good ol mississippi, rodney....

i know. i haven't been around in a while. all the stuff i had going on health wise around the holidays kept me from feeling like doing anything. but, i feel much better and plan to keep it that way.

i took a long weekend a couple weeks ago and went home to visit. i was never proud of being from mississippi, but the older i get, the more i love it. there's so much history. and so many people don't know it. my parents have always enjoyed just getting out and riding. seeing different things, visiting different places around the state. i'm an only child, so those outings to me are very special. i asked them next time i was home, could we ride over and see some of the old places close by. so i thought i'd share a few pictures of my favorite mississippi places....

rodney, ms

rodney actually used to be a booming town. the river ran right through it. it was quite the bustling river port. well, it's pretty much a ghost town now. all that's around are hunting camps and a few houses here and there. but, there's the gems that are left from that era. this is the old rodney presbyterian church. if you look close above the middle window on the second floor, there's a cannonball. story goes, as i've heard it and probably not that accurate, there was a union battleship stationed just outside of rodney on the river. the confederates had a camp just behind the church. the officers had an agreement that none of the men would leave the ship. well, those union soldiers just couldn't take the sight of those pretty mississippi girls all dolled up for church on sunday morning. so, a few sneaked off the ship and went to church one sunday. they didn't know some confederate generals were in the service that morning, and they captured them. the union ship fired on the church and there stuck the cannonball. it's not the original, but it's still neat.




the church was actually open the day we stopped by. it breaks my heart to see such history falling into disrepair. just to think who all worshiped there. how much these pews have seen. i think about my home church and how much it means to me, i just can't imagine it being covered in dust with broken windows. so sad.



i wonder how many times this piano has played "amazing grace", "victory in Jesus", or "just as i am". all the voices that accompanied it.









back behind the church, a hike behind the church i should add, many people don't know is a very old cemetery. want to talk about sadness, this is sadness. so many people buried back there and forgotten. many of the tombstones are broken or sinking into the ground. it's absolutely one of the most beautiful and haunting places i've ever seen. we walked around it for easily over an hour. i could have stayed there all day reading the tombstones. i actually think i'll continue this into another post. i could go on and on about the cemetery, so i'll just leave you with a taste....

update....

since i left facebook, i thought i'd post an update for anyone who cares. i had a pulmonary function test done today and monday i have an echo cardiogram. hopefully, between the two of those, they can figure out what's wrong with me. i feel better just being on the new inhaler the dr. gave me last thursday. i have actually ate pretty well for almost a week. i've probably ate the same amount of food in 5 days than i did in the 5 weeks before that. so, hopefully, i don't look like i'm dying of some horrible disease, as my mother told me, anymore. i'm still trying to find a home for one kitten if anybody is interested. super sweet, playful, and loving. i wish so much i could keep all of them, but it really would not help my health right now. i feel like a horrible person putting my health before a precious animal, but i gotta start taking better care of myself if i'm even gonna see 30. :)

Stumbling Into Grace

I saw Lisa Harper back over the summer at the Women of Faith conference. She was such a great speaker. So, when I had a chance to read her book, Stumbling Into Grace, I was excited. She writes the same way she speaks, very conversational and so funny. This book was such an easy read. It was funny and spoke such truth at the same time. It was not a super spiritual in nature, but that was a welcome change for me. The book read more like a conversation between Lisa and the reader. I would highly recommend this for someone who has heard Lisa speak and enjoyed her personality.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

so tired....

of everything. ever get that way? i find myself nothing but tired, emotionally, physically, mentally. with all the stress I have on me lately, I forgot to pay my rent. what do I find on my door when I get home, but an ugly note and a $55 late fee. granted it is my fault, but when u have someone who is never late, wouldn't u call and see what was going on? I went out of state and just forgot. I can't keep doin it all anymore. I wish I could go back about 7 years. My stupid self would have gone on back to get my masters and changed some things. but that's wishful thinking. maybe I can just sleep the next couple years away. wake up when everything is hopefully better. Debbie Downer I know.

oh, survivor....

boy, do I have some strong feelings about the preview for next week's survivor. cochrane, you had every reason in the world to flip. I have hated that tribe ever since the start. I don't even know the old name, just ozzy, Keith, Jim, and Whitney -i don't like you! every one of them treated cochrane like crap. and whitney, your comment about him disgusting you. girl, you are just like the worst winner in survivor history - Natalie, riding every's coat tails. she so didn't deserve that win. Whitney, you haven't done ANYTHING! at least cochrane made a move. I hate girls on survivor who don't step up. I never thought I would want coach to win, but I really hope he or brandon will take this one. ugh, I need to be in survivor....

i'm here....

i deactivated my facebook account. it causes me too much sadness and drama, so i left. i may go back, but not for a while. something really sad happened yesterday for someone i've never even met, just talked to through facebook. and my heart was broken along with hers, so i felt it was best to just leave. there's too much sadness in the world as it is and i don't want to bring more upon myself. so, in the meantime, i will try to update my blog better and stay connected through here. i do have two book reviews i have to write. been putting them off way too long.

struggles....

i guess everyone has some point in their life where they struggle with what they believe. i'm in that right now. i see so much sadness, so much injustice. people who deserve horrible things flourish. i just don't understand and get it anymore. so i need to work things out with myself.