Called...

"Not called!" did you say? "Not heard the call," I think you should say.Put your ear down the Bible and hear Him bid you go and pull sinners out of the fire of sin. Put your ear down to the burdened, the agonized hearts of humanity, and listen to its pitiful wail for help. Go stand by the gates of Hell, and hear the damned entreat you to go to their father's house and bid their brothers and sisters, and servants and masters not to come there. And then look Christ in the face, whose mercy you have professed to obey, and tell him whether you will join heart and soul and body and circumstances in the march to publish his mercy to the world.

-William Booth

Monday, Monday, Monday.....(said with a deep voice that rumbles)

So yes, I have a long post comin' your way today, cause it's Monday. :D Which happens to include pics. Huzzah!

1. KA trip.

Which was awesome. Here's some stuff from it.

Me, trying to get some last minute editing done! I like this pic. It's funny and cute. And my hair looks awesome. :P In case you were wondering, yes I cut it. Again. I can't help it! I love it short!

Lunch on Saturday, I have the grey hat on. Oh, how I miss you guys!

Some of us goofing of as Pirates vs. Ninjas. XD I was a Pirate!

Samii, StoryGirl and me! *Sorry SG! I forgot your name! Eyi!

2. A new book.

Yup. And you have to buy it. It's just too amazing. Here's a vid on what it's all about.

This book has changed my life, and I'm only in the third chapter. Here's a tid bit for ya.

It's easy for American Christians to forget how jesus said his followers would actually live, what thier new lifestyle would actually look like. They would, he said, leave behind security, money, convenience, even family for him. They would abandon everything for the sake of the gospel. They would take up their crosses daily....

But who do you know that lives like that? Do you?

3. Discussion

Last night Mom, Dad, Janessa and I had some powerful discussion on what we (as a family) believe as Baptists. It was challenging, encouraging, and heartening to be fed the truth. Time after time, we pulled out our copies of God's Word and checked what we believe to what we know the Bible says. How amazing is it to know that God has an answer to everything? Whether or not he decides to make it known to us...

Here's a bit that was especially powerful for me.

God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him. After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun.

Romans 8:28-30

I don't know how to keep going on miscellaneous things today. Today is just too thoughtful to fill with random musings. Last night's talk left too big an imprint on me to be spouting off about Sharpies and shopping sprees....and after that video..I don't know if I want to. God has a bigger calling on our lives than the best deals at the grocery store. Are we responding to it? And I leave you with this. A video that did more than change my life...it's changed my future.

Changes, changes...

Some of you may have noticed the changes on my blog. Well, a lot is happening to do so.

1. If you want to keep up with my re-enactments, go to it's own specialized page, newly made for your convenience!
2. I am a writer, so my blog might be a little more literary minded this school year. Including my study of Shakespeare's works for my Brit Lit cred. :D
3. The new name. Don't worry, the url is still the same. But I've come to a realization this summer. God has equipped me with a talent for words, and I intend to use it to tell stories of grace, hope, forgiveness, and sacrifice. Some times that means I have to dip into the real world for examples of sin, despair, cruelty, and deprivation. Understand that this is real writing. Not some fairy tale. Not a lovey-dovey story that makes you feel good and your innards warm. As a friend of mine once said, "I want to be God's frying pan and go around whacking heads. People have got to wake up." Wake up indeed.
4. Pictures.....ah yes. Those lovely things. Weeel, the laptop crashed, so posting pictures is difficult now and editing them is near impossible. I'm working on that. ;) Re-enactments are hard to come by in the summer (when it's 99 degrees for a week straight). But trips aren't! :D And I have plenty of those coming.
5. Sewing Projects!!!! I have yet to update that page (or develop it for that matter. ;) ) I have several projects done, and finished, that I would love to post and talk about! Check out that page soon for some awesome stitching!

To keep you all up to date, here's a look at what this year is bringing:

• NC trip (#3 of this year) and trip to Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, NC.
• Several re-enactments. Including the Fall Encampment, Red River, Yule Fest, Daniel Smith Days, and possibly Fort Loudon, which I am especially excited about.
• The usual Thanksgiving Trip to NC.
• A "talked of" Christmas trip to....Texas? O_o

And in addition to:

• School!
• Novel deadline (August 15th at midnight)
• New novel!
• Graduation! O_O There's a shocker for ya. ;)

Some updates on my life:

1. The Kansas trip went great and I had a blast! Learned so much from the people there and can't wait to go back next year.
2. Contacts?
3. A new impersonation for re-enacting. Drumroll please!!! : It's a young widow. Hoohoo! There's gonna be some fun with that. :D
4. This is a little more serious. I have felt God leading me into the mission field after (and during) college. For quite a while he has placed the people of Europe on my heart, where religion there is a culture, not a relationship with God Almighty. Please pray for me as I find out what God has planned for my life and prepare for His calling.

So, anyways. Lotsa going on. And more to come. ;) (Don't worry, patience isn't a virtue I possess either. XD )

Miscellany Monday

I found this amazing blog the other day.

Actually, I take that back. I've been following it for weeks and absolutely love it!

So I decided to link up and do their Miscellany Mondays for fun. Who knows? Maybe I'll get more followers. ;)

So here we go.

1. Have I ever mentioned how awesome my dad is? Well he is.

Saturday evening, I was bored (how in the world I have no idea, since I had a good book to read, a book to write and plenty of friends to chat with) and wanted to see the movie, Prince of Persia. So did Ness. And Mumsie. But they were seeing it on Monday (today) with some friends. Who aren't my age. Bummer. Daddy was exhausted from work and decided to see it Monday.

Well, typical me, I had a pity party for myself (yes, the good 'ol fashioned Janae pity party). I wanted a date THAT night with Daddy and at NIGHT. Not during the day like everyone else on Monday. Why? Cause it doesn't seem like a date, that's why! I got over it eventurally.

But guess what? Daddy surprised me today. Instead of going with everyone else, he's taking me to the showing at 9:35 pm. A Date. At Night.

Isn't he awesome? I love you Daddy.

2. I have to find raisins. I promised my friend Jared I'd make him oatmeal raisin cookies (seriously) in return for reading one of his novels early. And we don't have raisins. Kroger here I come.

3. My lavender plant finally has roots! YES! I've been working on a cutting of it and the poor thing would not root! Well, today I was commenting on how pitiful it looked and low and behold, there was a root. Herb garden, thou shalt be complete!

4. Sweet Tea is the nectar of the gods. I'm dead serious. I live off of that stuff. I think I went through a gallon and a half today. And no, I wasn't doing anything strenuous to deserve so much liquid. I was reading.

What!? It makes me thirsty!

5. Happy Memorial Day. Even with my extensive vocabulary and penchant for words (yes, yes I know, please don't applaud), nothing I could say could sum it up quite as perfectly for me as the song they sang in church yesterday.

"...this is the land of the Free, because of the Brave..."

My name is Janae....NOT JanEa.

Anyone who knows me knows that my name is almost ALWAYS mispronounced. And this is rather grating. Sometimes I wonder if it would have been easier to have a common name like "Sarah" or "Emma".

But then I remember what my name means and why it was given to me.

You see, I was a surprise. That's right. Big 'ol surprise baby commin' right up! Highfives to all you surprise babies out there.

But you know what? Mom and Dad thought that was the coolest thing to have a little girl ten years after two boys. And what did they name me? Janae. Which means "God's Gracious Gift".

So my name is both a pleasing and a curse. Why? Because no one gets it right. There is a poor child named JanEa who refuses to answer to roll call for her Stanford Achievement Tests. Poor her. So are Janie, Janna, Jenna, and Jeannie.

But Janae is sitting there waiting. And when I think about how much my parents loved me to give me a name so rare and beautiful, I'm glad I'm not a Sarah. Or an Emma. I'm glad I'm Janae.

And one day, if God decides to bless me with a beautiful surprise baby girl, I'll name her Janae.

I'll just spell it differently. ;)

Spring!

Sorry guys about all the background changes. I've been messing around with some different themes and tidbits. I finally decided on this one, it's nice and fresh and I love the color. A Few things to check out:

I have pages now! YAY! I'll posting all my sewing projects and statuses in "Under the Needle".

Causes and projects I support are in "Do Something About It". And lastly, all the people and blogs I love are in "From Their Fingertips".

And now for some fun! Despite the rain from the past few days, I've managed to plant my herb garden for the year and I'm so excited about it. Everything's so green! I've got some pics, and I hope you enjoy!

Herbs I planted: Basil, Chamomile, Cilantro, Fennel, Lavender, Lemon Balm, Mint, Oregano, Rosemary, Sage, Taragon, and Thyme! Not all are planted, as some I have to do seedlings, and others I have as cuttings in mason jars in the kitchen window sill. :D But, here are the few I did this afternoon.

Back view of it. Daddy built me a bed alongside the fence with all these lovely flowers behind it!
Frontal view. That's Dad in the background with the straw hat. XD
Sage!
Mint!

Note: I apologize for the sad state of the photos. Due to my camera not allowing me to load pictures to the comp, I've had to use the camcorder. I'm working on saving for a much better one. But until then, well, deal with it. :P ;)

4 Random Things...and some announcements.

Apparently, the flooding has reached national headlines...didn't realize that. But it's bad. realllll bad. Most of Nashville is underwater and will be for quite some time. This is horrible for our economy...which ain't the greatest anyways.

The dams here are also brimming, but they can't let out anymore water as it would destroy even more. This is very dangerous. If the water overflows, it could damage the dams.

Clean drinking water is also running out and people are being asked to conserve. This comes at the worst time, when everyone is planting their gardens and farms..that need water.

For those of you who care, I AM okay. There's been some flooding near us, closing off some of the major (and minor) road ways which make it hard to get to anything, like jobs and stores. Schools have been closed as buses can't get where they need to, and most of the schools have suffered damage as well.

The biggest concern in mold. Everyone is trying desperately to clean the water up, but in some places it's over 10 feet deep. Mold sets in after two days, and we're pretty darn near that mark. This could be disastrous to people who've already lost almost everything by just the water. Mold means you have to replace everything, down to the sheetrock.

Please keep us all in your prayers as we try to help others worse off than us. We need them.

Now, 4 Random Things for the Planting Chums!

1. I LOVE Sharpies. Seriously! They're so much fun! I recently bought a huge package of them with the double ends in all these bright colors!! MUCH love. :D

2. I sleep with my cat. I do, I do, I do!!! :D Usually she curls up behind my knees.

3. I spell "grey" with an 'e' not an 'a'. E looks better...more...green. XD

4. I do NOT "lol". Blegch. Nasteh uncreative abbreviations. It's *laugh* or "That made me laugh!" Whoever invented texting DESTROYED the English Language. UGH.

So...now that I've had my little rant. :D What about you? What are four random things about you? Comment to let us know!