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.