Can we add another day to the weekend?

Today I woke up to the sun shining brightly through the trees near my window. I looked outside and knew it was going to be a good day. I found an old journal this morning from my sophomore year at UT. It was filled with prayer requests, scriptures, and my everyday events (even dating back to my last day working in the warehouse at P&S!) I quickly showered and was getting ready to go visit Towne View Baptist Church this morning for my first church experience in Georgia. I looked up the address to make sure where it was (only 3 minutes away) and saw that they had only one worship service that began at 11:00am. Their services typically last a little over an hour and I was supposed to meet up with Stacy (and possibly Leslie and Tausha) for the Big Shanty festival so I decided to visit the next weekend I'm in town when I don't have anything to do immediately after. I instead sat in bed and read the journal entries that spanned from August 20, 2008 to November 17, 2002. It is amazing to look back at where my focus was then, where it is now, and where it has been in between those times. It also made me a little sad at the often mention of Chris, Josh, and Jubin as I don't get to hang out with them on a regular basis anymore. I read lots of scripture and spent a good deal of time in prayer before making a list of groceries and venturing out to the Super Target for some shopping. It was not crowded at all while I was there (9:45am) and it was nice to just slowly stroll down each aisle to see what I might want to eat this week. I made a relatively small purchase considering my last food purchase at Publix was close to $200. I went back to the apartment and unpacked everything.

Stacy called shortly after noon and we finalized plans to attend Kennesaw's Big Shanty Festival. It is located in downtown Kennesaw (which is actually far away from the business section of Kennesaw) and they had the streets closed off for vendors to set up their booths. I had envisioned a replica of the Squash Festival held in the little town in the movie Doc Hollywood, and I was pretty close but without the live animals and only rednecks present. There were crafts galore and lots of food stands offering cotton candy, frozen lemonade, and funnel cakes. There was also a climbing wall, several inflatable structures for kids to play on and in, and some live music from a local bluegrass band. Stacy and I refrained from eating anything (even though it smelled wonderful) because we have decided to keep each other accountable in getting in shape and consuming those foods would have been counter-productive. We didn't spend too much time there due to our lack of interest in hand carved decorations, airbrushed t-shirts, or antique-looking jewelry. We only spent an hour there, but at least I can now say that I have been to this event and do not have to attend again next year simply for the "experience". We stopped off at an Exxon on my way to dropping Stacy off and I filled up...for $52! Gas here has hit the $3.39 mark as the cheap end of the spectrum in Kennesaw. I went back to my apartment and found that the reception video had finished burning and it looked great! I printed, duplicated, and then packaged them to ship out tomorrow. I also spent a good deal of the afternoon cleaning everything extremely thoroughly. I now feel that my apartment would even pass the Hickey test (I even dusted the puzzle boxes on a shelf on my end tables!) I searched online for some black and white canvas prints for over my entertainment center, the kitchen, and over my couch. I found many possibilities, but few that I could afford while saving for my TV. I'll have to keep these in mind for Christmas perhaps.

Tonight I watched a movie dad had lent me, Hollowman 2 (you can checkout more info from the movie's page on imdb.com). I expected it to be fairly awful since I didn't even know they made a sequel to the first horror movie. The original starred Kevin Bacon and, while graphic, was very good as far as horror-sci-fi's go. This was not the same case. While it attempted to make up for a weak story and poor acting budgets with special effects, the film's shortcomings could not be ignored. I will definitely not be purchasing my own copy of this, weak attempt at a professional horror production. I straightened a few things in my office and looked ahead to future weddings I will film to make sure that I had all the supplies (tapes, DVDs, etc.) I needed to complete the filming projects. I decided to relocate to my bed in an attempt to capture some sleep for the upcoming week. If I talk to any of you this week please ask me if I have run/worked out that day to help keep me accountable. Thanks and have a great start to the work week tomorrow!

Meditation for the day: an excerpt from "Let It All Out" by Reliant K

"You said I know that this will hurt, but if I don't break your heart then things will just get worse. If the burden seems too much to bear remember the end will justify the pain it took to get us there. And I'll let it be known at times I have shown signs of all my weakness, but somewhere in me there is strength. And You promised me that You believe in time I will defeat this some where in me there is strength. And today I'll trust you with the confidence of a man who's never known defeat, and I'll try my best to just forget that that man isn't me."