Saturday, August 25, 2007

an update

We've officially moved into our new house. The process of unpacking continues, though I am relatively disconnected from this effort because of my duties at school. Our house is beautiful; Mom says it feels like a cabin. We're surrounded by woods, and because the driveway connects with a turnaround, we don't have any traffic passing by. Some friends and I have made plans to come up one weekend this fall and go camping in the backyard. It should be wonderful.

My classes this fall semester of my junior year include: New Testament Seminar, The Gospel of Luke, The Prison Epistles, The Corinthian Letters, and The Exodus. It's a great lineup. "New Testament Seminar" will mostly be debates led by the students; "The Gospel of Luke" has an incredible amount of work, and my first paper (emerging from the reading of a 700-page exegesis on the gospel) is due this Friday; "The Prison Epistles" looks like it will be fantastic, because it's with one of my favorite professors, the "Esteemed Doctor Smith"; and "The Corinthian Letters" will be good, too, because I love the Pauline epistles. Professor Dyke teaches "The Exodus," and the main emphasis will be on the historical audacity of the Exodus and the periods of Egyptian History leading up to the New Kingdom. Our first test is on Thursday.

I have been doing much better in dealing with the end of my relationship with Courtney. I have become more of a social butterfly this semester, meeting lots of new freshman, befriending people, and rekindling old friendships. There are times when great sadness hangs over me as an oppressive shadow, but I endure. I fully believe that God is at my side, that He has a plan for my life, that marriage is part of His plan, and that He will show me where to go. I don't think He would give me--or allow me to have--a dream of a lifelong romance without having the intentions of letting me experience it. I have good friends who are helping me through this ordeal, granting me encouragement and understanding. Courtney is a wonderful girl and whoever ends up with her will be blessed beyond the conjures of the imagination; but yet God seemingly has someone else for me. I know, deep down, that if God wants me to be with Courtney, then it will happen; if not, then it won't. He is sovereign over our lives and over our history (and, no, I am not Calvinistic).

I am working at The Hilltop Coffee Shop again. We've hired several new employees, mostly freshmen, who seem pretty cool. There's Cassie, Stephen, Corey, and Katie--those are the ones I can remember off the top of my head. We've also hired some upperclassmen--Isaac, Kirby, and Laura, for instance. And there are still the regular workers: Monica, Andrew, Melody (all supervisors this semester), Becky, Kyle, and Abby (to name, again, but a hand-full). My friend Nate is working as the senior barista, Monk is still in charge under Brian (the head of Creative Dining Services here at C.C.U.), and things continue just as they always have. Lattes, frappes, cappuccinos... that's what we do at the Hilltop Cafe.

Next weekend is Labor Day weekend, and I am going to Michigan with a bunch of friends: Becky, Jessie, Kyle, Lydia, and Scuttle. It should be a great time. We're going to go to "The Falls" and eat delicious ice cream. I am considering going on a fruits-and-vegetables diet for forty days, with supplements for the vitamins and minerals I miss; but I'm not sure yet. Bottom line: I've lost fifteen pounds since camp ended, but I'd still like to lose some more.

I must be showering and getting ready: Amanda and I are heading to Brian and Megan's wedding reception at Southfork, Kentucky. Lots of my friends should be there. Brian and Megan were married three weeks ago, I think; and John has been married for a year and a baby is on the way ("Logan" if it's a boy and "Kira" if it's a girl). Boy, time flies, eh?

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