Another quarter = Done!

It's hard to believe that fall quarter is over. Someone at church asked me today how my quarter was...it took me a moment to answer and truthfully say it was hard!

My classes were tough. I had Gospels with Hagner--who for you non Fuller people--has quite a reputation for being challenging. And while the class was academically hard for me I learned so much! One of our assignments was to read all 4 gospels straight through and journal in response to each one. It was one of the coolest experiences I've ever had--both academically and spiritually.
I also took Exegesis of 1st Corinthians with an adjunct professor. To be honest I didn't like this class until the very end as I was writing my paper. I have written one other exegesis paper before and did not enjoy the experience--but this paper was different. There were several cool insights from translating it from the Greek and I loved learning more about Paul's theology of evangelism (1 Cor 9:19-23)--Paul's a pretty swell guy I'm learning. :)
My third class was Pastoral Counseling and Family Therapy with Augsburger. I ended up taking an incomplete in that class to spend more time on the final paper. Honestly I have never been so emotionally impacted or drained by a class before. A person's family is the most intimate thing to them because they have been so influenced by them. To analyze yourself and your family as a class assignment is hard--but I recommend it to everyone.

However this quarter was hard for other reasons besides classes. Still recovering from surgery in the beginning made the quarter tiresome from the get go. And I had never had a part time job on top of full time seminary before--the income was great, but it was new time management to get used to. And finally the quarter was interrupted midway by the incredible gift of Cursillo. In sum, the quarter wasn't bad--it was just an compact period of intense growth.

Here are pictures of two groups of people that were amazing throughout this chaotic time in my life. This is my small group--Lisa, Rebecca, Christina, me, and Sarah. We are all 2nd year Presbyterian students at Fuller. We met once a week and listened as each one of us took a week to share our story with the group. They have been an amazing source of joy, support, and prayer.
This second picture is of me with Sophie, Sarah, and Becca. While we're not an official group of any sort, they have been a wonderful threesome to walk through the good times and the hard times of the last couple months with. I treasure these women and see us being in community long after we're done at Fuller.

So what will I do next since I'm done with the quarter? I'm going to Disneyland!!! :)