Moved in…Sort of

I have officially moved back in with Tim and Mom. It has been an interesting adventure that has made me swear that I am never moving again. I’ve been joking with Tim telling him that he’s stuck with me. lol. But I’m here! There are still boxes everywhere, and my room is still barely navigable. Poor Kita, my dog, is still trying to figure out if she’s training to compete in an obstacle course or something as she gingerly works her way to her kennel which is in the far corner of my room. The problem, if you want to call it that, is that just a month ago I had an entire apartment to put stuff in. Now I have a bedroom. Well actually, I don’t have “just” a bedroom. I also have all of my boxes of kitchen stuff stashed at Nana’s house, and I have clothes stashed next door at Gram’s. Oh, and I have a pile of boxes along with a washing machine stashed in the garage. For that reason, I don’t know that I’ll ever get completely moved in, but I’m back in Florida anyways.

Just a Warning - I'm Getting on my Soapbox

I’ll tell you what amazes me about students, especially adult students. When a professor specifically gives you a handout stating how he wants a project in his class to be done, he expects that your project will conform to the handout. Most adult students do not seem to understand this concept. On more than one occasion, I have heard students come into class the day a project is due and flippantly say something along the lines that they just didn’t have enough time to finish the project, and the professor will just have to give them more time. What makes anyone think that they are exempt from the rules? What make anyone think that a professor is required to bend the rules just for them? When an assignment tells them to do something that they don’t agree with such as print their name on every page, why do they baulk? Why do they make the superior decision that their name shouldn’t have to be printed on every page. It costs them no time, no money, no nothing to do it. So, do it!! Why do students think that they have the right to complain about a teacher or a grade that they got in the class when the real problem is that they lack the humility to fall under the authority of the professor and follow simple clear-cut directions? I've been asked on several occassions how exactly I get the grades that I do. Well, 40% of it it simply following directions.

Paper, Paper, Whose Got the Paper? Wait a second, that would be me...

I think that I am drowing in papers. Actually, I don't think that one can really drown in papers. It's more like suffocation. At least the semester is half way over. Eventually, the papers and the reading will end...I hope.

October

I can't believe that it's already October 1st! This semester is really flying by. Before I know it, it will be Thanksgiving again. Speaking of flying, I'm flying home today for a visit. We have this coming week off for fall break, but I'm leaving a little early. So, no posts for a while.

Odd

I saw a butterfly today. I never expected to see one this late in the year, but he was busy, busy trying to get as much food as he could out of one of the flower beds on campus. Even odder, I actually had a camera with me when I saw the butterfly. Even more odd, the camera actually had batteries in it that weren’t dead, and oddest, the butterfly stayed in one place long enough for me to not only check all of these things, but also to take a few pictures.

Time Crunch

I am on a huge time crunch right now. There is just so much that needs to get done before September 30, but I'm sure that it will all get done eventually. It always does. I used to stress majorly when projects started piling up, but a little perspective always takes my stress level way down. I have never not finished a project on time. I'm trying to finish 3 papers, my class reading, 4 quizzes, and I have a conference to go to this weekend. Man, when one teacher decides to pile on work, it seems like they all decide to pile it on. Prayers would be appreciated.

First Day of Fall

I've got to quit talking about fall so much, but today is officially the first day! I desperately want to pull out my light weight sweaters, but it's still not quite cool enough. However, thanks to an over active air conditioner, I have been able to wear my jackets to class. To make this first day of fall feel even more official since the weather is only being slightly cooperative (at least it's not oppressively hot), I'm sitting here eating Brach's pumpkins which is pretty much the best candy ever invented. Thanks mom for the care package!

I decided to walk around campus between classes today, and found many signs of fall including...

Some steps that are covered with leaves that the grounds crew has yet to get around to.



And some smaller trees that are already looking very bare.



There are also some signs around the house that fall has officially arrived.

For instance, Kanon has hung a great fall-esque wreath on our front door. Yes, I'll have to admit for those of you who are wondering, it does creep me out a little bit. I'm constantly checking it for snakes and other critters as I go in and out the door, and I seem to make a point to move it around a lot so that nothing could get comfortable in there. If you don't know the story, Julie got a snake in her house a few years back because she opened her front door and unbeknownst to her there was a snake who had decided to take up residence in her wreath. I'm not sure that I've ever seen a wreath on her door since then, and I definitely wasn't going to put one up. However, I really do like how they look so all in all it may creep me out, but I like it.



Also, ever since I fell in love with and bought one of Wal-mart's candles from their fall line, I think it's pumpkin, our house has not only looked fall-esque but also smells like it. I don't think that I have ever burned a candle of this size so fast in my life. I've lit it at least once if not two or three times a day since I bought it, and now after only two measly weeks it's almost gone! Maybe I'll have to limit myself to burning it only once every other day or something so that I can make it last longer...



Now if only the leaves would start turning and the new season of CSI would start...

Christmas Music

I have this huge love of Christmas music, and I think that it’s a true shame that it’s only “acceptable” to listen to it for about a month out of the year. So, as my family well knows, I resist listening to it for about 8 months out of the year. Come September however, there will be random days that Christmas music will come blaring through my speakers. By October, Christmas music is my genre of choice. By November, my family is sick of it, but I’ve never been known to relent. For me, the Christmas music season runs from October through December, and if it must be known, sometimes early January. Yes, my Christmas playlist is currently blaring in my bedroom.

Meditation

Growing up in church, I’ve always heard that you need to meditate on Scripture. The problem was that the image my mind conjured up when the word meditation was mentioned was of someone sitting very still on a pillow with their eyes closed, fingers pinched together, arms partially extended, and legs crossed with a continual humming sound being issued from their vocal cords. Now, I knew that’s not what meditating on Scripture was, but it formed the basis for the way in which I viewed meditation. My interpretation was that meditation involved sitting still and mulling a piece of Scripture over and over in ones mind, kind of like savoring a piece of cake. This is what meditation is at times, but I love the explanation of meditation that a professor recently gave us. Meditation is owning a piece of Scripture. It’s reading it over and over again until you are familiar enough with it that you can either paraphrase it or quote it as you go about your day. It’s applying that Scripture to your life in a very real way, and it’s allowing life to help you better understand the Scripture. Meditation is more than just sitting still. It’s grabbing a hold of a piece of Scripture and getting everything you can out of it. To meditate means to dwell on something. Your mind should be dwelling on Scripture in such a way that it influences every aspect of your life.

Love Hate Relationship

Rain and I have a love hate relationship. I love for it to rain as long as it's convenient. It makes the flowers look great, the sound is soothing, and it cools the earth down. We traveled a lot when I was little (at least once a month), and I used to have rain races in the car. I'd strategically pick out two plump raindrops on the window then predict which one would make it to the bottom of the window first. I know, I know, but there's not much left to do in a car after a certain amount of time. Remember I said we traveled a lot.

Today however, I absolutely despise rain when I have to go somewhere especially when I'm going to class. I don't live far from school so driving isn't really the issue. The issue is having to park the car and walk. A light rain really isn't all that bad, but a heavy rain means that by the time you get to class at the very least your pants are soaked, and if I forget that it's raining and throw on flip flops as I fly out the door, my feet are soaked to. Couple that with a maintenance crew that believes in setting the A/C on 70, and you're in for one miserable class. My only hope is that it's not a three hour one.

This is me sitting in the car (maybe having rain races, lol) as I wait for things to clear up a little so that I can make a mad dash for class. No that is unfortunately not the building that I needed to get to. The building that I needed was of course across campus, and yes, it was a cold three hour class. I did remember to wear tennis shoes however.

Update

Just thought that I would let ya'll know (since I've already received one phone call asking about it) that the pork loin did in fact turn out, and it was actually pretty good! I have tons of leftovers that will probably never get eaten, but that's a different story.

Well, It Was On Sale

So, I bought a pork loin last week simply because it was on sale. However, I have no idea how to cook one, and I'm not actually much of a pork eater. Beyond chicken, I'm not really much of a meat eater at all, but in spite of all that, I'm cooking a pork loin today. It will be an adventure, probably full of phone calls to Momma. We shall see...

Switcharoo

This semester is definitely much different than last semester, and that is to be expected. Every professor has their own style, but in a major change from last semester, I am learning more and thus enjoying more from the readings than I am the classes. It's not a good or bad thing. It's just different.

My professors last semester were intensely passionate about their subject areas, and they were really good at getting us passionate about them to. I kind of miss them. There has only been one or two other time in my academic career where I've wanted to go back and retake a class, and this is the first time that I've ever wanted to go back and take a semester. Oh well, not possible especially since one of them is retiring this week, but maybe I'll audit an ethics class next semester. Although, that might be hard considering the fact that, that professor just got the teacher of the year award. Everyone will want him next semester.

Uninvited Guests

Kanon and I now have some uninvited guests at our apartment – yellow jackets. They’ve decided to build their nest directly outside of our backdoor in a birdhouse that some former tenant must have thought was a good idea. So far they haven’t caused any major problems. We have debated spraying them through the screen on our window (aka we are both far too chicken to stand outside and do it), but since they’ll die off anyway once the weather gets cool enough, we have thus far resisted. The teacher in me actually thinks that it’s kind of cool to get to see them do their thing close up without any risk of injury especially since we don’t really use the backdoor. Of course, the anti-insect side of says they have to go! I’m not sure how long they’ll last, but for now, our uninvited guests remain.

The birdhouse in this picture translucent so the darker parts of it are the areas where the nest is. I was trying to actually get a picture of our guests instead of the nest, but they were being uncooperative.

Advice for Seminary

So, I’ve been asked by a couple people over the past few months what kind of advice that I would give someone who is either going or considering going to seminary. I honestly wasn’t entirely sure what advice I would give them. I think that I had to make it through a semester and then have time to reflect on what I’ve learned or wish that I would have known before starting. On the other hand, some of this is just good advice that I was given as I was getting ready for seminary myself.

1. Sift everything through the Bible. Seminary is a very interesting educational atmosphere. When you go to a state college, you expect to have to take everything that your professor gives you with a grain of salt. After all, state colleges make no claims to Christianity. What makes seminary so interesting is that you will encounter at least one professor who at some time or another will stop teaching Bible and start teaching his opinion. For this reason, you always have to be on your guard, even in seminary. Not to down play the offense, but it helps to remember that professors are human beings not God.

2. Recognize which hills are worth dyeing on and which hills aren't. Most professors that one encounters in seminary are professors for a reason. In other words, they know their stuff, and they know it well. They know exactly what they believe, why they believe it, why others don’t believe it, and how to disarm someone who disagrees with them. If a professor says something that you don’t agree with, and you feel compelled to either do the highly "unsmart" thing and outright challenge them or the smarter thing and start asking key questions that allow others to know and see your viewpoint without attacking anyone, be prepared to die. The extent and harshness of your death will largely depend on just how directly you challenged the professor’s view. It’s usually a loving death, but a death none the less. However, there are hills worth dyeing on, and it's important to recognize which hills those are.

3. Don’t compromise your personal growth. Sure, attending classes everyday means that you are constantly (or should be) digging into the Bible. Sure, going to chapel on a regular basis feels a lot like going to church, but its not. Just because your doing work for class and attending chapel doesn’t mean that any personal growth is taking place. You have to set time aside everyday for your personal quiet time, and you have to make church a priority. A seminarian gathering such as chapel is no replacement for church involvement. No, the Sunday school teachers may not be as good as your professors, but listen to their heart. Even though they may not do it well, they are trying to teach you something.

4. Get a good set of commentaries or get ready to spend a lot of time in the library. Actually, a third option is to be really nice to your roommate who happens to own said set of commentaries. I’m coveting the Expositor’s Commentary set right now. Maybe I’ll get it before my roommate moves out. Here’s hoping… Commentaries are probably the most expensive investment for students, but actually, it's good to have a wide range of resources such as theological dictionaries, concordances, and background and hermeneutical books.

5. Make a schedule and stick to it. The word seminary should be defined as a place where students get overloaded with work. lol. It has been my experience that every class has tons of reading and a minimum of two papers (aka 10-20 page mini books). Set aside a predetermined block of time everyday to work. Trust me, if you don’t work on it everyday, it will never get done. I usually average about an hour a day per a class. Since I’m taking five classes this semester, I usually study about five hours a day, except on Sunday.

6. Don’t panic after the first week of class. Everyone that I've talked to always gets very overwhelmed after that first week of classes. They've been assigned more reading than they've ever thought possible, they' ve been warned about all upcoming papers and projects, they've sat through at least one class where they have no idea what the professor was talking about, and it’s only the first week of school. It seems to me like most first semester students including me come into the seminary with a huge handicap. There’s a learning curve here unlike the one that was in place in the undergraduate program because everyone starts behind it. Hang on for a month or two, and things really do get better as you start to get a handle on both the work and terminology. Seminary has a language all its own.

The best advice that I can give though is just enjoy the ride. A seminary campus has an atmosphere that is unique from almost any place that you will go in life. There may be lots of ups and downs along the way, but just the opportunity to be a part of that atmosphere is well worth all the aggravations that it may create.

Reading, Reading, and uh Did I Mention Reading

So, the reading this semester isn't nearly as bad as last semester (aka I can actually stay awake through most of it). I only have one book so far that seems to drag on and on. However, the volume of reading is still pretty much the same. Right now it seems like all I ever do is read, but the papers will start rolling in pretty soon. Although that sounds like a bad thing, it's a good thing for me because I love to write. By the end of the semester though, I'll probably be begging for reading assignments again. I seem to only like to write so much. Then, I burn out, and with something like 12 papers due this semester, burn out is inevitable.

Blinding

Since my nails have been on a growing kick lately as opposed to their previous breaking trend, I've been on a painting kick. I've actually been taking the time to polish them about once a week, but I've consistently been using the same color polish so I doubt that anyone has noticed. This week I decided to dig a new color out of my nail bag. The color was a little funky since it was orange, but the shade looked tame enough in the bottle. So, I threw it on. Well, turns out that the color really isn't all that tame. In fact, it's rather blinding. I quickly realized why this color has gotten very little use, but since I had already painted one hand, I went ahead and did the other. It definitely has to come off before church on Sunday, but I'm too lazy to repaint them today. They actually remind me of some advice that Jessica gave me when she was probably about four or five. She determined that since I wasn't dating I needed to wear brighter colors (including makeup) with lots of sparkle so that I would get noticed. lol. So, for 48 hours, Jessica, I'm wearing a much brighter color just for you!

Another Sign of Fall

Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks. I don’t usually go to Starbucks this much nor talk about it this much, but because I have a gift card, I’m becoming addicted. Wednesday morning Starbuck runs seem to be becoming a definite habit. This can not be good…

Fall is Coming!

My all-time favorite season is just beginning to stick its head around the corner, and I couldn't be more excited. What's not to like about orangy-yellow leaves, pumpkins, mums, light sweaters, and planting bulbs The temperature is beginning to drop. (Yes, I know it's just a little bit, but I feel it.) There was even a nice breeze on campus the other day. The most exciting part about fall this year is that I'm actually far enough north to watch the leaves change colors. Of course, the most disappointing part is that I don't have a flower bed, but that's evened out by both the fact that the seminary has some gorgeous beds that will start blooming in late spring and the fact that I do have beds at home that are already planted. Maybe someone will send pictures this year, hint, hint. If it would just stay fall forever, I would be one happy girl.

This is a picture from a trip that we took to Mentone, AL a few years back.

And They're Off

School is in full swing again, and I have officially survived the first full week with only minor mishaps ranging from forgetting what time chapel started at (I was an hour early and without anything to study) to getting slightly lost while trying to find a class (not my fault, it was printed wrong). My survival was supplemented however by a midweek run to Starbucks for a white chocolate mocha compliments of my mother who gave me a gift card last week. Oh, and Chick-fil-A sponsored breakfast this morning too! The first week is usually the worst for me morning wise because I have to adjust to getting up early again, but since I had both mocha and chicken, all is well.

This is Just a Drill

So, we are sitting inside today confined because of tropical weather. It is seriously raining cats and dogs out there! My only hope is that by the time I fly out of here on Tuesday that all this rain has cleared out and that it didn’t cancel too many flights that will create a backlog. Actually, I don’t really see why they would have cancelled any flights unless there are some serious winds up higher. There’s just a stiff breeze on the ground, and that is exactly why I call this a drill. In the event of a true tropical emergency, electricity would be out, trees would be falling over, water and food would be stockpiled, and flights would have for sure been cancelled.

Random Fact, But…

My all time favorite movie to watch at the dawn of any new semester is “You’ve Got Mail.” I can completely connect with the “bouquets of sharpened pencils” that Tom Hanks’ character claims that he would send Meg Ryan’s. A new semester means new pencils, pens, notebooks, flashcards, and ultimately a clean slate, a fresh start. What’s not to like about a brand spankin’ new notebook?! Most of the time, I can’t wait until the beginning of the first class to write something, anything in it. Oh well, too bad I don’t have a copy of “You’ve Got Mail” with me in FL right now.

The Semester is Officially Over

Well, the semester has actually been over since Friday. I actually turned in my last paper early. It was due at 5, and I think that I had it in by 3. It wasn't perfect, but I was just ready to be done with it.

Some pictures of my last day:

As the Semester Draws Nigh

The semester is ending. Next week is finals week, and then, it will all be over. I will never again sit in an Old Testament or ethics class. It’s definitely bitter sweet. I can’t believe that the semester is already over. It has absolutely flown by! When I started back in January, I wasn’t sure that I would even survive this semester much less long enough to get my MA, but I have survived! That I am excited about. However, I hate the fact that I am leaving some amazing classes. I have learned so much under some amazing professors over the last 16 weeks or so. It’s funny. It’s only been 16 weeks, but I’m already to the point where I can’t imagine spending my week not sitting through 6 hours of Galeotti’s rabbit trails or 3 hours of Liederbach’s ethical challenges. They have both had an amazing impact on my life even if neither of them think that I talk nearly enough. Apparently, impacts are gauged based on class participation, something that I have never been overtly good at. Anyways, I can’t wait to see what next semester holds!

Just 4 Ya'll

Well, since I started my seminary venture a few months back, there is one question that I get asked quite consistently. Everyone that I run into wants to know what I’m learning. Most of the time, it’s meant to be a casual, quick question, but I’m learning so much on a daily basis that the majority of the time I get lost on where to even start answering. My brain starts running a mile a minute trying to figure out exactly how to put into words all that I have been learning. Inevitably, I settle on some miniscule amount of information to share that nowhere near answers their question, and to top it all off, by the time the information works its way from my brain to my mouth, it never sounds as good as it did in my head. I am definitely not an orator. I can organize and teach a lesson plan like nobody’s business, but informally answering an unexpected question is way out of my gifting. Writing however is an area where God really has gifted me. Some people are talkers and some people are writers. I don’t know that I’m a writer in the official sense of the word, but I’m at least proficient in it. My hope for this blog is two fold. First off, I want to keep anyone who wants to know exactly what I’m learning up to date, and secondly, I want to write down what I’m learning so that I can be more proficient in verbally explaining it. As I said earlier I can teach a lesson plan because writing helps me to organize my thoughts so that when they exit my mouth they don’t sound so…incoherent.