Concert

Last night Kristin and I had our first official "social" at the house of the semester. This year took off in fast forward and hasn't slowed down much since. We finally all took a little break for dinner and a concert. It was a blast! There were about 10 people over at our apartment for dinner...Kristin cooked and friends brought desert. SO GOOD! Then we headed out to the concert. I haven't listened as much to Cademon recently but had a blast from the past hearing songs from about 10 years ago when they were first getting started. It was a great break in the action from the craziness of life!

family reunion!

my new look

I had dinner Wednesday night with two of my aunts and uncles...a Burdine reunion rendezvous in Columbia, SC! Ed and Becky flew out from CA to spend a week in GA and SC touring and taking sailing lessons...or rather a sailing "class" in Charleston, SC.

Becky explained at dinner how they have an exam at the end of their lessons and they earn a certificate. She is interested in merely SURVIVING the class with the remnants of tropical storm gale force winds on the East coast right now. :) John and Tammi drove down from Charlotte, NC and we ate dinner about 3 blocks from my apartment at "California Dreamin.'"

In honor of my future move out to the West coast Ed found a platnum wig for me so I won't feel out of place in LA. They gave me the run down of how to survive in southern CA. Jennifer and Beth, if you have any pointers for me I am open! :) I'm looking forward to being there and enjoying warm temps minus the incredible HUMIDITY here.

California

For some this entry will come as a surprise because the past few months have been busy. Busy with life, school and... a new relationship. In July mutual friends, Lee and Trisha Mitchell, introduced me to a pretty amazing man...Ben Mosier. We started out corresponding through email, he was in Alaska working and I had recently returned from AK back to SC to continue working. Emails led to phone calls, more phone calls led to Skyping, and this past Labor Day weekend I flew out to Los Angeles to meet him in person. Ben is going to seminary full time at Masters in LA, CA. He will be coming out East to spend Thanksgiving with me and extended family in Charlotte, NC. This relationship has been a blessing in my life!

The bigger update, I am finishing my program here at CIU in December and was initially planning on moving back to AK to work again for the school district and seek out ministry oppurtunities. Those plans have shifted some and I will be making a 3,000 road trip with a girlfriend here to LA...coast to coast. I am moving now to LA to live and work and have time near Ben so we can get to know each other better, IN PERSON! Long distance is okay for a time, but there comes a time when you need time near that person. So, for those interested in meeting Ben, he will be in AK with me in December. I know our time will be packed between his family and connections in the Valley and mine, but we'd love to spend time with you!

I will try my best to do better at keeping ya'll updated. My spare time has been on the phone and skype lately. :)

John Deere eatibles...

Yes for all those inquiring minds that want to know...they really do make John Deere fruit snacks. I know, what more could a John Deere lover want? I am 30 and I confess, I still LOVE fruit snacks. A friend of mine here found them on a trip and bought a box for me this week. John Deere comes now even in eatible forms. What could possibly be next??

a new job

Two weeks ago I started my new job doing part time speech therapy at an elementary school about 20 minutes from my apartment. I'm filling in for a 12 week maternity leave working Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Another speech path is filling in on the other two days that I have class. I am enjoying being back in a professional realm again and feel the school is a really good fit.

There are two other full time speech paths at my school so they have been tremendously helpful in answering questions. Paperwork is still paperwork...waaaayyyy too much, BUT I love doing therapy and working with the kids. They also have to file their own medicaid in SC so that is an additional monthly task, but something new I am learning that will be good to know should I ever choose to do private practice. About 80% of the student population is African American so I am beefing up on my eubonics. Last week I said more names wrong than I did right I think..."Miss Eller it's DAY-VON, not DE-VIN!" That along with the Quavies, Tanishas, Tyrells, Jajuans, Charlisas, Shatinas...it's a different culture down here. I love it! The kids are GREAT!

John and Tammi's new house

There has been a lot of change for the Burdine family this year. Allison and Beth bothed moved to new places in the DC area. Jim and Lynn are heading back to MN after a few years in ND. I moved to SC last August. Jennifer moved to Korea and Katherine is moving to Honduras in a few days. Brittany and Alex are leaving for college this week. We don't like to let the grass grow!

Mom, here are you looooooonng awaited pics of John and Tammi's new place! It's a one level ranch style (retirement in mind) with the nice addition of a pool in the back yard. They live further outside of Charlotte now in the country, it is a beautiful area!

Beth's Graduation

My cousin, Eliza"beth" graduated this weekend from a 14 week long intensive critical care nursing program at Walter Reed. She has been working this past year at Walter Reed, one of the nations largest military medical facilities and chose to take this course to be certified to work with the most critical military injuries that come through their doors. I have had the honor of praying Beth and her other 6 classmates through their course. It was great to be able to be at the ceremony and meet the entire group. They worked INCREDIBLY hard to pass. Way to Beth! I am SUPER proud of you! (How's that for a "mother moment"??) Congrats!


Walter Reed Hospital


post ceremony shot


Beth's study group

Washington

U.S. Airforce Memorial built in October 2006











A Wednesday afternoon reunion with Logan Hubbard. We went to homecoming together back in high school and connected again this spring on facebook, small world. Great to see you again and catch up Logan!

Jefferson Library of Congress

botanical garden

roses that smell like cinnamon








one of the art Smithsonians on the way

politics

Truth be known I am not a politically savvy person. I should be more involved or aware but reading up on politics is not how I choose to spend my free time. Being that the next election is coming up in a few short months I took a little online quiz to see where I fall on various issues. Kind of interesting if you've never done somthing like it. You can Google "political quizzes" and take one if you're interested. The one I took was at http://www.politicalbrew.com/politest.cgi.

From the quiz I took I found that I am moderately conservative on non-fiscal issues and moderately liberal on fiscal issues. I need to buff up on the specifics of the candidates but it's nice to know where I fall on various issues.

road trip...

shop in Georgetown


Potomac River with the Kennedy Center behind us


Allison and me eating our low end truffles...$2


a yuppie grocery store we stopped in in Georgetown


this store sold truffles for $750 per pound!! WHAT!?!?


Allison's turtle


Beth's new house in Maryland

This past week I worked my last shifts with my families giving personal care and ABA therapy to children with special needs. A couple weeks ago I was hired on with a school district in SC to work a 0.6 speech pathology position for a maternity leave. The job is perfect for this semester! I'll work Mon, Wed, Fridays and have class Tues and Thursdays. To celebrate my break inbetween jobs and classes starting I took a road trip to DC to visit my cousins and some friends.

not about me...

While I was home this past month visiting family and friends I had an insightful conversation with a friend over coffee. We got on the topic of the lulls in life...seasons when we are spiritually dry, apathetic, or even in some moments dubious toward God. I have had moments in life like that, one season in particular when I struggled with depression and wondered where God was in it all. I was angry, hurt and stopped trusting God to fully meet all my needs.

As my friend shared her current struggle to trust God completely and to "feel" His presence a thought came to mind. She commented on several things but in particular how her time in the Bible, time in worship, time alone with God has been empty and unfulfilling. God was actively answering prayers in huge ways for several of her friends but her own health concerns have yet to be diagnosed by doctors(after years of waiting). God impressed some things on my heart that I shared in response to her frustration and doubt.

One area where a lot of Christians get it "wrong", myself included, is that this life, our quiet time, our worship, our material possessions, even our health is about us. This is not true. Ultimately God created us to worship Him. We are created in HIS image to bring HIM glory. Sometimes He is most glorified in our weaknesses and hardships. It doesn't always make sense to us but in the greater picture He is still ever present, very aware or where we are, and cares deeply about us.

When I hit those times of dry worship, when I don't receive any great "epiphanies" from my quiet times I remind myself that that time is not really about ME being filled or enlightened but about GOD being GLORIFIED. If all I can do some days is read aloud one verse, I pray that it will bring Him glory. He alone is WORTHY and desires our complete trust and unhindered worship. That's not to say that there aren't those great moments of "revelation" or direct answers to prayers but that is not the norm. We shouldn't base our trust and love for God on His answers to our prayers or provision for our needs.

This conversation came to mind again today because I have been reading a book this past week called "Lover of my Soul: delighting in God's passionate love". A chapter I read today called "Knowing Him" made the analogy of our spiritual relationship with God being as intimate as that of a husband and wife on their wedding night. Our relationship with God is not sexual but deeply spiritual. It is the closest analogy that we can comprehend.

The author, Alan Wright, describes it this way...

* Two things are necessary for intimate knowledge of God our unguarded abandon and our permanent committment

* God wants people who will lose sight of themselves long enough to be overwhelmed by the sight of God

* God, our bridegroom, demands total permanent commitment

* Holy intimate experiences of God are not for spiritual thrill seekers unprepared to walk with Him, intimacy requires covenant (something God established with His people in Genesis)

I could be wrong, but I think it is very common for followers of Christ to fall into patterns of apathy, doubt and anger toward their Creator God. I definitely struggle at times. It is encouraging to me to remember some of the basics when all else hurts and doesn't make sense. One God is WORTHY of my worship. Second God longs for nothing more than my WORSHIP. Third God is GLORIFIED in authentic worship...that includes those times that I approach His throne of grace broken and confused.

I guess I write this in my blog to challenge those that are currently facing some of these things to be wary of getting swept up in self-pity and doubt because Satan loves nothing more than for God's people to be numb. May we not be fickle in our covenant with God because He is not fickle with us. We may be hurt, we may be angry but we should never lose TRUST in God. He alone is worthy!

cherries!

One of many perks to the south is having an abundance of FRESH fruit! I LOVE the fruit, well, ALL the produce down here. Right now cherries are in season and are going like crazy at the grocery stores. The other night a friend brought over a fruit salad with fresh cherries which inspired me to buy some today. They are AMAZING good! Definitely one thing we don't get in Alaska...at least not this quality! Mmmmmmmm!!!!

Ruben

My first visit to Dave and Aimy's was a nice welcome, run down at the door by their blue Great Dane, Ruben. He's now 8 months old, stands as tall as my chest and weighs more than I do. I told them their house is something like a petty zoo with two dogs, two cats, fish and a small pony in their house. He acts like a puppy but is stronger than he knows. His tail and "gentle bumps" to be pet nearly knock me over if I am not braced. I'm curious to know how strong and big he'll be full grown!

family reunion

the family minus mom


cousin shot

While I was home some of my dad's family was up visiting. His brother Dale and older sister Becky and their families came. It was great to see them but our time was too short! I especially enjoyed seeing my cousin Ian for the 2nd time...he's four now and as cute as ever.