Wanting.............. Needing more.

My eyes are dry
My faith is old
My heart is hard
My prayers are cold
And I know how I ought to be
Alive to You and dead to me

But what can be done
For an old heart like mine
Soften it up
With oil and wine
The oil is You, Your Spirit of love
Please wash me anew
With the wine of Your Blood

-keith green

aaahhhh...... TK

So I got a message from this girl on myspace that is doing a grad school project on Turkey Hill Iced and is asking people to comment about it. She wrote:

"hey there...i saw that Turkey hill was your fave drink...I'm doing a grad school project on it and was wondering if you could tell me why you love it, the first time you tried it, what you think about it, the taste, pretty much any info about it....i would really appreciate it....thanks so much.... "

I couldn't really resist this and had to write back. She put her email online, so I think it's ok to write it here, for any of you that want to write. lex32001@aol.com

I definately didn't write it well or double check anything. Just kinda went with it. I'm wondering if I embellished the florida story in my old age. Anyone remember how many gallons we took along? Well, he's what I wrote. Let me know what you would write.

>hi.
first of all i was wondering how you picked this as a topic. i think it's great, but just a funny subject for a grad school project. oh well...... let the memories begin.
i can't remember when i first had TK, that's the term that all my friends in lancaster county call it, or maybe that was just my school, Lancaster mennonite. who knows.
anyway, growing up in lancaster county, i just kinda remember always having it there. turkeyhill mart on the corner with the old indian symbol and TK in cartons and gallons.
In highschool it was an addiction. it's offered at lunch at school, but i would often buy a half gallon on the way to school which would bring me through the schoolday, staying in my locker for refreshment between classes. we would always bring gallons for parties or going camping.
original TK has a interesting taste that changes depending on whether it's cold and direct from the store, or if it's been sitting around for a day. I don't know how to explain this. I personally like it more after it's been sitting around for a couple hours. :-) don't know why.
i've been wondering recently why i like it so much. i've been living in europe for he past 3 years and don't get to drink it on a regular basis, so it makes me think about just what's so wonderful about TK. when i come home or see friends, that's the first thing that i ask for. a gallon of tea. I think for me that TK isn't so totally about the taste, but about the memories and meaning of turkeyhill in lancaster county and all that i've gone through with it. this sounds hilarious as i write it, but oh well. i remember in 1998 when i was a senior in highschool and my brother was on a mission trip in miami. some friends and i went to visit and took down 10 gallons of TK.
i've travelled over to europe 8 times now and i've brought TK over with me 6 of those times, rationing it to make it last as long as possible. I think it's become more of a symbol of home to me in the last years. TK just always belonged to any activity with friends. Sporting events, camping, roadtrips, weddings and where ever we were.
Just having a piece of lancaster county around, driving by the plant down by turkey point, or just always having a half gallon around.
i'm rambling. :-) thanks for letting me reminisce and ramble. let me know if you have any other questions or what happens with your work. i'd love to read what you write or what other think.
thanks.

jared seth hankee

Called to be how much of a blessing?

I'm definately behind in my blogging. I've experienced things and have wanted to write them down and reflect for quite some time now.
Working with refugees has definately changed me. I'm still a really nice guy and all, but having responsibility or authority makes you ask questions and give answers that you might wouldn't have faced otherwise.
I'm the only fulltime person at the immigration counselling office, meaning that I'm kinda in charge. I don't necessarily like that. I'm responsible for how money is spent, decisions are made and also for the relationship to government, our church, other organisations and our organisation in general.
It's been a rough road for me learning when to say no or taking a stand for what i think on an issue. This is definately only in relation to work.
I've determined that life gets more complicated as you get older. You agree? Good. I'm right. I wouldn't have thought 10 years ago that I would be having to make decisions like I do now. I wouldn't have wanted to. Don't get me wrong. I don't have alot of money and don't have lots of say or power in the world. But the emphasis that I put on each decision is crazy. I want everyone to be happy and don't want others to disagree or be uncomfortable.
Right. It'll never happen. I know that. But I'm still a wimp when it comes to telling others that they've crossed their boundary and that their actions have to end.
Whether this means that someone can't call their country to talk to someone, to get money for a train ticket, to use the rooms from our organisation, or to determine my actions in a certain issue.
I love serving others and trying to make them happy. BUT I've come to the point where I see that it's neither good for them, nor for me if I do what they ask. The situation becomes unhealthy.
I tend to be a realist. Or maybe I just mean that I doubt what people often say or plan. I've learned that this is not negative, but a reality check that I should learn to listen to. Accept your own advice.
I'm not answering the question that I posed, but I don't care. These are things that roll around in my mind and bug me. I learned my whole life to serve others and do what's best for them. No. I wanted that. I would decide not to voice my opinion, rather than to offend others. If it was for fun, that's ok, but I would duck out of a real decision.
Oh there's a lot more in my mind on this. I'm writing a book and can't stop. It'll come up again later with another picture so that it looks like a new topic.