It's October and it's the most beautiful Saturday morning. I'm not counting on many more days like this before December, but hey, it sure is nice now. I've opened the library and will subsequently close the library this evening. Today, tomorrow, and Monday will be a days of study and rest.

It's that time of the semester. That time where papers and tests begin to pile up.

Pictures of the campus soon to come.

Learning

In a reflective bout of madness while shelving books in the library, I came to the realization that this time of living in a not-so-home-y dwelling helps me to understand what Jesus was saying when he said that the Son of Man has nowhere to place his head. This is not meant to be a holier-than-thou moment, but I have realized how materialistic I am and how much I put my comfort level above serving God. I long for comfort, I long for security, but then realize that these longings are deceptive.

God has a way of always growing and teaching when we are willing to spend some time with him. Believe it or not, this has been a struggle here in New Orleans.

I sure miss lying on the couch, zoning out while watching some sports on the television. But I'm pretty sure this is not what God had in mind when he made the Sabbath. There is a difference between being restful and being lethargic.

On a different note, this afternoon, while still a little warmer than I like, was absolutely amazing and beautiful. As I walked to the student center, I imagined Elise and I sharing an afternoon like this out on the lucious lawn beneath the shade of an oak. We could just sit there and stare at each other for all I care. It would be glorious.

Katrina anniversary

A year has passed since hurricane Katrina. I went to help out on the Musicians' Village/Baptist Crossroads/Habitat for Humanity homes today, hanging siding, no doubt. It was nice to see the houses we worked on at World Changers pretty close to complete, only waiting on the utilities. It's great to live in a place where there's always something you can do tangibly to help people out.

About 10 a.m. we were all corralled into one of the parking lots and were told to leave all of our cell phones, cameras, and tools for us to go through a security checkpoint with the U.S. Secret Service.

Then we went back to work, hanging siding, yet again. I just can't escape this fate.

Then President Bush stopped by and I got to shake his hand and say "Howdy, thanks for coming."

It was a good day.

Also, this anniversery of Katrina also marks the longest period of time I have been in New Orleans consecutively.

Here I am, back in New Orleans. It sure is different this time around. The seminary has placed residents waiting on dormitary rooms to become available in what we've termed "The Palace," a.k.a. the Price Building. The word "building" just doesn't have that home-y feel. Oh well, soon enough the housing office will have everything sorted out. They have been working real hard.

In the meantime, people have been generous enough to cook for us unfortunate Price students as well as let us hang out. Classes have been nice and introductory so far. Nothing too hard. But soon enough, the work load will pick up.

It's nice to be back. It's not nice to be away from Elise, but it's nice to be back.

End of my first year...

So, the summer has been productive up until this point. Serving as a youth intern has been awesome. We have just finished Summer Bible College--an extension of Vacation Bible School aimed at Middle School aged kids. The week was better than anyone could have expected; however, it is a beautiful thing that it is finished. I attended my first "Workshop" of my Seminary career. A workshop is basically a semester-long class shoved into a week's time frame. It's a great way to speed up the Seminary experience. I have one more paper to finish before my summer officially starts. I'm looking forward to the challenges and opportunities that will come my way in the form of trips and speaking opportunities.

To be completely honest, this has been the weirdest school year of my life. Right now, I have 11 credit hours completed with a GPA of 1.93. This is very unorthodox I know, but I feel like this has been a year of incredible growth and productivity. Playing catch-up will be tough, but worth it. At the end of the next school year, God willing, I will have about 45 credit hours and be close to half-way finished with my Master's Degree. We'll see how that goes though...

I've decided to move back to New Orleans to finish my degree. I'll stay on campus and hopefully find a church in which to serve as well as a job. It'll be nice to be taking a full load along with being close to home and Elise. These are my plans, but I am flexible, and willing to do whatever God would have me do.

The trip to Loiusiville was quite nice. The company and conversation were good and the scenery was fantastic. We broke down just north of the Tennessee/Alabama border and got to spend an hour or so in the small town of Pulaski. We took some pictures of our adventures...

There's a SunDrop distribution center located in Pulaski. We had to stop and get one.


We decided to take pictures everywhere with the SunDrop located somewhere in the picture. This is a Presbyterian Church, erected in the late 1800s.

Pulaski surely was small-town America in modern times.

We stopped in Nashville for lunch on the way at the Frist Center. It was great. All in all it was a good trip. There's still some praying to do about what to do about the fall. I still have no idea. I don't know if it matters or not where I go, as long as I'm faithful with what God has given me. Southern sure does have it going on though.

In just a few short days, I'll be heading to Louisville to check out Southern yet again. This time I'm going with Adam Elliott. I'm still not sure what I should do for the fall just yet, but this trip should lend some insight. My New Orleans/Pensacola days have been fantastic.

I must say though, that I'm ready for this semester to be finished. It has been good, and I've learned much. It is getting tiring and tedious, however. I have two projects--a statement of faith and a paper on John Bunyan, and two finals and this semester will be finished. The fact that I think I'm making As at this point makes me feel good as well.

I keep telling myself that I don't want this past school year to be a complete waste if I do end up transfering somewhere else. But the more I think about it, I've learned much more through working at Olive for almost a year now than I would have if I had been attending a school in another city. The experience has been uber valuable. I'm also looking forward to a good summer working with some great folks. I sure hope we can think of ways to think (I hate cliches) outside the box this summer about how to minister and grow the kids.

The next post will be post-Louisville visit and hopefully I'll have some wisdom and guidance.

I felt as if I shouldn't write in this blog because I'm not living in New Orleans. Then I realized that I'm still in seminary and these experiences are just as valuable.

Here it is mid-March and I find myself in a predicament. Where to continue my seminary experience. In consideration--moving back to New Orleans, or off to Louisville. To be quite honest, I have no idea what to do.

The last semester was a complete bust. I sat around for around a month after the storm staring at the wall trying to motivate myself to just do something. By the time I got motivated, I was so far behind in life it seems I couldn't catch up. Academically, I did very poor last semester and will probably spend some time recovering. I hope grace will be involved in the future.

This semester, however, is going great. I'm taking three classes at the church and doing quite well. I've met some great people in my classes from all around the area. I'm going to miss theses guys when I leave. I've also been working as a youth intern at the church and that has been great. I get paid to hang out with kids.

Life is good. Which usually means I need to shake things up a bit before I get lazy.