short but sweet

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Europe, my long lost love...

It's been nearly two and a half years... Two and a half years since I last set foot on European soil. And maybe two and a half years doesn't sound like a long time, but let me tell you, it's been semi-torturous! Any of you who are fellow travelers understand the feverish itch to get on a plane and go! I know I've been blessed in many ways beyond what I deserve, and I count my opportunities to travel as a huge part of that. I have no real room to complain, honestly. But I miss Europe... Europe's just amazing in pretty much every way. I miss the sights, the smells, the food. I miss the community I had with my traveling companions and the friends I made along the way. I miss the attitudes and lifestyles I encountered, the diversity which I witnessed. I miss the adventure of going unknown places, absorbing everything I come into contact with and treasuring it for future memories. I miss it all so much!

And now, though it's hard to believe, I'm counting down the days until I'm there again. Less than two weeks to go! On Thanksgiving day, I'll be touching down in Prague, breathing European air, once again surrounded by the languages and customs of people who are foreign and yet so familiar to me. And though it will not be in the traditional way which I am used to, even though I'll be eating airline and airport food instead of turkey and dressing and mashed potatoes and my family's beloved cranberry salad, I will be giving thanks on Thanksgiving day. I'll be giving thanks for the amazing experiences I have been blessed with in the past and for the opportunity to once again embark on an adventure. I'll be giving thanks for the family and friends I am leaving behind as well as the family and friends I'll be meeting, especially Joshua and Sarah and baby Jakub Eli, who is about to make his way into this world. And above all, I'll be giving thanks for the God who has made it all possible!

next semester

Well, the spaghetti and meatballs was amazing, if I do say so myself.

And as far as the class schedule, I met with Chris this morning to get that figured out. Looks like next semester's going to be another fun one! I'll be doing second-semester Greek with Dr. Cukrowski again on Tuesday afternoons. Wednesday mornings will be Chris's Foundations of Missiology class, and then Thursday mornings will be Contextual Education with Stephen Johnson. And I'll also be doing a weekend course called Justice in the Biblical Tradition that they're brining in Robert Foster to teach. That'll be one weekend in February and one in March. So I'll have a regular 9-hour semester, plus 3 extra hours for the weekend course.

The only drawback to the schedule is that I have to be at class at 8 in the morning on both Wednesday and Thursday (ugghhh!), but that's a good thing too, in some ways. Means I'll actually have to get up and will be able to get some things done those days. And I can have some nice long weekends for trips home again. I could leave on Thursday at noon and not come back until Monday afternoon or evening! Hooray!

So that's what's going on in my life at the moment... Now I've got to go (quickly!) to make it to Greek on time, then there's lots and lots of reading in store for me this week! 'Til later!

joy in the smallest of things

Things I'm looking forward to this week:

more leftover spaghetti and meatballs for lunch here in a few minutes!
figuring out my class schedule for next semester
systematic theology
smiling faces
finishing season 2 of Scrubs
the feeling of accomplishment that will follow the insane amounts of reading I have
church on Wednesday night at HOPE, followed by Taco Bueno!!
reflecting on my ministerial identity
reading more in Jane Eyre
sharing my life story with my mentoring group at Monks
dinner with the roomies and co., accompanied by Community and The Office
GST talent show!!!

It's gonna be a busy week, but it's gonna be a good one!

plain Jane

Now, I know facebook quizzes aren't exactly always the most reliable indicators (ha!), but I think this is a pretty good description of me. May be time to pull this one off the shelf and read it again. I've always identified with Jane since I first read the book back in 9th grade English class. Let's see, that'd be 11 years ago now... What do you think, does it fit me?

"You are Jane Eyre from Charlotte Bronte's classic masterpiece. You spend much of your life torn between the desires of your heart and the choices you feel are most logical. You're a smart person who is very resilient, romantic, strong, and forgiving. You have a lot of love to offer people, if they're willing to look past your eccentricities to find it. You spend much of your time in a state of humble, thoughtful silence, yet you're not afraid to get assertive when the situation calls for it. You've never been one to conform to society's rules, even if that means making unpopular decisions. People will try to change you, but you'll never let them. Above all else, you're a Romantic with your own set of beliefs and desires. In the end, everyone knows you're going to make the right decision..."

new take on an old classic

I just came across these guys tonight, and I'm honestly very impressed. They call themselves Pomplamoose, which is French for grapefruit... Her voice reminds me a little bit of Regina Spektor and a lot of Ingrid Michaelson. You should check out some of their videos on youtube -- both the covers and the originals are great!

more praises

11. a good book to read for class
12. a full belly
13. Summit coming up soon!
14. chapel today being encouraging
15. getting to reminisce about Europe with Shaun
16. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
17. deep, rich colors
18. my bike
19. loan money in my bank account!
20. smiles