Homiletics Crash Course

1. Spending the morning at church talking to Pastor about my upcoming sermon. Lots to think about. I then met with Matt to talk about VBS activities. I'm looking forward to this year's program, which is "Paul and the Underground Church of Rome."

2. Speaking of sermons, I had a crash course in homiletics today. Clay was so kind to take time out of his day to give me a VERY condensed version of his class.

3. Talking to Pastor Marcus. I cannot wait to see him on Friday evening!

4. Making dinner with a recipe from "The Art of Simple Food." I made plain and simple pork chops with a ridiculously simple pan sauce.

5. More leads on rentals in Berkeley. We'll see how it goes starting tomorrow! Eep!

Last day to tap away.

1. Tap class. It was my last class with Laura Fremont, who has been a fantastic teacher. It was fulfilling a childhood fantasy. I hope I can find a class in Berkeley...

2. Green grapes right out of a refrigerator.

3. Lots of leads on apartments in Berkeley/ Albany. I just hope that the husband and I will be able to find something.

4. A lazy afternoon mostly to myself.

5. A rechargeable battery pack for the Wii Fit. This way, the husband and I don't waste tons of batteries.

Back to yoga.

1. Being able to attend my yoga class after such a long hiatus. My physical therapist didn't want me to attend yoga, since I wouldn't be able to support my weight in some of the poses since it would put too much pressure on my wrist. But I finally got the okay, and I finally had the time to spend a peaceful hour at class this morning.

2. Getting some great leads on places to live in Berkeley. I pray that the husband and I can find a new nice place to call "home."

3. Getting rid of a lot of clutter. Four large trash bags exited the apartment today.

4. A brain check session. So thankful for those!

5. Homemade turkey reuben sandwiches for dinner.

Potluck Sunday

1. Making Leigh's mac and cheese for the church potluck. I have ever so fond memories of that mac and cheese.

2. Sleeping in and going to the 11AM service. The husband and I normally attend the 8:30AM service; it was a nice change of pace.

3. Talking to the husband's parents.

4. Sorting through old birthday cards and notes. Many wonderful memories.

5. Time for needed rest.

June 13

1. Sleeping in. Even if I woke up at 7:30AM, it's still sleeping in.

2. Cleaning out closets and finding quite the cache of unused and mostly unopened wedding presents.

3. Peach and mango licorice.

4. ODing on old Gilmore Girls episodes.

5. A quiet day.

A wonderful Friday

1. Leisure reading. I started and finished The Plain Janes, which was a fun and simple read. It's from a publisher called Minx, who produces graphic novels specifically for teenage girls. Janes had an overall positive message, which makes me wonder what Minx will publish next?

2. Meeting Joyce for lunch. What used to be a weekly tradition seems to have turned into a monthly tradition, but a tradition nonetheless.

3. Visiting The Life Giving Spring Orthodox Bookstore, which was such an interesting experience. I wish I knew about this bookstore while I was in my Early Church History class. It was amazing to look at all of the icons on the walls. In my discussions with Amanda, we talked a lot about Mary Magdalene and her differing histories between the eastern and western churches, especially the her eastern interpretation as the "equal of the Apostles." I spoke with the owner of the bookstore, Anastasia, who has her MDiv degree, but since she is Greek Orthodox, cannot be ordained. It was wonderful to talk with Anastasia about the differing ideas of east and west. I hope to hang an icon of the equal of the Apostles on my wall soon.



4. New running shoes. My knees have been wonky as my old running shoes are getting old. I've stuck with the same brand for the past few years (Ariel, made by Brooks), but in test running shoes (yes, the store lets people test run shoes), I ended up with a pair from Saucony. I hope these shoes and I can become good friends.

5. Getting to say my goodbyes to Clay and Aphuno. Clay is so wonderful. He's giving me a crash course in homiletics in preparation for July 12th.

A Final Day at Fuller.

1. Taking my last exam of the spring quarter. With this came the realization that it was also my last exam at Fuller, which was cause for both mourning and celebration.

2. Part of that celebration involved celebrating with my Early Church History study group. We all survived, and with the knowledge that we were still alive, we went out to celebrate over frizen yogurt.

My treat for finishing exams. A combination of pomegranate blueberry, pineapple, tart blueberry, and plain frozen yogurt covered with strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries.

Our "tough" picture. This is almost everyone from the Church History study group. Daniel couldn't celebrate with us since he had three papers due, but said he would take a rain check.

3. Coming home, dropping my backpack on the floor, and napping until the husband came home from work.

4. A supportive family. My parents and the husband's parents have been the best cheerleaders. And the husband isn't a half-bad cheerleader either.

5. Attending my last Thursday Bible study group at Salem. I've learned so much from that class, and have met so many incredible people in that class. We read a devotional that talked about moving and transitioning lifestyles, but through all of that change, God's love remains constant. I couldn't help but cry.

T minus one and counting...

1. The weird curvy chairs outside the Hubbard Library. They are oddly comfortable!

2. My early church history study group. A bunch of funny guys talking religion and politics. I'm really going to miss them!

3. Left over birthday cake.

4. The Casa Verdugo branch of the Glendale Public Library. A nice place to study, and I saw Jackie Ramm from my old Bible study class!

5. The wonderfully cool weather.

I finished my Prophets class. When do I get to take applied prophecy?

1. My Prophets exam. This may not seem like an item of grace, but let me explain. The professor gave us six essay topics, stating that only three of his choosing would appear on the exam. Statistically speaking, I had to learn the material for all six essays. And honestly, I knew some better than others. While waiting for the exam to be handed out, people in the class were predicting which three essays would appear on the exam. When the exam was handed out, all six questions appeared, with the instructions that we were to write on *any* three. Wow. Grace at work. I heard the sigh of relief, and I admit, I sighed as well.

2. Taking a nap to recharge my batteries. It was much needed.

3. Eating a chocolate chip cookie the husband brought home from work. His office makes the best chocolate chip cookies ever.

4. Listening to the Foo Fighters "The Colour and the Shape." It's one of my favorite CDs, and I haven't listened to it in a long while.

5. Talking with Eric at the bookstore. We have very similar stories of what brought us to our faith, and our signs of affirmation. It's been great getting to know him this quarter in church history. I think one of the things I'll miss the most this quarter is my Early Church History study group. It's been wonderful getting to know my study buddies, and being able to call them friends.

Happy Birthday, Husband!

1. Celebrating the husband's birthday first thing this morning. We shared a cup of coffee together, which was wonderful. We had take-out for dinner, and we'll have cake later this evening. :)

2. Receiving a bracelet I've wanted for five years. Yes, five years. It's a bracelet designed from two forks, with their tines woven together. It's pretty spiffy. The person who created the bracelet also sent me a picture of two kangaroos that are under his care.

3. Therapy. One of the big questions that came out of today's session concerned how classes this quarter have impacted my faith. This is an entirely different blog topic, one that I hope to address once finals are over.

4. Getting to have a nice, long conversation with my mom this afternoon. Life has been sort of hectic and we haven't had much time for a long conversation.

5. Leigh sent me her recipe for heart-stopping mac and cheese. (It really is heart stopping; it's loaded with everything that clogs arteries, but I have many fond college memories attached to that mac and cheese!)

Last day of classes at Fuller.

1. Kindness of my classmates. It was kind of a wonky day with an odd start. I forgot silverware when I got my lunch, and Kevin got me a fork, which he didn't have to do. Then my audio recording crapped out in the middle of Early Church History, and Jon was kind enough to share his audio file with me when class was over.

2. Gummy tummy penguins from Ben.

3. Getting to meet with Henry on campus. We attended the biblical colloquia this afternoon, which was just fantastic. I wish I could have taken a class with Dr. Goldingay while at Fuller. And I'm going to miss Henry so much when the husband and I move.

4. Meeting Amanda for coffee. It's been so wonderful to know a fellow Lutheran woman at Fuller who feels called to enter ministry. We talked a lot about our fears, but also about the great joy we've had thus far on this amazing experience.

5. The husband made me a yummy sandwich for dinner. I'm the luckiest wife in the world.

June 3.

1. Rain. In June. In southern California.

2. Misinterpreted Facebook status updates led to a funny misinterpretation. Especially when messages and phone calls started coming in yesterday, there was a comical need to clarify just what was going on.

3. Getting to sleep in this morning, which was a bit unexpected. The husband had every intention of letting me sleep in, but I'm happy that I woke up before he left for work.

4. Getting to pick the husband up from work. More minutes we get to spend together. :)

5. Getting to talk to Leigh... It sounds like she'll really be here in a month and a half.

June 2

1. Getting to have dinner with my tap dance class. I had to skip out on class this evening since it's too close to crunch time for exams, but the class met for dinner at a Chinese restaurant. Much fun was had, especially when the fortune cookies came out!


2. Getting to talk to my church history professor about the multitude of saints and how it's very similar to gods within the Hindu pantheon. Still much food for thought for common dialogue...

3. Damian gave me an assortment of cardboard boxes. He saw them at work and thought of the husband and me, so it was very nice of him to pick them up for us.

4. Getting to talk to my mom and brother. It's been hard with our mishmash of schedules as of late.

5. Talking to Pastor Marcus. It will be wonderful to catch up with him in a couple of weeks!

Primero de Junio

1. Getting to talk to Aretha this morning. I miss seeing her in class so much! It was fun to catch up, and I'm hoping she, Ben, and I can do a final pancake breakfast at the end of the quarter.

2. Finishing all of the reading for the quarter this afternoon. Now I just need to study for finals!

3. Date night.

4. Sharing the raspberry chiffon pie with my old Greek TA.

5. Getting a nice brain check this morning.