A very belated Father's Day post

I LOVE MY DAD! I truly believe that I have one of the best Dad's out there. Without him in my life, I would have never become who I am today. (I wonder how he sleeps at night? :-D) He took care to raise us with an instilled fear of the Lord that helped me to grow into a faith and love of God that I can call my "own." He taught me by experience to work hard to pay off debt. He taught me to respect my elder's. He created in me my passion for camping, history, designing my own home, the smell of fresh earth and timber (he built homes and we would visit him on the job site), football and my Scottish heritage.

Though I am told I look exactly like my Mum, I believe I act a lot like my Dad. I have a strange and inane hatred for the telephone (which I am pretty sure he gave me), but it's a good thing. It allows me to be able to break free like other people can't. I tend to both think things through and do things on the spur of the moment which he definitely does. I am a complete introvert at heart, which I definitely got from him, but I work hard to combat it and step out of my comfort zone to be part of an "extrovert" life. I most definitely have his nose!!! (it's big :-D) I generally tend to hold my frustration and annoyance in until I reach a point where I can no longer do so, but I don't have a tendency to yell at all. I don't like to be told that I am wrong unless you can show me how I am wrong. Definitely qualities I get from him. To think of it, I don't know if I have ever even heard my Dad yell in anger or frustration. I have heard him yell to be heard above the work site and to get people's attention from a distance but HHHMMMM, yeah can't think of a time.

My biggest frustration with my Dad is that he refuses to see how great he is!!!! I fight every day to not feel like a failure because HE believes he has failed in raising his children which in turn conveys to me that no matter what I am doing it isn't enough and I am a failure. That is rather frustrating to deal with every single day. I mean none of us still live at home or rely on him to care for us. My brother is an amazing Marine and wonderful man, my sister is growing into her own person and learning how to do life, and I am living in my dream American city and soon to realize a whole nother dream. I mean SERIOUSLY!, I call that a man who has definitely succeeded.

Now that is not to say that at times things haven't happened that make life look bad but there comes a time when a parent has GOT TO REALIZE that they have taught their children to the best of their ability and that no matter what that child is still a human being with their own free will to make right and wrong choices. I mean seriously. It would be pretty sad if at the ages of 24, 25, and 27 my Dad was still teaching us right from wrong and disciplining us. NOW THAT would be utter failure.

At the same time, his utter refusal to accept success makes me fight even harder to do something that will make him realize what an awesome job he did and to say he is proud of me and what I have become. I hope that some day he will view me and his family as a success and in turn I will finally feel as if I have accomplished something in my life.

Things I remember doing with my Dad that I love:

Camping at Gettysburg
Camping in general
Highland Games
Snipe hunting
Job site visits
Pink things (Canada mints)
Spearmint leaves
Campfires
Family devotions at the table
Sunday nights playing boardgames and eating popcorn
Cookouts (master griller)
Long drives to Virginia
Vermont
Dirt Roads (he has a thing for finding at least one on any give trip we take)

"milestones"

I chopped off my hair on Wednesday night and I absolutely LOVE the result! It is so short, easy to care for and refreshing.





Today I finally paid off enough on my school loans to break under 12,000. I am so excited. While I was paying on them between school, it felt like all I was doing was paying interest and I wasn't seeing a reduction in the overall at all. Since being in school and getting my new job I have decided to continue paying on the loans though they are in forebearance. Because of this I am paying on the principal and not the interest and actually starting to see a reduction in how much I owe! I LOVE IT!! It makes me feel like there is hope and someday it WILL all be paid off. Yippee!!!!!!!!!!

verrry interesting *thoughtful skeptisism*

I am not sure if I 100% agree with this, but then I am not sure where I stand on theology anymore. Being from a Baptist upbringing and attending a Baptist College where theology has been shoved down my throat, I have found that theology is the grounds for a lot of division in the church.

I do know that I firmly believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I believe that we are here on this earth to bring Glory to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I believe that without Them I am nothing. I believe that as a believer it is my duty and privilege to tell others about Them. I believe that the Church is a global body of believers and not a building where believers meet. I believe that God has granted us all gifts and we are to use them to glorify Him. I believe the Bible is 100% right and true.

As for the other things I choose at this point in my life to not deal with them. I don't believe that what you believe about the rapture and the millenium will make a difference to whether or not you will get into heaven. I also do not believe that being a Calvinist or Arminian makes a difference. The Bible specifically remains unclear about many things. Also it seems everyone who has a differing belief or opinion can each back it with Scripture.

Seems to me that this means we should spend less time fighting and arguing about who's right about what and more focusing on telling others about the awesome and amazing Grace of God.

You scored as Reformed Evangelical, You are a Reformed Evangelical. You take the Bible very seriously because it is God's Word. You most likely hold to TULIP and are sceptical about the possibilities of universal atonement or resistible grace. The most important thing the Church can do is make sure people hear how they can go to heaven when they die. Reformed Evangelical 61% Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan 57% Fundamentalist 57% Emergent/Postmodern 50% Neo orthodox 43% Classical Liberal 43% Charismatic/Pentecostal 36% Roman Catholic 21% Modern Liberal 11% What's your theological worldview? created with QuizFarm.com

My Bug-a-boo

My precious little Bug-a-boo
Happy Birthday you're TWO!!

I pray you'll grow in knowledge and grace,
And always learn to seek His face.

When push comes to shove
May you always show/know love.

How exciting that soon you'll be a big brother
And you'll get to be Mommy's extra special helper.

As you enjoy your toys, especially Thomas,
Know that this I solemnly promise....

Your Aunt Jo will always love YOU!!

Things to do today

___ Talk to a friend about getting a ride to the airport early Friday morn.
___ Write Aunt Karen in PA
___ Write Andee in Virginia
___ Write Kate in Iraq (I've been very bad about this) SORRY!!!!
___ Write Aunt Karen in Scotland
___ Finish writing discussion paragraph for the first part of this weeks assignment
___ Clean kitchen
___ Fold and put away clothes
___ Call Virginia State Police :-/
___ Read chapters 2 and 3 and take quizzes
___ Call Beth and Sarah

My Brother the Marine

I think that way too often I have taken for granted the fact that I have the best brother in the world and he came back to me and my family from Iraq not once but TWICE. I love him so very much and wish there was some way to express how much I love him and am so proud of him. He is an amazing man who overcame, what he was told were insurmountable obstacles, to become an extremely competent and respected United States Marine.

I also had the awesome opportunity to see my Grandfather honored on Memorial day this year. It was amazing and had me crying. My PopPop is WWII veteran who served his country with honor. He was honored by a local TV station in Southeast PA.

I also had the chance to be able to stop at Ft. Indiantown Gap National Cemetary and pay my respects to my Grandpop. He served in the Navy during WWII. Unfortunately he died before I ever discovered my passion for understanding the war and hearing my grandparents stories. I miss him and wish that I could have just one more day with him.

I know it's a little late but a great big THANK YOU to all our men and women who have served and are serving our Great Nation!

How big is your God?

We finally finished the last night of our small group going through the book, If You Want to Walk on Water, You have to get out of the Boat. The last chapter discussed how big is our God. It talks about worship and how our lives are to be worship, that what we do on Sunday at church is only a small part of what worship is. I really appreciated this excerpt from the book.

"We are to worship God, not because His ego needs it, but because without worship, our experience and enjoyment of God are not complete. We worship God not so much because He needs it, but because we do.

I need to worship. I need to worship because without it I can forget that I have a Big God beside me and live in fear. I need to worship because without it I can forget his calling and begin to live in a spirit of self-preoccupation. I need to worship because without it I lose a sense of wonder and gratitude and plod through life with blinders on. I need to worship because my natural tendency is toward self-reliance and stubborn independence."

I need to worship because without it I have forgotten Who takes care of me and gives me the will to live each day.

And on the subject of getting out of the boat...I now have a one year plan to get to Scotland by June 1st, 2008. Here is the plan..

DESTINATION SCOTLAND!!! (5/17/2007)

One year plan -- June 1st 2008

Concerns
Books
Degree
$750 for plane ticket
Sarah's baby 10/2007
Janis' Wedding 4/5/08
Getting Fia to Scotland
Storage for all other items
Finding a church
Obtain Ancestry visa
Finding job to pay bills
Save $5,000 for vital living expenses

Solutions
Box and Ship
Start back 6/2007
By August 30th 2007
Enjoy the experience
Enjoy the experience
Purchase cat carrier, and get tranq from vet, research rules and comply
Rent space near folks in PA May 2008
Pray, check out Eikon and other churches in the area
Begin push on May 22nd, and get Grandmum's birth certificate
start search Feb/Mar 08, talk to Walden and the possibility of an internship
Save $500 a month beginning June 07

So I have definitely not been keeping up my end of the cleaning deal in the apartment. Sooo while my roommate was away on vacation this past week I CLEANED the apartment. I cleaned the living room top to bottom, i mean dust and all. Then it was on to the kitchen, where I cleaned out the fridge and mopped the floor. Then swept and wiped down the bathroom. I must say I probably didn't do as thorough a job there because I HATE CLEANING BATHROOMS. However I did clean it a bit.

Last night we had our first good thunderstorm. It made me VERY happy! On the downside though it downpoured and I didn't catch my bedroom window in time and my comforter got soaked. Darn it! But oh well, finally having a thunderstorm was well worth it.

This week will be nuts at work, leading up to a crazy weekend! OY! I am ready for a vacation!!!!!!!!!! Gotta go!

I did it!!

Well I actually got up at 7:30 AM on Saturday morning stretched and ran 2.5 miles all on my own. Then I came back stretched out again and laid down for a nap. Then I met up with my brothers girlfriend and my friend Amber and we headed to the Jeremy M. Herbstritt Memorial 5K. Where we met up with some of their friends. We registered got our t-shirts, stretched and prepared to walk. Lucky for me Michelle one of the other girls was interested in running the 5K as well so we paired off and took off. We ran most all of the race. I would say we ran a good 2.75 miles out of the total 3.2 miles. We stopped and sped walked up the hills, though there weren't many, because neither of us could do it. I finished the race in 38.?? minutes. I was really excited because that is about how long of a run I do at home as well for about the same length of time.

What did I get out of this you ask? Well, I got a chance to pay my respects to his family and come to grips with reality a little bit. I got to help out the family as all proceeds from the race went to Jeremy's family to help with all the finances. I also got the chance to start off my racing/running life in a perfect tribute to a friend. Oh yeah I also got some terrible sunburn on the shoulders and a headache because I didn't drink enough water.

Tomorrow my Mum and I are headed to the graveyard to visit Jeremy and say my goodbyes. My heart is aching right now in ways i can't begin to describe for Mike, Peggy, Jenn, Joe, Steph and Lex. I wish that I could take there pain away and make life all better for them. I wish that I could give them Jeremy back and that I could take his place. Honestly death doesn't scare me. I am ready to go home and be with my Father.

Well until later...

and I'm back.

Sorry its been such a long time. A lot of things have been happening and changing in my life. So where to start...

Lets start with Godspell. We officially closed on Easter Sunday and then celebrated our cast party a week later. We had a ton of fun playing Dance Dance Revolution, eating a lot of food and then Kacey our director passed out fun awards. I received Rookie of the Year! Whoo hoo for me! :-)

With Godspell out of the picture, I had already decided that I would not be going back to work at Ebenezers. I found that I was literally killing myself and no longer finding joy working there. So I now had a lot of time on my hands, so to speak.

Then came Virginia Tech. The world was stunned and the small town of Bellefonte, PA was left in utter shock. This was the 2nd time that an incident effected the small town. The last was when the Pentagon was hit and a young man from Zion, PA was killed. This time not only Bellefonte was effected but myself and others that I knew personally. A young man was murdered in that mess who we had gone to school with. What a mess.

That was a Monday, that Friday I spent the day in Philadelphia with two very good friends, sporting my Virginia Tech Maroon and Orange. We had fun wandering the city, doing some shopping and just having some good girl-time together. Then it was back to DC and work.

I think for the most part that gets me all caught up. Oh yeah I am training for a mini-triathalon in August and the Army Ten-miler in October. Also this weekend I am going home to run in a memorial 5K for Jeremy Herbstritt and to say my good-byes.

this should not have happened!!!!

I am 26 years old and I shouldn't have known anyone there. In fact as far as I knew today at 3:30 PM, I didn't. Then they released the names of the murdered at VT. Among them was the name Jeremy Herbstritt. At first I thought it was just a coincidence that he would be from PA (they had the wrong town listed) and have gone to Penn State. I called my mum and best friend from high school Shrig to have them check on this. Then I got on facebook and checked him out. Just before my friend called I found him and realized that it was indeed the guy that I had gone to high school with. Shrig confirmed it and then my mom confirmed it shortly after.

This is ridiculous, I shouldn't have known anyone there. I should be looking on this and praying for all the families of the victims, not crying my eyes out over the memories of a funny and quirky young man that I had known personally. Jeremy's family shouldn't have to be writing an obituary, they shouldn't be buying a casket, they shouldn't be mourning a young man, who had so much to live more, so much to offer the world. He was smart, he was funny, he was quirky, he was a runner. He was a young man who loved his family and his friends. He cared about people and wanted to make a difference in the world and he would have.

Jeremy Herbstritt and the many other victims, their families and the injured will be in my thoughts and prayers alway. God bless!

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ONE WEEK FROM TONIGHT..........



GODSPELL OPENS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One week from tonight all the hard work that the whole entire group of us have been doing will finally reach its climax. All the pure talent and desire that God has given us will be given its chance to share His story, His love, His joy and His sacrifice for the Greater DC area to view and behold.

Please pray:

For our health
For our safety
For our sanity as this last week will affectionately be known as "hell" week.
For our Director
For our Producer
For our Band
For our Tech folks

The cast by name:

Nathan Spiwak-Jesus
Dan Cummins-John the Baptist/Judas
Chris Girardi
Ryan Zemple
Robin Landauer
Lisa Overman
Jessica Johson
Jen Watts
Bekah Kitterman
JoyAnna Neiner

Director: Kacey McGowan
Producer: Heather Zemple
Band:
Keyboard: Sarah Chilcolte
Guitar: John Purcell
Drums: I am so sorry, I can't remember his name

Please be in prayer that God's will will be done throughout the run of this performance and that His name will be Glorified!!

realizations

Have you ever had one of those weekends where something goes dreadfully wrong and it makes you rethink your life and choices you've made?

I did! I realized I made a dreadful mistake about someone and am hoping and praying that they'll give me a second chance. I also realized that someone that I had hoped to reconcile with, well it just won't ever happen. I also realized that as hard as I try and as much as I want to be the perfect person who is trying to do the right thing for God, it just won't happen. All I can do is admit it and try harder.

It's a couple of frustrating realizations because as you can see by a human perspective there is no hope to be found in a single one of these situations. But from a God perspective there is always hope to be found. For the mistake there is the possibily of a second chance, for the no reconciliation, its for the best and as for trying to be the best I can be for God, well that's good news to His ears when I say I'll just try harder to be what He wants me to be. It means to Him that I am truly His and He can work His glory through me. WOW

Okay not that I would wish another weekend like this on anyone but I don't know maybe we all need one of these realization weekends every once in a while. At least I know I do.

Thank you Father for reminding me how worthless I am when I try to do things without You. Thanks for letting me see my mistakes and please give me a second chance. Please take control of my life and make it more than just a useless lump of clay.

Bio for the program of Godspell and pic.

When not being dramatic JoyAnna can be found trying to maintain sanity in the craziness that is Gov't and DoD in the Pentagon. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my FATHER for His unending love, faith and use of a lump of clay. Thank you also to Kacey and Heather for the awesome opportunity to be a part of Godspell. Thank you to the rest of the Gang for the "good times and great memories", they'll be cherished forever. Thanks to my Family who have never doubted I could act and for supporting me in this journey. Thanks to my best friends Sarah, Beth and Shrig for their patience and support. Thanks to my roomie Hyla, for her patience with my long hours and mess during the past few months. I love you guys!!

National Community Church Production of Godspell

Tickets are $10 each and they will go on sale to NCCers this weekend before and after services. If your not from NCC and I know you and your planning to come, let me know by tonight if possible but at the latest this weekend. I will pick up the tickets in advance for the performance of your choice. Be sure to let me know! I would love to see you all there!!

Performance Dates are as follows:

Friday, March 30 at 8:00 pm
Sunday, April 1 at 2:00 pm
Sunday, April 1 at 6:00 pm
Thursday, April 5 at 8:00 pm
Friday, April 6 at 8:00 pm
Saturday, April 7 at 10:00pm **Special Easter Vigil Performance
Sunday, April 8 at 2:00 pm
Sunday, April 8 at 6:00 pm

Godspell, a musical based on the Gospel of Matthew, tells the story of Jesus and his disciples and the history-changing community they formed. All performances will occur at Ebenezers Coffeehouse. We have set our version of Godspell in modern times against the backdrop of the DC metro. To enhance your experience, take metrobus or metrorail to Union Station and walk one block to Ebenezers Coffeehouse.

Metro-operated lots are free on weekends and most federal holidays. At times when fees are charged, SmarTrip® cards with full parking fees are the only accepted form of payment for parking (except metered parking). Visit the Trip Planner at MetroOpensDoors.com or call 202-637-7000 (TTY 202-638-3780).”

(taken from the Zonegathering.com excpet for a little embellishment.)

I am officially registered

One of my goals for this years was to run a marathon or some kind of run.

I have just officially registered for the Iron Girl. It is mini triathlon, we swim for 1K/.62 mi, bike for 30K/17 mi, and run for 5K/3.3 mi. I am really excited and somewhat nervous. I have plenty of time to train and build the endurance for it but I am still nervous about the fact that I officially have to do it. I mean I paid money to enter this thing so there is no backing out. The countdown to August 19th, 2007 is set at 172 days.

In April I will be registering to run the Army Ten-Miler in October as well. Again excited and nervous.

It has begun...

Today I started my 40 days of fasting coffee and chocolate for Lent. I am a little worried as those who know me must realize I am both a chocoholic and coffeeholic. I started weening myself off over the long weekend but am still slightly worried as to whether I will be able to make through 40 days! We'll see, lets just say that this should hopefully make my prayer life much stronger. (I hope)

Psalm 95 and 96

Psalm 95
1. O come, let us sing for joy to the LORD, Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.
2. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
3. For the LORD is a great God and a great King above all gods,
4. In whose hand are the depths of the earth, The peaks of the mountains are His also.
5. The sea is His, for it was He who made it, And His hands formed the dry land.
6. Come, let us worship and bow down, Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.
7. For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand Today, if you would hear His voice,
8. Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, As in the day of Massah in the wilderness,
9. "When your fathers tested Me, They tried Me, though they had seen My work.
10. "For forty years I loathed that generation, And said they are a people who err in their heart, And they do not know My ways.
11"Therefore I swore in My anger, Truly they shall not enter into My rest."

Psalm 96
1. Sing to the LORD a new song; Sing to the LORD, all the earth.
2. Sing to the LORD, bless His name; Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day.
3. Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples.
4. For great is the LORD and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods.
5. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the LORD made the heavens.
6. Splendor and majesty are before Him, Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.
7. Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples, Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
8. Ascribe to the LORD the glory of His name; Bring an offering and come into His courts.
9. Worship the LORD in holy attire; Tremble before Him, all the earth.
10. Say among the nations, " The LORD reigns; Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved; He will judge the peoples with equity."
11. Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; Let the sea roar, and all it contains;
12. Let the field exult, and all that is in it then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy
13. Before the LORD, for He is coming, For He is coming to judge the earth He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in His faithfulness.

Hope, Be Undismayed: Conversations in bed

Thanks to Sara, who may or may not know me from BBC. What she posted here was a much needed slap in the face. As well as the comment from Elizabeth. It doesn't mean that things will be any easier and that I still won't struggle with being depressed and bitter but at least I have a strong reminder of the ONE who cares enough to always be a way out of that depression and an antidote for the bitterness. Hope, Be Undismayed: Conversations in bed