2009 Seminarians Conference

I had the privilege of joining 22 students at the 2009 Seminarians Conference at the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary in Springfield, MO, these past two weeks. Each of us are seminary students affiliated with the A/G but not attending the A/G seminary.

The seminary offered us two courses free of charge and The Alliance for Assemblies of God Higher Education took care of all our needs while we were in town. The experience far exceeded my expectations.

1) We had a few opportunities for face-to-face time with the Executive Leadership Team. It was great to ask any question and get a straight answer.

2) At times there was a sales pitch or two, asking us to stay in the A/G fellowship, but they were honest about the sales pitch. They were asking us to stay, to bring our education and our gifts to the places where we live and work.

3) I soaked in quite a bit about Pentecostal theology, history and A/G polity. I was on the fence whether I would get my credentials with the A/G. I was encouraged in a bunch of ways. And felt more affirmed about my chances to do something with the church. So, I'll get my papers.

4) I came away with so many ideas, new friends and connections, etc. that I'm going to spend much time this week praying about the future.

Here are some pics of my new friends & fellow seminarians:

My Brother and I were chatting the other night....

...never mind that I was in class at the time. (Dianne!)

He was home getting ready to watch "Top Gear" and he asked me, "Which is faster? Man or car?"

Sounded like a trick question to me. So I didn't answer.

Later he sends me two emails:

1) The man is faster than a Fiat Panda...in case you were wondering. They raced around the London Marathon route at rush hour and the car lost by eleven minutes.

2) "The man beat the car on about 1/2 horsepower and some toast!"

Love that brother of mine!

New Blog Title Needed?

I am procrastinating on homework...shocker. Only one more Saturday of homework after today! For at least four months anyway...

But I was wondering...should I change the title of my blog? Since I'm now longer a barista? I guess deep in my heart, once a barista, always a barista but maybe there's a better title to be used.

Open to suggestions...now I'm off to post some pictures from San Francisco!

I LOVE my sister!

I had to place an order for my brother-in-law. Online shopping carts do not accept orders from Sudan, for some reason. So, I asked my sister for her credit card number. This is how she sent it to me. The XXXX represent the numbers; I didn't think it wise to post them here. ;)

"There were XXXX ducks when I last counted. XXXX of those were mallards. There is .XXXX percent chance that I miscounted, but let's just assume I didn't. That still doesn't account for the fact that XXXX of the said ducks are not in a row! What's a girl to do? Can't wait to see your back in less than XXX days. Such a relief that I don't have to wait for a Visa. I can come whenever!"

I still needed an expiration date for the card, so I asked, "If you had a Visa, would it expire?"

Her answer: "It might, MAYbe in 2010."

End of My Starbucks Era

This coming week is my last week at Starbucks. I am hanging up the green apron. In honor of this momentus occasion, I present a list of things I will and won't miss at Starbucks.

MISS:
Free pound of coffee/box of tea per week
30% discount in stores
19% discount on Verizon bill
Starbucks Paseo baristas
Free drinks while I work

WON'T MISS:
Frappuccinos
Tall Nonfat Extra Hot Semi-dry Cappuccinos & other obnoxious drinks
Customer humor like "Do you have any regular coffee back there?"
Breakfast sandwiches in all forms
Food warmers in general
Frappuccinos
Peeling bananas at 6 a.m.
Tips in the form of rolls of change
Dressing head to toe in black because coffee stains blend in
Ball caps (L.A. county health code)
Frappuccinos

OK so the "won't miss" list became longer than the "miss" list, which is either a sign that it's time to quit or that it's just easy to complain about work things. Or maybe both.

Glad that I made so many friends over the years - good baristas make good friends.