Things that have been happening (with pictures)...

This is my small group from KCW working on the community garden in downtown Lexington with Seedleaf.



And this is me harvesting... kale? Or something green and leafy that I probably don't eat.




My friend Julie had a baby boy, named Jesse Cole Stevenson. He was born three weeks early on October 17 by emergency c-section, but he's doing just fine...




And finally, in November, I got to see Brian Jacques, one of my favorite childhood authors, speak and had him sign the ragged old Redwall book I bought when I was much younger.

And once again, I fail at updating.

It's been nearly a month since I've updated... sorry. So much for keeping people updated on what I've been doing. :) It's hard to believe the semester is heading for a close - I've got the rest of this week, then one more week before I get the whole week of Thanksgiving off, then one last week of classes and then finals week. By December 12, my first semester of school will be over. It's sort of crazy to think about, if I felt like I had time to think.

Though at the moment, things are somewhat quiet in preparation for finals. I have a huge final project for Hebrew that I need to be working on, in addition to what I have to do on a weekly basis. But I have to say that I've gotten used to my weekly assignments, and it doesn't feel as crazy now as the beginning of the semester was when I was just getting used to things. Next week is a little busier than this one, in that I have a test and several larger assignments and a group presentation, but in general it does feel like fairly smooth sailing to the end of the semester. It might not be this way in future semesters, as the classes I'm taking really aren't too hard. Not easy, but not as hard as a lot of the other classes.

I've signed up for classes for next year already - I'm taking a January term class, an inductive bible study of the book of Hebrews, which should be really good. It's taught by the same professor that is teaching my Matthew class, and I'm definitely looking forward to it. I'm a little disappointed not to have the longer break between the fall and spring semesters, but I think it will be worth it. For spring, I'm definitely taking Vocation of Ministry and Hebrew II (language, not book of the Bible), but the rest of my schedule is a bit up in the air. The way everything worked out (or didn't work out), I really need to take Old Testament and New Testament online - but the students who do all their work online take precedence over people who could (theoretically, if their schedule worked out) take it on campus. So I'm on a waitlist and won't know for certain until February whether I'll get into those classes... if they fill up with online students, I'll take Church History I - but hopefully there will be enough room for me to take it online. It would make my life a lot easier to be able to take OT and NT in the spring.

Either way, I do think the spring semester is going to be a little tougher than this one. Hopefully I'll still manage some time for fun and a bit of relaxation, though. I have been able to do that some this semester - Friday nights are usually homework-free (this Friday will be a Bond night ;) and I've managed to sneak in some pleasure reading here and there - mostly young adult books, but it's something. I discovered Literature.org which has copies of non-copywrited books available for reading online. They have about 20 or so authors (though they don't always have all the books for each author), and it's easy to hop onto there to read a chapter when you want to take a quick break. I've read some L.M. Montgomery, E. Nesbit, L.M. Alcott there... and then also I've been reading Mister Monday by Garth Nix - just a bit here and there, but I managed to finish it this Saturday. My brain sometimes needs something else besides reading more homework, and the YA books fit my "I need light reading" requirements very well. :)

And now it's time to pack up and head out to class. I like getting there early so I can claim my seat and relax for a bit before class starts... :)

Once upon a time...

there was a grad student who attempted to keep a blog. Whoops. The past couple weeks have been crazy-busy, as most of my midterms were these last few days. So the last couple weeks have been full of homework assignments and other things. I think everything went well, though - I got everything turned in, and my one in-class test turned out to be not so bad (after studying like crazy). Next week I only have a test (Method & Praxis), a paper (KCW), study questions (Method & Praxis), a worksheet (Hebrew) and an assignment (Matthew) due. It's sort of scary that I'm looking at that and going, "Hey, an easy week!"

This Sunday is the last part of our project for KCW. Two Sundays ago we spent the afternoon working in a community garden in downtown Lexington - pulling grass, spreading mulch, planting winter wheat, watering plants, and generally cleaning things up. I had a few minor hand injuries, but overall it was pretty fun. We had a good time together, and got a lot done in the garden. This Sunday we'll be digging/planting a garden for a lady in downtown Lexington.

In other news (which Dad insisted I put on my blog), I'm dating a guy (Shannon) who also goes to seminary. We met in my Method & Praxis class, and 'officially' started going out about a week and a half ago. (Happy, Dad? ;)

I've also started a Facebook, so if you're on there (and haven't already friended me or been friended by me), look me up. :)

...and some days you get dulcimers.

I've had some interesting conversations at seminary, but most of them are somewhat related to seminary. But on Saturday, while at the library, I took a break from studying and went down to a little room in the basement (has a tv, drink/snack machines, etc.) to relax for a few minutes. Already there was a lady who had graduated from the seminary a few years ago, and we fell into conversation. We covered politics and the debate, dulcimers and other stringed instruments, and reading.

The dulcimer was definitely the most interesting part of the conversation. She collected them for a while, though I think she only has one left. Apparently they're made differently in different states. In Kentucky, the body of the instrument is an hourglass shape, while in Virginia, it's boat-shaped, and in Tennessee, it's shaped like a box. Here, have a helpful picture-full website. She said they're usually plucked (though the website suggests the strings can be hammered as well), and it, to her, sounds like a stringed bagpipe.

I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

There's a shop that makes them in Berea, Kentucky - I'm tempted to go down there at some point just to see them. It really is funny what you learn and become interested in at seminary... sometimes it has very little to do with what you came for.

But speaking of classes, they're still going well, though definitely keeping me busy. Almost every spare moment is filled with homework - I spend a lot of time in the library... between classes, in the evenings after work and classes, on Saturdays. Since the library is closed Sundays, I've started spending that afternoon at the Panera nearest me. So I feel as though I'm keeping up with things, though midterms haven't hit yet. We'll see how those go in a couple weeks...

Minimal sleep, maximum homework

I spent most of the weekend working on a huge book survery of Matthew - overall structure, key verses/phrases, what can be deduced about the author and readers from the book itself, and general impressions of the book as a whole. All with verse references. I think my eyes were crossing trying read all of them on the screen and keep all of them straight. I probably typed out a good 500 numbers... at least. And then, of course, we get into class and he goes over his own books survey, which is fantastic and deep and so much more than what any of us probably did.

Of course, he's been working on this for 30 years. We had a week. :)

And we've got another assignment for Thursday - the same thing, except just on the first part of the first chapter of Matthew (the genealogy). Plus I have to finish reading a book for KCW, do a Hebrew worksheet or two (plus keep working on memorizing and learning the word structure), and do the reading and study questions for Method & Praxis.

I really think it would be a bit easier if I wasn't working. And it's not that I don't appreciate having a good job where I make a really great hourly rate (esp. for a part-time person) and get benefits... but it does cut into my homework and study time. I was up until 1am last night finishing up my Matthew and Hebrew homework - and almost every spare moment from the last week or so has been filled with homework.

I'm tired, and it's only the beginning of the fourth week! :) On the upside, though, I really do enjoy the classes and the learning. I just have to get this homework stuff under control... if that's even possible.

בּגּדּכּפּתּ

The name of my blog in Hebrew. I downloaded a Hebrew (and Greek, as well) font and transliteration program called Unicode. It's free, and can be downloaded here at Tyndale House.

Is it a sad thing that this was my excitement for a Friday night? :)

Class is cancelled... I guess...

Well, this is interesting. The professor for my Method & Praxis class didn't show up. We waited a while, then we all signed a paper to say who was there on time and slid it under his office door... then we left. I ran down to Registrar's just to let them know what had happened and make sure it was okay for me to leave - they said that yes, that was fine and they'd check to make sure everything was okay with the professor.

So - free class period. I'll be in the library, studying. :)

Tonight is KCW (Kingdom, Church and World) - my small group in that class has picked a 'kingdom project' (basically a service project in the community) to do. There's a company in downtown Lexington called Seedleaf, which plants and maintains organic gardens for restaurants, etc. However, they also do non-profit work - planting organic gardens for communities and less-privileged people for free. So we're going to plant a garden for an elderly lady - the initial work will be Sunday, October 19th, from 8am to 4pm, and then we're following up Saturday, October 25, from 8am to noon to check on her garden and do some harvesting in community gardens. We've been forging forward with the plans - so much so that we've forgotten to get approval from the professor for our project. But I'm not too worried, really... I think it's a good project.

Hegel: Twisting Your Brain Since 1800

You know it's going to be a bad set of study questions when the first one is: "Did you find Hegel impossible to understand, almost impossible, or were you able to understand most of the material?"

It was only 12 questions on a 17-page chapter (after 15 on a 9-page chapter on Kant), but wow, it took me hours to get through them. Of course, part of the problem was that he asked about things that he really didn't reference much in the chapter. Warn a girl when she's going to need secondary sources, will you? Maybe then I could have gone to the library (closed on Sundays) instead of using Google and crossing my fingers.

But I got the questions done, and in the end, I was almost glad for them, despite the huge amount of time they took this weekend. Once I was finished, I understood Hegel a lot better than I had after simply reading the chapter. Guess that's what grad school is all about.

Speaking of homework, that felt like all I did this weekend (though I dimly recall making it to church). Wrote a paper Thursday night (due Wednesday), wrote a paper Friday night (due tomorrow), answered 27 study questions on Kant and Hegel (75-word minimum for each question - in the end, I wrote about 3,000 words for those, plus 1,500 for Matthew, plus 600 for KCW - 6,000 words in a weekend... not bad), plus studying for my Hebrew quizzes this week and memorizing vowels and some grammatical rules.

Now I'm in the library - I've been here for three hours this evening already (and that was after working for 8+ hours today)... I've been studying Hebrew and creating flashcards for my first set of vocabulary (quiz on Thursday - and we had a take-home quiz that will be turned in tomorrow... I did that tonight), and then I posted my 27 answers to the virtual campus forums for my Method & Praxis class. Next, I'll be editing the paper I wrote Friday night - it's a review/response to the book Methodical Bible Study by Robert A. Traina.

Fortunately, the library is open until midnight, because I have a feeling I'll be here until then.

A man of experience is never at the mercy of a man with an argument. ~Rev. Anthony Graham

Chapel is held three times a week at Asbury - Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 11am. So far I've only made it to the Tues/Thurs ones, since I have a class that lets out right before chapel. Chapel has been good so far, but today was definitely the best so far.

Reverend Anthony Graham (pastor of, I believe, the East New York Wesleyan Church in NY) spoke today - he spoke on the Holy Spirit and the necessity of the infilling of the Holy Spirit. He's definitely the most dynamic preacher they've had so far, and his message was excellent. I'm not sure I've heard such a good message on the Holy Spirit since I've come to Kentucky. He preached on the guidance of the Holy Spirit and of healing - I definitely think it was an excellent sermon, and I'm hoping that there are more preachers like him that are invited to chapel this semester.

And not only was it a good service, but it was also somewhat amusing to have a Pentecostal preacher at a primarily Methodist seminary. These people know when to stand and when to sit and how to find the hymn in 3.2 seconds, but I'll be darned if they know how to move with the flow of a service. :) He'd make an excellent point and there would be silence, and it was obvious that he was used to much more reaction from his audience - but by the end he'd gotten into the habit of prompting us, and people seemed to be picking up on his cues very quickly... People here are just too used to being quiet in church, I think. Obviously, that's not everyone, but I'd definitely say the majority are used to sitting quietly in chapel and listening, not interacting with the preacher.

Really, though, it was the best chapel so far, and it was a pleasure to hear preaching on the Holy Spirit - something that I don't get nearly enough of here.

(If anyone is interested, Asbury Seminary does offer podcasts - go here for instructions - on past chapels... I do recommend downloading this service, as it was a good one.)

PhD Thoughts...

Classes today went well - I'm still enjoying them, despite the ton of homework. One interesting thing was that I managed to catch Dr. B (Dean of my school) in his office after my Hebrew class to talk to him about getting a PhD after my masters. He had a lot to recommend and discuss about it - basically he suggests attending a different school to do PhD work, and he recommended choosing a school that was from a slightly different tradition. Asbury is Wesleyan-Arminian, and Dr. B chose to go to Union Theological Seminary, which is Reformed, for his PhD. The reason for doing so is to give yourself a broader perspective on the various traditions in Christian studies. He recommends getting your masters at a place that you can trust to support your own position, but then branch out during your PhD. He talked about various programs, both in the US and the British Isles, which is a bit different.

The breakdown:

US - I would need 75-90 graduate-level credit hours to get into a PhD program. I would have to apply to get into a program, which, depending on the school, would be more or less competitive. I would attend some classes and do a dissertation. Where I would attend would depend on what I want my focus to be: Old Testament or New Testament. Some schools have stronger programs than others, and I would really want to investigate how strong the department's professors are in various subjects. For example, Princeton has excellent professors in both OT and NT, but Duke has one excellent professor who focuses on Paul. So really, it's very important to pay attention to the professors that you'll have before you identify where you want to attend. Some of the top schools are Princeton, Emory, Yale, Union, Notre Dame, etc.

England - They don't care how many credit hours you have, as long as you have a masters degree, so I could go there with my minimum 60 credit hours Masters of Arts in Biblical Studies and have no problem getting into a PhD program. Also, their PhD is entirely dissertation - no classes. You connect with a professor, ask them to be your advisor, and write your dissertation under their guidance. Dr. B even said that if you contact the professor ahead of time and you both agree that it would be a good fit in terms of advisor/student, the professor will often go to the school and ask them to let the student into the program. The programs are more diverse, apparently, and also less competitive. Top schools are Oxford and Cambridge (obviously); slightly lesser schools are Sheffield, Manchester, Aberdeen, etc.

So a lot to think about over the next couple years, and some research to be done. :)

On a less scholarly note, the Fredrickson Library Bookcart Drill Team. :D

You can thank my Hebrew class for the blog name...

The BeGaDKePhaT are the six Hebrew letters that are considered 'weak' consonants and that most often take a dagesh. I'm sure you all wanted to know that. But really? You try to find a decent blog name that isn't taken.

Anyway, I figured I'd need a place where people who wanted to keep up with what was going on in my life could, and a place where I could record for posterity the wild and wonderful happenings at seminary.

Currently I'm taking 4 graduate classes (12 hours) at Asbury Seminary: Matthew; Hebrew; Method & Praxis in Theology; and Kingdom, Church & World (KCW). So far, the 'ridiculous amount of homework' award goes to Method & Praxis, who required a two page paper to be turned in on the first day of class. Welcome to grad school. Hope you brought your completed homework. I've spent most of my weekend reading for that class, and squeezing bits of Hebrew homework in around it. Fortunately, I did read ahead this summer, so my reading for Matthew and KCW was completed a while ago. Otherwise, I'd be getting very little sleep right now.

OK - to catch you up to speed, I had new student orientation on August 28th and 29th. They kept us insanely busy, which I later realized was probably so none of us would panic at the thought of classes, which were approaching the next week. They split us all up into small groups with two leaders (students who had been at Asbury for at least a year) so we could get to know each other and at least have some familiar faces on campus later on - I enjoyed getting to know the people I was with, though we kept losing people. One person was sick, another was an online student primarily, so by the end we were down to three students, including myself, and one of the student's wife and kids, plus the two leaders. I think we were the smallest group by the end, but we had fun.

We had the weekend off, and then classes started on Tuesday. My Tuesday/Thursday classes are Matthew & Hebrew - both of which I enjoy very much. Wednesday (really long) classes are Method & Praxis and KCW.

Matthew: primarily a study of the book of Matthew, obviously, but also an introductory class in studying the bible methodically. Methodical Bible Reading by Robert Traina was an excruciatingly boring, yet informative, book that we had to read - a paper on it is due the 16th. So far, I don't really know anyone in that class, although this one guy keeps introducing himself to me because he can't remember my name. Dr. David Bauer, the Dean of my school (Biblical Interpretation and Proclamation) within the seminary, teaches the class, and is an excellent teacher. He is definitely the epitome of a stereotypical professor, though, with his odd, old suits, his flyaway hair (which I think he attempts to slick down), and his strange professorial manner.

Hebrew: a study of the language, most of which, at this point, involves memorizing the alphabet. It's taught by a Teaching Associate, who also takes classes, which gives me hope that one day either the Hebrew or Greek TA will graduate and I'll have a shot at getting a teaching position. Fingers crossed. In the first class, I discovered that someone I went to college with (someone I tutored in New Testament, in fact) was at the seminary and was in both Hebrew and Method & Praxis with me, so I'm meeting people through him and am generally more social in those classes than I am in Matthew.

Method & Praxis: relates method to practice in theology. Right now we're studying the development of theology and doctrine in history, with an examination of philosophers. Leibniz is, so far, my favorite philosopher and Christian apologist. Of course, it's only the first week. I am enjoying the reading for this, though I will say that I've read all weekend for it - managed to finish the reading, but now have to go back and answer the study questions. This is definitely going to be my hardest class.

KCW: This class is a mixture of things. From the catalog: What is the mission of the church? Behind this question is a cluster of related questions, the most important focused on the nature of God's creative and redemptive purpose (as this is expressed in the biblical story), its ongoing expression in the world, and its consummation in the eschaton. Participants in this course will explore how the church might discern, embrace, and participate in God's own mission. So pretty much, we read a variety of books, most of which I've enjoyed and one of which I hate so far. I know two people in class - one was in my group at new student orientation and another I met at the preview weekend last spring. But part of the class is that we're split up into small groups that will meet each week for discussion and prayer, and will do a service project together and present a project on our project toward the end of the semester. So I should get to know the people in my group much better as time goes on.

And those are my classes. I'm also working 16 hours a week as corporate minion... I mean, legal assistant, and will definitely be packing a lot of work into those hours while I'm there. Between classes and homework and job, I'm definitely going to be very, very busy.

But hopefully I'll find some time to update on my progress, and maybe include some funny stories as well. :)