Fall Break

What a good break this has been.  I have not done a lot, but I’ve done a lot of it.  Today was a nice full day.  My Aunt and Uncle took my cousin to two of his friends’ birthday parties today.  While they were out I took liberty to rip out six holly bushes in the front yard.  I was hoping they wouldn’t notice, but it was the first thing they saw when they got home.  Actually, it was their idea, and I was glad to help them with quite a few projects in the yard today.  After annihilating the six holly bushes, I dragged them into the woods in the backyard.  Then I sawed a limb of a tree, moved the compost bin and circulated some of the decaying organic matter.  I also climbed twenty feet up into an oak tree to remove an old dead limb that was resting on another.  One last task of filling in a sink whole from a plant that was removed and seeding it with grass and it was time to clean up.  Mellow Mushroom Pizza for dinner was nice.  But I really liked the chance I got to Skype Hannah for a while after dinner.

I have some fun memories from watching last year’s World Series, and once again it lines up with my break here.  I was disappointed to see how badly the Giants beat the Rangers in game one, but they won tonight bring the current standing to Giants two games, Rangers 1.  We shall see how the rest of the series goes.

I feel pretty good about the amount of homework I’ve been able to get done over break.  I’ve read through the commentary for Isaiah and Jeremiah, and I’m working on Lamentations.  I finished outline a book for Dispensations class, and I organized Proverbs 16 into it’s poetical layout for Poetical Books class.

Tomorrow I’m going to church at Bible Baptist Church in Creedmoor, NC.  I visited BBC last Spring on the Ensemble Tour.  I’ve pretty excited to go back.  Then I’ll picked up again to head back to school.

 

John

Recap

Wow.  So much has happened, and it’s seems hard to believe that eight weeks have already passed.  In juxtaposition, thinking that only eight weeks of this semester are done goes against how long it feels.  In retrospect, here is a summation of these weeks. 

Concerning Academics:  I’m taking quite a few good classes this semester, e.g. Greek, Systematic Theology, Poetical Books, Missions History, etc.  Generally, I’m doing well in my classes, and my grades were good through Mid Terms.  I haven’t received a few of my tests back yet, and a couple of them are a toss-up in my mind what the outcome could be.

Concerning Work:  I’ve been working for the IT department at school with an upperclassman named Dan.  We have a great time in our little office planning the future of technology at school.  Interesting event: Last Saturday we were installing all our electronics in a rack-mounted enclosure to clean up out office space.  Upon reconnecting everything, our network was unable to access the internet.  Thankfully it was Saturday, so we didn’t mess up the faculty or teachers.  The students, however were ‘eager’ for us to get things working again.  I found it interesting that not many take notice of the IT guys until things are broken, and they can’t get on the internet.

Concerning Sports:  During the regular season I fearlessly coached our league to a 1-4-1 season.  Regardless, we made it to the Championship in the Third Place Game.  (Our school has four leagues.)  On the plus side, our third place game was probably our best game of the season, and we won after an eight-run comeback in the 6th inning.  (We only play to seven innings.)  After a tie at the end of the seventh, we scored in the extra inning winning the game.  We were amped.  I was glad to end the season in an exciting way like that.

Concerning Spirituality:  The Lord is really working on me this semester.  I’m having to trust Him in unbelievable new ways.  I read Psalm 27 last night; verse 14 says,  Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.  Waiting on the Lord and looking to Him for strength have been sort of the themes of my spiritual walk lately.  I converged on one particular passage in an interesting way recently.  In Major Prophets class we were in Jeremiah; coming up was the passage where Jeremiah goes to the potter’s house and receives a word of the Lord concerning His being the potter and in control.  Right around that time, a preacher spoke in Chapel on God’s Divine control from the passage about the potter.  Also in my personal devotions, I was reading through that portion of scripture about the potter.  The triplicity of my encounter with this passage has really kept alive in my mind and heart God’s care and control in my circumstances.  Here is one thing the preacher said that really stuck out to me: Once the potter starts to throw the clay His attention is never diverted, and His hands never leave the clay.  Pressure on the clay is the touch of the Potter (Pater) forming the clay the way He wants it.  Before any of that, though, the clay must be in the center of the potter’s wheel (Will).

Thank you so much for all your prayers and support.  Thank you also WBC College and Career for the thoughtful and timely care (share) package.

John

Winning Inning

I have been so busy lately; I apologize if you have check my blog frequently only to be disappointed by the same words that you have seen again and again.  So, here are some new words, and I gladly report that they are words of good news.  I know it may not seem like much to you, but I’m very exited.  The Patriot League has just won its first softball game of the season.  We had such a great day.  The weather was beautiful and cool.  We had a shortage of league members present, but thankfully we had ten present to fill the roster.  I was so proud today of how well everybody played.  We did not have a power hitting line up, but the consistency of our batters was very good.  I was also very happy with how well the ladies on our league did.  All in all, we had a great game, and I’m very encouraged.  My first win as a coach.  Not only did we win, but we won on a mercy rule.  We were up by 15 runs after four innings.  We have another game tomorrow against the undefeated Conqueror League.  I hope we can play at least as well as we did tonight then.  School is going well.  I’ll try to give you an update on all that this weekend.

John

Indicted

Here’s an interesting anecdote from class yesterday.  The teacher was speaking briefly on certain aspects of fundamentalist, pre-millennialist history.  He mentioned the Scofield Study Bible and asked who in class had one.  Then he asked the class an interesting question.  He asked, “Who do you think in this room would be the most likely to write another study reference Bible?” As I scanned the room to evaluate who I thought it would be, everyone else turned to me. Then, almost in unison, the rest of the class said that it would be I who would be most likely to write reference notes for a study Bible.  Who knows?  Maybe someday I will :D.

John

Take Off

Tonight was the first game of the softball season here at ABC.  Tonight the Patriots played against the Conquerors in a valiant struggle for dominance.  I have the slightly overwhelming privilege of coaching and organizing the Patriot’s softball team this year.  I did the best with what I had where I was, and we actually had a great game.  One interesting rule here is that at least three girls must play on the line-up or else the team cannot play.  Last year, finding enough girls to play was often a struggle.  Thankfully, this time around an abundance of athletic freshman young ladies have joined out league, so we will not have a problem filling our roster.  I watched and played tonight as the Patriots, on the opening game of the season, took on the power hitting Conquerors and held their own in one of the best games I’ve seen the Patriot league play in my entire school tenure.  We did not end up winning, but I’m encouraged about the season ahead and all the possibilities we’ll have.  Final score was 16 to 21, Conqueror’s game.  The nice thing is we weren’t blown away, and we scored more in this game than any other game in all of last season.  (I think this is an accurate statement.)

(Coach) John

Opening Revival, Personal Revival

Here I go again. I'm going to attempt to keep my blog somewhat updated this coming semester. I know that many of you that read this are praying for me, and you are interested in knowing how things are going at school and how God is answering prayers, especially ones for which you pray, in my life. This past week was Ambassador's Opening Revival week. Many people disagree with ABC's position to have a revival at the start of the school year; some even ridicule the school for doing this. I, however, am so glad that even at an institution of higher learning the preaching of God's word is afforded the highest priority. I know that I was certainly blessed this week, and not only challenged but changed by what took place during those special preaching services. I was also glad for the opportunity it allowed for me to sing with the Ensemble again in two of those services. One of the things I love most about being here at school is all the times I can use my voice and the talent he gave me to sing his praises and glorify His great name. Besides the revival, classes began in full this week with projects, test, quizzes, and memorization all in place.

One event sticks out in my mind from this week. I was in a 7 AM voice class (crazy, I know) and Doc was talking about the apparatus which is used to sing, the instrument of the human vocal system. When he mentioned that he quoted, Ps 139:14, "I am fearfully and wonderfully made." I deviated in my mind from the lecture for a moment and reflected on how amazing it is that I can be at a place that recognized God as the Creator and attributes rightly His works to Him even in a class about the voice; it's not even a Bible or Theology class. I love when the truths of God's Word leave the realm of theory and penetrate deep in the most practical of our lives' situations.

I've been able to work this week. I thank God and praise Him for the privileges He has bestowed upon me. But with the hours I work and the pay I receive, I know that I'm still not earning enough to pay for school in and of myself. I'm so glad that God does not call me to be sufficient of myself. But He says, "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." The preaching on prayer this week revitalized my trust in God to provide for me. I know He wants to give me good things more than I even know to ask Him for them.

John

Flash Back

I found this blog post that was still a draft and never published from when I returned to the States from Seattle. The reason for all the > is that whenever I would hit my shift key it would type that symbol as well. That happened after I spilled water on my computer in February of that year. I haven't had a chance to read through this or edit it, so I don't know what you may find. I hope you enjoy.

This is my first post since getting back and I really have put it off. Because comprehensive details on my trip in Korea and flight back to Seattle would take quite some time and energy to write I think I shall summarize it instead. I arrived in Korea at approximately oh five hundred hours with little more than an hour of sleep under my eyelids over the previous 24 hour period. I hit the ground running and didn't get any more sleep until the evening of the same day that I arrived. After dropping all our stuff off at the Oetman's and then left to meet up with our tour guides for the day Matthew and Sang Won. It was Sang Won's birthday that day so we went to an amusement part called Lotte World. It's was funky, freaky, and really fun. I went on a couple rides and some roller coasters multiple times. We waited in line for one ride that they said Kevin couldn't go on because he was too tall. I ate octopus or squid, I'm not sure which. And it was an hour long train ride to and from the park. The craziest part about that was that we didn't even leave Seoul after riding the train for miles and miles and minutes and minutes. On Saturday we went out to lunch with a group of Koreans from the church. >We had plans to do things but the inclement weather changed them for us. On >Sunday we had a great time at Brother Oetman's church and the message that he preached was really great about patience from James chapter 5. >After church we had a big lunch together with the whole church, according to Korean custom. I gobbled down the seaweed, broth, rice, beef, and shrimp with their shells and legs still on like it was my favorite food. >All the Koreans around were impressed. I even liked the kim chi. One girl went to the corner store nearby and got Kevin some chips and Pepsi. On >Sunday afternoon we played basketball with a young Korean guy named Joshua. I accidentally elbowed him in the face, broke his glasses, and scratched his cheek. He insisted he was okay. Then we thought we'd ask the people playing soccer if we could join them, but when we saw that it looked like and organized game we resigned ourselves to just watching. On Monday I went to >Starbucks for the first time in ten months. After I got my drink I bought some souvenir cups and they gave me free drinks with each cup. I got a second drink for myself and a second for Kevin, my first refunded, and two free drink coupons that had to be used in Korea. With the coupons we went again later after shopping. Besides >Starbucks we did a lot of shopping with Matthew and went to the Namsan Tower which overlooks Seoul from a hilltop. It was an amazing view and we didn't even have to climb the bagillion stairs to get there. After agonizing over what to get for each of my family members I was done and very tired. On >Tuesday we left for >Seattle. Customs and baggage claim, blah blah blah, customs again in >Seattle, blah blah blah.

Boy did it feel good to be back in the >States. >We flew from Incheon at 6:30 Tuesday afternoon and arrived in >Seattle 12:30 Tuesday midday. I travelled back in time! Since I only slept a few hours on the flight, and very poorly I might add, it's almost needless that I say I was really tired when I got back to America. But did we go home? No, of course not, we went to Pike's Place >Starbucks and a restaurant. Then we walked through the market and bought Mom flowers. All in all getting back home was a great experience I won't soon forget.

Since I've been home things have been a little slower, although I'm not just sitting around on my duff. I spent the first couple of days getting everything put away, which wasn't easy since all my storage space had been commandeered. After that I fixed my bike, which had gone into disrepair, and I worked on my car, which had gone into disrepair. >Since then I've tried a couple things that I'd hoped would get it going but nothing has worked. Just this evening I had it towed to someone who should be able to help me fix it. Then, last weekend, we went camping for three days. >Everyone was just so busy with things that I ended up with all the hard work right before we left. Camping was awesome. I was able to chill and relax almost whenever I wanted. I also found that I can still play Ultimate Frisbee. We played only once which was kind of a bummer, but it was hot and our field was only so-so. >We had a super great game and everyone was included; this was no elitist frisbee game. I also played disc golf and found that I still stunk at that just as bad or worse than when I left. >We drove in for church on >Sunday and Adam and I sung a special music and James played his viola for and offeratory. >They liked our song so much they asked us to sing it again for the evening service. We drove back for evening church and I also gave a testimony of my time in Mongolia. Monday we came home, then I started work on our house. It needs to be painted and re-roofed, but before that can happen the places of peeling paint need to be scraped. It need it most on the south side where it gets direct sun exposure all the time. The only problem with that is that while I work on it I'm getting a lot of direct sun exposure too. I was using sunscreen but I forgot to put it on my legs so now my calves are burned really badly. Ouch. Next week I'm going to paint trim with Mr. Martin then I think we're going to start primering our house towards the end of the week.

John

Back in the Saddle

Many may have heard the story of all that befell me during my time in Tennessee. My falling off horses time and time again was a humor to many. I fall off horses then climb right back on. In the same way I try to conduct myself in many aspects of my life.

Finishing my first year of college this spring was not exactly like falling off a horse, but it was the end of that first year’s ride. I am now back at school beginning my second year. It is much like being back in the saddle. Only the proverbial horse has not yet begun to gallop. This year is going to be challenging and changing in so many ways. I have more responsibilities now that I am the vice president of the Patriot league. My classes are no longer freshmen classes, so they will be more difficult. I hope to continue to work somewhere in order to pay the bills. In general I need to step things up to meet the challenges and obstacles of the new year. In everything I’m trusting the Lord for His strength, wisdom, leading, and help to be all I ought, learn all I can, and grow in all the ways that I should. Pray for me this coming year that all that the Lord has for me would be realized in my life. Thank you.

John

Riding the Wave

This week has been more challenging than I was expecting. I started classes on Monday and Tuesday and the workload was presented to me was particularly greater than that of last semester. I was overwhelmed a little, honestly. On top of all the homework, I had my finances staring me in the face. I really didn't know what I was going to do this semester to pay for school. Then again, this was the same situation in which I found myself at the beginning of last semester. God blessed me so much and helped me through then and I know that He will this time as well. I looked for a job all last semester and never found one; I suppose that was what the Lord wanted. This semester, because of the heavy workload, I wasn't really sure how I was going to get all my homework done if I did get a job. Despite all that I think I have found an opportunity for work that will provide me with about twenty-four hours of work a week, and I'm really excited. Even though the start of my week was really rough, these last two days have been much better and I've really felt encouraged. I've committed my way to the Lord and I'm trusting in Him. He is faithful. I don't know the future, but I have a Father who does.

John