The End of August

Hoo boy... it's been a while hasn't it?

Well, I shall now update everyone on my life, hence the point of this blog. My last post was a bit depressing, but in reality it was a great little growth in my walk with God. Since then, my homesickness has abated a bit more and I find myself content in where God has me at this moment. If ever I'm learning to live moment by moment, day by day, it is now. I'm not fretting or dreaming of future things, since they are not mine to claim - something God has been working diligently in getting me to realize. At the same time, I cannot live in the past, hoping and wishing to be back "home" (in New York with my wonderful and loving family) since that will ultimately interfere with what God is trying to do in my life at this moment to prepare me for the future.

My classes are going well. I can't believe how motivated I am to stay ahead of my classes in my reading and studying. For those who don't know, my list of classes are, in rank of my favorite to least favorite:

Hermeneutics taught by Dr. Danny Akin, the president of the seminary. This is by far, one of my favorite classes. It makes getting up for an 8:00 class in the morning. He's very entertaining and incredibly grounded in the Word.

Greek - yes, this IS supposed to be my second favorite class. For some reason (so far) I love studying this language and learning about how English words have derived from Greek words. And it makes for reading the Word a lot more enlightening. I was terrified of this class to begin with, but I'm marveling at how much I'm enjoying it!

Church History is about - you guessed it! - the history of the church. It's very interesting, although the reading can be a bit (well, let's be honest - very) dry. My professor, Dr. McKinion, is amazingly funny and keeps us entertained and thinking hard for the three hour class.

And finally, we have my least favorite class: Old Testament. Don't get me wrong, I love God's Word and I love the Old Testament, but that doesn't mean I HAVE to love a class on it! I'm struggling a bit with my professor of that class, since he tends to confuse all of us with his tangents and circling-like lectures. Pray for me on that one!

What else shall I update you on? Oh, yes. My roommate. Her name is Laura and she is an absolute sweetheart. And no, I'm not just saying that because she reads this blog. ;) We have both talked about it and agree that God has had His divine hand in this from the very beginning. We've become fast friends, with similar senses of humor and love for the Lord. I think I could honestly go on about her, but I won't for the sake of beginning to sound cliche-ish, and suck up-ish.

On the church front, I've found a great church that I'm fitting right in with so far. It's called Bay Leaf Baptist Church - extremely evangelical, missions-based, and obviously Scripture-based. I've actually already been out a few time with some of the girls from the single's group in the church. There's so many ways that I can volunteer in this church and there are so many ways that they can help me in my walk as well. So, we'll see. I might try out a few more churches just in case.

Now, I'll leave you with an invitation: to come visit me via pictures!

This is Binkley Chapel, where all our chapels are held (often just twice a week) and where the majority of the seminary classes are held. It's beautiful inside, very colonial, and the chapel speakers have been phenomenal so far. If you can, listen to their podcasts posted on Southeastern's website (http://www.sebts.edu/) - you won't regret it!

This is Lolley Dorm, where I'm currently living. You'll see pictures of my room a bit later.

This is Stealey Hall, home to the President's office, Acounting Services, Registrar... basically anything that's important, you'll find it there.

This is the Jacumin-Simpson Missions Center, which is the hub for national and international mission opportunities, classes, etc. It's another beautiful building.

This is the Ledford Center that houses the bookstore, school shop, fitness center, and "play area" as I like to call it. Haha.

This will be Patterson Building. It's being finished up right now and will hopefully be used by next fall for classes and offices. It's right next to the Ledford Center.

There's some weird looking plants around here. I've been told this is a magnolia tree, but look at the fruit things! They're HUGE!

And this is the scariest tree I think I've ever seen. These "burr balls" are giagantic! They're the size of my HAND! I actually accidently kicked one that had fallen on the path while wearing flip flops and it HURT!

Anyway, on to my room:

This is what you see when you open the door to our lovely (but sparse) room. The closets are directly on your right, and the door to the bathroom is to your left.

These are, obviously, our beds. Mine is the purple-clad bed with the loud pillows (ha). We're working on adding more decorations. ;)

Our dressers, my desk (Laura's is on the other side to your left) and our closets. There's so much storage space! I was very happy to discover that.

And finally, here's me, giving you a hearty "howdy" from down south. :)