Saturday, July 10th, 2010...6:08 pm
Autobiographical update, new look and name for the Blog
Because my studies at Christus Rex Study Center have kept me busy, I haven’t had the opportunity to do much in terms of posting.
Blog changes
Last night I decided to redesign the look of my blog and rename it. Â It is now called “Of the Way” which is a possible English translation of my last name. Â I borrowed the structure of Chris Pearson’s press row theme and customized it. Â I created the banner myself in GIMP while Shelley (an accomplished graphic designer and proprietor of Purple Line Design) only mocked my profound lack of skills a little bit.
Life
In the past couple of months we’ve gone on a couple of long-weekend trips. Â Memorial Day weekend we decided on a whim to go see Shelley’s brother’s Jake’s family and her sister Amy in Carbondale, IL. Â I got home from work and Shelley jokingly mentioned going to see them. Â I thought it would be an adventure, and within a couple of hours we were on the road. Â We drove all night and arrived at about 8:0o Saturday morning. Â Janelle had a ball playing with her cousins and we thoroughly enjoyed the visit.
Because we’re gluttons for punishment, we took another “ground red-eye” trip (departing at 6:oo p.m. and arriving at 10:00 a.m.) a couple of weeks ago to visit my family in New Hampshire. Â The visit went well. Â My mom’s side of the family had a reunion, so I was able to see nearly all of my aunts, uncles, and cousins. Â The night before we went back home, my grandparents came over and we played forty-fives. Â The return trip was brutal. Â We got to Cary at 3:30 a.m. and slept in the driveway of our friends’ vacant home. Â Then I had class for the Study Center at 6:30 a.m. and work at 8.
Speaking of the Study Center, I just completed my first year there. Â My last class was this past Wednesday. Â I am very thankful to Christ Church of North Carolina for their investment in me. Â The average cost (tuition and fees only) for an independent seminary’s M-Div program was $12,267 per year (and they are cheaper than university-affiliated and college affiliated seminaries). Â I paid $300 plus books, which is about 2.4% of the average seminary. Â Christ Church obviously didn’t profit monetarily from this. Â I am grateful for the work of Gene Liechty, Dell Cook, Â and especially Gregory Soderberg, who serves as the director of the study center. Â All of these people worked for far less than the going seminary professor rate.
I am scheduled to preach my first sermon on Sunday August 1, 2010 on Psalm 148. Â I’m not especially nervous in terms of the public speaking aspect of it, but I am a bit daunted by the weight of the responsibility. Â The session of Christ Church is calling upon me, a sheep, to feed the sheep. Â Who is sufficient for these things? Â May the Holy Spirit provide illumination that I may speak truth in the sight of God in Christ and that I might be used as an instrument to feed the sheep of His pasture.
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