I haven't blogged for a while...

Haven't blogged in a while because... well... i haven't blogged in a while... sorry...

Let's see if I can give you 10 things I should have blogged about but didn't.

1. I saw The Bucket List last weekend. Which was the first movie I've seen rented or in a theater in a VERY long time. I don't even have time to turn on the regular TV let alone pay to waste 2 hours to watch a movie. Those 2 hours are precious. Seriously. Good movie, good times.

2. My niece Avery turned 4 years old! Not 3, not 5, she's 4... 4 years old... (some of you will remember that, Matt?) My oh my how fast 4 years have gone.

3. There's a gorgeous lake in Dallas that I got to walk around the other afternoon. BEAUTIFUL. And it was a beautiful day, too...surprisingly.

4. I likey Ikey. Many of you have asked. Dallas was spared the hurricane last weekend. We had a grey, overcast day with only a very short time of rain. Everyone was prepared for worse, but it never made it this far. Ike did, on the other hand, bring a week's worth of amazing beautiful temperatures. Like, chilly in the morning on the way to class. Bliss! I'm telling you... low humidity, light breeze all day. Yeah, I could get used to this Texas weather. Not trying to negate the destruction that took place in Houston and Galveston... I just don't know much about it. Please don't think I'm insensitive.

5. The homework is picking up... lots. In fact, this is a crazy busy weekend. I have to read almost 500 pages, write a 4 page paper, diagram/outline the book of Habakkuk (my professor joked, if we can find it!), and study for a Greek quiz on Tuesday, Greek Test on Thursday and HUGE Theology test on Thursday. Whew!
But all of it has been great... learning good stuff. Last week, in different classes, I studied Acts 17: 16-34 (good stuff!), we picked apart Nehemiah 1: 1-11 and then Mark 11:27-12:44... and I'm just telling you the Bible is AMAZING stuff. Maybe one of these days I'll share with you some of the things I'm learning in my Bible Study Methods class. Those of us who own a copy of the Bible have the privilege to hold in our hands the powerful, inspired, inerrant word of the God of the universe. Do you understand the weight of that? The One who spoke worlds into existence, who tells the sun when to rise and set, who knows they very number of hairs on your head provided a way for you to know Him through the gift of His word. He's not merely "God" who's way up there, unconcerned about the workings of your life... no, He created your life... He's not far from each one of us, as Acts 17:27 tells us. I'm just saying...God desires a personal relationship with you through His Son, Jesus... and if you don't know what that is, you're missing out on a love deeper than you've ever known and a whole bunch of other cool stuff. If you want to know more, I'd love to share with you who Jesus is to me... just ask!

6. I walked with my Greek professor last Sunday night, but I don't think he knows it. :o) Read on...The gym that DTS students have a membership to as part of our student fees has a beautiful 1/2 mile walking/jogging trail that is enclosed with a big iron fence (that's for you, mom) secure from the city, but has all kinds of landscape, trees that provide shade over the path, lights at night little ponds with huge fountains, gazebos, oh, it's just great. I like to walk there. Last week, I was walking, listening to my iPod and a yellow flash that looked fairly familiar zoomed past and nearly scared me to death because I couldn't hear him coming up on me. I was just listening to my Jesus music. As he passed, I thought... hhhmmm, that kind of looks like Dr. Jay. Sure enough, he lapped me in a few minutes and whoooosh, did it again. Now, you all know me. He appears in my peripheral vision and what do i do? No, i didn't scream... but I flinched or like jumped. Remember, I hear nothing but my Jesus music, he's not wearning an iPod. Keep that in mind. So, this happened maybe 4 times. As the walk is going on, I half forget he's there, but I do wonder if he'll make the connection. Slowly all of the other walkers and joggers leave the trail and it's getting dark. They have lights along the path, and it's well lit but still is different at night. So, I'm beginning to think, hhhmmm... this is darker than I thought, maybe I should go in. Then, Wooosh.... he passes me again. No, i'm safe... Dr. Jay's still out here. There's a fence. I'm just a country girl freaking out in the big city. So, on I go. And throughout the next lap, I'm looking for Mr. Yellow and I don't see him anywhere. I decide I've been hauling it out there for 45+ minutes, it's time to go study. So, i'm on my last lap, thinking I'm the ONLY person on the track and one of my favorite songs starts playing. Naturally, what any tone deaf worshipper with an empty trail and a great song would do, I start to sing along... and just as my song gets to this wonderful part that goes, "I will not be moved, I'll say of the Lord, You are my shield, my strength, my portion, deliverer, my shelter my tower my very present help in time of need..." I have to sing it. Just have to. God's been all those things to me lately so I was just praising Him for it. Well, I started, "I will not be moved..." kid you not... at that precise moment, WHOOSH, comes the yellow flash, i not only flinch i gasp, then instantly I'm embarassed and realize what I've done so I start laughing... and the yellow flash who by this point I am CERTAIN is my Greek professor strolls on by... remember, with no iPod of his own. Got to class on Tuesday and Thursday... he never mentioned it. And he's the kind of goof ball that so would. No, I certainly did not mention it...

7. Oh!!! I know what else: I FINALLY ran into my dear friend Laura Beth in the hallway yesterday. It was a hug like coming home. I can't even tell you. Our schedules have been insane and we've been busy doing our separate things and haven't seen much of each other in months... it was so good to run into her. Love that girl. It happened after Greek class. Gosh. what a great class.

8. My mom and dad celebrated 31 years of marriage yesterday. In Las Vegas. They got to go see the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, and Vegas stuff. Pretty exciting! And no, they didn't stop by Dallas! What nerve!

9. Confession: studying is easier with Double Stuf Oreos. I don't know what the phenomenon is, but oh my goodness... I learn so much more and retain so much more information if I have a few Double Stuf (that's important) Oreos around. Thank you Jesus, for Nabisco.

10. And, this is a big deal. I'm giving up Diet Coke. For real. It's gotta be rotting my kidneys. There's a warning on the cans that says: contains Phenylalanine or some other ungodly chemical that probably means: cancer causing, kidney rotting juice that gets you addicted to our product. Anyway. People need coffee... I prefer Diet Coke... but, I'm weaning off of it. No time for a caffeine withdrawal migraine (been there, done that before) so 1 box remains... and then no more... Save the Kidneys! I think I'll get T-shirts printed.

Surely no one is still reading... if you are, God bless you :o)

Just want you all to know that I miss you. If there was any way to be here and there at the same time, I would be. I don't have time to send individual emails and there are a few I've been meaning to get back to for the past couple of weeks, please, bear with me... Trying to put the big rocks in the jar before the pebbles and the sand (know that time management analogy?)
As my Greek professor admonishes us often:
Why did you move to Dallas?
We reply: to go to seminary.
He says: Then go to seminary! Don't waste this time in your life on other stuff. You have to learn to prioritize and say NO to other things. You're here for seminary. Go to seminary.

He has a point.

If there were only more hours in a day...

"I thank my God upon every rememberance of you..." Philippians 1:3