week 2 addendum: confession

OK, I ended up chatting for a few minutes with D.Rob on gmail (aside: YOU SHOULD GET A GMAIL ACCOUNT AND THEN YOU COULD CHAT WITH ME... along with a ton of other great features!!!) and then I went upstairs and got ready for bed and was reading a couple pages of Newsweek (sadly, Pluto is no longer a planet and interestingly, Paramount released Tom Cruise from his contract) when Sarah came home. We chatted and debriefed our days - she was at a birthday party for a girl in her program and had a good time. Then I had lights out and just couldn't really stop my mind spinning at that point - which doesn't happen often.

So I ended up going to bed at 11 (normal these days) and not going to sleep until almost 11:30. :(

Maybe tonight I can get some extra rest.

week 2: brief note

I'm tired tonight. Yesterday's class and discussion of "The College Student" (specifically learning models and developmental theories) wore me out. Then today i started at 8am meeting with a student, met with another friend at 9am to talk about student stuff and went until 7pm with only 30 minutes at home. We went to Rosa's for our Tuesday night date and now I'm at home. Its almost 10pm and I'm about to hit the sheets.

Here's some ways the Lord blessed me so far this week:
1) great experience at church on Sunday that is still blessing me this week
2) made eye contact with a handsome guy that i have seen but not met yet sunday and today (the key here is I didn't just cut and run, but actually made eye contact - hooray!)
3) great conversation with a chaplain of a fraternity here this morning, totally blessed me
4) great conversation with a girl I met, really, yesterday and found a kindred spirit on a lot of spiritual stuff
5) great conversation tonight with a girl in my cohort, who shares my heart on a lot of issues, too.
6) the ability to go to sleep early without feeling guilty

And on that note... good night. I hope you are doing well.

Love!

Sabbath Reading

Its my earnest desire to make Sundays (my roommate and I are trying from after dinner Saturday to dinner on Sunday) my sabbath. Sabbath means a lot of things to a lot of people. To me it has various meanings depending on what my soul needs: 1) a ceasing of striving/working - a conscious rest from the daily anxieties of due dates, assignments and household chores, 2) a simple time of rest, maybe even just napping, 3) spending devoted time with God - reading sacred texts, reading texts to encourage or challenge my soul and mind, praying, 4) time to spend in relationship without the burden of work pressures - phone calls, hanging out, entertainment.

Hopefully my sabbath time always includes these parts. I love to spend time with friends on Saturday night, enjoying the end of a week of labor. I also love the time after church on Sunday, to take shelter in my home and read or nap or phone call (or all three) or hang with my roommate and watch a movie.

Today I had some phone calls to make. I spoke with Jenn and am hoping to speak with Erin and Liz before the sabbath passes into study time (t minus one hour). While I was waiting to hear back from the latter two I was trying to read as much George Muller as possible. I love this book (George Muller of Bristol). I do. But its also taken me a long time to read it. It's deep. So today I read two chapters and then had to come up for some air and I thought I would share some brief excerpts with you. Enjoy:

From Ch. 16, regarding his marriage, his first wife and her passing:

"Mr. Muller's solemn conviction was that all this wedded bliss was due to the
fact that she was not only a devoted Christian, but that their one united object
was tot live one and wholly for God, in which thy were heartily united; that
this work was never allowed to interfere with the care of their own souls, or
their sessions of private prayer and study of the Scriptures; and that they were
wont daily, and often thrice a day, to secure a time of united prayer and praise
when they brought before the Lord the matters which at the time called for
thanksgiving and supplication." (p.235)

"To her husband she had been a blessing beyond description, and to her daugther Lydia, at once a wise and tender mother and a sympathetic companion." (p. 238)

From Chapter 17, regarding his travels around the world preaching and making disciples of Jesus:

"God's real answers to prayer are often seeming denials. Beneath the
outward request He hears the voice of the inward desire, and He responds to
the mind of the Spirit rather than to the imperfect and perhaps mistaken
words in which the yearning seeks expression. Moreover, His infinite
wisdom sees that a larger blessing may be ours only by withholding of the
lesser good which we seek; and so all true prayer trusts Him to give His own
answer, not in our way or time, or even to our own expressed desire, but
rather to His own unutterable groaning within us which He can interpret
better than we." (p.245)

During his speaking engagements:

"He first urged that believers should never, even under the greatest
difficulties, be discouraged, and gave for his position sound scriptural
reasons. Then he pointed out to them that the chief business of every day
is first of all to seek to be truly at rest and happy in God. Then he
showed how, from the Word of God, all saved believers may know their true
standing in Christ, and how in circumstances of particular perplexity they might
ascertain the will of God. He then urged disciples to seek with intense
earnestness to become acquainted with God Himself as revealed in the Holy
Scriptures, and carefully to form and maintain godly habits of systematic Bible
study and prayer, holy living and consecrated giving. He taught that God
alone is the one all-satisfying portion of the soul, and that we must determine
to possess and enjoy Him as such. He closed by emphasizing it as the one,
single, all-absorbing, daily aim to glorify God in a complete surrender to His
will and service." (p.257)

George once said to the author of this book, at one of their meetings:

"... You will never get at the truth upon any matter of divine revelation unless
you lay aside your prejudices and like a little child ask simply what is the
testimony of Scripture." (p. 261)

All quotes above taken from: Pierson, A.T. (1999). George Muller of Bristol: His Life of Prayer and Faith (2nd printing). Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, MI

So, I hope you are enjoying your sabbath and that you get some enjoyment out of these words about George and from A.T. Pierson.

Blessings today, friends!

Pics of the Ferg kids from my weekend in San Antonio

This is Ryan re-enacting the Pony Express. Did you know that the riders of the Pony Express, in order to get the mail delivered on time, didn't have time to stop for breakfast? Their girlfriends (in this case, his sister - Andi) held out donuts on sticks and the riders grabbed them as they went by!
Jared and Andi, making funny faces
The new cat, Hannah (she will hopefully grow up to be a mouser)
John and Ryan, on the tractor, coming up the drive after getting the mail
Andi took this picture of Jared and me. I think she's pretty excited to know how to use my camera. The rest of the weekend she kept saying, "now can i take more pictures?"

Maybe next weekend, Andi, you and I will take a LOT of pics!

_______

Final Pics for now. These are from my weekend (last weekend) with the Fergasons. Next weekend I'm headed there for a three day adventure (its labor day and we don't have class on Monday!), so I may end up with more pics. I think my roommate is going to come with me and get to enjoy the cabin and an ETBU football game (Dave Banks is now the Defensive Coord. at ETBU and they are playing at Trinity U. in San Antonio - he was going to get us on the pass list.... but then it turned out they don't charge admission there, so no list, but getting in free nonetheless. ) I'm looking forward to kid time, seeing Banksie and cheering for an ETBU Tiger win!

more pics from the apt.

The window seat
my cute jelly jar office supply holders! bethany - i thought you, especially would like this touch.
my bed and night stand - its too hot here almost always to use the comforter... maybe in the winter "the cloud" (my bed) will return??
my desk. the only recent change is that I just put some christian living and reference books on the shelf instead of textbooks - it was getting too hard to keep adjusting the speaker (which acts as a book end). Instead I put the textbooks on the top shelf of my little bookcase (below):
bookcase and my dry erase board which houses some affirmations and whatever I'm learning from the Word. That week it was revelations from Prov 31. Next week it might be some exerpts from Daniel's prayer for his people in Daniel 11 (I think). I rewrote the prayer in the TEV (tiffani english version) to help me think about how to pray for me and my country, my students and my family.

The living room
The living room
The kitchen/dining room
The living room
the kitchen/dining room


here are some pics from my new apartment (with furniture!)

From my roommate's myspace blog....

Here is a post from my roommate's blog. Its hysterical and I hope you enjoy it. Its a true story. Yes, true. All names have been changed to protect the innocent.

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

To my desperate admirer: The answer is YES

This blog is dedicated to all of those men who struggle in their attempts to ask women out, and
perhaps get a little to high or drunk beforehand. I received the following message on my voicemail today:
--------------
Heeeey Sarah. It's been a long time. I...uh...i...uh...I just called to see how things are going..i just......how you were doing lately? The question I was wondering.......um.....where are you going to school now? It's been a long time. ....I just want to catch up a little bit... um...and...I wondered...(long awkward pause)...are you single? I...cause, I am too! So maybe we ... maybe we could work something out, you know?! (awkward laugh) I hope you are having a good day. It's 10:54 - you're probably, probably sleeping, you probably had a rough time last night. But...yeah..you have a good one Sarah, and maybe we can catch up sometime...okay?...yeah...get a cup of coffee or.... maybe a full meal of food?...... Okay? See ya later.
-------------

Seeing as my friend failed to mention his name (or sound like someone I remotely recognized), I chose to call the number back to have a little chat. Interestingly, the phone had been turned off and went straight to voicemail - "Hi, this is Fred's** phone". Seeing as all the Freds** I know are married or in a relationship, I shall proceed in my mockery.

Well, Fred** - wherever you are, and whomever you are...the answer is YES. yes......i am single. Will I eat a "full meal of food" with you? Hard to say.

A few tips for others who may asking women out in the near future:
First, mention your name and perhaps how you know the person, if "it's been a long time". Second, perhaps calling during a period of sobriety would be a good idea. Pronunciation and articulation are both good things, and intoxication often hinders them. It also may cause you to call the wrong person's number (which I am hoping is the case here).
I do have to give Fred** some credit though - he did get straight to the point.

**All names have been changed to protect the innocent...just incase I actually do know him...

_________________

Thought you might enjoy a slice of my roommate's funny life and her sense of humor. :) Good night.

GET THIS BOOK!!!!

 

Officially a Graduate Student!

Well, last week I went through training for my assistantship, and orientation for Graduate Students. Then I helped move in the freshman (I was a "receiver" - who helped check people in and answered questions). Monday I started classes. This afternoon/evening (4-7pm) will be my second class. Each of my classes are 3-hour seminar-style classes. Yesterday's class was very good. I liked it, even though I still feel a little nervous about doing well. Hopefully thats healthy humility and not sinful fear! The professor, Dr. Robert C. Cloud, was invigorating in his passion for students - especially those in the public school system (elementary and secondary) and community colleges (where the majority of college students study). I would't doubt that many students have went on to serve God tirelessly at community colleges and the like because of Dr. Cloud's influence. And this is my impression after only one day - what will the whole semester hold? Tonight's class is with Dr. Frank Shushok, who I knew as the Director of Greek Life when I was at Northern Arizona. It really is a small world. I didn't know then that he was a Christian. I barely was myself. I am excited to be in his class, despite what I believe will be rigorous requirements and expectations. He is a passionate man for Jesus (what I've seen so far at least evidences that) and loves people. But he is also passionate about excellence in the field of student services, and his talk to that effect last week at orientation helped me to prepare for this new season of my life. I understood the correlation between being excellent in my profession - about being an expert - and how that brings glory to God. It was exciting and motivating. Its good to post about it, since I'm sure in a few weeks I will be on the brink of weariness and need to be reminded about why I want to succeed in this program. Ultimately, even though its crazy to me that I'm back in college full-time, that I have a part-time job and get paid to hang out with college students essentially, and even though I'm overwhelmed a bit at the idea of the quantity of work ahead of me, and the brain power it will take.... I AM SO BLESSED TO BE HERE. Few students in America go on to University study (only about 1%) and even fewer to graduate study. I understand I am blessed and with that there is responsibility to those who don't have this opportunity to succeed. And that while I take that responsibility seriously, my professors are also taking seriously my success and are committed to it. I can't wait to see how it all unfolds. Its like watching a movie, to me, I have no idea what the ending will be, but the beginning is intriguing... :)

p.s I'm getting through the biography of George Muller: "George Muller of Bristol" by A.T. Pierson. It is INCREDIBLE. Get this book. Read it and be transformed in how you think of God, how you understand prayer and how you act in response to His prompting. OUTSTANDING book and life. Thank you, Lord for your work in Mr. Muller's life, that we can be changed by it even 100 years later!! here is a link to some excerpts from the book.

pics

still having trouble uploading pics, friends, unless i do them individually from picasa or hello. So be patient with me. I hate to have single pic postings, but that may be the result if I can't get it to work by the end of the week.

If anyone has any other suggestions to get pics to post, please let me know!

Tuesday night - happy and sad, new roommie, greenville stuff, pics (below)

My roommate arrived (finally!) on Monday afternoon. I was VERY excited. So excited that after helping her and her family unload and unpack I went to dinner with them... and missed Treasure Hunters. So you know I was excited. (my parents taped it for me and are mailing it to me... I didn't want to miss the "penultimate episode".)

Today we kidnapped Sarah, basically, from her family. I think they all needed some "away" time anyhow and she went with us girls to Rosa's for dinner and to the Lakehouse (which I saw on Friday for $1.50, but for an extra 50 cents, was worth a second viewing) and then we made a new discovery........... on tuesdays Baskin-Robbins offers $1/scoop! Yes, very good news. That brings the total of the evening's cost to: $4.52. Yes, folks - - - we are STILL under $5 and now we have dessert! woohoo!

Our Student Services orientation is tomorrow morning. We'll be with the whole graduate school at 8:30 and then break away at lunchtime with the Student Services crew. I'm excited to meet some others in our cohort for the first time and to get free coffee and lunch again. (I was blessed with free lunch on Monday and Tuesday of this week, too and the Martin's took me out to dinner with them last night - what a blessing!)

Finally, Football started at Greenville this week. Tonight was the first family dinner of the season; where the parents of the players have a cookout and its a gigantic potluck with old and new players and families meeting each other. The staff is there too, with their spouses and kids. Last year Elijah was a little guy, now he's over one and going to have a brother in about 6 months, and Matthew ("Mac") Hehman is the little one - just over a month old and recently dedicated. I miss them. It was good to have a night of fun and not remember that tonight was that night until afterward.

If you are an EPAPP parent: know that I miss you and your sons! I learned a ton and laughed a ton and wept a ton with and over them. They will be a part of my life forever!

So tonight the good and the sad collide. Thankfully happiness is not the measure of who we are in Christ. And I have great JOY that overrides these temporary emotions of fun and sad, both, because I know the Love of the One True God who sent His Son to die for me.

Love you all! Tiff

at the theater, sic'em bears

you'll note that I'm doing the "traditional" "sic'em bears" claw. Here we are in the theater. We asked the ladies if it was freaky that we were taking pics in the theater... they said, "no" but then laughed at us.
 

movie choice

despite Keanu's normally stunning performances - he's so emotionally evocative....... I thought he did a pretty good job in this one. He even had to weep at one point. But mostly: he's pretty wooden. But cute.  

blogger is driving me bananas!

here are the 5 of us for "girl's tuesday night" (jonathan had training or something...so he said) anyway, we are here at Rosa's - L to R: lyns, jenna, sarah, me, Mel. 

New Roommate.

Here is a picture of my new roommate Sarah. I put her in focus and blurred the others so that in the next pics you'll be able to tell which one she is. The other gal in the pictures you'll see is Jenna, who is from Nashville and will be in the MSW program with Sarah. Lyns met her last weekend at Church and invited her to hang out with us. 

Recent Learnings...

There is more that I'm learning about, too, but I don't have time this morning to post my thinkings. In the meantime, here are some verses that are standing out to me this weekend and today:

Daily Light from August 14th, Morning:
The joy of the LORD is your strength. Sing, O heavens! Be joyful, O earth! And break out in singing, O mountains! For the LORD has comforted his people, and will have mercy on His afflicted. Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and no be afraid; for YAH, the LORD is my strength and my song; He also has become my salvation. The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song I will praise Him. My soul shall be joyful in m yGod for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation. He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with jewels. Therefore I have reason to glory in Christ Jesus in the things which pertain to God. We... rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ through whom we have now received the reconciliation. I will joy in the God of my salvation. (for the verse references, click here: VERSES)

From Church yesterday, the "Tiffani English Version" Speak up for those in need who don't have a voice of their own... or a platform from which to be heard. Work vigorously and guard your affairs diligently. Open your arms to the poor; wear strength and dignity; be sure and joyful about you future; speak wisely and give faithful counsel. Don't be idle. FEAR THE LORD. (excerpts from Proverbs 31, vv 8~30)

And finally, while reading the bible today, this was the song of my heart as I read Ezekiel and the Angel of the Lord took him around Jerusalem measuring everything for when it would be rebuilt:
Take me past the outer courts into the Holy Place; past the brazen altars, Lord I want to see your face.
Take me by the crowds of people, the priests who sing Your praise. I hunger and thirst for your righteousness and its only found one place.
So take me in to the Holy of Holies, take me in by the blood of the Lamb.
Take me in to the Holy of Holies, take the coal, cleanse my lips, Here I Am!


May the Lord be present in your life today. Working wonders and using you to transform lies. And may the devil's schemes be exposed and destroyed, in Jesus' name!


p.s. side note: my roommate comes today!!!!

Eight Treadmills

Until I can figure out how to post the actual video here (that may be part of my sabbath day fun) - check out this link - what a bunch of wacky guys - but neat!

http://www.fugufish.org/frog/?p=38

Pics of the new friends, and more!

Here are some pictures of some of my new friends here. Melissa (dark hair), Lyndsy (blond hair) and Jonathan (well, probably you can tell which one he is). These pics are from our "date night" together on Tuesday. The second for the three of them, the first with me involved. We went to Rosa's Cafe and Tortilla Factory for taco plates all around (they are just $2.99 on Tuesdays, with 3 tacos, rice, beans and 2 tortillas on the side - plus they have a salsa bar) and then went to the Starplex Super Saver Cinema... where on Tuesdays movies are only 50 cents. Yes, you read that right. Granted, the rest of the time they are $1.00 before 6pm or $1.50 after, but still - we had a GREAT time for less than $5 each! WOO HOO! Right now our plan is that we do this on Tuesday nights - at least until classes start on the 23rd. We have a Tuesday night class that goes until 7pm, so I'm hoping we can at least keep the movie part of this deal!

Travel Pics (subtitled: how much we fit in the car)

Here are some pics of the car, packed and ready to go. WOW it was full!

p.s. no chickens were harmed in the moving process. the one on the bike actually rode in the backseat - stuffed in there, but then again, he IS stuffed so it worked out ok.

Here are some pics of what we took out/off of the car, to give you an idea of how much we stuffed in that baby!

A few more pictures

Here are some pictures of my bedroom - really, my "studio apartment" - at least until my roommate comes with a couch or something. Golly, I hope she brings a couch! I'll send one with my desk set up nicely later this weekend!

In that pic at the top, you see my desk, but it looks better now, more organized and has TEXTBOOKS on it!! hysterical! But seriously, I'm half-way through the reading I'll need to complete for the first day.

The infamous going away collage!

Here are some snaps of the collage that Heather gave me as a going away gift. its awesome and hangs right above my desk, so while I'm working on email etc, or while I'm working on school work soon... I'll be able to look up at a bunch of pictures from my time in Greenville. Thanks, Heath.

You should be able to click on these and make them bigger!

FRIENDS?!?!

On Thursday I went over to New Student Programs and to my surprise there were 4 girls there from my program, two of whom work there (Carrie and Candace) and two who were visiting to say "HI" (Lyndsy and Ashley). We talked a bit and then decided to go up to lunch, where we connected with Kristen. While we were eating I saw Byron (the dean of chapel/chaplain, and my boss's boss) and waved at him - he smiled and waved and as he went away I figured he was saying, "good, Tiffani is finding some friends!" - which made me chuckle.

Lyndsy (who is from California, but comes most recently from Portanld, OR) and I decided to hang out the following night at her house with her roommate Melissa ("Groove") Gruver - they have started a tradition of having pizza on Friday nights... granted that tradition is only 2 weeks old, but its what we do, now. :) So I went over there and re-met Melissa (we had met at interview weekend, I realized when I met her). I hung out there for about 4 hours and it was really fun. I enjoyed the time tremendously as we figured out what we had in common and got some good laughs together.

I was going to take some pics, but I realized that I can't get them to post right now anyway.... and then I wouldn't make you - mostly my old friends - concerned that I would forget about you! And I won't, don't worry. But it was nice to have people to hang with on my first Friday night. Lyndsy and I and some others are trying out a church together on Sunday. Sadly, we decided to go to the later service rather than the earlier... so we'd have to fill less time after church before bed. Hysterical, really, but logical! :) We're kind of all trying to figure out what to do with our time - but then I remember I should really be studying right now, not socializing - i still have 65 pages to read in one textbook - yuk.

I ended up staying up late last night after getting home to watch "What Not to Wear" - hooray for TLC within the 48 channels I recieve on my TV!

This morning I got up early and went for a walk around campus with Jennifer, another gal in my cohort (married, a couple years older than me). We explored all the different buildings with a map. I'm not sure I know the campus better, but I have at least seen it all, now. :)

Now I'm back in my room. I made a great egg and ham and cheese scramble, toasted some bread in the oven and made some fresh Starbucks (thanks Jenn for providing this cup of coffee!) and now I'm relaxing and thinking I should be showering soon and reading some book before I go back to Lyns and Groove's house.

Thats it for now. Maybe I'll try some new pictures. In the meantime, I did post some new pics to FLICKR (at right) and so you can see some of the pics of the last 2 months there.

Who I am

This morning I was praying about my lack of zeal. Seeing how much I want (in my head and heart) to be a woman that calls upon the Lord with great passion, but how much I really am lukewarm.

It was a good time. I confessed my heart and asked for the Lord's help. I also confessed the fears I have that I'm not "enough" to minister to the students on this campus, the intimidation I feel if I let myself. The Lord reminded me of who I am, how I was created. And that its not me so much as the Holy Spirit.

I was moved to get out the "original design" sheet that I got last year at the Jesus Ministry conference in Tacoma (see link). I looked at it and was encouraged. It reminded me of how the Lord created me and I could begin to see why those characteristics will be good here. And then I was reminded of a passage in Isaiah as I was praying. "I have been appointed ..." is what I heard, but it reminded me of Isaiah and I remembered just after that that at that same conference someone had prayed for me and that the scripture they recieved was from Isaiah 61.
here it is:

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on
them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of
righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor. They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.

Now I'm not saying that those words are 100% who I am, or that they were written for me. Obviously they were written for Isaiah, and most people see them as being for Jesus in the New Covenant. But Jesus lives in me and the bible says that now HIS purposes are MY purposes. And this passage above is my heart's cry. I long to help the men and women here experience freedom from bondage, to preach good news, to show them their crown of beauty and introduce them to a Savior whose love is infinite and boundless. And so I was reminded by the Lord today that I have been anointed, too. And that I have been called here for such a time as this. And I need not fear.

Amen.

pics?

is anyone else having trouble with their pics??? I can't get it to work right now. boooo.

Working

Hi friends. Well, still no pictures, but I hope to do some after I write this brief update. :)

I started work yesterday. The words from the musical "Annie" play in my head as I write: "I think I'm gonna learn to like it here!" The men and women I work with are all so gracious and humble (seeming, after two days at least) and very fun. They like to laugh and make jokes, they like to talk about Jesus and they are just generally good people. What a joy.

Do you know that until Scotty called me to Greenville I was always the "risky hire"? After I had worked at JCPenney for a few months I spoke with the guy who hired me and he told me how he wasn't sure if they had made a good decision at first; the same thing happened at Eddie Bauer. Granted, you don't hear stories like that unless you've surprised them somehow and turned out to be a very good employee. The point is this. When I went to Greenville I knew that I was called and wanted. Even though Scotty had never worked with me before and didn't have a clue about my resume he heard the Lord and brought me on board. Now I'm in a place where they really wanted me, too. Its so fun to be a person who people say, "we really wanted you here, but those guys in UM really wanted you, too" - its nice to be wanted.

And so I'm faced with that blessing and the responsibility that comes with it to really BE who I am and who I'm called to be. More on that later.

Anyway, there were two open desks in the upstairs office where I knew I would be. One was in a corner between two windows, looking out on campus, with shelves over the computer. The other was against a different wall with its back to the doorway and also two windows and no shelves. The latter was appointed to be mine the last time I was there. But when I walked upstairs yesterday I saw that a sticky note had been put on both computers.... and mine was the corner one - with windows looking on campus and TREES! What a neat deal from the Lord.

I spent about an hour or so getting my desk in order (getting on the computer, putting up pictures, etc) while my boss was in a meeting and then another couple of hours in a meeting with my boss, Don. We spoke about my background, his background and our vision. He has a LOT of experience and I'm looking forward to learning from him.

Today I rode my bike to work (its about 1/2 a mile from my apt.) and then worked for about 4 hours emailing people on campus to set up brief introductio meetings with them. Then in a surprising turn of events I went to New Student Programs in the Student Union Building (escorted there by Matt, one of the NSP men) and met 4 other grad students from my cohort, we decided to go upstairs for lunch and met up with another. It was fun to reconnect with some of the women (these were all women) that I have emailed or met at the March weekend, and to meet some new ones. I think all of us felt like, "wow, its nice to know a few faces!"

So there is the report of my first two days. Lyndsy, a gal from Portland (warner-pacific) who I have spoken to some before and I talked about trying to get together tonight at her house - her roommate is in our cohort, too... and they have furniture. They've also been hanging with Jonathan, a guy from our cohort who I met in March. I'm hoping it works out so that I can get out of my house a little bit tonight. And Saturday I'm hoping to spend a little bit of time with Jennifer, a woman from my cohort who I met in March but who lived about 30 miles from me in Greenville at the time and is now here, too! We are thinking of taking a walk around campus.

Thanks for you ongoing prayers and interest!

Pictures... I hope (8-1-06)

argh. Pics aren't working right now. I'll try again tomorrow. Patience is a virtue!

Newest Updates: August 1st, 2006

Well, I'm here in Waco. The Martines (Karen's folks) came up with me on Saturday and helped me unload everything. Then I spent a few hours getting settled and went to Austin to hang with the Fergasons for the weekend. I came back on Sunday evening and began the arduous work of unpacking - finding places for everything and putting it there... only to find that when you don't have much furniture you really don't have a place for everything!

So I spent some time at Wal-mart and Target and I'll have to go back tomorrow to a Dollar Store to get some small plastic cubbies for the kitchen and bathroom. Thankfully, my roommate isn't moving in for a week or so, so I have time to let my stuff be spread all around the bathroom (and a little around the living room)!

I decided to start work tomorrow. I figure I'll work 4-5 hours and be done (if I can last that long). There isn't really anything for me to do, except set up my desk and then talk with the guy I'll be working for: Don Mattingly.

Last week I came up for a day to take care of some business and met the entire University Ministries staff. I had a good chat with Don - to set up our plans for this week and a short tour around campus with Byron Weathersbee the campus chaplain. He talked about the vision he has for my position - what role he wants me to play. Basically: be with students. WOO HOO!!

I also went to the health dept. yesterday and paid $40 for them to stick a needle in my arm... yep, immunizations! I didn't have record of my last tetanus, so I had to get another (now my arm is a little sore!) and I didn't have record of my last TB test, so I am in the process of that right now. Tomorrow I'll go back in the afternoon, and have them document that I'm negative (apparently).

My apartment has high-speed internet, so it will look like I'm on line all the time unless I turn off the computer (or turn off the internet? don't know how), so if you hit me to chat on msn or gmail and I don't answer, don't be dismayed - I just might not be around.

On the bright side, now I can update more easily and in particular whenI want to procrastinate - perfect!

I'll have more to say - and a trip update - tomorrow and later this week!