Samuel Joiner

For those of you who do not know Samuel Joiner, he is a friend of my family and is also serving in Iraq. These pictures are from Dec. 7 after a roadside bomb exploded, sending shrapnel into his feet, legs, and hip. He had to be airlifted to the nearest military hospital from my understanding, and is on the mend. He was able to call his family the same day to let them know he was okay. God has certainly been gracious to him, it looks like he will be able to get back up to full strength in a couple of weeks. They did surgery and were able to remove most of the shrapnel, but had to leave some in his hip, telling him it would eventually work itself out.

Samuel said he counted at least 20 wounds in his legs, but is ready to get back with his men and get back to work on his mission. Mrs. Joiner said that Samuel told medical staff, "give me a Motrin and send me back." This is definitely the Samuel that I have always known, he's hard-core all the way.

I am so thankful that he is okay. His dad emailed these pictures, and I thought I would share them to remind everyone to be praying for the men serving over in Iraq. This could have been much, much worse, but God saw to it to keep him from any permanent harm.

I know there are a lot of families out there that are missing their loved ones over the holidays. Let's be mindful of them and pray that they may return home safely if it is the Lord's will.

Knoxville's paper, The News-Sentinel, did an article on Samuel and his family. Here is the address if you want to check it out, it is really good: www.knoxnews.com

From a journalistic perspective, I'm thinking, "are there photographers over there just waiting to take pictures of these guys as they are shot down?" These pictures are pretty amazing.

Final time is here....and along with it good news!

Hope everyone is doing well, especially with final season upon us. I had 2 today, and they went well. Tomorrow I have one in Econ and Spanish. Yuck. I am not an Econ girl, give me a paper to write any day. I've been studying all week and feel like I've made little progress in my understanding. Oh well!

I have some very exciting news....last night 2 of my brothers accepted Christ as their personal savior!!! It was a very precious thing to witness since our family was altogether for a time of prayer for some very specific needs. We cried together, prayed together, and laughed together in joy of the goodness of God on our family. When I get bogged down with the weight of my sin it is such a comfort to know that when I confess it to Him and to others, there is the promise that there is no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus. So, it truly was amazing to see that weight lifted from my brothers for the first time from putting their trust and hope in Jesus Christ and what He did on the cross for our sins.

Well, better hit the books again. Just thought I would spread the good news! Good night and happy studying!

Flattering Pictures from Poetry Presentation

Wow, aren't these flattering pictures? Liz Overton and I decided to do our poetry presentation together in American Lit last Friday. We had a great time combining our creative juices in order to become Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's granddaughters, "Sally and Lizzy." Several years ago I would have been too embarrassed to don my mom's ancient clothes that she has saved for some reason, stuff myself front and back to appear as a fat, old lady, and waddle to my class past a lot of staring people. I think I ended up looking more like Dolly Parton in the first picture. Anyway....we were graded on creativity and content, and since we were signed up to go first, decided to "ham it up" as much as possible! Even though Longfellow was from the North (a.k.a. Yankee land), we used southern accents because we are belles ourselves and couldn't drum up a northern accent in only a 3 day notice. Our professor is a little heavy on the drawl herself, so I don't think she made the connection that we were being technically incorrect. Anyway, thought you folks might enjoy something to laugh at. My family sure did (aren't brothers wonderful?). Was this presentation fun? Without a doubt. Humiliating? Depends on your perspective. Are we gonna get an A? You better bet your life insurance policy on it!

These past days.....

The semester is almost over, (pant, pant) thank you Lord! Each semester has proven to have its own challenges, and this semester that challenge has definitely been to keep my priorities in the right place. I've been finding that the time spent on homework, tests, and papers can't be replaced with the joy that is found in time alone with the Lord. Of course, there are those times when I've had to study diligently, but I usually find that I could have sacrificed something else in order to keep my date with God. There is still room for a lot of improvement in that area as far as diligence and faithfulness, but I have found that God provides grace for that day as I ask Him. I shouldn't be, but I am amazed at the change of desires I have experienced since the New Attitude conference last May. God is truly good to give me the desire to know Him. I've a read a portion of "The Knowledge of the Holy" by A.W. Tozer and he is excellent. It's a challenge to read, but well worth the effort.

I have really enjoyed this semester. I've done a lot of reading and writing, and I think the best thing that I've learned is how to read purposefully. Studying literature has definitely made me look at the Bible differently. Like when I am reading, asking myself "what is the author trying to communicate and what is the historical setting of this passage?" Of course, the Holy Spirit is vital in order to understand Scripture, I am just thankful for the added tips on understanding the Word better.

Our family had a wonderful Thanksgiving break as we celebrated with extended family and friends. We went on our traditional hike with the Wolfenbarger family a couple of days after "feast day" (which is a great way to have incentive NOT to eat too much on Thanksgiving, otherwise you would never get yourself up the mountain!)

A day later Luke taught me how ride their '74 Honda XL350 dirtbike, but not without dumping both of us off as we accelerated up a hill in the back field of my grandparents farm. He had some cuts and bruises, but I managed to get away without any. Daniel popped a wheelie when he gave me a ride, and it felt like we were going to topple over backwards as we sped up the dairy barn driveway. Hm, yes, my brothers are crazy, but we wore helmets and it was fun.

Hope everyone reading this is doing well! Until we meet again....