Another Class Done

After two weekends of endless essay writing, I finished Apologetics. If I pass, that's 2 more credits, with only 33 left to go.

I'm going to be in school forever.

On the plus side, I'm enjoying the latest assignment. It's a map marking assignment and I have a lovely atlas of the Holy Land to use. So far I'm marking highways and noting some of the important Old Testament sites. It's fun stuff; the assignment is long, but not difficult; I'm seeing where stuff happened. It's very interesting.

Besides, I'm working on the next 4 credits. By fall I'll only need 29 more credits.

Yup, forever.

A Pet

I've been thinking of getting a pet. I'd like something else in the apartment that's alive. I've pretty much narrowed it down to a turtle. A small turtle, mind you; I don't want anything too big. Any thoughts on the matter?

Stuff That's Been Filling my Mind

It's been a long couple of weeks. Work is busy and I've been working long hours; schoolwork should be taking up all my spare time, but I don't have a lot of spare time, so it's been neglected (except the reading I do on the bus), which means the next couple weeks will also be long.....

My brain is full. I've been exposed to so many new ideas through my studies, stuff I wish people had told me years ago. About everything that went on outside of the Israelite nation during the time of the Old Testament that affected the Israelites....about how God worked in the lives of so many people to bring about His plans....about how nicely all of history fits together when you put God in the middle....So many things that point to God that people don't know or don't understand or are simply misled about. It's so fascinating to learn and so much fun.

The thing is, I don't know what I'm going to do with this knowledge. I want to grab people and shake them and say "Listen! Do you not see how wonderful all of this is? Right here, there's more proof of God at work from the beginning! Look at all this!" But that doesn't seem like a great plan!

I have been thinking, of late, about studying it more fully when I'm done school; just picking one part of history and learning it well. Then, when I know it better, I'd like to write about it. I'm thinking books for children or young adults, or even adults who want to learn this but not through text books. Something lighter, maybe. Something written the way I wish my textbooks were written (more charts and illustrations so the visual among us can learn better). I don't know. It's just a thought. At any rate, it's better than collaring people and forcing them to listen!

Still Laughing

My friend's son is 5 (almost 6). I was visiting one day and he and I were sitting together talking about nothing much when, out of the blue, the following conversation ensued....

Him: You have milk in your hips for your babies.

Me (very confused): I...what?

Him (patting my chest...not my hips): You have milk in your hips. It's for your babies.

Me (removing his hand and trying hard not to laugh): Those aren't hips. Hips are further down (gesturing towards my hips).

Him (lifing up his shirt): See, I have little hips (he points to his chest). You have big hips to hold milk for your babies.

That's when I decided that it wasn't my job to correct this little misunderstanding and changed the subject.

Seeing Clearly

Wednesday evening I started to see the world clearly again. It was surprising because I didn't know how fuzzy things had become until I put on a pair of glasses and everything snapped into focus. And it's not like my vision is very bad; I can see well enough (and I have no problems seeing close up; it's only distance that was fuzzy) and I only went to get my eyes checked because I thought the headaches were possible vision related (they were; I was squinting to see clearly without knowing it). Anyway, now I have glasses and I can see more clearly and the headaches should be a thing of the past.

Okay, so here's what I've been thinking: it's like sin, right? I can wander into sin slowly and not really acknowledge it for a long time. It becomes normal behaviour and I don't see clearly what I'm doing. Until one day I read something or someone says something and the truth about my behaviour snaps back into focus and I can see my sin clearly. And I can confess this sin and be forgiven and seek God's help in stopping it. And I can see clearly again.

Random Thoughts

I'm listening to the Aaron Lines CD "Waitin' on the Wonderful" on the computer, but Windows Media Player insists that I'm listening to "Live Out Loud." I'm not sure why.

Real estate agents who advertise on bus benches need to think about their ads a bit more. All too often they have a picture of the agent placed in the exact right place so that the bolt that holds the bench back to the supports goes right through the guy's forehead. I'm not sure I want to buy a house from a guy who looks like he's been shot.

Yesterday it was spring (almost summer). Today they called for snow flurries. I love spring in Alberta. It's like being back home.

Speaking of spring, here's my newest sign of spring: the drive-by evangelism of the Jehovah's Witnesses has started up again. I hadn't seen them since last fall but yesterday I was sitting at the bus stop and a car drove past and then stopped and out jumped the JW lady to offer me some reading material.

Hands-on in Junior Church

It has been suggested that I try more object lessons and hands-on stuff in Junior Church to hold their attention better. First, I think the only way to hold the attention of a bunch of 3-6 year olds is to be an animated tv character. Also, my big concern is making the lessons very Bible based and I worry about other stuff distracting from the actual teaching.

The big problem, though, is that this week I'm teaching about the water-to-wine at the wedding at Cana. Yeah. Probably not a good week to try for hands-on, eh?