Well Friends... it's been fun. Really fun. However... I have decided to do something new. I am changing things up a bit. I will no longer have a xanga. Instead, I have switched to a blog. Yes. A BLOG. I made the switch so anyone and everyone can comment, I can have titles, and I can post more pictures. We'll see how it goes. From Now On.... go here:

http://livingthisadventure.blogspot.com/

tell me what you think... it's still a work in progress though!

watch out world.... annie burdette has discovered a new love...

This morning I was looking at my english final paper prompts and one of the options was to write a creative piece with regard to the theme of the class this quarter, "How to Win Friends and Influence People." I decided to go for it, even though  my experience in creative writing is extremely limited. I chose to write about a week this summer in which my life was drastically altered (in more ways than one but we'll keep it simple for now). Week 4 of Outpost with the Valley Teen Ranch kids proved to be a divine lesson in how to win friends and influence people. My professor won't know that everyhthing in the story actually happened (well maybe she will, I haven't decided yet), but will believe I have created a scenario with characters who will have been transformed by the Holy Spirit in the time period of a week. I'm not sure what the final draft will look like... For now I am just writing it as a story and I love it. I can't believe how fun it is to write stories! Use of adjectives, diction, thoughts, emotions, etc. while remembering the events that actually took place is fantastic. Loving it! Hmmm.... Thank you God for the experiences you've given me that I can write about them in a way that brings joy to my heart...

Learning about your faith in its earliest beginnings by a professor who doesn't profess Jesus to be the Son of God can be problematic. I have learned many great things from Dr. Bartchy and I look forward to his class on Jesus of Nazareth next quarter. However, hearing about the context in which the Bible was written and why it was written in such a specific manner sometimes makes it rough when reading it for spiritual nourishment. Something to chew on and I believe something God's going to reveal to me.

Went to office hours today (for the first time at UCLA except to explain a late paper... same prof though) in my swimsuit with a friend who was also in his swimsuit after a good workout (p.s... we had clothes on over, just really wet from our suits... just to clarify)... Tried to get some answers from him and pick his brain for a little bit. I listened for the most part and that was ok. Then he asked what I wanted to do after college, and after no hesitation I told him I wanted to teach highschool. Now at the time this seemed perfectly normal to me, but in hindsight, I chuckle because I just spoke to the head of the department at UCLA and instead of telling him what everyone else and their mother at UCLA says.... mainly that they will be going to grad school, law school, going into politics, research, etc... I am going to teach in an inner city school (ok well not for sure but that's what I told him). He was quite pleased with this answer which was fun, but I still chuckle to myself. Sometimes I wonder why I'm here...

So I have been subjected to extreme grace this week.  Grace manifested itself into the most stressful area of my life right now... school. I remember two summers ago, Rob Lang, my assistant coordinator for events and coordinator for Outpost last summer said that he was learning when to ask for grace. I hadn't thought of it that way before... asking for grace...

Monday: Paper due 1:59 pm for my environment of early Christians class. It is an extensive research paper that is worth 50% of our grade. I, for some odd reason or another, had it INGRAINED in my head that this paper was due at 3:00 pm. At NO point do I think to myself that it would be due at 2:00. Interestingly enough, my class the entire quarter has gone from 2:00pm to 3:00pm every M, W, F. But no, I think it is due at 3. It is 2:50 and I am barely finishing the last touches to my paper when my friend Hilary calls me, "Annie where the heck are you?! The paper was due a minute before class!" Still not getting it I proceeded to tell her that I was on my way, that I would be there right when class started. Then she tells me the bad news, "Annie class is over and he doesn't accept late papers." Crap. At this point I get on my knees, pleading for grace. I am shaking and my roomie Jackie helps me pull myself together as I print the paper out. Let me tell you about this professor. He is probably the most revered professor on campus. Brilliant man. Went to Harvard, has a doctorate, and makes the average human sound like a moron. Plus he is probably one of the most best dressed profs at UCLA. Ok, he's not in his office and so I wait until his office hours at 4:30. He's late, and I end up talking to my friend Anna who is also brilliant and knows the prof, she has an appointment with him. I manage to sneak in between appointments and explain my foolishness. After telling me that if I were in the real world I would probably get fired, he accepts my paper and says the penalty will be very minor. Grace.

Let me tell you that while I was praying, I realized that God's grace is sufficient. An unaccepted paper (which would have meant failure in the class) was not eternal. My life in the Savior's hand at the mercy of the cross is sufficient grace. Beyond that, nothing matters.

Friday: Huge paper due in West African history from ancient times to 1800s. Thursday night: The book that I have to read is almost done, paper briefly outlined, and I look again at the assignment. FIVE ADDITIONAL SOURCES ARE REQUIRED. I WORK from 4:30-10:45. No way. How did I miss this?! How am I going to work tonight and manage to get this paper done by 11:00am? Impossible. Now to the point that I am ashamed to ask for grace because it is completely undeserved and I feel like the biggest idiot in the world. Jackie says, "maybe this is something you need to be praying about..." Ok. I go in the other room as Jackie once again helps me out with computer issues (going on on top of all the nonsense). Phone call to Starbucks, can someone please cover my shift that is supposed to start in 45 minutes? "We'll get back to you." Phone call to a fellow partner, nope... sorry. Time to get on my knees again. Lord, I am a stupid girl who has made another big mistake... I need grace again... I am reminded that no sin is too great for redemption and nothing we can do will separate us from the Father's love. He is not a big guy in the sky frowning on me because I made a mistake (I so often get this picture)... but He is looking at me with love and reminding me that Jesus' death on the cross was all about redemption and grace- He is a God of hope and mercy. Phone call from Starbucks, "you're in luck, Stephen will cover your shift." Amazing. Amazing grace. Paper completed with time to eat eggs and put on makeup. I even got to watch an extra credit movie on Thursday night as a study break: "Monty Pithon and the Life of Brian." When God delivers grace He delivers it in abundance. He lavishes it on us. Sometimes all we need to do is ask for it and trust that He desires to give it to us...

I know papers seem so trivial, but God was so real to me in the midst of the stress of the week. I was humbled immensely. I don't like asking for grace. I feel ashamed and weak. I am upset if I haven't learned my lesson. God doesn't want to give me grace, I messed up already and now He has given me a second chance and I skrewed up there too. WRONG. Charles Spurgeon said, "The greater your sin is, the greater your Savior will be." It can be debated whether or not my mistakes were sinful, but I think the lesson was so much deeper than that. It got into my core and I had to check myself... am I humble enough to ask for grace? If not, then how much do I allow the love of Christ to reign in me? I cannot do this on my own. I cannot do this alone... even writing papers.