The heat is on

In the living room of our condo we have a gas fireplace, something we've never had before. When the temperature dropped into the 30's one night this week, I decided to fire it up (no pun intended) the next morning. Wow! Within 15 minutes it jumped 8 degrees in the living room/kitchen area. I suspect Ann, who is still a Texas girl at heart, will really appreciate the heat when winter arrives.

John Calvin

If you're interested in John Calvin, I highly recommend a recent biography of him by Thomas J. Davis simply entitled John Calvin. The book is well-written, reads easily, and deals fairly with his beliefs. At just over 100 pages, it's closer to an overview than a serious biography, but on the other hand, it doesn't take too long to finish.

Biography on John Calvin from CBD

Preacher

Ann's parents are in town visiting for the week, and they came with us to church today. When Emilee saw her grandfather all dressed up, she said, "You look like a preacher!"

Walking with Emmy

Earlier this week Emmy and I went walking in the neighborhood behind our condo complex. We saw a big spider on a 6 ft tall web and a small snake (about 6 inches long). But the best part of the walk was the conversation, which ranged over a variety of topics including biology: "Daddy, do spiders poop?" (I don't seem to remember this from my biology class, but I said yes anyway.) and theology: "Daddy, is God on the moon?" I told her that since God is everywhere, yes, He's on the moon, and in fact He's here with us right now. She thought about that for a moment before replying, "Yes, He's right here on my shoulder."

Matthew 18:2-3 Calling a little child forward, [Jesus] had him stand among them. Then he said, "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven."

You need the faith of a four-year-old to get into the kingdom of heaven.

Routine

Life in Winston-Salem has finally started to take on a routine. The kids have started school; Ann is homeschooling them again this year. Jacen is in the 2nd grade, while Emmy is starting K-4. I'm working at Calvary on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, mostly doing sermon prep and critiquing but with a sprinkling of other ministries. The whole family travels together to Wake Forest on Thursdays and Fridays, so James and Ann can take classes. Yes, Ann's taking a class this semester, one designed to equip women who will be pastor's wives. We stay in the seminary's commuter housing, which works well. The remaining days are for family and study. So far, we really like being here in Winston-Salem. The church is treating us like royalty, and there is so much to learn and to do.

Humility

I found an excellent definition of humility. It's a quote from the "International Standard Bible Encyclopedia," which I read in Dr. Jim Berg's "Changed Into His Image:" "...the habitual frame of mind of a child of God is that of one who feels not only that he owes all his natural gifts, etc., to God, but that he has been the object of undeserved redeeming love, and who regards himself as being not his own, but God's in Christ. He cannot exalt himself, for he knows that he has nothing of himself. The humble mind is thus at the root of all other graces and virtues."

Winston-Salem

On Saturday Dad drove the rental truck for us to Winston-Salem. With help from some of the guys at Calvary we were unloaded in about two hours, and then we began the task of unpacking. So far we've gotten the kitchen and living room nearly done and the master bedroom started. We haven't even looked at the kids room, since we're not sure their furniture will fit. The church is graciously putting us up in a new condo, and it's really nice. It even has a pool. Here's a picture of the building:

Moving Week

This is moving week. The apartment is nearly all boxed up, the kids' beds are taken down, and a bunch of the furniture is stacked up in the living room. We've been eating all the remaining odds and ends of food (finished the last of the halibut today, Dad) and using paper plates and plastic utensils. We're nearly ready to go. We're going to miss our many friends here, but we're looking forward to the opportunities at Calvary. The second chapter in our ministry adventure draws to a close.

Greek Is Over

On Monday I took my final two exams: one was another vocabulary test and the other was translating five verses out of 1st John. They weren't too bad. Although Greek was hard, particularly the second semester, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I'll be taking a third semeseter of it this fall. Although I know enough to do some translating, I suspect there's still tons I don't know.

June Bug Kites

I took the kids up to the seminary today to make some june bug kites. What? You've never had a june bug kite before? Here's what you do. Catch a june bug, preferably a large one. I use a tennis racket to pin them down to the ground. Grab one of their hind legs with needle-nose pliers, then tie a piece of bright thread to the leg. When you let go, the june bug will fly all around, but can't get away. It's a june bug kite. It's a lot of fun for your kids.

Another Move

Yep, that's right. We're moving again. This time we're heading to Winston-Salem. I've been asked to participate in the first class of the Calvary School of Pastoral Leadership, and I've accepted. It's a two-year program where I'll be on staff at Calvary Baptist gaining ministry experience while still working on my M.Div at Southeastern. I'm estimating that it will slow me down by only 1 semester, which is good, and give me a lot of practical experience, which is really good. Our target date to be in Winston-Salem is the middle of August. Yes, that's in only 6 weeks.

Calvary School of Pastoral Leadership
Calvary Baptist Church

Translation

In my personal quiet time I have begun to translate 1 Corinthians from the Greek and then study and apply it. I've finished the first five verses of chapter two. You might find this to be a helpful resource.

Google Earth

Google has a new tool called Google Earth. It allows you to navigate our planet using satellite imagery. They've tied it to various other search features, such as looking for restaurants, getting directions from here to there, etc. It's kinda neat. Below is a zoom in on the main campus of Southeastern. Ann and I live just NW of this map.

Google Earth

Half-Way Home

Have you ever watched the ground when it has rained too much? The water table is full, so the rainwater starts running off the top. You know what I mean? Well, that's what my brain started doing last week. Greek got really hard, and the information kept coming so fast that I think some of it slid off. Leaked right out of my ears, I guess. In any case, I finished the first semester on Friday by taking two more exams (one for vocabulary and another for grammar). I enjoyed the weekend off, but this morning I start the second semester of summer Greek. Perhaps you're wondering if I'm actually learning anything. The answer is yes! But I still have far to go. I took my Greek New Testament to church Sunday to see if I could follow along with the texts. Although I can read phrases here and there, there are still too many words and verb conjugations that I don't know.

New Lesson Posted

A new lesson in my study of First Corinthians has been posted.