Something to Work On

One of my jobs at the bank is supporting the Blackberry environment. In fact, this is my primary job. We have ours set up so that if you enter your unlock password wrong 5 times the device will wipe itself out. This is a security measure in case you lose your device. As you might imagine, I spend a portion of each day helping users who have done this to themselves, despite all the warnings we give them.

One user is now on her fifth time doing this and I wasn't very nice to her to start with. She was clearly put out and rightly so. Then she went on to explain that she dreaded calling me because I was so condescending last time. That was news to me. I am not always as nice as I could be, but I really try to be positive with the users about the whole thing. I'll have to ask some of my other "frequent fliers" if they've noticed that with me. It certainly gave me something to think about.

That's about the extent of my navel-gazing on this, the 34th anniversary of my entry into the world.

Some Tozer

This was in my daily dose of Tozer:

For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will
of God, you may receive the promise.
--Hebrews 10:36

When God needs a person for His service-a good person, an effective
person, a humble person-why does He most often turn to a person in
deep trouble? Why does He seek out a person deep in the crucible of
suffering, a person who is not the jovial, "happy-happy" kind? I
can only say that this is the way of God with His human creation....

Ezekiel did not come out of pleasant and favorable circumstances.
The light had gone out in his heart. He probably thought that God
takes a long time to work out His will.

Does not this same view surface in much of our Christian
fellowship? We do not want to take the time to plow and to
cultivate. We want the fruit and the harvest right away! We do not
want to be engaged in any spiritual battle that takes us into the
long night. We want the morning light right now! We do not want to
go through the processes of planning and preparation and labor
pains. We want the baby this instant!

We do not want the cross. We are more interested in the crown.

The condition is not peculiar to our century. Thomas a Kempis
wrote long ago, "The Lord has many lovers of His crown but few
lovers of His cross." Men Who Met God, 115.

I think about how I live my life and this really resonates with me. I want to play the guitar, but I don't want to put the time into it. I want to know what is contained in so many great books, but I don't put the time into reading them. I want to understand Greek better, but I don't put the time into practicing it.

I am slowly starting to form some resolutions in my mind that I want to put down on paper (or at least a Palm Desktop memo). These would be similar to Jonathan Edwards' resolutions. I tried the Franklin Covey thing, but I think that resolutions might be more effective.

One resolution is to resolve to put in the time it takes to do what I have committed to do. Another is to maintain proficiency with anything that I have learned. I would hate to forget everything I've learned after 3 semesters of Greek.

Got Me Thinking

Take a read of this post from the Internet Monk. I feel pretty sure about nouthetic counseling. I really do believe that God's Word has the answers we need. I also am very wary of these mind-altering drugs because of their well-documented side-effects. However, it's hard to get away from the experiences that people share. Sometimes it feels so heartless to tell people that drugs are not the answer.

However, I realize that it is even more heartless to suggest that anything but Jesus is the answer. Nevertheless, I am glad for the challenge to my convictions. Perhaps they will soften over time.

Much Encouragement

I had an hour-long conversation with coworkers today about Jesus. This is a relatively new thing for me. It's something that I've spent much time praying for and now it seems to be happening. It turns out that most of my coworkers are basically relativists who are very ecumenical in their thinking. I like to think that I gave some cogent apologies for the gospel, but we'll see if any fruit comes of it. I'll also be interested to see if I get treated any differently.

My seminary dropped something of a bombshell on me with a letter I received yesterday. It turns out that they are moving toward day classes. Starting in the fall of 2009 they will offer first year classes during the day. Then in 2010 they will offer first and second year courses during the day. By 2011 just about everything will be in the daytime. It's good to finally know when this is going to happen since all I got before was vague rumors from the faculty.

However, this puts me in a bit of a bind. I realize that I now need to take 3 classes per semester instead of the 2 I've been doing. I'm going to start this next semester by taking Biblical Counseling along with the second semester of Old Testament and the fourth semester of Greek. I think I'll be OK, though I suspect I'll be spending more time in the library. I'm afraid of the strain that this will put on Amanda. Fortunately, my Thursday night class is only from 6-8 PM instead of 6-9. Hopefully I'll be home in time to put Lily to bed this way.

The good news about all of this is that I now have a real end in sight. If I get some credit for the work I have done with SCF I could theoretically be graduating in the spring of 2010 if not the spring of 2011. Of course, this also depends on what courses are offered in the summers. Not being able to take one of my required courses last summer hurt a little bit, but we were kinda busy once Noah was born. I think I made the right choice.

This also puts the specter of career change front and center. It's hard to believe that in 3 years I may have a completely different job. Speaking of my job, I've been more upbeat about it lately. More on that tomorrow.

Buying Time

Is anyone left out there? I feel badly leaving the blog for 3 weeks. First there was OSU-Michigan, which turned out well, but ate up a day. Then there was the long Thanksgiving week. Then there was the week of catching back up. Here we are now.

I've decided that I need to reclaim some of my time. One way I'm doing that is by reducing my workload with SCF. I'm now going to focus on The Lord's Table and mentoring there. It's tough because I always considered the purity course to be my "core competency," but I know that I have to let some things go. It's really been a pride thing, I think.

Speaking of purity, I know that at times I am on the edge with this. I have lost the fervent zeal that I once had. I think that I've become complacent in my freedom. By that I mean that I forgot what it was like to keep up the shields all the time. I can feel little chinks forming in the armor.

Also, speaking of time, I may very well be taking 3 classes next semester. My school is going to start transitioning to day classes starting in 2009, so I'd better get a move on with all my core classes. I hope that I can finish and keep working at the Bank.