Will You Marry Me?

Guthrie Oklahoma  

920 W. Manner Ave.

Aug. 24, 1943     

Dear Carrie,
Greetings to you in the precious name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.  I thought I would write you a letter this evening as I promised to do so, but leaving out the promise I am sure I would still love to write you.
This finds me back down in Guthrie, at Bro. Pruitt's.  We had a nice trip back.  I am sure we all enjoyed our trip very much.  Some of us sang quite-a-bit on the way back (Mortly Geneva and I).  Sis. Pruitt and Geneva went in  a G. store and bought us all something for dinner.  We drove out of town a little ways and stopped by some shade trees and got out under them, and ate our dinner.  The Lord was very precious to all of us and caused us to be very happy.  Truly I am thankful for his many blessings to all of us.
Well I just wonder what kind of trip you had on your way back home.  I sure hope you had a nice and a safe trip.  I feel sure you did, as I know God will always care for those that trust in him.
I am working in the shop again now.  I stamped off labels for the Faith and Victory today.  Most all of us are either on the paper, or doing something toward its mailing.  We hope to have it ready to go off in the mail by Mon. morning, Aug. 30th.  I don't know just how long I will be here in the shop but I really don't expect it to be so long.  I am still seeking the will of God in every step that I take.  I still haven't gotten my rationing books yet, which I would love to do before I leave here as they are not supposed to be forwarded to any one.  They should be in (I think) with in a few days.
Well Carrie I want to say again (even though you have heard it before) that the meeting up there in Mo. was really and encouragement to me.  One thing that was very encouraging to me was that I got to see you and that I got better acquainted with you.  The more I was around you and the more I learned about you and your ways the more I was encouraged.  Truly the fellowship with you (what little time we were together) was real sweet and an inspiration to my soul.  Truly I have very delightful and pleasant memories of you.  I trust they will forever increase.
Carrie, I believe that the Lord was instrumental in you and I being together up there at the meeting.  From almost from the first of the meeting the Lord was talking to me about a companion, and as the days passed by he seem to show me plainer and plainer that you were the one.  My love for you has been increasing from that time.  I can truthfully say that you have won a place in my heart that no other girl has ever won.  I will admit that I have seen other girls that I thought I loved and probably did to a certain extent, but I have never met a girl yet that I love as I do you.  There is just a holy fellow-ship that only God can give.  Carrie, I ask you with a sincere heart and a heart that is filled with love for both you and God to consider and pray about you and I uniting in marriage at the time appointed by God, which I know not at this time.  I promise you that I will be a faithful Husband to you as well as a help mate in the work of the Lord.  I will try my best to make you happy and to be every thing to you that God will have me to be.

While I was out in Ala. this last time I worked some in a cotton mill and I am sure that God gave me the job.  I felt his approval upon me while I was working there.  When I left there I felt sure that God would have me to go back to work for him there as well as in the mill.  That was at B'ham, Ala.  There were a few souls that seemed to be interested in getting saved.  I had quite an opportunity to work for the Lord while I was on my job.  You see there was quite a number that worked in the mill and I was with a big portion of them.  I met a man that especially seemed to be very interested in his soul.
Well I won't say any more about this until I hear from you again, which I hope won't be so long.  I am sure I would enjoy getting a letter from you, girl I have learned to love.
It is getting pretty late and I guess I had better be bringing my letter to a close.  I will be expecting and hoping to hear from you before long.  May the Lord bless you and encourage you in the ways of God.

A very close Friend,

Thomas Vada Mc Millian

P.S.  If you have a picture of your self that you wouldn't mind loaning or giving a way, I sure would be glad if you would send me one in your letter.  I am sure it would help to brighten my way.  (Mc)

P.S.  If you want a picture of me I will try to send one latter as I don't have one now.  (Mc)

A New Project

When my grandma came to celebrate Thanksgiving with us, she brought me some precious bundles: letters her parents wrote to each other before they were married.  I am looking forward to going through them all and posting them here where they will be documented permanently.  I hope everyone enjoys this precious correspondence between two people of God.  They were both ministers, and--based on the few I have glanced through--God is the theme of many of their love letters.

Creativity

I am so thankful for my loving Creator.  We are just touching a little on biochemistry right now in chemistry, and it is simply amazing!  Just take the nitrogen bases of DNA for example.  Adenine matches perfectly with Thymine and Guanine with Cytosine.  Furthermore, the length of each pair are equal (A+T=C+G).  It is just amazing that the specific atoms fit together to form a molecule that has the right chemical and physical properties to link together and make an intricate strand of DNA.  My Creator created perfection from the molecular level to the universal level.  He also takes an interest in each of our lives.  He put me in just the right home, area, time, and situation.  Each moment, hour, and day of my life, He personally planned out.  Each life interacts with others, and this is the writing of history.  God's hand has definitely been in the planning of history too.  God is just too amazing!

Suffering From Ceramics Addiction

I have really enjoyed the ceramics class I have been taking this semester.  I am completely new to working with clay, but I have found that it can be quite enjoyable.  I have not shared very many pictures of my work mainly for two reasons: (1) I do not have very good pictures because I normally only have my phone available.  (2) Nothing is completely finished yet (except my raku piece) because ceramics is a process of building, drying, firing, glazing, and firing again.  All my sculptures are ready to be glazed, but none of my thrown pieces have been fired so far.  At the end of the semester, I intend to get good pictures of all my finished pieces.

I said I was addicted, and here is why:
1. It is a CHALLENGE!
2. I can make functional, personal items--cups, bowls, napkin holders, etc
3. It is a new creative outlet that I had never explored before
4. The more frustration, the more I work, the more sense of accomplishment I have
5. Ceramics is just plain pretty!
6. There is nothing like the feel of clay
7. Clay has so many possibilities

So, now I know what I want for Christmas.  Just buy me a wheel and kiln.  I can put it where my bed is because I won't be needing it anymore if I'm throwing day and night!

I am so thankful I have the opportunity to study art.  Ceramics class is not the only class I've enjoyed.  2-D design class and drawing class has gotten me animated before too.  Oh, but it's a lot of work, and I believe it consists more of failures--I mean, "learning experiences"--than of success, but it is still rewarding.

*Photos to come!

What would it be like?

I had a dream last night about being paralyzed.  I could not move anything but my head--it was a very strange feeling.  Furthermore, I thought it was interesting that, in my dream, I was only concerned with how I could continue with art and how in the world I would keep a journal!  At least, I thought, I can still talk and see.  I can still praise God, see his wonderful creation, see people and talk with them.  So...today, I am thankful for movement of my limbs!  :D

Thank You

11:11 For 11/11/11 11:11

Luke 11:11  If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?

And we know what comes after this verse: a promise of the Holy Spirit.  May we be encouraged to ask when we have a need.  God knows how to give the "Good Gift".

Marred in the Potter's Hands

Jeremiah 18:2-6  "Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.  And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it...Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel."

As I have been working with clay the past few months and just recently started throwing, I have often thought of this passage.  We can assume that the clay did not mar because of any fault of the potter (unlike some of my cases).  Sometimes, while at the wheel, my instructor has told me that I pushed to hard or wasn't consistent enough with my pressure and threw it off center.  The Lord knows when to "apply the pressure" or send something into our life.  He also knows exactly how much we can take, and he will never have us go through something too great for us.

Because we know that we are in the hands of the Master "Potter", if the vessel of our life becomes flawed, we need to look inwardly.  First of all, it is important that clay has no air bubbles.  To get rid of the trapped air, a potter will wedge the clay.  This is a repetitive motion of folding and pushing.  Do we ever get tired of Christ working with us trying to get out all the pride and selfishness?  Air bubbles in clay create visible flaws on the surface and cause the pot to explode in the kiln.  Pride and selfishness also look ugly in our life.  Furthermore, as we have learned from the proverb, pride goeth before fall.  Wedging the clay also evens out the consistency so that the moisture is dispersed throughout the whole ball of clay.  Any hard lumps will make the walls uneven and make it off-centered.  If we have refused to give something up, that one thing will keep God from making us exactly what he wants.  Sometimes the clay might be too hard, and It won't respond to the pressure of the potter's hands.  Often, if we are too set in our own ways or thinking, God has a hard time molding us into what he wants us to be.

There is a lot of hope in this verse too: "so he made it again..."  That is a very encouraging phrase.  Every time one of my pots fail (which is more often than not), I just scrape it of, wedge it up, and reuse it later.  As my instructor says, "It's just clay."

"Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Thou art the Potter, I am the clay.
Mold me and make me after Thy will,
While I am waiting, yielded and still."

"Oh, make of me what Thou wilt have me to be,

As clay is so I am to Thee;
Just fashion me to Thine own pleasure,
Till Thou shalt Thine own image see."

ColourLovers

 

ColourLovers is a site that has a lot of designing tools.  Their most developed tools are the pallet tools.  I love color, so this site is perfect for me.

The Field

A photo shoot with my sister has given me lots of photo editing fun.