Finishing Seminary

I can't believe I'm already saying this, but I just registered for my last semester at seminary. It looks like I can actually meet the requirements in two years (63 credits in all) and hopefully go overseas in a matter of months... Here are FIVE (of the 6) classes I'm taking:

Evangelism
An introduction to the nature and practice of evangelism with emphasis on its biblical, theological, and historical roots. Special attention will be given to the rationale and context for evangelization.

Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry and Prophets
A continuation of OTS 5110 with a focus on the Latter Prophets and the Hagiographia.


Christian Ethics
A systematic study of Christian ethics taken as a theoretical and practical discipline and offered at an introductory level. Attention is given to biblical and theological foundation as well as to current issues relevant to the witness of the Church in society.

Anthropology
Selected insights from the field of cultural anthropology are surveyed and applied to cross-cultural ministry. Social structures, customs, thought forms, and social change are studied in light of the missionary's change-agent role.

International Church Planting
A treatment of international church planting in its theoretical and practical dimensions. Students will be equipped to develop a model for church planting that is theologically driven and contextually appropriate. The case studies and models to be discussed and critiqued will be those that have arisen in international contexts.

I might've bitten off more than I can chew, but I'm so excited!

Yoga Yokel

Perhaps the better title for this post would be, "How I Made An Idiot of Myself Today."
It started a while ago, this whole 'taking a yoga class' idea. I pass Wake Forest Yoga pretty much every time I come or go from my neighborhood. My friend Sarah wanted to go, and the first class there is free... so, at 9:30 this morning I was wearing yoga pants and a tank on a green mat with a candle lit in front of me and ambient music playing in the background.

Sounds cool, right?
Wrong. Because what happened next was decidedly uncool.
Anne Marie tried yoga.
Anne Marie got in the child's pose, in which I did not resemble a child. Really, it looked more like I was uncomfortably narcoleptic.



















We went on to do the downward dog, where I lost feeling in my palms, had my butt sticking up in the air and never could quite get that pose down pat. It was awkward.






















There were a lot more poses, lots of breathing, some visualizations of balls of light flying in through my nose and down to my spiritual heart, and a few snickers as I took it all in.

By the end of it, I was a little more ready to try new things and I was feeling a little more accomplished. Never did I ever see the next thing coming. The instructor told us to bring our mats to the wall. Oh, boy. Moving the whole mat... using parts of the building. Nowhere good, my friends. We were told to put our butts to the wall, laying on our backs, and stretch our legs to the ceiling. Easier said than done. It took about a dozen 'scooches' to get right up against the wall.


Relaxing? Not so much. Humbling? Oh yes...

Frequent phone changer

I don't know when I became that customer, but I am "that" customer. When my contract was up with AT&T and I decided I didn't want to have the monthly expense of a data plan for an iPhone, I joined TMobile to at least be on my family's network. I moved to a neighborhood with truly awful reception last August, and told T-Mobile about it and they "put in a service request." They never actually bothered to come out and check things, and they definitely never added a tower nearby. I wasn't able to call my family from home because of TMobile (most other networks are okay here), yet I was with TMobile to be able to call my family. Vicious cycle.
In May of this year, I got so fed up with the reception that I told them I wanted out of the contract. Not an option, they insisted. But for a lovely price I could buy a "UMA" phone that uses my wireless internet connection instead of a network tower (yada yada yada) and extend my contract another two years. With no other options, I did.
But now, whenever it rains or anyone gets online, every call gets dropped. There aren't words for how frustrating it has been these 14 months. I got so fed up with it while trying to talk to my parents one night that something snapped. I fought. I called TMobile and fought. I wasn't mean, or loud, or nasty, just... firm. I refused to pay the $200 contract termination fee when I had been paying for horrendous service for 14 months. It took two days, but they finally came down to a $30 termination fee. Deal.
Now I'm with Verizon.
In the last 38 months I've gone through 4 service providers and 7 phones. Let's hope this one works out. I got an LG Versa. Phones are so high-tech these days... It has a touch-screen interface and all the bell and whistles. To be honest, I was really happy with my Sony Ericsson, before the UMA blackberry, and now this.
Most of all though, I'm so glad that I can finally talk to family when I'm at home. Parking lots get kind of old (and creepy).

Pasta Salad Confession

I hate to admit this, but... I hate pasta salad. There's only one kind of salad I hate more: potato salad!
It's embarassing really. Being a fan of cooking and food and all, I'm ashamed to say that nothing can compel me to consume pasta and potato salads. I show up to a potluck? Pasta & potato salad. Barbecue with friends? Potato salad. Invited over for a small dinner party? Pasta salad. I'm the one idiot who prays they won't notice if I slip into the kitchen and pop it into the microwave! But for whatever reason, I'm just wired to think that potatoes and pasta are HOT foods, not cold ones. I don't do the whole 'this-food-which-was-once-hot-tastes-even-better-out-of-the-fridge' thing. (This, by the way, applies to cold pizza as well. Yuck!) Sad, I know. I mean, doesn't this look yummy?

But I won't ever eat that - just because it's cold.

Brain off due to technical difficulties

Being a grad student, my brain is constantly overworked and underpaid. I love learning. Theology, exposition, missions, music, art, culture, anthropology, languages... all subjects I love! But I'm reaching my limits here.

My brain is not doing its job. Why? There are two ways my brain doesn't work.
Philosophy and history.
I wish I didn't hate learning history (so NOT cool) but I don't do history. There's just too much to grab hold of. I'm reading a THICK book on the history of europe, and there are too many people getting into too many wars. France hates this country, Germany just made a bunch of enemies, Russia is jealous. But wait, who are the Ottomans again? Oh yeah. But the Balkans? I have no idea :(
And then with philosophy, I'm just lost. I have no idea what is being said. It doesn't make any sense. Why are we talking in circles about hypothetical nonsensical theories?

History is too much to wrap my head around. Philosophy gives me nothing to actually grasp; it's so head-y. Wish me luck. My professors don't excuse me from assignments just because I don't like the subject.

Free book winner... and a semi-brief update

Congratulations to the lovely person who posted comment #1 (selection thanks to random.org)
She wrote:

Hmm..let's see...what would I like to read on your blog? Hmmm...

How about just what's going on with you. How's school going? What are you learning that's really inspiring you?
How about writing about all the crazy stuff you see at those festivals you work at? There's gotta be some good stories there. ;-) Oh, and food blogs are always good.

Thanks, friend! I hope you enjoy the book.
And to everyone else, thanks for your comments, or for just visiting the blog anonymously (all you non-commenters out there).
- - - - - - - -
Just a quick update on life before I head to bed...
My mind is full of missions-related things these days. I am about to start volunteering with USCRI (fingers crossed). They place refugees in the US, and volunteers help these refugees get settled. There are many Muslim refugees being placed in NC this year, so it is a HUGE opportunity to love on people that go easily unnoticed.

I've had my first interview the IMB consultant (my missions agency) and it did not go as planned. First of all, I'm single Thanks for telling me; I hadn't noticed. Apparently there are no job openings in Western Europe for single females right now, with budget cuts and all. So I will have to hope something comes up, or go elsewhere. Second of all, I can't worry too much about the first thing until I get my BMI down. On the day he told me, I was 41 pounds from their requirement. WOW. But lo and behold, just two weeks later, I've only got 27 more to go. I really hope I can keep it up. It's hard to say no to cake and the like.

Today a missionary came to our class (she's visiting from the Middle East right now) and she shared about her ministry to Muslim women. I can't say exactly what it was... maybe that she's single but fulfilled, or that she's doing what I hope to soon, or that she has a prayer-life most of us never enjoy, or that she's exactly where God wants her, but whatever it was something clicked and my heart broke and I wanted to be overseas - today. I went to the bathroom during our 10-minute break and locked myself in a stall and wept (silently). I have such longing, such a desire, and I'm trying to deal with the fact that I don't have anywhere to channel it except a SCALE.

And still, for all my railing, God is so good to even invite me into the work He's doing. I am too excited about all of it.

Tomorrow I'll be at a big statewide Census pow-wow with all the heads of things here. Should be interesting, to say the least.

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years

"A book about story? Why would I want to read that?" I thought this at several points before and during Donald Miller's 'A Million Miles in a Thousand Years.' Sorry, but it's true. I wanted to read stories, not what it's like to write them, or to live them. I thought that was what I wanted. And in the last hundred pages, after a couple of days of winding around introspection and amusement, letting Don Miller draw me in as only he can, it clicked. I am living a story. Of course I would want to reflect on story! Miller effortlessly paints a picture with words, invites you into his life and mind, and lets you connect the dots for yourself.

I want to put a quotation in this book review. I really do. But I can't pick just one. I am whimsical about the book. Is that even possible? I think so. I laughed out loud. I genuinely cried (which I rarely do with books, and I do love books). I talked to Jesus frequently and openly about what I was reading, even when it seemed like it wasn't a Christian book at all.

I think what I disliked in parts of the book became what I really appreciated about it in the end. That in the parts where it went nowhere, meandering around seemingly pointless tales and boring sentences, his life's story did as well. It was later on, when his life took a committed, meaningful direction that the book followed suit. I loved it. I really loved everything about it; even the parts that were ugly. I was endeared to him and his story the way we are drawn to pugs. And I was reminded - constantly - that my own story is not so different. I am on this path, where there are days when I don't want to get out of bed, when I don't bother to meet a new person or do anything I will remember five years from now. But that is not the story God is offering me.

God is the ultimate expositor, setting a backdrop for us where the trees stand tall before Him, and the colors buzz with beauty in all the living things, stretched out as far as our eyes can see.
I am floating at the moment, anticipating the wonderful story which God is placing before me, eager to live a life that honors Him. Is this even a book review anymore? I don't know. It's probably more of an announcement: We are living stories, and our stories can be truly great ones!

You can win a copy of the book (the publisher sent me an extra, just for you!) by commenting on the last post, and get another entry by tweeting about it! Whether you win it or not, I hope you'll read this book. Here's an excerpt.

Good things are on the way (I hope)

Hello, all 2 followers of this blog. Nice to see you here ;)
I go back and forth on whether or not to just let the blog die already, but I can't. So it goes on in this sort of half-life way, where I throw it a little bone every month or two. It takes a lot to get me inspired, because micro-bloggin' is just SO. much. easier. over on Twitter.

...

But alas, I like 'What's Cookin' and I've decided to bring it back to life. For realz.

Tomorrow I'll start by giving away a copy of Don Miller's new book 'A Million Miles in a Thousand Years' after I post my review of it. For a chance to win, I want you to comment on this post and tell me what it is that you want to see or used to like on this here blogaroo. If I'm gonna blog again, I want it to be about things you want to read about.

So... a comment about what you want to see here will get you an entry. Just one. Even if you have 5 great ideas, put them all in one comment. And if you tweet this and then leave a comment here telling me that you did, you'll get another entry.
I'm kind of excited to see who wins the book (and to read your lovely ideas too).

Comment and tweet entries will be accepted until 11:59 pm, Sep.29. Winner will be selected by Random Number Generator.

Fearless

Being a book review blogger for Thomas Nelson has been a fun and productive way to do something that isn’t school or work related. I just received Donald Miller’s new book, but my first review is of Max Lucado’s Fearless. This book challenges the status quo, where fear is allowed to rule while Christians dismiss Christ as completely in control.

Lucado’s illustrations are accessible and relevant. He addresses the root of the problem by appealing to the surface of our fears, and then weaving his way towards our misplaced fears. We shouldn’t have no fear – that’s the logo made popular in mid-90s clothing – we should have the one healthy fear (fear of "God getting out of my box"). All our other fears, such as fear of violence, of losing money, of worst-case scenarios and death are not fears that we should give into. Lucado encourages us to arm ourselves with Scripture, have a thriving relationship with the Lord and focus on what matters most. “Feed your fears, and your faith will starve. Feed your faith, and your fears will.”
I didn't expect this book to be such a decent, fun and relevant read. Fear and worry have never been at the top of my list of sins, I thought. But reading this book, I was struck by how often I actually am preoccupied with fear and worry, albeit relatively subdued. Fearless was the kind of book I needed to read, precisely because I had no idea I needed to... It surprised me with its good stories, and I was amazed at how quickly I read it (180-or-so pages were finished on a single 2-hr flight). Max Lucado engages readers with his story-telling, from familiar anecdotes to well-woven quotations to pressing biblical themes and passages. When you read about Peter stepping out of the boat in faith, you understand how fear needs to be banished. Jesus is our answer; He is our hope; He is our Lord. "When Christ is great, our fears are not." I couldn't have said it better myself. Thanks, Mr. Lucado, for a good word.
Check out a free preview here, and buy the book!

I'm 25?

In 22 minutes, it will be August 19, and I will be 25 years old. Really? Already? This is old. This is really old (to the 13-yr-old in me) and I think I am still SO young... Hmph. I'm old enough to want to go to sleep before it crosses over into the next day, but nostalgic enough to say my last words as a 24-yr-old. It has been unreal. I look back on the last year, and I am at a loss for words. It was not what I expected. I have changed so much. I've loved it all - the good, the bad, the ugly.

But now I'm (tocando-la-puerta-de) 25, and it's not at all what I expected. Here are some random things that surprise me:
- I'm in seminary, preparing to be an overseas missionary in a year.
- I chopped off all my hair a couple months ago, and gave it to Locks of Love.
- I have two roommates - complete strangers not that long ago, who are now friends that I love.
- 15 years ago my favorite food became Thai food, and that still hasn't changed.
- My Spanish has improved in NC... after 24 years of living in Miami.
- I'm a "fed." Working for a "bureau." Weird... Definitely didn't see that one coming.
- I'd never pulled an all-nighter when I moved a year ago, and now I've done that about half-a-dozen times.
- I have a pink diamond piercing my nose (and I love it).
- Given the choice to spend my birthday in a new state with lovely, fun young friends... I still couldn't pass up the chance to be with my family for my birthday. I love them now more than ever.
- I've experienced God in a way I just never expected over the last year. In times of incredible sadness, He has been there - when it felt like no one else was. And though those times were dark and difficult, they were good. So good. And He is incredibly faithful. Thanks, Lord.

Here's to another 25! I wonder what 50 will be like...

Post-Its are the Best... And so is this Vid.

See more funny videos and TBT Videos at Today's Big Thing.

Vid URL

I Love Me Some Cake Wrecks

It's time again - for a link to one of my favorite sites.
You know you want to check it out.Link
Resistance is futile.
Go now. Have a laugh.

The Little Arrocera That Could

(arrocera = rice cooker)

@se certified!

A little known fact about me: Despite the fact that several people have suggested that I consider culinary training as an alternate career, I've always wanted to be an ASE certified technician. Seriously. If I woke up tomorrow and weren't doing what I'm doing, I'd want to know how to fix cars. Since I don't plan on switching tracks (and I love what I'm doing), I won't be dropping out of Southeastern tomorrow.

But today I did have a significant car problem...

I couldn't get my car in gear! The shifter was just stuck/jammed and I had to put my back into it to get it "unstuck." Even though the transmission seemed fine and once I was driving the car ran smoothly, I could see the bills running up as I thought threw what this repair might cost me! Oh, dread washed over me.

Instead of giving up, however, I made phone calls. Lots of calls. And I also called on Google. Unfortunately, nobody I called (3 Toyota dealerships included) had ever seen my problem, and Google came up empty as well. How could Google not know what I was talking about?

On my way to the dealership, I tugged on the center console, and it started to come loose! So I pulled over, and pulled it off.

Oh boy! This was more than I was probably prepared for.
Once at the Toyota dealership, I went to the Parts department, and told them what was broken. They said they only sold the ENTIRE gear kit, a whopping $640 (for the part alone, not to mention labor)! That's more than I can afford. I went back into my car, drove it over to the Service department and explained my situation.

I would pay money to have a picture of the expression on those technicians' faces when they saw my discombobulated interior - and realized that I had taken it apart! :D
We pulled off the last piece together (I was afraid to break it, so the foreman helped here), and we got to the source of the problem...
Ready for it?
A tiny 2" piece of plastic had moved off of a tiny 2cm notch! That's it! $640.


I drove my car home, still in pieces, and then put it back together again.
I think I made my dad pretty proud.
I might not be ASE certified, but I did do something impressive @SE (at southeastern)!

Musicians are fun!

I don't know what it is, but I do love when musicians cover others' songs! Here are a few I like...

Switchfoot covers Beyonce's
Crazy In Love


Alanis Morissette covers Fergie's
My Humps


Kate Nash covers Arctic Monkeys
Fluorescent Adolescent


John Mayer covers the Police
S.O.S. (Message in a Bottle)