another Saturday night and a call from nobody
means that I'm on call at a quarter past eight
killing time till the nine thirty patrol
in a new-fangled way
hey hey

started German five days ago
I haven't touched a book at all since then
can't read it nor get the written
yet i've lost my motivation
a two week mental state of din

oh no
another saturday night and a call from nobody
means that I'm on call at a quarter past eight
killing time till the nine thirty patrol
in a new-fangled way
i say

Exams over, papers turned in (although one is going to undergo heavy revision work over the next week, largely for personal use), brain re-solidifying...summer's on.

So what's the plan? This week: work, as I came into some extra shifts courtesy of MK, and my nights are thusly occupied. Next week? German begins, and I'm thinking about auditing Hebrew Prophets, largely because I love the books, and one of my weak spots is in the Majors/Deuteronomistic history. Since I plan to fulfill the OTB/C with an Old Testament Theology course, this could be quite feasible. So that would be the mornings, afternoons would be working hours, and nights would be split in the 2/2/2 pattern (Work/Class/Open Dates). We shall see if this comes into being, as I also have reading for Dead Sea Scrolls to be done by July 6th, a date and class which I look forward to. Then the audit bug comes in again, as the SOP offering of Narrative and Family Life is too tempting to pass up, but because it meets no requirements, I'd be best served auditing it and using my third class of the summer on a Min3 (Evangelism) or a Min8 (Missions). We shall see, but the dilemma for the afternoon was whether to read for class or for pleasure, in which case Harry Potter 5 fits the bill well. Also on tap: S10 application, due Tuesday of next, and finaid paperwork, with related passport photos also in demand. So my week off isn't quite total downtime, but it is a stress-breaker.

Rejected fragments from Mike's Foundations for Ministry Paper
(entitled "Envisioning Personal Ministry")

Given that my 16PF placed me high on the 'character' scale (ie - 4 of 16 dimensions in the 1-3 and 8-10 ranges of the 1-10 scales qualifies one as a 'character,' and I had 8 such dimensions) and individual sessions suggested therapy in some form, this is an element that I might want to look into addressing while here. As such, I have decided to limit my dating to students in the school of psychology while at Fuller.

Somehow I don't think that this would work in the final paper they want...back to the keyboard...

All that (see previous post) said, you know what really gets me going?

Saying the creeds liturgically, and pondering just what it is that we're saying, what we're testifying to. Taking bread and wine and proclaiming the Lord's death until he comes. Recognizing that in 'these things,' there's so much life.

Have you ever gone back to a paper topic started a few days earlier, considered it, and realized that you don't care one iota about it?

That was me within the past half hour. Sunday night saw preparation for Thompson's final combined with Brown's critical comments, of which I decided to do Arminius and the five points of Calvinism, as stated at the Synod of Dort, commenting on supra/infralapsarianism. Seemed like a good idea at the time, but within an hour of stating the basic positions, doing a historical survey, and stating my position on the five points, I was more inclined to tailspin into working through exactly what I believed about the afterlife, a pressing issue last summer in particular.

How'd I get there? Arminius' strength is his christocentricity, and he focuses election upon the elect to life, but this caused a problem for me as related to my reading of Revelation 14, where the Lamb appears to be involved with the torment of the reprobate; where does this play into things, or is this passage intended symbolically to refer to the present life? I read Revelation (not often, I admit, and recognize both the benefits and drawbacks of doing so) historico-symbolically, in that the book was written to distinct churches in the first century and that as apocalyptic literature, the fascinating imagery was not a code for end-times chart preparation, but veiled references to their settings and struggles. Yet it maintains relevance today in that the struggles of Jesus-followers in all ages can be seen through the book, which speaks ESPECIALLY to life in the earthly sphere, and that there's still truth in it, i.e. - the God of Jesus still 'wins.' (and the monster research issue arises as to how these books, written in first-century contexts to specific issues within those contexts, retain some measure of authority today...meet the remainder of Mike's life)

From this point, I began tangenting off, recognizing where I was, and thinking more about soul/death/afterlife issues, and asking how John's Gospel defines eternal life and knowledge of God, implicitly and explicitly, until, realizing just how far from Dort I had strayed, I called it a night.

And returning to the comments tonight, I realized that when it comes to the five points and supra/infralapsarianism, I don't care one bit. It's an argument in another sphere of christianity, about matters that really aren't that important to me, and why in the world would I want to put myself through writing about it? So I blog...while deciding what else to write about...

12:25pm, and after spending the 3 and 4 am hour wondering if I would sleep (and the 6-7:30 period phasing in and wondering if I had slept through the 8:00 exam and arisen at 12:30, the day has gone unexpectedly well. 8 saw Doc Thompson's exam, and I feel really good about it, especially the essays, having written a short essay on the significance of the moment of God-consciousness in Schleiermacher's Speeches, as well as one on Wesley's understanding of universal prevenient grace, and a longer one on John Wesley as an evangelical catholic. These two figures, I did not expect to appreciate, nor have as much in common with, as I do now, so that's another pleasant development. As for the rest of the test, the quotes and IDs weren't too shabby, and were respectable enough that I settled for answers, rather than adorned answers (ie - Karl Barth, who most likely wasn't wearing a yellow shirt while writing this; Emil Brunner, not the Rock, as some have surmised).

So that's that for the required church history sequence; I shall miss it, as well as Doc Thompson, among my favorite profs here thus far. Hopefully I'll be able to take another class with him in the future, be that in the classroom or directed reading-style, for he's been human, entertaining, and stretching, really pressing me to develop my thought and my writing over the past two quarters. I'd imagine he's teaching Presbyterian Creeds and Patristic Theology in the fall, the latter of which I've already taken the equivalent in the broader history track, but might be up for auditing if it's not full.

As for the rest of the morning, it's been most excellent. MK and I stopped by our boss' office at security on the way back, inquiring about when our keys for the switchboard were ready, and were treated to choco-pies and soda, as well as learning of the possibility for extra hours on Saturday, parking cars at graduation. If I go through with it, it'd be a long day, emphasis on the 13 hours with that shift and then working security at night, before (hopefully) making it to Chris Pack's for the tail end of his grad extravaganza, but it'd be really nice to have some fiscal recovery from last week, when rent, the deposit for the new place, textbook needs, and groceries all hit within a five-day span.
As is, I do think this work-study job is going to go really well; I work two nights a week, and will have time to study while on the job, as well as having supervisors who are solid guys and won't make working under them a pain.

But on to the road, which is where Matt and I next headed, to Best Buy, for his external hard drive and my laptop power cord problem. I'm still under the warranty/service plan, so we put an order through with customer service, which I confirmed by calling the 1-888 number, and the parts are on their way. While in-store, I took the opportunity to use the gift certs mom gave me from the reward zone, and pulled some discs that had been on my shopping list for a while now (Reservoir Dogs, Wayne's World 1&2), the recently-released Return of the King DVD, and Tool's Aenima, which was strikingly sound music in 97, and has recently re-caught my ear. All this for under $20, and Mike was pleased to work this entertainment budget.

After these occurrences, I returned home to find that building services had come by while out and fixed the back door so that my key now works; as such, I no longer have to traverse through Todd's room to get to mine when coming home, but can evade that difficulty by using my door. Well done, guys, and that, along with fixing the shower, is the second issue they've fixed within one business day of request since I moved in ten back. Highest commendations all around.

I am currently in the spirit of giving props, but we shall see if the lunch destination merits such cred; Michelle and Eric are on their way, so their pick is of interest.
Until the next...