idlewild
Just got back from Charlotte a few minutes ago. A few points to share:
1. I love my car. I realized this on the road away from the hotel, just about to get on the Charlotte beltway to come home. Why then? Not entirely sure, but the car had performed flawlessly over the course of a couple of days of pretty hard driving. I think it was its faithfulness that made an impression. The companionship of a faithful vehicle is not something to be overlooked.
2. I hate Charlotte. There are many reasons–the traffic, the road construction… But more than anything I hate how it’s a version of Jacksonville, NC, a town where my grandmother lived and I visited quite a bit when I was younger. But Charlotte is a version of that town, only a few sizes larger. In what sense? Sprawl. Endless Suburbia. Straight roads lined with stores and strip malls as far as the eye can see. Americana. The knowledge that many, many families live and breathe without stepping outside the bounds of that environment, barely scratching the surface, barely deviating, high or low, from the median point of life. Not that I am to any large degree either, but nevertheless, just driving through there leaves a bad taste in my mind.
3. The conference was stellar. Amazing. Fantastic. Of course I’m on the post-conference high but I hope I can extend the influence of the event in the longer term. Particularly noteworthy among the keynote speakers was especially Ergun Caner, who spoke twice. The first time he spoke about the need in our Christian worldview to counter the overwhelming cultural focus on happiness and feeling to the detriment of knowledge and belief. “What you believe is more important than how you feel,” was a key quote. The second time he spoke on the reinterpretation of the historical, biblical Jesus by the mainstream media, among other groups, who try to redefine His nature in the popular view and otherwise marginalize Him when the Bible is very clear about Who He is and His relevance in the here and now. Both times, Caner displayed a very sharp intellect, a remarkably easy manner with the audience and a fantastic sense of humor. I’m giving a pitch/presentation tomorrow in Sunday School for a new discussion group I’ll be starting and this conference couldn’t have come at a better time. I’m excited to know, to learn, to encounter my faith head on and plumb those doubts that still remain. It’s a way of worshiping Him with my mind, and I’m confident Truth can withstand whatever petty doubts I have.
That’s the short review–I’m still unpacking my mind… I need to read over my notes again. I’m so glad I went.
go, go where you are
bury your roots underneath
doubt your doubts
and believe your beliefs
And falling…
Leaves… :)
Glad you got a lot out of (and enjoyed!) the conference… I expect Greater Detail at some point.
Anda 1, 2… 1, 2, 3, 4
^looking forward to the details too! sounds like a wonderful experience.
i always thought it would be neat to take a roadtrip – starting up in canada or maine and traveling southbound gradually, following the leaves as they change – just to prolong the season a little bit. :)
Expect and you shall receive. I was going to relate it to you via AIM but seeing as how Erica has requested Greater Detail too I might have to bust it out LJ-style.
i don’t know if i can handle it LJ-STYLE
AIM is better.
My insatiable curiosity begs to know who is the author of such lovely comments on my journal in that she would (more or less) publicly endorse curvy roads, which truly are the shining beacon of my existence.
Having visited PA in the fall a few years ago, I can’t think of a better place to be when the leaves start changing…
All will reveal itself in due time.
Okay, not really, I’ve just ALWAYS wanted to say that!
But as for the curvy roads… to put into perspective just how much like them, my top to priorities beyond attempting to be the woman God wants me to be is
And I suppose the ultimate goal would be to actually drive in Europe, but my choice of car would most likely require knowledge of shifting! But yes, I very much endorse curvy roads… In fact, I’d vote for them!
CURVY ROADS FOR PRESIDENT!
dis on jacksonville…ouch. that’s my quasi-hometown, being the closest location of a lowes and walmart to swansboro, and the only mall i ever knew for years and years.
Noble goals. I can personally attest to the fact that driving in Europe is a challenge and a test, but a very rewarding one. Just make sure you have a stint on a. the Autobahn and b. roads in Switzerland.
If you’ve been back there in the past, oh, 15 years you know what I mean. They don’t reuse existing land–they just build, and build. There’s an ever-expanding ring of stores and houses radiating from the center of the town. It’s like someone dropped a bomb of commercialism near town hall and the shockwave of Golden Corrals and Walmarts has been progressing outward ever since.
Uh.. yeah!
Both certainly on the list! I figured on the train for a majority of my travel, but there’s no way I’m going to Germany and not drive on the Autobahn for at least a short period of time! (Sadly, I’d probably fit right in!)
Oh, but don’t get me started on Europe… I’ll be going on for pages! I have my “Once in a Lifetime” Europe trip ALL planned. :::stopping now:::
I’ve never been to PA, but…
I’m sure that’s a lovely picture, but alls I’m getting is “access denied.” :/
Well isn’t that just a blow to the ol’ webdesiner ego…
:::sigh::: I suppose I can just leave the link.
Hope this works! If not, I give up!
Re: Well isn’t that just a blow to the ol’ webdesiner ego…
Well, poo… it didn’t even make a link! Oh well, copy and paste, my friend, copy and paste.
I think I can handle the keyboard calesthenics :) Very nice picture. Do you know where it was taken?
the only real expansion i know of is on the western boulevard extension, there by the walmart where they’ve put in target, toys-r-us, old navy, and all the chains that congregate around such places. there isn’t much growth in one direction because of camp lejeune, and i don’t know that i’ve seen much growth in the direction of richlands except for housing developments. but i only go home twice a year, so i don’t see much.
however, i see most of the stuff along the western blvd extension as a good thing. it’s badly sited in civil engineering terms (there aren’t enough ways to get traffic in and out other than highway 17), but i apperciate the new shopping opportunities. jacksonville exists solely to serve camp lejuene, it has no real flavor of its own, and i think that is what causes a lack of civil planning. you’ve got to have something worth preserving before people will care enough to develop viable city master plans.
Location, location, location…
Yes, I took it last time I was in Tennessee… I belive I was overlooking TN, NC, and VA all at once… and possibly KY somewhere near the horizon to the far left, but I don’t recall. Beautiful, isn’t it?
On a different note, I think I’m going to have to break down and get a LJ ID… even if I keep my true identity confidential! ; )
Fair enough. I’ll concede that my perspective was limited and my approach biased by my innate disdain for all things that reflect any amount of commercialism. Still not a fan of the town, though, no matter how many childhood memories took place there.
I’m very impressed you took the picture. Well done.
It’s probably fair to assume you have a blogger account, yes? Why get an LJ account if you’re only going to keep your identity secret? Why all the subterfuge?
Why thank you! I am a bit of a photographer… if I remember my camera and have the correct lens!
I do, in fact, have a blogger account, but not LJ… I suppose to answer both questions with one answer, I fear that who I am will taint “who I am”… I suppose I’m not noticeably insecure, but when you get down to my core, I am.