prison? yes, please!!

i never thought that in my life i would long to go to prison, but thats how ive felt all semester. after having my art appreciation class at the tennessee prison for women in the fall, ive hated wednesdays because i know i don't get to see some of my favorite girls anymore. although our class was only two and half hours and most weeks it really was a class full of art things i dont care about and will never remember, just being in the presence of people who don't judge you and who love you for coming to see them just makes you have a bond that i cant even begin to describe. they are always happy to see us and they love the ability to learn that i always take advantage of. the women in the class are smart women who made mistakes in their past, but they are wonderful at heart. they have taught me so much about loving unconditionally that i don't believe i could have learned anywhere else. of course getting searched and patted down every week wasn't my favorite thing, but after walking through the quad to get to "old school" everything was worth it.

this semester one class offered i had already taken, and one i would never need so it didnt work out to go again, but next fall im determined to make it work because wednesday nights are so lonely without getting to work on the bonds we made. the women at the prison love it just as much as we do, and one of them said that they are like the cheerleaders were in high school, everyone looks up to them and thinks they are special. haha. and if us coming in and Lipscomb offering classes to them can make them feel that good, i don't know why more people aren't interested in it. another women in the prison told us that shes noticed how big of a difference it is for people to do things because they are right, or for people to do things because they know the guards are watching them. all of the women have such good characters deep down who made mistakes in their past, but havent we all? maybe not to the extent that they have, but sin is still sin no matter how you look at it and our society makes us look at them like they are horrible people that deserve everything they are getting. they know what they've done is wrong and are not opposed to serving time, but these women are wonderful people, and they have taught me so much about myself. i cried almost every week last semester because of how much they made me want to be a better person. ive grown so much from that experience, and i am so thankful that i could make such strong friendships in such an unexpected place.

winterfest 2010

the last few years at winterfest have not been as spiritually enlightening as they were in my younger years, but one thing that never changes is the sense of community and love the mitchell church of christ group always has. spending time with the people from my home church is always such a good experience no matter who you are with. there are so many good people in mitchell that i didn't appreciate nearly as much while living there. so if anyone that was at winterfest reads this, thank you for being an inspiration to me and to so many other people.

although i am not a big fan of the things jeff walling says and his dramatic way of doing it, he always teaches me a form of patience. wether i like what he is saying or not, i have to remember that some people get alot out of his sermons and i need to relax, not judge, and let him do what God gave him the ability to do and be affective at. i always let myself be distracted by the theatrics, the music and all of the things that don't matter. the words that are said are most important and are usually good things, except today when jwall claimed that there were twins on seans season of the biggest loser. FALSE. but every year winterfest and impact help my practice a form of patience i'm not used to, and even if im not being as spiritually challenged as i would like to be, i know i'm growing as a person and thats a gift in itself.