Spring Break Review

My school starts early in the year but has its spring break at the same time as the county's elementary schools so that the profs can have vacation with their families. As a result, spring break started Thursday and Friday Kyle and I went to the First Friday party he has with his friends he graduated with. The drive there was lovelier than usual, as Kyle took the 'back way,' or the more windy, hilly, country-side-and-wildflower filled way, because he knows how much I love over-hill-over-dell routes :-D

The First Friday party was refreshing and fun :-) It is made up of graduates from the same Christian College Kyle went to. Several are getting their Master's degree but a couple have settled down into their jobs - such as teaching Jr. High or Spanish. Our conversations ranged from goofy to serious to ridiculous to ridiculous plans morphing into actual plans for future First Friday parties. Kyle spent the night at his friend's cabin in the woods (which could be a show-home for Bass Pro Shops or Scheels) and I spent the night at our First Friday hostess' house. She and I talked for a while after everyone else left and caught up on what was going on in each others lives. It was very encouraging without the sour aftertaste of condescension or stress of having to acknowledge each others 'council'. Simply sharing and encouraging and listening. Haaa so refreshing!

The next morning Kyle's Brazilian friend picked me up and took me to the cabin in the woods where Kyle and his host had cooked the four of us breakfast. There was bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, biscuits, coffee, and orange juice. It was delicious however I couldn't help but laugh that it was made up of three proteins and a carbohydrate. It was GOOD, but definitely man-food ;-) Really delicious man-food ;-)


Came back to the 'Ville for Easter and checked on my plants. The house plant is from my friend's mother and then I bought the two herbs - basil - while grocery shopping. I took them with me later on in the week but the one basil for whatever reason died and half of the other one died. So I went back to the grocery store at the beginning of this week and replaced the basil. I was a little disappointed, as the first one had really cool variegated leaves, but this one didn't. To make it up to myself I found lemon verbena and rosemary so bought those too. I found a bunch of pots in the basement of the house I'm renting (with 4 other girls!) and planted lavender, sweet peas, columbine, peas, cucumber and lettuce in them. The lettuce sprang up during spring break and a few of the beans have as well! Confession I am super excited. I will confess I've put lots of prayer into them that I don't kill them as the year goes on!! :-)

I spent Easter with my very dear friends Amber and Mz Pat and Mr. Dudley. This is the third year I've done so and it was lovely as always. :-) Most of the guests are related to Mz. Pat, and then there's Amber and me, and also a Ethiopian lady Mz. Pat met at a Brazilian restaurant. I pigged out on the homemade dip for the chips in the kitchen while Mz. Pat and her daughters prepared the lunch and Amber and I updated everyone on the latest drama, gossip and frustrations at school (we're terrible, cynical seniors. I hope we'll be more grateful once we graduate... but we'll see)

I thought I had a training for my new job on Monday but it turned out it wasn't until Wednesday of this week, so I picked up my plants and dirty laundry and headed south to my boyfriend's parent's house for the week of Spring Break. Its the second time I've been there this semester, so it was good to be back after so long. Glorious days of sleeping in, going to bed early, and getting homework done. Monday Kyle surprised me and took me to Natural Bridge.

We bought ski-lift tickets after Kyle gave me strict instructions that we would not be buying any of the homemade, fresh, delicious looking fudge the gift shop advertised with a vengeance. After we got to the top of the bridge he asked me if I wanted to go on the trail to the right, like everyone else, or the one to the left, which no one was on. I decided to go to the left. Well, the lady down in the gift shop told us the trail to the right took about an hour to hike on. The trail to the left however was not mentioned. Three hours later we made it back to the parking lot where the car was. :-D Oh well. We like adventures and scenic... isolated... places :-D

Tuesday Kyle, his parents and I got all dussied up and drove to Louisville to see one of my favorite music groups:

It was funny because Kyle took me there a year ago when they were in town but we weren't dating yet... so lots of 'remember when,' or 'did you ever think a year ago that...' :-D

Wednesday we drove to Nashville to pick up my car from Pap, who'd been trying to figure out why the power steering on my car was capriciously going out. He got the air conditioner fixed but apparently the part needed for the steering is not made anymore and located in an area exTREMely difficult to get to. So I'll just be building my arm muscles whenever I drive unless they find a junked car and a very adventurous mechanic ;-) I was able to get reading done for my Interpreting Wisdom Literature class :-D Kyle's parents and I went to see the high-school rendition of Grease Thursday night, and Friday Gail and I both had some kind of stomach flu. Despite this I started and finished a book and wrote a book report for my book report, and got some writing on another paper done. So all in all it was a good Spring Break :-)

Job's blessing

I am taking an "Interpreting Wisdom Literature" class and my professor is somewhat brilliant. The class lecture today was fairly profound and very helpful; I wish I had heard this two years ago, however God in His Sovereignty decided to give it to me know.

I apologize for the length, but I hope it helps and instructs and convicts you as much as it did me. Enjoy!

March 20, 2012

Epilogue of Job 42:7-17 – God tells the three friends to ask Job to pray for them because God would accept Job’s prayer on their behalf. Job was blessed and comforted from all the evil that the Lord had allowed upon him. The Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than the earlier days. The daughters are named in the text, and given an inheritance like their brothers and noted to be the most beautiful women in the land.

When you read the summary of the restoration, the extent of the wealth, the data about his age, and the length of life; the thing in Scripture closest to the way the story of Job is wrapped up, what is most like that is the summary statements about the most important of the characters in Genesis. Particularly the summary statement of the life of Jacob. With the life of Jacob being told to us in segments of his life, and then when he dies virtually the same kind of summary statement.

But to talk about this final text, Job has seen that there is an experience more exquisite and more intense than even the harshest suffering and that experience is the presence of God in Job’s life. He recognizes at the end that this is the one thing that can never be taken away. When Job saw the Lord, and the Lord spoke to them, Job realized that the realities of life are far more complicated than are the generalities, the probabilities, and the wisdom; even the great wisdom collected by the wise and passed along. When we dip into this epilogue at the beginning, it begins with God’s verdict. And the verdict of God is that Job was true in his observations about the Lord; whereas making traditional wisdom fixed and inflexible yielded false assumptions and resulted in slander of God Himself – not to mention Job.

In Job 42:7-9, here is intercession. The first step in the restoration of Job was his intercession on behalf of those friends who had deepened his grief as he had to absorb those accusations of great sin; and rather than grieving Job was figuratively backed into a corner where he was forced to refute what he knew to be false.

This first step in his restoration was to renew his lifestyle of intercession. Prior to his great loss, the major focus of Job’s life was intercession. Look back and read Job 1 and 2. Takes a couple of minutes and then you know come back to what we are talking about now, and you will probably recognize the very careful inter-leafing of all of this into a seamless fabric. Prior to the loss of everything Job’s daily routine consisted of serious intercession on behalf of every one of his children. That intercession has been lost to him. I think it is probably not the least bit difficult to recognize the profound nature of all of this trauma; and to realize that not only did Job loose his children and his possessions, but he also lost the fundamental fabric of his life. So not only is he bereft of all that he loved, you know I suspect that he could see no way forward and certainly he could see no way back; believing his life to be forever changed.

One of the echo’s of Job found in this epilogue is the phrase, “My servant Job,” which repeats the designation of Job by the Lord in chapters 1 and 2. And Job learns that being the servant of the Lord involves an intimate relationship with God. And the Lord affirms the centrality of intercession in Job’s life. He can no longer intercede for the children he has lost. He must intercede even for those who have heightened and intensified his suffering.

Now can you see how seamlessly this can segway into the character and the conduct of Christ, and the fact that the Lord demands of His people that their character and conduct must reflect the character and the conduct of God. In terms of the length of this epilogue practically half of the verbiage is a somewhat detailed description of those things the friends of Job do to repent, plus the efficacy/ethic-acy of the intercession of Job. “I will forgive you when Job prays for you.” The beatitudes. You know, the specific details of beatitudes are reflected in Job’s own belief and behavior. And you know, make it a point to read the beatitudes as you reflect on this epilogue.

The Great Grief of Job gave way to additional wounds by those who had a duty to comfort Job. But the restoration of Job which is the remainder of the book – 42:10-17 – the restoration came once Job was as gracious to those who did not deserve it; as gracious as God Himself is gracious. Commentators including ancient rabbi’s and fathers of the early church have frequently made much of the fact that when the Lord restored Job, Job received double of everything that was taken away. Often commentators have observed that this is God’s equitable repayment to Job. If you read the Law of Moses, there is a system of repayment and reparations that often add value to the value of what was lost. For instance, if any kind of crime – crime against property, or crime against persons – when that kind of debt was repaid, it was repaid plus a premium – value added to that. And sense Job’s loss of everything was undeserved, and was a direct result of the activity of the adversary, that when God repaid Job, He added a premium to it. As they say in the trade, that’ll preach.

But all that fails to recognize that God did not owe Job. And that everything that the Lord ever did for Job was gracious and merciful. And so while that will preach, the reality is that the Lord makes no guarantees about life, and far less do the promises of God guarantee wealth and power, or even happiness. I am sure that Job always wished he could understand all of this. But he now knows that he will never understand. He did, however, learn by the harshest of life experience that God can always be trusted.

So Job 42:10-17: The Restoration! The Lord restored Job when Job was gracious to the undeserving. Even when restored, Job still needed comfort and consolation. And his family and his true friends provided that. Never again would Job fail to recognize the intensity of the sufferings of other people. As long as he lived, he had those ten graves to visit. He probably never wasted any opportunity to demonstrate love, compassion, support, encouragement to those who were in need, and to those who suffered.

The answer to all of his ‘WHY’ questions was ‘There is no answer.’

All that remains is the presence of God, and Job learned that that was enough.

Ever after, Job lived content in the knowledge that God would ultimately bring him safely home. One of the greatest preachers in Baptist history was a 20^th century pastor and revivalist named Vance Havner. Let me recommend the website www.vancehavner.com which is maintained by a friend and admirer of Havner. And while you are at it, let me recommend a companion site: www.2prophetu.com .

Vance Havner and his wife were childless. After his one pastorate, which was First Baptist Church of Charleston, S.C., for the rest of his life, Vance Havner’s ministry was itinerant. And the economic reality being what it was, it was seldom possible for Havner’s wife to travel with him. This story is fleshed out in Havner’s little book, ‘Though I walk through the valley.’ In the book, which Havner wrote after his wife died, he said that no matter where he was, every day that he traveled for that period of forty four years, every day he was away from home, he had a letter from his wife. You know he wasn’t sure how she managed that, except that she learned what typical delivery time would be for mail. Now it may seem like a radically different world, but during much of Havner’s career, he could not afford to make a lot of long-distance phone calls. So the primary contact with her for all of those decades was by mail. After forty-four years of marriage, Havner’s wife died. He outlived her by many years. And in that book, he wrote with such tender grief what all of that was like. What you might call the ‘punch line’ to the book was his statement near the end of that book. ‘It is easy to say that Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have. And then you realize that Jesus is all you want.’

Lessons from Job:

1. God never stifles a sincere question. But often He leaves them unanswered.

2. Learn to tell God how you feel, and be honest with God. He can take it. But remember who you are talking to.

3. Some answers will never come. Do not promise people that one day their questions will be answered. That is simply not true.

4. In every crisis, God can be trusted.

I think when I reflect on this I think of the words in part of a hymn, which has within the hymn this lyric: ‘Even when you cannot trace His hand, you can still trust His heart.’ If life has never dealt you the kind of blows that make you want to shake your fist in the face of God and demand an explanation; if that has not happened, it will.

Let me recommend a couple of authors:

David O. Seamands: Methodist pastor, professor, has got to be really old by now, if he’s still living. But he wrote several remarkable books that address the subjects, address situations of great pain, loss, and sorrow. They are remarkable. The first of those and the last time I checked, this one book had sold close to a million copies. I haven’t checked for 20 years. The title of that book is “Healing for damaged emotions.”

Archibald Hart: Arch is a professor at Fuller Seminary in California. I had the privilege of taking a couple of courses at Fuller’s extension location in Honolulu. Hart articulated some things that made a radical difference in not only in what I understand but in my own life. It is the theory of Hart that for believers, the most difficult aspect of suffering and loss is learning to forgive God. He is a Ph.D., he is a fully credentialed psychologist, and Arch says that having a robust faith in God can make the great trauma’s of life harder to deal with; because the believer knows that God can do whatever God wants to do. And so, you know, if you are the least bit orthodox in your own Christian faith, then you realize that either God allowed what happened, or God willed what happened. And if in fact God is God, what’s the difference? Because whether you explain things by saying, “God willed it,’ or saying ‘God allowed it,’ if in fact God possesses all real power, what is the difference? And you know Dr. Hart who also his wife as well is a fully credentialed psychologist, and the two of them are practicing psychologists in addition to his work as a professor. They believe that ordinarily people do not realize that they are angry with God. Because after all, this is something we are brought up – that’s a foreign concept. But he says that unless and until one recognizes anger and resentment against God, acknowledges is, owns it, and processes it by forgiving God, that they can never move past that point and become genuinely health emotionally and spiritually again.

You know I believe that they are correct. Emotions and no emotions are anymore visceral than is that complex of emotions that results from traumatic events – great loss, great suffering. The fact is that those emotions often have a life of their own. And it is an illusion to think that you can talk yourself out of all of the trauma that accompanies great loss. No. You have to live with it, you have to endure it, and you have ultimately you have to recognize it for what it is. And from a sincere heart, forgive God. In the great trauma’s of life, knowing that perhaps you should not feel a certain way doesn’t change the way you feel. You know I was very careful to question Archibald Hart in private as well as in public to be sure that I understood what he suggested. He was not suggesting that one should ask the Lord to forgive them for being angry with God. No, he was saying the individual must ultimately freely forgive God. And you know I think he is right; he has not written nearly enough about this but I have not laid eyes on him for 20 years. So he may well have published something in the meantime.

If in fact God is everything we believe He is, and if God is as the Bible presents Him, then it does I think, the more sound someone’s personal doctrine of god is, the harder it is to reconcile the great tragedies of life with God as we believe Him to be.

So Lord willing we will do something other than Job tomorrow.

The Zoo

My boyfriend was able to come up for Sunday and Monday. Sunday we went to the Deaf Church together and I embarrassed him when the pastor was going over a list in Ecclesiastes about earning money. "We could earn money," he signed, "or we could steal it." he was going to go on to say borrowing as well (this was not a list of stuff that he was encouraging, he was just listing options before saying the most godly option was to earn by your own sweat) when I signed, 'Careful! He's a cop!" and pointed to Kyle. The whole church erupted in laughter and lots of handcuffing signs were pointed at Kyle and whatever church members were not in favor with the person signing. It was hilarious. Then on Monday he took me to my internship luncheon. It wasn't very filling so we went to the restaurant where we went on our first 'date' before we were dating and then he took me to the Police supply store to get his Pap some boots that were on sale. He found some for me too, and now I have my first ever work boots from a police store! I'm wearing them right now and they are SOOO comfortable!

Then we went and picked up my friend Amber and went to the Zoo! We've been talking about it for months, and finally the day was fine enough we decided to do it.

Seems like every zoo I go to, there are always Peacocks running around. Is there some kind of law about that?
Comparing our hands to gorilla hands. Dey be huge, man!



There's this youtube that's gotten really popular called 'man on a buffalo.' Its these guys singing over a very corny 70's show about a man who rides a buffalo and rides around doing various heroic and hippie-esc things (like riding a buffalo for example.) There is also a statue of a buffalo in South Dakota of a buffalo that has been the prop for many pictures of me with friends and family over the years. So we decided that we just had to use the opportunity to continue with the good memories of buffalo statues, while singing, 'Man on a buffalo!"


Amber and I being Flamingo's. Pretty convincing, right?

OK so there was this old clunker van in the Africa section demonstrating what one would ride in if one went on a Safari. I told Kyle we HAD to go ride in it because it would help him get his feet wet in overseas travel and missions. He refused and I dragged and pushed him. Well, the poor man was trying to comply rather quickly and ended up bashing his head on the rim of the van door. :-((( So... this was me trying to cheer him up and him trying to look perturbed. Isn't he cute when he's steamed? :-D

Amber was a far more willing partner in crazy van photos.
It feels like pictures in front of signs marking the area one is in are a must, however there is rarely a good, natural, or fun looking photo in front of said signs. This is Kyle and I with the sun in our eyes after a VERY fun two hours at the zoo with our dear friend Amber!!!

And this is us at Logan's Roadhouse afterward. Mr. K had a gift card and I had never been to a Logans. And I keep craving steak these days. Its a very expensive craving, however I am blessed to have a boyfriend who dearly loves his steak as well. We got ours medium done and he said that it still wasn't as good as the steak I made him for his birthday :-DDDDD
And that was our day at the Zoo. :-)

Deliciously flippant

Tis the start of my final semester! In two weeks I have a presentation for my Apologetic's 3 class. I am leading a 2-hour discussion on David Berlinski's "The Devil's Delusion." This wonderful piece of literature is an eloquent rebuttal to Richard Dawkin's "The God Delusion."
Berlinski is a liberal Jew who received his degree's at Princeton and now lives in Paris. He was interviewed for Ben Stein's "Expelled" and is as humorously dry and cynical in his interviews there as he is in his book. I've only gotten through the preface and the first two chapters but am loving it.
I've been accused of being flippant about serious things in the past. I've wondered if that is actually the case and if so, where it comes from. I wonder if my 'flippancy' is derived from my appreciation of the British psyche. If you notice, they are often 'flippant' yet eloquent when dealing with serious topics that they feel strongly about. I appreciate this because I feel as though I am constantly surrounded by people who take things so seriously to the point of it being oppressive. A little flippancy and light humor is desperately needed in my humble opinion. Hopefully I also capture the eloquence.
I'm not perfect at this approach, and so I'm sure my intentions have come across in the wrong way in the past, and for that I am sorry. However my goal that I am still striving for is to bring a little lightheartedness amongst people who constantly take themselves entirely way too seriously.

Anyway... back to the original topic at hand: If you get a chance, read the Devil's Delusion. Its well worth the read. I haven't finished it, so I can't say I agree with everything the author puts forth; but the mental exercise will help keep your brain in shape ;-) As well as give you some great apologetics against the modern scientific atheist!

~Princess Ouch~

Fall

Growing up mainly West of the Mississippi, tree's were a rare commodity. There might be one solitary tree changing colors with a pathetic pile of leaves surrounding it, not worth raking up. So the vibrant myriad of golds, reds, and browns splashed across the city and countryside has been a glorious feast for my eyes. Its hard to believe that I only have one more week of classes and then finals, and then I'll be halfway done with my Senior year of college!!! Next semester I'll only be taking three classes and Choral, or at least that's the plan. But I'll also be focusing a little more hard-core on my internship with the Kentucky WMU ministries to international students. I have had lots of opportunities to hang out with International students through the Seminary, and a few off-campus with some sweet Turkish ladies who feed me and my fellow classmates very well. ;-)

I've also had time to hang out with my significant other about once a week. He's been very good about gently reminding me to stay on top of schoolwork, but also making fun times during breaks. He bought tickets to see my family over Christmas break. We're both excited, although I suspect he's a little apprehensive about the cold. Since he's never lived above the Mason-Dixon line nor West of the Mississippi, so the extremity of the High Plains will be a new experience. However I am confident that he will rise up to the challenge with excellence as always ;-)


I have FINALLY got my internship sorted out, and this weekend has been a very fun experience of jumping in without much training and getting to interact with 450 odd students from over a dozen countries, most of which being the Middle East and Asia. I must say I was a little intimidated when I had to be a co-leader for a small group. But once again the glorious dynamic kicked in that I have encountered before: international students are far more open and curious about religion and faith conversations when they are over here than when they are in their home country. Its been fun watching them grow from shy introverted quiet creatures looking around with thinly veiled curiosity, to exuberant chatty teenagers making friends and memories.



Another funny thing this weekend is that Cambellsville University brought three vans of students and leaders, and a couple of them have been folks I've already met through my boyfriend. I only met them once before, so we've spent a few minutes doing double-takes across the conference room before walking over to one another laughing. My internship supervisor, MaryAnne, and I went exploring during the break and discovered a few little shops that are a flea-marketer's dream come true. The majority of the stuff wasn't really worth stopping for, but then there were a few reeeeeeally cool finds tucked away here and there (like the amaaaazing home made fudge from scratch. We stopped inside a western/gun/knife store for kicks and the proprietor told us if we walked across the street and told the lady he sent us, she'd give us a 10% discount on her fudge, which she did! And I am savoring the chocolate-mint fudge as I type) which made it all worth it.



So that's whats up with me. I'm hoping next semester I will be more diligent about blogging, but I think I always say that. Oh well. If you want more regular posts go to my Mom's blog (http://goldengrasses.blogspot.com)


One of the fun things about blogging, though, is it gives me a chance to see why I'm always so tired. I do a lot! And its fun. Someone asked if I was looking forward to graduation, as I'd get a chance to slow down and not do as much. Ha. A dear friend of mine graduated last May and she's been going non-stop with the ministry she is now working full-time for. Its looking like I may be in the same boat; there is a job-opening in a ministry that I'm applying for, and I'm hoping to start pursuing more education in ASL (American Sign Language) to be a certified translator. But we'll see; that's a way away. Right now my goal is to survive the two huge papers I have to write in the next week. :-)

Semester so far

Well, I logged onto my blog to make a quick update, and was distracted by a pop-up advertisement. It was an opportunity to give my blog a 'new and improved look.' I allowed myself a 10 minute distraction, clicking on different layouts etc. and finally decided to stick with the same-o-same-o. Sometimes the old ways are best. ;-) It looked cool but slightly confusing, so when I have time (HA!) I'll give it a more in-depth look.
In other words, midterms were this last week! Remarkably, I think I did alright on my exams. Surprising to me, given the fact that I was bedridden with a serious cold and then a viral inner-ear infection for two weeks, and not really myself trying to recover for going on two and a half weeks afterward. I have tried to stay on top of homework, but will give the glory and praise to the Holy Spirit directing me on which sections to focus on studying when trying to cram on the exams. :-)
Anyway. My professors have been saying some pretty funny stuff this semester, so I thought I'd quit moaning about my physical ailments and give you a peek at some more college humor. Hope you enjoy. Warning, though, we are NOT politically correct. So if you are part of any kind of rights group or take life too seriously or whatever, this post is not for you ;-) For those of you who go to this school, if you think you know who said these quotes you are probably right.

Anyone ever tasted a medicine that tastes like the lobby of hell put into liquid form? Oh yeah, some o'yo momma's washed your mouth out with soap? Yeah. Yeah, some 'o you know the pain of repentance and how it tastes!

Student: Oh my gosh, we sound NERDY!
Prof: Hey hey hey, who said the 'N' word in my classroom?
Student 2 : C'mon, man, I embrace it!

I'm from the South, so I may say stuff that ya'll don't git. That may be one of 'em.
Here's the problem. We have a block class at 11:30. How many of you are from the South? And I don't mean Kentucky, I mean the REAL south? OKay those of you from the REAL south know that this is dinnertime. Right? 'Cause supper is at nighttime.

Prof: What do you say in the West?
Student: All ya'll.
Student 2: Well it depends on how far west. In California its just 'you.'
Professor: We don't count California as west! That's LEFT coast!
Student 2: Hey. We voted proposition 8!
Professor: Yeah and the Mormon's helped you git it. That don't count.

Professor: I'm a HUGE college football fan. Fall is NOT a good semester to have me. I'll have extra credit questions on the exams based SOLELY on football.

You don't have to read the entire book. You'll just read 98% of it. So skip the preface, skip the index, you'll be good. That was an attempted joke. Go 'head, ya'll can laugh. Good. Ya'll can pass.

If you really love someone, and they feel that you really love them, you can teach them anything!

If you fall asleep in my class I may very well make fun of you. I will find the biggest book I can find and drop it right next to your sleeping head- from ten feet in the air if I can. You will wake up, shoot up, shout up, maybe even throw up.

Time for some investigative research. Find out what time those professors, especially Dr. L, have class and which one of your friends are in it; and how many of them have cell phones they will leave on. If you breathe a word of it I will lie. I will put all the blame on you. And those of you who are sympathetic to Dr. L, I will find you out. Unless you post another video of him dancing on Facebook.

Professor: There are men who read the Scripture, and I know they love it as the inerrant word of God. But it is a good thing I know it ahead of time because I never would have guessed it by the way they read the Bible.

Professor: I have six daughters. Our most recent one is probably last, as my wife has gotten old on me.
Student, also Prof's daughter: I'm tellin' Mom on YOU, Dad; tellin' people she's old!
Prof: I will fail you in this class if you do!!

Good teaching is communicating through personality; transformation/formation of Character, not the transfer or acquisition of information.

Why is he quoting David? 'Cause back in that day, David was the MAN. It'd be like walking around here saying, 'Well John Piper said..." or "McArthur said," or 'insert your favorite puritan here said."

Student: That's like, white trash gourmet!
Student 2: That's the caviar of the south!
Prof: Well, there are more deer than people in Kentucky. Its like Baptists in Texas - more Baptists than people!

Did you think you'd get an hour and a half discussion out of ten pages? That's what happens when you let a philosopher on the loose!

That may sound harsh but I am just telling you what the facts are. If all you have is head knowledge and no heart knowledge then you and Satan could be room mates.

Francis Schaeffer speaking of C. S. Lewis on a topic they disagreed on: Oh, if we could have talked, I'm sure he would have come around.

Tell me what that has to do with anything besides nothing!

Some of you are like, "John Piper said it therefore its the case." Its like the 67th book of the Bible.

If you ever feel that you are good enough for ministry you ought to reconsider.

Remember, throughout our lives, in God's sight there are no little people with little lives. Through God's grace little people with little lives can change the course of our society.

Ya'll are thinking too general. Think specifically, right? Start's with 'G' ends in "od.' Right. Had to find the right drawer int he filing cabinet for that one.

Yes, you should study for the glory of God. I know that hurts some of you a little bit. It doesn't mean you have to make an 'A' it means doing it to the best of your ability.

Anything is improved by friend bread crumbs. You know you're in for some good eatin' when the recipe calls for 2 cups of lard or butter.

Student: Can we use our Bible's on the exam?
Professor: Here's what I always say: I feel like if I tell you that you can't use your Bible I'll go to hell. So yes, you can use your Bibles!

You are so engaged in kicking yourself in the proverbial spiritual rear-end... actually... I guess a spiritual rear-end is not so proverbial...

Now, I know you've got a lot of homework... but good lord, go outside!

Two more points on the outline and then we're done with class for the day. The time of your jail-break is coming! The end is near!

I can't wait until I'm 110 years old because you can get away with saying anything and no one says anything because you are old! My wife is kind of nervous, because she's like, 'You know... you already kind of have no filter..."

We think that dressing like a certain community in Seattle is missional. I mean... I'm going to hear about this later but that's okay. We're going to do this. We're just gonna do this and take the blue pill... or was it the red pill? Well, whichever pill it was, we're gonna take it and go with it, and see what happens. Have you seen John Piper? The man is a dweeb! He is SO nerdy. He's worn the same coat, shirt and loafers, its like, GO SHOPPING DUDE! But some of you are really struggling that I just called John Piper a dweeb because you don't care what he wears, because he's so relevant! A powerful and passionate speaker and you love him.

Dr. B and Dr. J are self-professed Greek nerds. Thanks, I'll stay with being a self-professed evangelist-to-Mormons nerd. They can have their present infinitive craziness. I'll stick with Joseph Smith.

I really must confess... I really have no idea how we got on that tangent... Oh the sticky note hanging on my pant-leg! Next time just let it hang.

For the stoics, reason is kind of done away with. So where then do we find ‘the norm’? Can’t look inside yourself, that would be existential. Can’t do that for the sake of being good, because that teleological.There’s this thing out there called the World Soul. “Yeah ya’ll were like, ‘that’s what I wanted to say I was just afraid. Ddn’t want to dumb it down.”

Professor: Have ya'll heard of the Board of Education? Its a paddle for your B-hind. Or, have you heard the 'young man!' then heard your daddy whip his belt off? I take my belt off at night it still gives me shudders. I know ya’ll don’t do that in CA but in the South-
Student: Oh no, but we do use extension cords.”
Professor: Wow, plugged in? Fray ‘em a little bit and then git a little ‘nyeeeum!