twelve little indians.

so i've been praying for a running partner. someone who will get me out of the house and off the couch and into some intense running. i wanted someone who would keep me accountable, instead of keeping them accountable.
it may sound a little selfish to you, but i guess what i meant to say is that i wanted someone who would be excited to run, like i am (cough* sometimes), and someone who could do judo-chop moves if i ever get abducted by a creepy woman-runner killer. in other words, i don't want to run by myself. 

its boring and dangerous.

so i prayed for it for a couple of months. the prayer made its way into my prayer journal, and though it may seem trivial, i thought i could bring it to God anyways. 

lo, and behold, about a month ago i got a consistent running partner. 

and not only did i get a consistent running partner, but i got about twelve or so--no joke, God directed me to a large group of intermediate runners, who go about 20 miles or so a week. some skip, some sleep, some are busy, but the running always goes on, and at least 5 will show on a regular basis.

and they're all awesome, encouraging, challenging in a good way, and women of God.

except a couple of the husbands, they're not women, but they are of God and one of them does wear awfully short shorts during the long runs.

the hilarity of it never gets old. 

but the whole realization that not only my prayer got answered, but it got answered x12 is really amazing if you think about it. it puts more life to the verse ephesians 3: "now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond what we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen!"

they call themselves c-towners. and you better watch out.

pruning failure.

i pruned the pumpkin too much. and it died. its now orange and about the size of a toddler's head. and the plant is dead.
i pruned it too much.
i killed Pumpkin.
and the dreams of having the world's biggest pumpkin ready to be carved for halloween are crushed by the harsh reality of a mournful summer.

okay maybe its not that dramatic.
but it got me thinking about God's mercy.
God is called the master Gardener, Pruner, Vinedresser. In John 15 Jesus says, "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit."

"sweet" thought i. "i can prune this pumpkin a little and it will grow more pumpkins!!!!"

Picture this:
picture me walking, all slow-motion, intense like--towards this pumpkin vine in the back yard, scissors in my right hand, the other hand clenched in a tight make-your-knuckles-white fist, i've prunin' on my mind, adrenaline in my blood, and soil on my cheek.


again, probably not as dramatic.


but, then i proceeded to cut off all of the dead or soon to be dead leaves. "there you go little pumpkin, now show me what you got!" 
a week later. the whole thing was dead and the one green plump young pumpkin was turning a bright orange.
the idea is that if you cut off the dead leaves, the energy that is going to them will go to the live parts of the plant, thus producing more fruit. 

where did i falter? cutting off the almost dead leaves. I didn't give those enough time to provide photosynthesis for the plant. they were working like they needed to. they just didn't look new and fresh as as thought they should.

through all of this, i've found that in the world of plants, i am not good at playing God. 
i clearly don't know how to prune just enough to where it benefits the plant. to get rid of all that is bad and leave that which profits a plant, even if i consider it ugly. 
God never prune us too much. He just gets rid of the things that cause death, or take away the energy from that which produces fruit. He is mercyful to allow us to experience those leaves which are ugly, but still beneficial in our lives. once they are unneeded, He gets rid of them.

sorry Pumpkin. maybe we'll plant your seeds next summer and you can produce a whole bushel of pumpkins for yourself!
and i promise, i won't come anywhere near you with scissors. 

check out our new watermelons!!! i solemnly swear i will not come at you with scissors too.

ochiltree.

is the name of this newlywed.

 

what in the hee-haw is an ochiltree?

so glad you asked. 

• Ochiltree, spelt Uchletree in the Middle Ages, is a village in East Ayrshire, Scotland near Auchinleck and Cumnock. It is one of the oldest villages in East Ayrshire with archaeological remains indicating Stone Age and Bronze Age settlers.

thanks wikipedia. you never disappoint.  

ok so i may not ever actually refer to the newly weds as an old village in East Ayrshire, but i most certainly will call them the ochiltrees.

they're precious. and this is their wedding.

i love pensacola weddings. not because they are always thebomb.com, but because its always a reunion when they happen.

everybody in pensacola knows everybody else. and this wedding was a coming together of not only two lovely people, but the coming together of a large group of friends who love each other dearly.

how presh.

this wedding was a blast. when the final vows were done and the pastor said, "tony, you may now kiss the bride" the groom practically jumped out of his shoes and planted a big one on her.

then they raced out of there like two banchees.

they didn't even stop for a formal "announcement of the couple."

a little too excited to get to the honeymoon suite, hey ochiltrees?

 

then you have these two jokesters.

they're jokesters ill tell ya.

 i mean who would make a funny face like that at a wedding?

 

oh yeah. i totally would.

 

after the long walk down the aisle the bridesmaids are a little hungry!

 

well hello there pretty ladies.

 

yeah we got our dance on.

and all in all it was a good, good, night.

steps to be a horrible blogger!

Ten ways to stop people from looking at your blog
1. get really busy
2. neglect the blog
3. get even busier
4. stop taking pictures
5. take naps instead of being productive
6. get a job
7. watch too much alias
8. forget the blog
9. busy-as-a-bee.


sorry i have not posted. its been a CRAZY summer! i promise with a boy scout promise i will blog more! i have weddings to show you!

Love you ALL!