Learning

I've been studying a lot lately. I have another exam next week so I've been trying to understand everything about New Testament introduction. It's a lot of new ideas (and some bits that I already knew) to fit into my brain somewhere!

I've also been reading a lot lately (big surprise, I know). The thing is, my reading is gradually shifting from mostly fiction to mostly nonfiction. I still spend some time in fiction to give my brain a break, but there's a lot of other stuff going in there as well.

Here's what I'm learning about learning:
First, it's hard work. I think I'd gotten rather lazy in my reading for a while and now I have to retrain my brain to think harder and to sort through what I'm reading. I can't just accept everything when I'm reading nonfiction.

Second, the more I work at learning the more I want to learn. It's like I've woken up a very hungry part of my brain and it always wants more. I need to be careful, actually, that I don't overdo things and get burned out too fast. I like it though; it's making me look at the world differently and it's very exciting to learn and to want to learn and to have the opportunity to learn.

Small Nephews

It's May now and that means 2 very important nephews are having birthdays.

Oldest nephew is turning 15 this month. I am not ready for him to be 15. I remember clearly the day he was born. My mum was in the delivery room with my sister-in-law and I was waiting outside when Mum walked out with this small bundle in her arms. We watched the nurse weigh and measure him and give him a needle (poor baby) and then she wrapped him back up, turned around, and handed him to me. That is one of my happiest memories, holding this tiny nephew for the first time. And now he towers over me and the last time I saw him he picked me up in a hug. I still call him Baby Boy and he calls me Shorty (that's Auntie Shorty to him!). I think I am not ready for him to be 15.

Youngest nephew is turning 2 and I am not ready for that either. He's supposed to stay a baby because my sister has made it very clear that he is the last! I was not there when he was born. Why not? Because a certain baby nephew would not come at the right time! I happened to be in town when he was due, but he choose to enter the world two days after I left. Rotten kid! I have only seen him a few times. He's small and active and so funny. I recently received a little video of him on Facebook telling me that he's turning 2 (as he holds up all 5 fingers!) and blowing me kisses. He is the most adorable little dude.

I am not ready for oldest nephew to be 15 or for baby nephew to be 2.

In a Better Mood

In case you didn't notice, I was not very happy last time I posted. It had been a frustrating time and I was tired of people.
The words might be accurate but the heart behind them was way off. What right do I have to even consider refusing forgiveness to someone who needs it? It's really a pride issue: I think I deserve to be treated better.
So I've been praying a lot about this and confessing my own need for forgiveness in this area...again. And, once again, God has forgiven me.

Forgiveness

Here's what I think: sometimes people expect forgiveness as their due and sometimes it keeps them from taking the time to avoid hurting people.
It's easier to ask forgiveness than to get permission, right?
But easier on whom?

The First Week

I've been in my new position for a week, and I am loving it! It's nice to wake up in the morning and not start off wondering what will happen at work and who will need me and if I'm ready for everything.... Now I wake up happy, ready to deal with whatever comes my way, and relaxed.
All the stress of the old position is gone. I do my job, I do it well, and I leave it behind when I go home. I like the people I work with (for the record, I liked the people I was working with as well), and we have fun together.
Yes, it's still work. There are still things that I enjoy more. Overall, though, this is really looking like a good move for me.
I enjoy going to work again.

When to Keep Silent

The Situation: A group of us are sitting around. Someone explains an illustration that some famous guy used to prove a point. Another person insists that the illustration is dumb because she doesn't understand it.

What I am Thinking: Just because you don't understand it doesn't make it dumb. Maybe the problem isn't the illustration....

What I Said: Nothing. Are you kidding? There was no way I was going to come up with anything that wouldn't get me in trouble.

Question

If you do not accept the sovereignty of God can you logically accept the inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture?

What I'm Reading

Right now I'm in the depths of "Girls Gone Mild" by Wendy Shalit. In a nutshell, it talks about how being a "bad girl" isn't all it's cracked up to be, how liberal views on sex don't liberate women at all. For the record, I agree.
Here's the thing: there has long been a double standard by which sex made boys studs and girls sluts; girls were usually held to a higher standard.
Which, as an aside, has its own perplexities: boys are allowed to "sow their wild oats" and girls had to stay pure? How does that even work?
Anyway, back to the point: Eventually girls decided that the double standard was wrong, probably sometime during the Woman's Lib movement when equality was the big word (by which they meant "sameness" which is another impossibility but that's for another day). Only to become equal, instead of raising the standard for boys then lowered the standard for girls. So now we can all be equally bad.
And somehow this is supposed to be good for girls.