturday, June 25:
Perryville Battlefield State Park
Four Roses Distillery
Wild Turkey Distillery
Woodford Reserve Distillery
(don't worry, we won't sample at all those!)(but I think there's a free tee shirt in for us if we make it to all of them!)
Old Fort Harrod
Overnight at a Hampton Inn in Richmond, KY - which was free because of our Hampton Inn points!
Sunday, June 26:
Church here, probably
And the long way home... hopefully via Rugby, TN and Pickett State Park in Jamestown, TN!
If we even do half this stuff, it will be an amazing time!
Monday, June 20, 2011
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Thought for the day
From Part 1: The Fundamentals of Christian Mediatation in
The Better Part: A Christ Centered Resource for Personal Prayer
...this friendship is mediated by faith. You can't just call Jesus on the phone, as you can with your other friends. He is always with you, but your awareness of an access to His presence passes through faith. Faith is a virtue, which means that it can be more or less developed. The less developed it is, the more effort it takes to activate your awareness of God's presence. Many modern Christians have an underdeveloped faith. They have been unwittingly contaminated by the consumer culture's veneration for quantifiable evidence ("I won't believe it unless a scientific study proves it!) and its elevation of feelings over reason ("I don't feel in love anymore, so why should I stay married?") - both of which weaken faith.
A scrawny faith often makes Jesus look fuzzy and seem distant, just as the sun seems weak and irrelevant when you're wearing dark glasses. Your ability to pray will suffer the consequences. Have you ever noticed how hard it is to be distracted when you watch a good movie? Effortlessly you pay perfect attention to a complex story for two hours. Contrast that with what typically happens during your fifteen minutes of meditation. What's the difference? Contact with God takes faith, "going as we do by faith and not by sight" (2 Cor. 5:7). It takes the effort of "all your heart, soul, mind and strength" (Mark 12:30) to align your fallen nature (which tends to seek fulfillment in the things of this earth) with the sublime truths that God has revealed through the teachings of the Church.
The Better Part: A Christ Centered Resource for Personal Prayer
...this friendship is mediated by faith. You can't just call Jesus on the phone, as you can with your other friends. He is always with you, but your awareness of an access to His presence passes through faith. Faith is a virtue, which means that it can be more or less developed. The less developed it is, the more effort it takes to activate your awareness of God's presence. Many modern Christians have an underdeveloped faith. They have been unwittingly contaminated by the consumer culture's veneration for quantifiable evidence ("I won't believe it unless a scientific study proves it!) and its elevation of feelings over reason ("I don't feel in love anymore, so why should I stay married?") - both of which weaken faith.
A scrawny faith often makes Jesus look fuzzy and seem distant, just as the sun seems weak and irrelevant when you're wearing dark glasses. Your ability to pray will suffer the consequences. Have you ever noticed how hard it is to be distracted when you watch a good movie? Effortlessly you pay perfect attention to a complex story for two hours. Contrast that with what typically happens during your fifteen minutes of meditation. What's the difference? Contact with God takes faith, "going as we do by faith and not by sight" (2 Cor. 5:7). It takes the effort of "all your heart, soul, mind and strength" (Mark 12:30) to align your fallen nature (which tends to seek fulfillment in the things of this earth) with the sublime truths that God has revealed through the teachings of the Church.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Thirty before Thirty
OK, so I have an idea. It's not altogether original - but I'm going with it. I made Paul swear he wouldn't pick on me or call me cheesy too much when I told him, and he kind of blinked and said it was not a bad idea.
I'm going to think of thirty things - or commitments - or endeavors - or life changers - to do before I'm thirty. The first, and most obvious is lose thirty pounds. Now that's change - very gradual change - I can believe in, right? The next kind of obvious thing is I'm going to give away thirty things each month. Paul raised an eyebrow at that, but I had the caveat that if I didn't get around to donating items I could always write a $30 check to the Nashville Rescue Mission or another charity.
Other ideas I've had have to do with walks, books, and food, but nothing concrete. Just those first two, so I need TWENTY EIGHT MORE. Which is how old I was on... Sunday :) So, let me know your ideas to best celebrate this year! The blog, although it's not that far-reaching, does provide some measure of accountability. As bad as I stink at goals, I'm already drafting my "oh-well" speech in my head for this time next year. But you never know!
I'm going to think of thirty things - or commitments - or endeavors - or life changers - to do before I'm thirty. The first, and most obvious is lose thirty pounds. Now that's change - very gradual change - I can believe in, right? The next kind of obvious thing is I'm going to give away thirty things each month. Paul raised an eyebrow at that, but I had the caveat that if I didn't get around to donating items I could always write a $30 check to the Nashville Rescue Mission or another charity.
Other ideas I've had have to do with walks, books, and food, but nothing concrete. Just those first two, so I need TWENTY EIGHT MORE. Which is how old I was on... Sunday :) So, let me know your ideas to best celebrate this year! The blog, although it's not that far-reaching, does provide some measure of accountability. As bad as I stink at goals, I'm already drafting my "oh-well" speech in my head for this time next year. But you never know!
Monday, June 6, 2011
Friday, June 3, 2011
And what would a blog roundup be, without...
...Bugs and Lana? They have been SO active already this summer. Fresh haircuts...
...and the happiest you can make a dog for $10 on a hot summer - I mean SPRING - afternoon!
...and the happiest you can make a dog for $10 on a hot summer - I mean SPRING - afternoon!
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