HAPPY 100th POST!!!!

Classes start Monday...weird. I feel like I have not even had a summer. I am usually pretty stoked about a new semester, especially fall. It is always really exciting seeing everyone after the long summer break. A lot of people change and grow over the summer. I love to sit back and watch how people have changed. But I feel a little uneasy about this semester starting up. It seems like it is too soon...or maybe I am just freaking out because it is my last year here.

Now I am not a terribly political person, but I have been thinking lately. I am reading the Irresistible Revolution by Shaine Claiborne right now, which I definitly recommend.


But in one part, he goes on a political rant about the war in Iraq. And it made me think about something I had never thought about before. When all of this war stuff started, "God Bless America" was plastered everywhere. Claiborne explains in his book that on a trip to Iraq, he began to realize that "the reputation of our nation is not just of America but of Christianity..." Now I would not be one to automatically link America with Christianity, but with all the "God" thrown in with the war jargon, I can see how other countries would get that impression.

Shane goes onto say that while in Iraq, he meets am Iraqi mother who "threw her hands in the air and said, 'Your country is declaring war in the name of God and asking God's blessing, and that is the same thing my country is doing. What kind of God is this? What has happened to the God of love, to the Prince of Peace?'"

I am not pushing my political views out there, but you have to admit, this is an interesting thing to think about.

I am very blessed.

And Katie McGowan is one heck of a woman.

Going to Nac this weekend... so all you crazy kids... GET EXCITED!

My lil MB is graduating... makes me so proud!

That is all.

Well.. I made it back to Dallas. But I must admit, I kind of miss the cities. It has been nice being home though.

I miss a lot about the cities...

like the frequent stops at the coffee shops...
the many intellectual people who LOVE deep conversations...
the late nights out on the porch at the house...
watching the Spelling Bee with Becky MULTIPLE times a week...
the long conversations with Tony outside of Espresso Royale...
the MUCH cooler weather...
the beauty of everything!...
the swing outside the house in Dinkytown...
the other regulars on the bus that I talked to...
the ongoing discoveries of different nuances unique to the north...
the cats in the apartment... (I know, its really weird that I miss cats...)



and so much more..

Last night here

Visited the seminary at Bethel today. Thought it would be a good way to spend my last day here in the cities....looking into spending more time here after I graduate. I did the whole recruitment thing...tour, admissions counseling, etc. I really like the program there. Plus I LOVE the cities... who knows what could happen?!?

Did I mention that we spent our last day with Aubrey and Deanna yesterday? We pretty much just hung out... but when we left, I started crying. I am really going to miss them. They have been such a support for me while being up here. I wish everyone could meet them. I promise, these people make everyone's lives just a little better. I'm very sad to say goodbye to them.

Spent my last night here in the cities with the guys. We went out to eat, then hung out at the house. I got to walk around Dinkytown one last time, which was nice. Then, we chilled out on the front porch of the house with the housemates, enjoying one last Minnesota night. I don't know if I left much of an impression of those guys, but the people in the house have really taught me a lot from our many nights sitting out of the front porch. I'm gonna miss that.

But there are things I WON'T miss...

like walking to the bus stop everyday...

and no A/C in most buildings...

and the awkward looks I get from saying "ma'am" and "sir"...

and the way people are hard to approach up here...

and having to rely on other people for rides all the time...

and not really having a schedule from day to day...

and people teasing us about our southern accents...

or assuming that since I am from Texas, President Bush MUST be my God...

but all in all...I am gonna miss the cities.

Bridge Collapse

Don't know if you have heard yet, but the 35W bridge here in the cities has collapsed. Luckily, we were at Aubrey and Deanna's all day today, which is nowhere near downtown. But things here in the cities are a little crazy. The bridge was just a couple of blocks from Dinkytown. I have crossed that bridge. It's weird, to say the least. And it truly is a terribly sad situation. I would ask that you would pray for the people that were a part of this collapse. There are numerous that have already been confirmed as dead, but still many in the hospitals. And pray for the people effected by this. It really is a terrible trajedy. It was a HUGE bridge that simply buckled and fell, not only in the Mississippi River, but on top of another highway.