So often we hear of awful things that human beings are doing around our country and around our world. Today I learned that a friend of mine, a youth minister, was beaten up very badly here in Abilene. Last Friday night he saw two girls on the side of the road with their hood up. When he pulled over to help, two men appeared- it was a set up. Thirty minutes later they were gone with his wallet and cell phone. Luckily they didn't take the right keys for his car, so he was able to get home. From what I understand he is bruised and cut up pretty good, but he is going to be ok- physically. He has an amazing wife and two very young daughters at his side, but I can't imagine what is going on in his mind. Then later today I was standing in the drink aisle at HEB, getting some things for church tonight. There was a family in front of me, and the little boy was holding onto the handles of the shopping cart with his feet resting on the cart as well (like we all did when we were kids). This was obviously slowing his mom down, and she yelled at him to get off. When he didn't, she decided that the best way to handle this situation was to hit his little fingers that were holding onto the handle bar. Not slap them- a balled-up fist hit. Then he let go and just held onto the back and sort of just slid with his bottom. Instead of stopping the cart to remove him, she also thought the best move was to kick him... and she proceeded to kick him all the way down the aisle as he yelled for her to stop, and he finally moved when they got to the end of the aisle. I was supposed to be deciding between Coke and Dr. Pepper, but the world suddenly slowed down and I couldn't move as I watched this whole scene.
All you have to do is turn on the news to know that humanity is messed up. And I have been in some very broken places since I've been in Abilene. But the people I have seen are crying out for help. A mother who hits her young son- not out of rage, but out of pure annoyance- and 4 people who sit at home and plan an attack on a helpless person are the kind of people that I forget I live with every day. The ones who are crying out for help are the people that my heart is turned most towards. God give me a heart of Christ-like compassion that is not only compelled to help those who can't help themselves, but also to those who do help themselves in the most vicious ways.
8.31.2005
8.30.2005
Hello friends. Contrary to popular belief, I am still alive. Let's just look at my little hiatus from blogging as a summer vacation. And now that school has started back up, let's hope the blog will as well. :)
I had a wonderful summer! At the beginning of the summer, I had a few plans to look forward to, but I mostly planned on working. Instead things kept coming up, and I began having to schedule work into my week! Instead of just going on and on about the things I did, I thought it would be fun to make this post a "scrapbook" of some of my summer events. Hope you enjoy!
As mentioned previously in this blog, in May I traveled to California for the first time and attended a Women in Ministry conference and the Pepperdine Lectureships. I had never seen a picture of the campus before going, and I don't think this picture does the campus justice.
_____
A major part of my summer was the adjustment to working my first full-time job. I am now the Children's Ministry Resident at the Highland Church of Christ. (No pictures of our building on the web- this was the best I could come up with!)
_____
One of my best friends from high school, Carrie (Graves) Catt, married her best friend in May. I also wrote about this in a previous blog. It was so fun to catch up with friends at her reception that I hadn't seen in years!
_____
In June I took a short course (one week, 8am-5pm everyday) at ACU. I took Romans & Galatians with Dr. Ian Fair. Though the days were long, I enjoyed the intense study of the Word and loved Dr. Fair.
I didn't take a camera to class, but here is a loverly picture of our Bible building.
_____
At the end of June I took a very special trip to Houston. An amazing couple from Highland offered to fly me down to Houston to visit the Lane girls. The timing really could not have been better; it was the week that Kerri went in for her liver biopsy.
During the few days I was there, the girls and I went to Astroworld, spent an afternoon ice skating (their first time!), spent evening swimming and watching movies, and visited a couple of museums. In this picture we are sitting in giant teeth at the medical museum!
_____
In mid-July Erin & Carrie (my two dearest friends from Temple), Chelsea (my best friend from ACU), and I took a girls' weekend in Austin. I hope that this trip becomes an annual event; we spent just a couple of days eating out, shopping, swimming, and enjoying great conversation! In just a few days, I'll add a picture here....
_____
One of the events that I had planned back in the spring for this summer was a week of Learning to Lead camp at ACU. I went to this camp one time growing up and hated every minute of it!
But my week as a teacher for the 4th & 5th graders was such a blast, and I hope I get to do it again next year. As you can see, I had a pretty fun group of kids.
_____
I closed out July by singing in the wedding of Sarah Dean and Russell Smith. Sarah was a good friend of Will's at ACU, and we became friends after moving here last fall. I had so much fun singing with this group of girls...
... She also made the mistake of asking me and Lindsey to serve the groom's cake. It sure was good! 
_____
August began with Highland's annual high school retreat, Crossover. This year's theme was "Jesus Brings the Funk!" We learned that Jesus can only bring true joy... or funk, if you will.
Unfortunately you can not see the awesome outfit I bought for $5 at the Thrift House- rust-colored flared pants with a flowing, flowery shirt. I'd be happy to loan it to anyone who would like to borrow it.
Part of our weekend included a service project. Our group went to a deserted office building that was recently bought for Faithworks, a faith-based personal and career development program associated with Highland.
In this picture I am cleaning toilets with my new friend, Sally- a refugee from Liberia. This sweet girl has seen much worse in her lifetime than a clogged-up, rusty toilet.
_____
Just a week after the retreat, I began packing up my room at my parents' house and moved into a duplex just a few blocks away, closer to ACU's campus. Kaylynn drove down from Kansas and once again became my roommate. We are loving our new place, though still trying to make it "home." I'll have pictures of our place within the next week.
_____
School started last week, and this past weekend Kaylynn and I attended the graduate school retreat for first-year students. Though I started the program last January, I am still considered a "first-year" student.
At first I was not too excited about going, but now I am very glad that I went. We met lots of great people who quickly became our friends and will be our classmates for the next few (or more) years. 
_____
And finally, the most exciting news I can report at this moment is two-fold. Today I officially changed my degree: I switched from the Masters in Christian Ministry to the Masters of Divinity. Yep. Graduation is a mere 7 years away. And what better way to begin life as an M.Div student than with a new computer?
I purchased a Powerbook last week- my first major purchase of my life. I am typing on it this very moment. Isn't it purty?
_____
Well, friends, that's about it. Thanks for stopping by. I imagine that you were quite surprised to find a post from me. I am quite surprised at how late I have allowed myself to stay up and finish this post. Come back next week, and hopefully I will have added a couple more pictures. Who knows, maybe by next week I'll even have an entirely new post up! At any rate, here's to new posts, patient friends, God's goodness, and Greek paradigms, on which I have a quiz in 11 hours. Goodnight!
I had a wonderful summer! At the beginning of the summer, I had a few plans to look forward to, but I mostly planned on working. Instead things kept coming up, and I began having to schedule work into my week! Instead of just going on and on about the things I did, I thought it would be fun to make this post a "scrapbook" of some of my summer events. Hope you enjoy!
As mentioned previously in this blog, in May I traveled to California for the first time and attended a Women in Ministry conference and the Pepperdine Lectureships. I had never seen a picture of the campus before going, and I don't think this picture does the campus justice._____
A major part of my summer was the adjustment to working my first full-time job. I am now the Children's Ministry Resident at the Highland Church of Christ. (No pictures of our building on the web- this was the best I could come up with!)_____
One of my best friends from high school, Carrie (Graves) Catt, married her best friend in May. I also wrote about this in a previous blog. It was so fun to catch up with friends at her reception that I hadn't seen in years!
_____
In June I took a short course (one week, 8am-5pm everyday) at ACU. I took Romans & Galatians with Dr. Ian Fair. Though the days were long, I enjoyed the intense study of the Word and loved Dr. Fair.
I didn't take a camera to class, but here is a loverly picture of our Bible building._____
At the end of June I took a very special trip to Houston. An amazing couple from Highland offered to fly me down to Houston to visit the Lane girls. The timing really could not have been better; it was the week that Kerri went in for her liver biopsy.
During the few days I was there, the girls and I went to Astroworld, spent an afternoon ice skating (their first time!), spent evening swimming and watching movies, and visited a couple of museums. In this picture we are sitting in giant teeth at the medical museum! _____
In mid-July Erin & Carrie (my two dearest friends from Temple), Chelsea (my best friend from ACU), and I took a girls' weekend in Austin. I hope that this trip becomes an annual event; we spent just a couple of days eating out, shopping, swimming, and enjoying great conversation! In just a few days, I'll add a picture here....
_____
One of the events that I had planned back in the spring for this summer was a week of Learning to Lead camp at ACU. I went to this camp one time growing up and hated every minute of it!
But my week as a teacher for the 4th & 5th graders was such a blast, and I hope I get to do it again next year. As you can see, I had a pretty fun group of kids._____
I closed out July by singing in the wedding of Sarah Dean and Russell Smith. Sarah was a good friend of Will's at ACU, and we became friends after moving here last fall. I had so much fun singing with this group of girls...
... She also made the mistake of asking me and Lindsey to serve the groom's cake. It sure was good! 
_____
August began with Highland's annual high school retreat, Crossover. This year's theme was "Jesus Brings the Funk!" We learned that Jesus can only bring true joy... or funk, if you will.
Unfortunately you can not see the awesome outfit I bought for $5 at the Thrift House- rust-colored flared pants with a flowing, flowery shirt. I'd be happy to loan it to anyone who would like to borrow it.Part of our weekend included a service project. Our group went to a deserted office building that was recently bought for Faithworks, a faith-based personal and career development program associated with Highland.
In this picture I am cleaning toilets with my new friend, Sally- a refugee from Liberia. This sweet girl has seen much worse in her lifetime than a clogged-up, rusty toilet._____
Just a week after the retreat, I began packing up my room at my parents' house and moved into a duplex just a few blocks away, closer to ACU's campus. Kaylynn drove down from Kansas and once again became my roommate. We are loving our new place, though still trying to make it "home." I'll have pictures of our place within the next week.
_____
School started last week, and this past weekend Kaylynn and I attended the graduate school retreat for first-year students. Though I started the program last January, I am still considered a "first-year" student.
At first I was not too excited about going, but now I am very glad that I went. We met lots of great people who quickly became our friends and will be our classmates for the next few (or more) years. 
_____
And finally, the most exciting news I can report at this moment is two-fold. Today I officially changed my degree: I switched from the Masters in Christian Ministry to the Masters of Divinity. Yep. Graduation is a mere 7 years away. And what better way to begin life as an M.Div student than with a new computer?
I purchased a Powerbook last week- my first major purchase of my life. I am typing on it this very moment. Isn't it purty?_____
Well, friends, that's about it. Thanks for stopping by. I imagine that you were quite surprised to find a post from me. I am quite surprised at how late I have allowed myself to stay up and finish this post. Come back next week, and hopefully I will have added a couple more pictures. Who knows, maybe by next week I'll even have an entirely new post up! At any rate, here's to new posts, patient friends, God's goodness, and Greek paradigms, on which I have a quiz in 11 hours. Goodnight!
