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I made it home from the Banner of Truth conference late Thursday night. It was such a great and refreshing time. I was truly fed by the Lord through the speakers and the times of fellowship. There is no doubt that I will try to attend this event again in the future.
If you look at the picture to the left, you will see the many books that I was able to bring back with me from the conference and the area bookstore that we visited. This was made possible by an anonymous gift given to each of the seminary students in our group by some elders at First Presbyterian Church in Columbia, SC. They truly wanted to provide for us a way to build our libraries and did so out of a spirit of immense generosity. This was truly humbling and well appreciated by me and the others.
I am posting a series of reflections over at The Layman Chronicles for those of you who are interested in reading them. There are others who have done similarly and I would encourage you to also take a look at their offerings as well: Tim Challies, Steve Burlew, and Jim Vallenga.
Thank you all for your prayers!
Tomorrow morning at 6:30, my buddy Brandon and I are being picked up at the Earth Fare parking lot by a group of pastors, elders, and seminary students from South Carolina and making the trek with them up to Messiah College in Grantham, PA for the Banner of Truth Minister's Conference. I am very excited to go. I know a few of the guys going, but really look forward to getting to know the others.
I'm not bringing my computer, but I will be updating my other blog - the Layman Chronicles - via my iPhone. Though short, the updates should keep you tuned in to what I am learning, being challenged with, or goofing off about. Make sure to check it out!
Please pray for the group going up. Pray for safe travel, good fellowship, and a challenging and refreshing conference.
One of my very favorite things is having people come to visit. I enjoy every aspect of it: the cleaning of the house, meal planning, looking for fun things to do and not to mention the actual visitors.
Well, this past weekend, in the midst of Dan's finals, we had my step-sister, Kari, and her boyfriend, Nick, out for a long weekend from the Chicago area. It was a great time. We had been planning it for sev
eral months now and I was off from work for 5 whole days, which means I was not sleep deprived during their stay, and was able to cook all weekend. Cooking for some may not be an exciting thing, but I enjoy it. I am often too tired or just too lazy to go to all the trouble. Don't get me wrong, I cook, but it's nothing fancy and no recipes are needed. This last weekend I tried out 2 new recipes (greek grilled chicken, and this pudding cookie thing~both very good) in addition to my tried and true recipes (blueberry coffee cake, and strawberry shortcake). Dan was in heaven :-)
We also did a little exploring. We went to the local botanical gardens (about 45 minutes away) and had fun. God had given us an absolutely beautiful day. The gardens were lovely and we then enjoyed a picnic. We did a little shopping (standard when coming for a visit...we have some interesting malls), and spent lots of time just talking, enjoying the weather and relaxing. I think the whole weekend (3 1/2 days) we may have had the television on for about four hours!! Praise God for fellowship with his saints. It was a really good time. I think even Dan would have to admit it was a nice break from his finals.
Dan and I often talk about opening a bed and breakfast one day. I truly hope that God would allow us to open our home in that way one day. Anyone up for a visit??
So this blog, The Layman View, is designed to keep you up to date with what is going on in our lives. Likewise it is filled with all kinds of stuff relating to both of us. Lately, however, I have wanted to start up a blog that is a little more focused on what is going on with me personally as I read, contemplate, etc. Today I finally did it. If you're interested, check it out:
The Layman Chronicles: adventures of a layman called to be a pastor
Of course this current site (right here) will continue to be updated regularly with all sorts of news and randomness from both Megan and I (as always), but go to the other one for the real dorky stuff about me...
Oh yeah! Summertime. It's definitely here. Come on, celebrate with me, sing some old school Will Smith lyrics with me:
"Here it is the groove slightly transformed
Just a bit of a break from the norm
Just a little somethin to break the monotony..."
You know you know the words...
Anyway, it's nice to be done with the Spring semester. I am now officially a senior seminary student. That sounds really weird to say. But I digress...
This summer is not short on excitement, though. I'll be continuing to work at Uptown Church and have just started a class with RTS Virtual. Besides that, there's lots going on:
* Next week, May 26-29, I'll be heading up to the Banner of Truth Ministers' Conference at Messiah College in Grantham, PA. This should be a lot of fun! I'm heading up there in a van with a bunch of guys (most from SC) and hope to come away refreshed and challenged.
* June 1-3 is the Uptown Church staff retreat at Isle of Palms, SC.
* Meg's Dad is coming to visit us the weekend of June 7-8.
* Preaching at Uptown on June 15.
* I am taking a class at RTS June 23-27 (Ministry in a Postmodern Context) which is being taught by Michael Horton. I am very excited about this. Dr. Horton is professor at Westminster Seminary California, editor-in-chief of Modern Reformation magazine, co-host of The Whitehorse Inn, and author of several books.
* I have another class (Pastoral Ministry) at RTS the week of July 7-11.
* Meg and I will be traveling with World Harvest Mission to the Dublin Prayer Conference July 13-20 in Dublin, Ireland. Not only with this be a wonderful opportunity to see how the Lord is working in Ireland but we get to hang out with our buddy Luke as well!
* To top off the summer, Meg and I will be going to NYC July 31-Aug 5. We are meeting her parents there (who are coming from Chicago) and will a lot of fun. This is also our 5th anniversary celebration (which officially happens on 10/4).
So, there you have it. Lots of plans. Lots of fun.
Finals are over. I am two thirds of the way done with seminary. Just had a couple of Newcastle's over at Big Ben's Pub with some friends. About to get some much needed sleep and rest. I still can't feel my right hand from all of the writing. I like short sentences.
More to come tomorrow.
Thanks for your prayers.
'Twas the night before finals
and all through the house,
Not a noise could be heard,
but the SOUND OF THE PRINTER SPITTING OUT MY HEBREWS-REVELATION PAPER!!!!"
Yes, the last paper of the semester is finally done! My exegesis of James 4:4-6 is now behind me (and still kicking my behind) and my attention now fully turns to finals. Four days - four exams. Thursday: NT Canon. Friday: Worship. Monday: Hebrews-Revelation. Tuesday: Hebrew. Wednesday: beer and sleep. :-) If you think about it, pray for me. This season is always hectic. Pray that I'll be a good Christian, a good husband (poor Meg has to put up with me during all of this), and a good student.
And for some closing fun facts, here are the stats for my paper:
Pages: 18 (space-and-a-half), including bibliography
Words: 4, 897
Footnotes: 72
Words including footnotes: 7,833
Can you believe it? I almost wrote another paper just in my footnotes! Eh, it's all over now. I think I'll have a Guinness tonight - it always gets me ready for whatever comes my way.
I am not one to do many movie reviews, but last night Meg and I watched "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" and it was terrific. The movie is about a man (Jean Dominique Bauby) who suffers from a stroke in his 40s and is left with what is called "locked in syndrome". Basically he is left with complete paralysis of all the voluntary muscles in his body but is completely aware, awake, and able to think normally. Like the name of the syndrome suggests, he is completely trapped in his own body. The only exception to his paralysis is the ability to blink his left eye.
The movie is based on a true story and documents his thoughts, etc. as he deals with life in this condition. Eventually a therapist comes to work with him and develops a way that he can communicate with other people. As you can see from the picture, she organizes the alphabet based on frequency of use of the letters. She would start listing them off and he would blink when she got to the letter he wanted. This process would repeat until he would spell words and eventually entire sentences. The remarkable part is that he writes an entire book based on this mode of communication. It is this book (Le scaphandre et le papillon) that the movie is based on.
The story is very inspiring. I cannot imagine what it would be like to be trapped in my own body. Seeing what this man went through and how he turned it into an opportunity to express his emotions and his imagination was sometimes saddening and always humbling.
If you get a chance, this is one you should definitely see.
So, this afternoon I told someone I was suffering from exhaustion and they thought I said I was "installing an exhaust fan". It was funny and it got me thinking...
Listening is hard work. All semester long, I have sat in my preaching clinic once a week and listened to eight of my fellow students give their sermons. It has been really great to see how everyone is growing and improving in their ability to preach. Usually we only hear two people per class and it usually goes about 2 hours with all of the feedback, etc. Well today - the last day of class - there were six funeral sermons scheduled. I had to do one of those, but I have to say it was hard work listening to the other five. It's not that they weren't good or encouraging, its just that it takes a lot of effort for me to listen well. Three and half hours later I was exhausted.
To be honest, I am not all that good of a listener in general. I feel like I have to work twice as hard at doing that than most anything else. I am a multitasker by nature and that doesn't stop with my mind. I have to work really hard to focus on what the other person is saying or I will start thinking about something altogether different. I know I need to get better, but how does one really, truly work on their listening ability anyway? I think I have improved a little over the years (and hopefully Meg will back me up on this) but I really feel like this is an area I need to get a lot better in.
So much to learn, so little time...
I'm sure that we all have that one thing that our significant other hates in our wardrobe. You all know what I am talking about. That piece of clothing that you've had forever and when you put it on it just makes you feel better. As a matter of fact, in your opinion it probably goes with everything and your spouse would simply like to burn it...
Well, my beloved piece of clothing is my wonderfully worn gray jersey jacket... I think that I have had it since I was 12 or 13. As a matter of fact, my mother and I both bought one...you know gray just goes with everything and you never know when you may want to layer... Anyway, this jacket has seen me through high school, college and even 5 years of marriage. But alas, my husband hates it... really I know hate is a strong word,but he does. Yes, it is about 2 sizes too big (makes it great to
wear over sweaters and sweatshirts), has holes in it, and is not as vibrant as it used to be, but hey, it still works. And why get rid of something that is loved so much. Sure it isn't what it used to be and yes I do have other jackets, many other jackets, but it is always my fall back. Just because I made Dan get rid of ALL of his "camping shirts" when we married isn't a reason for him to pick on my one little or slightly stretched out gray jacket. But alas, marriage is full of compromise and I do love Dan more than that soft, comforting jacket...his hugs are WAY better. So today will be the last of the old jacket...
While shopping this weekend I spotted a new gray jacket... it was actually my size and looked nice with what I was wearing...it has no hood, but hey nothing is perfect! Dan had one condition for the purchase, however: the old one must leave the house. You see, he has bought other jackets, but I always go back to my faithful gray jacket...so, the old is out and the new is in.
I wore the new one today while getting groceries.. I had a few mixed feelings about it. It isn't as comfortable and sort of tight in the arms... (it actually stops at my wrists). But it did look better with the outfit... I sort of looked athletic instead of homeless. Change is good... but it will be hard to say good bye. Maybe it will fit in my box of old purses..that way I won't wear it, but will know where it is :-) (Dan says it definitely won't fit in the box...)
So, we're putting up a poll. Please vote and help us decide whether I should be able to keep the jacket (for sentimental reasons, of course) or not.
Because life is moving very fast right now, and I don't have a lot of time to formulate consistent (or meaningful) thoughts, I present to you a stream of randomness in honor of the beginning of the month of May:
* Has anyone seen the newest cover of Time magazine? I was walking by it in the RTS library today and I nearly shrieked like a little girl. There is a head and it is half-Hillary and half-Obama. *shudder*
* My blogging drought this week caused me to come one shy of my goal for April...we only managed 29 posts in 30 days. I wanted us to average one a day but I will just take .9666666667 per day and round up to one. Because I can.
* Last night was the Smokeout. Ahhh, the sweetness of beer and cigars. And might I add that I drank Vanilla Stout from Breckenridge Brewery. That and a Fuente cigar made all the troubles float away.
* Paula was drunk Tuesday night during American Idol. The songs stunk. And if I were Neil Diamond I would have slapped Castro across the back of the head. I now officially hate this show. I am sad to see Brooke leave but the whole thing was just too big for her.
* Hebrews to Revelation outlines - done. New Testament Canon paper - proofread/edit and it's done. James 4:4-6 Exegesis paper - almost there. All of my reading - done. Funeral sermon for preaching clinic - it's coming along. Worship essay due Tuesday - what essay? Crap!
* The Caption (the other blog I work on that you must check out) is off to a good start. I want to thank Noah for joining in the fun and posting pictures. For all of you who actually post a caption - thanks. For those who read and don't post a caption - come on! Do it! You know you want to!
* I am leading worship at Uptown Church for the first time this Sunday. I am looking forward to serving in this way.
* I like Doritos.
Happy May, everyone!
I made it home from the Banner of Truth conference late Thursday night. It was such a great and refreshing time. I was truly fed by the Lord through the speakers and the times of fellowship. There is no doubt that I will try to attend this event again in the future.
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