Sunday, August 28, 2011

this week

Hi friends,

So, I’ve now had my first week of classes – although I might place out of one and I haven’t yet attended another… oh well. First graduate school assignment? Create an object that appears to be a circle in plan, a square in elevation, and a triangle in another elevation. It took me the remaining 10 minutes of class to figure it out, and the next 1.5-hour lecture to determine how to build it. K you got it? Go.

I’ve been able to get to know a little bit about my studio-mates. there are 12 of us in my studio, and it seems pretty well divided between newbies and the second years. First question to ask? Where is the best place to sleep?

Answer? Across the street in the “presidential suite” of the student union. AWESOME.

In other happenings, I think my keychain has doubled in weight in the past 7 days. I need to find a way to divide it up.. any advice? I have car, home, lake house, apartment, bike lock, studio, studio desk lock, and mail key. I guess I could take the house keys and car keys off.

Also, today, I went to a new church. Last week I went back to Austin Stone – which I know is a solid, great church, but I am not certain it’s for me. Today, however, I went to check out Austin City Life. I went in thinking that I wanted to just check it out, not expecting to like it. On their website, they say, “We’ve been told our downtown gathering ‘feels like Austin.’” And, “On Sundays you'll find an interesting juxtaposition of theological depth and cultural expression. You might say we are ‘theologically conservative and culturally liberal.’”

I think they identify closely with the Acts 29 church movement? Any thoughts on this? I really want your input, so I know I am supported in which church I choose to join.

About City Life – It was so cool! They meet in the Ballet building downtown, and there were fewer than 100 people there today. 3 people introduced themselves to me before the service began – which was really great and refreshing. It seems like they have great community, and are really invested in each other’s lives. They kept saying that they wanted this to be a place to meet God and stressed that ‘church’ to them is the gathering of people and community, not just meeting on Sunday in a building. We talked about generosity today, I heard the gospel, and they made a point to say that the point of today’s talk was not that you don’t give enough and to go give, but that we should seek God so we can begin to understand His great grace and generosity towards us.

Anyway, I really liked it. And although they are not listed on the 9marks site, they did have some of 9marks’ literature on a table. Soo idk. oh and they used to have sunday services in a bar on 6th st - the local college bar hangout aka where Jenna Bush was ticketed for MIP.

oh AND they played Sigur Ros - Staralfur while we were filing out of the auditorium. this is like one of my favorite songs, and this simple act scored major points in my book.

Ok. Gearing up for week 2.

and let me add a picture because this post is lacking visuals.

the painted desert summer 2008.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

moved

Feets have moved!

Finally.

As of this past friday, I am an Austinite.

been fixin the place up.. it's getting there. I really want to explore the city, but it is just way too hot to set out on foot. seriously. the high is 105 today. and tomorrow? 107. ridiculous. fall weather please get here fast.
I rode my bike to campus yesterday and almost had a heat stroke on the return trip. not to mention the basket on the back was making the brakes brake, making this high pitched AWFUL NOISE. I was SO EMBARRASSED. Finally got it fixed. thank you clown bike shop.

Today, I took the bus to campus and it wasn't too bad. only a 4 minute ride! I am hoping its not too crowded when the semester starts. And I stopped by the Library. I heard that the library was a little difficult to get used to.. really who knows how to used the library of congress catalog system? But it wasn't that bad once I found a map. And I get to keep Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire until Jan 22. woot


In other news, guys, I am totally experiencing a spiritual slump. will you guys please pray for me? I went to the Austin Stone church this past sunday, and the message was very convicting. I know that I've been pretty lazy in my walk with the Lord these past several months, but that message hit me like a ton of bricks. please pray for a stirring in my soul and a desire to KNOW Him deeply and truly. How can I say I Love Jesus when I do not whole-heartedly pursue Him, meet with Him daily, and seek HIM in all things?

I am also really hungry for a biblical community to be apart of, and I hopefully will find a church to be grounded in soon. I'll let you know how the process goes. I went to Austin Stone on a number of recommendations - they are part of the SBC, but a little out-there. Many many students and young people - and this church is BIG - 7-8? services every sunday at two locations. I went to the 1100 service, and it was packed. They did fulfill my #1 though - I heard the Gospel in the message. The only thing that concerns me is that before the pastor shared the gospel, he said something to the effect of "many of you don't know what the meat of the gospel is." or something - it leads me to wonder how often it is shared in the large-group setting. But, I will definitely need to attend more Sunday services before I can make any assumptions.

Also, guys, my dear friend David Brown received a kidney on Sunday! I am so so so happy for him! He'd been on the transplant list for 5 years. He is 4 days with the new kidney, and so far so good. pray that he has a quick recovery!