so, i've been thinking lately....

"When we last saw our main character she was sneaking up on a big milestone. Let's rejoin her, a few weeks later, and uncover what she has been up to..."

Oh, hi there. Surprise! Don't be alarmed, this is just a blog post. This kind of stuff happens all the time, for punctual people at least. It is high time this ol' blog of mine got a makeover. And that makeover shall come in the form of a POST. It needs something a with a retro flavor, a throw-back to the good ol days when posting on one's blog was at the top of one's to-do list. Have a listen, then:

So...I graduated from JBU. I wish that deserved an exclamation point. Alas, I have not received my diploma, and when I do I will be sure to edit and add that exclamation point. I have not received my diploma because the fine institution of JBU has not received all of my course work. I am completing 6 more credit hours within the first six weeks of summer. Yes, that is a lot of work, you are correct. I am independently studying classes entitled "New Testament Book Study and Hermeneutics: The Book of Revelation" and "Foundation and Practice of the Christian Life." The former is difficult, the latter is not. These classes involve me reading too much and writing more. Hopefully, I'll have that diploma in the mail by the middle of June. That is, if I don't lose an eye or something.

Reading and writing all day long wouldn't be so bad if I were home all day long. Over the past few weeks I have done quite a bit of traveling. Namely, I went to CALIFORNIA!!! (That does deserve an exlamation point, to the third degree). First stop: Pt. Loma Nazarene University for the graduation of the class of 2006. I vicariously graduated in the Greek alongside my comrades with whom I began this crazy, 4-year search of knowledge and/or wisdom. It was lovely to see everyone, I only wish I could have stayed longer (or arrived earlier).

Next stop: Auburn, California!!! (necessary exclamaiton points, indeed). Auburn is home to Andrew J. Cox and family, my most favorite Californians. Drew, the dasing, young intellect that he is, escorted me all around Northern California. Well, technically his parents did the escorting. I did some pre-emptive allergic conditioning, and the cat hair didn't seem to be any problem. Experiencing "family" with the Cox family was very refreshing.

That about catches us all up to speed, I suppose. My most recent endeavors include playing in the rainstorm this afternoon and catching up on life with a Turk named Ian. I'm off to Orlando, FL this weekend for a week-long orientation and training with PIONEERS, my future mission agency. Then, watch me go....I'm off to Jordan for the summer. I'll be digging up treasure. Seriously. A group of rag-tag archaeologists and I will be excavating a Byzantine-era church site around Abila, Jordan. If you are reading this and have any idea where I can get a hand-pick, I would greatly appreciate your input.

Just a few things that have been swimming with my brain lately:

--Magnolia trees remind me of recess on the wooden playground at Thomas Jefferson Elementary. I suppose it is just the smell of them, or maybe their waxy leaves, but when I run under one I'm thrown back to times when blisters on hands meant you were totally awesome on the monkey bars and scraped up knees meant you were chasing coodie-infested boys for 25 minutes after lunch.

--Of course concrete is easier to maintain than natural trails, but why waste the concrete? People have been walking on plain earth for all of history. And for most of history, those people were probably walking barefooted. Walk barefooted.

--God has a receiver AND a mouthpiece. Use both.