For the Truth. For the Church. For the World. For the Glory of God.

That is Southern Seminary's motto. I hate to call it a motto. It is more of a mission. I am so blessed that God has allowed me and Brandon to be here to study, to learn, to be stretched, and to grow. The first week of classes went well for us. God has given me a passion to learn. Last year's stress and feelings of being overwhelmed have been replaced with a great sense of His meaning and purpose.

Just as an aside to answer some questions...You don't necessarily pick a major as such at seminary. When you come, you pick a degree track. First, you decide whether to get a Master of Arts or a Master of Divinity. Then, you pick the field of study. I am working on a Master of Arts in Christian Education with a concentration in Women's Ministry. Also, Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology is one of the textbooks for my theology class. As our main text, we have the option of choosing one of three to read: Wayne Grudem's book, Millard Erickson's book, or a new book called A Theology for the Church edited by Daniel Akin. I am reading Akin's book. Brandon has the other two. I wanted to read this one because it was just published at the beginning of this year and contains writings by an impressive list of Baptist Theologians including Daniel Akin, Al Mohler, Russell Moore, Mark Dever, Paige Patterson, Timothy George, David Dockery, and several more. Actually, Russell Moore is my professor for the course. He is the Vice President of the seminary and Dean of the School of Theology.

I am so thankful for this sense of renewal and excitement at the beginning of this new year. One passage, 1 Timothy 4:7b, brought out in my Personal Spiritual Disciplines class says, "Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness." It is the theme verse for that class. I also feel that God has given this verse to me as a theme verse for my time here at Southern. I lack discipline to such a great extent. God has been opening my eyes to see the areas of my life that need to become more disciplined. Two of the major areas are my academic life and my spiritual life. I pray that God will find me faithful in disciplining myself for the purpose of godliness. For the truth. For the church. For the world. For the glory of God.

But really, seriously, I'm still alive...

...well, not that you can tell by the number of times I've posted lately! Sorry! I would like to say a special thank you to my momma and Xandra for being faithful readers of my blog. I'm gonna have to tighten up and do a better job of keeping ya'll posted!

Anyway, I am sitting in a Huddle House with my hubby on a beautiful Sunday afternoon here in Kentucky. We just needed to get out, so we decided to bring the laptop, the books, and get dessert. What could be better (well, better than my hubby & dessert)? Why the books you may ask? Tomorrow is the first day back to seminary for us. Well, for me actually. I have Monday and Wednesday classes, and Brandon has Tuesday and Thursday classes. I'm nervous and excited. Mainly nervous. It was good for me to take the last semester off. I'm just hoping this semester goes better than my first. I know more of what to expect this go around. I know I have to hit the ground running. Brandon and I have already started reading for our classes. I am taking three classes this semester (which is full-time). I'm taking Systematic Theology I, Personal Spiritual Disciplines, and Biblical Hermeneutics. Pray for me ladies! I have an average of about 1,000 pages of reading per class. I am one who is easily overwhelmed, so you can see why I'm a little nervous. But, I'm looking forward to it. I know that I am going to be stretched this semester and learn alot.

So, I just thought I would update everyone on that big event in my life that is quickly approaching. Also, as a side note, we just got Mandisa's new CD in at the bookstore where I work. I listened to part of each song yesterday at work. It is sooooooo good! It's one of those CD's where every song on it is wonderful. She has a beautiful voice and a powerful message. So, check it out! I hope you all are doing wonderful as the summer winds down. God bless!

I'm still alive!

I just wanted to let everyone know that I am still alive. The past few weeks have been hectic to say the least (but in a good way). The first week in July we took our youth group at the church to M-Fuge in St. Louis, MO. We all had a blast! God blessed and taught our group so much that week. The weeks following that Brandon and I were packing to move back to Louisville. We actually moved last week. We moved to be closer to school since I'm going back this semester. We moved into a great apartment that I'm absolutely in love with! It's awesome. And, to top that all off, my family came to visit this past Friday until yesterday. I'm so glad that they got to come. It was their first time to come since we moved up here. We went out to several great restaurants, toured the seminary, and all sang in church together on Sunday. It was a wonderful weekend. I just wish they could have stayed longer. Anyway, that's where I've been. Busy, busy, busy! Hopefully, I'll be able to blog more now. Have a blessed day!

Confessions

My first quick confession is...my momma gave me an award! It is now proudly posted on my page! I think I am supposed to pass this award on, but since I'm new at this I want to wait until I know you ladies a little better.

Now, the real reason this blog is called confessions...When Brandon and I were in Lexington last weekend we went to several bookstores (because we're just nerds like that!). We were in Barnes & Noble and spotted an interesting book. It is called Confessions by St. Augustine. This past year at Southern, we had a professor recommend it. It is Augustine's most famous writing. It is very personal writing. The book is what I like to call his thoughts, meditations, and ramblings on God. It is so amazing! So, every now and then I would like to share some of these confessions with you.

[I.I.I] You are great, lord, and greatly to be praised; great is your power, and infinite is your wisdom.* And man desires to praise you, for he is part of your creation; he bears his mortality about with him and carries the evidence of his sin and the proof that you resist the proud. Still he desires to praise you, this man who is only a small part of your creation. You have prompted him, that he should delight to praise you, for you have made us for yourself and restless is our heart until it comes to rest in you. Grant me, lord, to know and understand whether first to invoke you or to praise you; whether first to know you or call upon you. But who can invoke you, knowing you not? For one who knows you not may invoke you as another than you are. It may be that we should invoke you in order that we may come to know you. But how shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? Or how shall they believe without a preacher?* Now, they shall praise the lord who seek him, for those who seek shall find him, and finding him, shall praise him. I will seek you, lord, and call upon you. I call upon you, lord, in my faith which you have given me, which you have inspired in me through the humanity of your son, and through the ministry of your preacher.

*Psalms 145:3, 147:5
*Romans 10:14

Can you imagine the hours this man spent doing nothing but thinking about his great God? I hope that his confessions spark your own.

Wedding Wednesday!

So, just for this week I am having Wedding Wednesday. I just joined the Marriage Challenge with Christine today. I didn't want to wait until Marriage Monday to start, so just this once I am calling today Wedding Wednesday.

My hubby Brandon and I just celebrated our first anniversary on June 24, 2007. I can't believe it's been a year! (I mean that in a good way!) We went to Lexington for the weekend. We had a good time just being together. Of course, we ate the top layer of our wedding cake on that day. Well, we didn't eat the whole layer. It was more like a bite. It was my first experience eating year old cake. Interesting. Actually, my memaw was responsible for wrapping it up last year. Let me tell you, it was like trying to get into Fort Knox! But, she was successful. It actually tasted alright (for year old cake). Anyway, it was great to celebrate our marriage.

In light of this, I think it's a great time to start the marriage challenge. I'm excited about it. When telling people how long we've been married, we always get the same, "Oh, you're still in the honeymoon stage!" I think I might gag if I hear that again! Don't get me wrong, this year has been great! I love being married to Brandon. God has blessed us and grown us so much this past year. But, being newly married, there are alot of adjustments that have to be made. Some have been easier than others. Some things I did for him while we were dating have fallen by the wayside now that we see each other all the time. So, to begin my challenge this week I am going to:

• Write him love notes
• Give him a compliment everyday about himself (not about something he does, but who he is)
• (This is to go along with Christine's theme of the week) Make a conscious effort to let him know how important his work is to me by doing anything I can to help him get ready for youth camp

*Note: Brandon is a youth and children's minister. We are taking the youth group to M-Fuge in St. Louis, MO July 2-7.

Well, those are my goals for the rest of this week. I've got to get going! The week is halfway over!

Inadequate

How do we describe God?
With human words?
But, how can we use something finite to describe Someone infinite?

We begin by using adjectives like awesome, great, powerful, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, just, loving, gracious, compassionate, merciful, caring, and wise.
But do these words really capture all that God is?

We move on to naming God with words like Creator, Comforter, Healer, Physician, Lamb, Lion of Judah, Rose of Sharon, Lily of the Valley, Morning Star, Friend, Provider, Father, Lover, King, Lord, and Redeemer.
But do these words really capture all that God is?

We continue to struggle to paint God with human words by writing volumes all about Him.
He is our purpose, He is our God of greater glory, He is more than enough, He is our God who will come again, He is our God of redeeming love, He is our God who rescues us from the pit, He is our God who came near.
But do these words really capture all that God is?

We push further on, grasping for a single phrase that might encapsulate God by composing musical scores.
He is the lover of our souls, He is more precious than silver, He offers amazing love, He is a mighty fortress, He is Father, Spirit, Jesus, He is the Word, His faithfulness is great, He is holy, holy, holy.
But do these words really capture all that God is?

Adjectives cannot describe, names cannot label, volumes cannot contain, and musical scores cannot resound with all that God is.
Only He is able to express the magnitude of His personhood.

I AM THAT I AM.

The Coffee Chronicles Part I

I completely agree with my momma that coffee is something we should be thankful for. I love to hear the rumbling, bubbling, and dripping noises coming from my little four-cup pot in the morning, followed by the strong smell filling my kitchen. That warm cup of coffee makes me feel good all over first thing in the morning. Alas, I have a dilemma. There is not a coffee maker to be found at my work. Who doesn't have a coffee maker at their work?! Even most Sunday School classrooms are well-equipped with coffee makers--and that's just to tide people over for one hour! I have to work a nine hour day without so much as a savory little sip! Oh, we sell coffee mugs galore as well as many a book about coffee, but I'm convinced it's a ploy to tempt and try me throughout the day. So, I have decided to talk to my boss about our sincere need to implement a coffee maker. Granted, I must tell her that if she decides to take this step, it will be at the risk of feeding my addiction. It's a risk I'm willing for her to take.

Flowers & Cherry Limeades

I just wanted everybody to see my handsome, gorgeous husband Brandon. Like I've said many times before, he is just wonderful. We had an interesting experience together today. I potted my first (and second) plant today! You might think that this is a fairly average accomplishment, but let me offer a little explanation. My mother (sorry momma!) has never been one to do well with plants. So, I assumed I wouldn't do well either. Well, I decided the other day, hey, I might kill them, but I'm going to try to have some flowers on my front porch! Now, I guess I'll find out if I at least have half a green thumb. I potted two New Guinea Impatiens plants. (Anyone who knows me knows that "impatiens" describes me just fine!) One is bright red and one is coral orange. You might want to send them an I'm Thinking of You or I'm Praying for You card. Brandon was right there of course to lend me his advice. He told me he grew a vine once in his room when he was little. So....you can see what kind of knowlegde the two of us have. We had a blast! It reminded me of playing in the dirt when I was little. It was fun! And, we topped it off with Route 44 Cherry Limeades and Dr. Peppers. God is teaching me so much about living an abundant life in Him. He is teaching me to take advantage of opportunities He gives me, even if I think I might fall flat on my face. He is showing me how to savor the little things in my life, like a new flower and a cold Cherry Limeade on a hot day. He gave us our senses to take in and enjoy things! Hope everyone has a blessed day. Enjoy (really I mean it!) your day!

My First Post

So, this is my first post on Blog Spot. My momma told me about this site. Well, first she told me about Beth Moore's sight. I went and read it. She is so funny! Anyway, then I went to my mom's page. It's great. She told me about all the friends she has made on here through Beth's site. I thought I would try my hand at this. I have MySpace to keep in touch with my sister, cousins, and friends. So, this will be great to keep in touch with my mom and maybe meet some new people. I hope you all have a wonderful day in the Lord.