6:00am We got up bright ‘n early to give us enough time to get dolled up.

7:45am The door bell rang…I was hoping Steven would get it but the door bell kept ringing so I got it.
Hahahahaha! It was my sweet darling ringing the door bell to deliver 2 dozen yellow roses (my favorite flowers).

8:00am We had a mini photo-shoot before we headed out to Travis Avenue Baptist Church.

8:30am Steven dropped me off so I could meet the rest of the graduates in the basement where we were told to meet.

9:00am Steven and Lucy were allowed in the sanctuary and secured pretty good seats. In no time the house was full. Beautiful church architecture!

9:55am We lined up for the Processional to begin at 10 sharp.

The ceremoy was beautiful. The message delivered by our president Dr. Patterson was Christ-centered and powerful. We also had a lovely time when spouses, parents, grandparents, etc were recognized. Steven and Lucy were honored and that made me happy. BRAVO!!!!

Walking up to the front to recieve the Diploma was thrilling, having it in my hand felt so good!

After the ceremony everyone, faculty, familiy members, friends and gradautes all mingled in the front lawn. Cameras everywhere, lots of fun, energy and hugs. Steven did a fabulous job at following me around as I chased all my favorite profs for pictures. It was a blast to talk to them and introduce them to Lucy. She really enjoyed finally meeting the great professors I told her so much about.

At about 1pm we drove northeast to Plano. Steven took us to a La Jolla type place called Shops at Legacy. We ate Italian at Nicolas and had the most heavenly desserts at the Bakery Bistro across the street. The pastries were heavenly. We took tons of pictures, and walked around. We were very happy and quite silly.

We drove home to open gifts that Steven and Lucy got me and beautiful cards as well.

Professors that touched my life and appear in the pictures:
Dr Johnny Derouen- Human Growth and Development
Dr Esther Diaz-Bolet- Administration and Leadership in the Church
Dr Joshua Williams- Genesis
Dr Gerardo Alfaro- Theology
Dr Octavio Esqueda- Principles of Teaching
Dr Robert Caldwell- Hermeneutics
Dr David Mills- Evagelism
Dr Scott Floyd- Marriage Counseling
Dr Marcia McQuitty- Whom I will be working in my doctoral work
For their investment in my life, I am indebted to them and forever grateful!

Friends shown:Grant, Peace, Debbie and Grace

Steven: Thank you for making all my dreams come true.
Lucy: Thank you for your prayers and your love.
Thank you both for believing in me.

Thursday May 7th- we had rehearsal, a fellowship at Price Hall and a grand reception at the President Mansion- The Pecan Manor. They really go all out.

God is Good and the Giver of all Good Gifts.

We got a note in the mail asking if we will be attending Southwestern Seminary’s awards banquet on a Wednesday afternoon in April. Sudi had marked “No” and had it all ready to mail when I came upon it in our foyer. I thought, “Awards? If anybody is going to get an award it had to be my baby!” After all, Sudi has gotten an A in all 20 classes. So I told Sudi my theory and she called the seminary to find out what’s up with the awards.

As it turned out, Sudi is the recipient of the Elizabeth G. Price Memorial Award for outstanding academic achievement (she earned the highest grade-point average) in the school of Educational Ministries. Today was the banquet and awards presentation. We first went to chapel to hear the wonderful Dr. Paige Patterson preach. At the banquet we were quite pleased that they had fajita fixings for us. In other words, we had vegetarian food at a Southern Baptist institution in Texas (there’s a first time for everything).

I’m very proud of Sudi for her work as a student at Southwestern during the last two years. She is a true student if there ever was one! Graduation is in a couple weeks when Sudi will receive her master’s degree in Christian Education. Woohoo! Here’s my footage from the awards banquet and some photos.

Been a long time fan and had never heard them LIVE. It all started with Italian for dinner. The concert was 3 hours long. My baby-love also got me 2 CDS. Great Splurge! We have been listening non-stop.

These guys are not your average celebrities, although they are incredibly talented and very successful. Every song they write turns into a hit and all churches in American sings their songs. Nevertheless the guys are not the stars of the show, the STAR is JESUS. They make that very clear.

All three of them are pastors, husbands and fathers. And on the side they manage to travel around the world and usher millions into the presence of the KING.

The icing on the cake was that our good friends from the Seminary, Merrie and Andy were there. We left the concert together and grabbed some coffee. Got back at midnight, right before the Corolla turns into a pumpkin.

The concert was a glimpse of HEAVEN. It was loud, it was joyous, it was fun, it was majestic…..it was all about Jesus.

Thank you Santa Baby, for a beautiful Christmas gift. You went all out!

LISTEN HERE

come to the waters, you who thirst and you’ll thirst no more.
come to the father, you who work and you’ll work no more.
and all you who labor in vain and to the broken and shamed:

love is here.
love is now.
love is pouring from his hands, from his brows.
love is near,
it satisfies.
streams of mercy flowing from his side.
streams of mercy flowing from his side. cuz love is here
love is here.

Love is Here- Alleluia!
MARK 10:45 “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

www.iLoveStudents.com

When Steven and I moved here we knew I was going to attend a great Seminary. But I have to say that my experience far exceeded what I thought this would be like. My search for the “right” school was very long and painful. I can’t even begin to count all the schools I inquired about and how many I found dissapointing.

There are two things, very valuable things, I learned during that search. One is that I wasn’t going to be happy unless the education I received was Christ-centered. I could not justify spending time and money on classes that weren’t closely related to my Christian faith. Two is that I am not a distance learner. I love the classrom, I thrive in it. I really enjoy the interaction with professors. The whole process of learning is very energizing. I learned a lot in all of my classes.

Lets face it, I am an absolute nerd! I love school!

A few highlights from this whirlwind semester:

Chapels Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Steven came to Chapel with me on Wednesdays and we were so blessed. The worship, the orchestra, the messages, they all blew me away. My very favorite speaker was Jim Cymbala. Other favotites, Pastor Tommy Green from Florida and Dr. Allen!

I took a class on the book of 1st Corinthians, I read a huge commentary on it and read the actual book 10+ times. It was an indepth study and I will never see 1 Corinthians the same way. I gained a new appreciation for the apostle Paul. He was a great man of God. Dr. Schatzmann, my professor, brilliant!

Hermeneutics was my favorite class. Very funny, because I was kind of dreading it. It was my hardest class. I have never worked so hard in my life. I learned a ton! Part of what made the class so great is that there were 60 of us in it, so there was a lot of energy in there. A few of my classmates, Merrie, Jason, David and Matthew always asked great questions. I sat between Beau and Kelly in the first row and we developed a nice friendship. Dr. Caldwell is a genius with a superb sense of humor. We were in stitches the whole time.

Lastly, Steven and I really appreciate our president Paige Patterson. We not only love his theology 100% but we respect him because he truly is a man of God. A hard core evangelist-preacher with a huge heart for God and the lost.

It was a great semester thanks to God who is the Giver of all good gifts, and thanks to my angel husband who made it all possible with his hard work.

I am truly blessed!

True story, I’ve been working like mad to get ahead on my reading, yesterday I finished a 900 page commentary on 1st. Corinthinas. Excellent by the way! I love that class. I finished the last chapter and walked to my computer with a huge sense of accomplishment to check my email and I found the syllabus for an Intensive class I’m taking in Januray. A real breeze!, only 4 books to read and 5 papers to write in the next 35 days. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! So as I was saying, one of these days when I have time, I will write about deep matters and the things I’m learning.

For now something light…

What I MISS The Most About San Diego: (Things that I really miss, it hurts thinking about them)

Our Family -There was something very comforting about having mom and dad 20 minutes away, now it is 20 hours.
Our Church- Best church and pastor in the world, irreplaceable.
En Fuego- Best Fajitas ever… so many great memories.
La Jolla- Our favorite place.

What I LOVE About Living In Texas:

Seminary- Going to Class is the best feeling, like a fish in the water.
Slower Pace-Things are quiet here and life is peaceful.

So many things to be thankful for.
God is Good…All the Time!