Admission

So, for those of you who don't know, I had applied to the Graduate School of Theology here at ACU. I had hoped to pursue my M. Div. and perhaps my M.A. after my undergraduate studies here. I had signed a lease a new place to live next year, gotten a job, secured a GA position at the school.... All that has been missing has been my actual admission into the grad school and a scholarship that would make it possible for me to go. I know that seems kind of backwards and it is. If I had it to do over again I definitely would have started on this process sooner.

Praise be to God, the final piece arrived yesterday. I have been admitted with an 80% scholarship and the possibility of increasing it if I do well. Thank you to all of you who have prayed for me and who have counselled me as I've tried to figure out what to do after my undergrad work. I'm so thankful to all of you and I don't think this would have been possible without you.

Flying Kites

On Saturday Janille and I headed out for a date and an afternoon of fun. Over the last 3 years I had been under the somewhat accurate impression that Abilene was in the middle of nowhere Texas and that there was nothing to do here. Over the last semester I’ve discovered that this is not necessarily the case. While Abilene is a small town there are a number of activities, organizations, and opportunities to have some good times. One of these happens to be the National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature. Although it’s not very big it’s free and when you’re in college that’s a big bonus. They feature 3 or 4 artists/writers a year and have an excellent display. The featured artist when we went was Ashley Bryan. He has illustrated several books of African poetry, African American folk tales, and several picture books. We spent more than an hour looking through the exhibits and the store. Unfortunately we don’t have any pictures of the museum itself but we might go back to see their other exhibits so stay tuned.

Looking at picture books is hungry work so, having finished with the museum, we went to a local park in Abilene where had a picnic lunch we had prepared that morning. It was a lot of fun. The weather was beautiful, warm, and the sky was clear. Janille’s mom had also given us 2 kites over Easter weekend and we had those with us as well. I can’t remember if I have ever flown a kite before but if I had it was a long time ago. It was a lot of fun. While we were there we met a couple kids who asked if they could play with the kites too. We said “of course!” and spent the next hour or so playing with them. We finished off the day by heading down to Coldstone and having some ice-cream and finished up season 3 of lost.



Although I’m still convinced there isn’t too much to do here in Abilene, and I’m trying to space my date ideas out a little bit, I’ve found that there actually is culture, fun, and enjoyment to be had in this small Texas town. Of course having someone to do it all with helps immensely and that was definitely the greatest part of the whole day.

Easter Weekend

Over last weekend Janille and I headed down to San Antonio. Ironically we got to spend more time there over a one day break than we did over the entire week of Spring Break. We headed down Thursday afternoon after we got out of school and arrived after about a 4 hour drive. That night we watched “Marley and Me”, which I had never seen, but is the only dog movie Janille likes. If you haven’t seen it I heartily recommend it. It is a fun family flick and Owen Wilson breaks out of his normal typecast role very effectively. My initial impression, from previews I had seen, was that the film was going to primarily be about the dog. Although Marley is a main character the real star of the film is Wilson and Aniston’s relationship and marriage. The dog provides the background for showcasing a genuine and real relationship which the two actors pull of beautifully. Be warned, it is a tear jerker, and Janille and I discovered which one of us is the crier. Hint: it’s not her.


Friday morning we went to the biggest mall I have ever been to. La Cantera is a huge outdoor shopping center in San Antonio that really reminded me of Village Market, for those who’ve traveled to Nairobi. Although we went the last time we were in San Antonio they had just opened a huge new Barnes and Noble. We spent several hours wandering around the store. Highlights included reading “Yertle the Turtle”, my favorite Dr. Seuss story, to each other and spending a large amount of time in the children’s book section. I tried to get Janille interested in the Sci-fi section but the cute drawings, soft pastels, and funny stories were just to much for the spaceships, aliens, and magical forces to handle. After Barnes and Noble we ate lunch at a restaurant called Jim’s that I can best describe as a southern Denny’s. We also attempted to go to RBC Music but it was unfortunately closed for Easter Weekend. We ended up just going home and watching some episodes of Lost. (We’re in the middle of Season 3 so we’re catching up Laura!)

Saturday was our date day. In the morning we went to the McNay, an art museum in San Antonio. It was a lot of fun. Although looking at the art was enjoyable my favorite part was taking pictures on the grounds. They have a beautiful set of grounds with statues, a fountain, sculptures, and a gazebo. Although I’ve included pictures you don’t get a real good sense of it simply because we had no third party to photograph us. After the McNay we went to the English Tea Shoppe and had High Tea to culminate the day. That evening we went to dinner with Janille’s mother and grandparents which was a lot of fun.









Sunday morning began with church. Afterwards we ate lunch with Janille’s mom, grandparents, and 2 aunts and uncles and their families. We ate at Bill Millers which I can only describe as fast food Bar-b-que. After that we went back to her grandparents house and had an Easter egg hunt. We had 2 hunts, one where we, the adults hid the eggs and the kids hunted, and another where the kids hid the eggs and we hunted. It was a lot of fun. Afterwards yours truly was designated to help split up the candy between all the kids. I think Janille’s aunt wanted to “see him in action”. After all this was done we went home, packed, and drove back to Abilene. All in all it was a great trip, lots of fun, and a bunch of good memories. I’ve included some of my favorite photos.







Starting the Easter Egg hunt.

First Post

They say 60-80% of blogs are abandoned within one month. Not only that, but 66% of the blogs out there have not been updated in over two months. After debating with myself for over 6 months about the usefulness, legitimacy, problems and possibilities of a blog I have decided to start one. I feel the need to begin with both an apology and an explanation for the blog and myself. This itself is a trend with bloggers as over 70% of blogs begin with either an apology or an explanation of the blog. After finally deciding to start one this was my first argument with myself, whether to follow the herd, or just jump in. After much debate I have decided that it is necessary and proper to begin in this manner.

This blog is primarily for my friends and family. It will consist of posts mostly about my personal and academic life. I’ve always felt that having a blog was a little bit pretentious since it seems to assume that people actually want to read what I’m writing. This is an apology to those who read this blog as I am not a professional writer and I make no airs about any supposed writing ability. This is an apology for assuming that what I have to say is meaningful to anybody but myself.

This blog will hopefully be updated at least bi-weekly if not weekly. I hope to have a blog post every week based on happenings to me and books I’ve read, movies I’ve seen, and my current academic pursuits. I’m going to try and avoid political issues as my primary topics. This will be a little interesting for me as a political science major. Once again this blog is primarily an outlet for me and a way for some family members and friends, who don’t have facebook, to keep up with my life. Thank you to whomever finished reading this first post. I am looking forward to my little experiment.