If there’s one thing that makes the good people of Pennsylvania panic it’s snow! I’m amazed at that their respect for snow. They’ll even preemptively cancel school or activities if there is the slightest chance of snow.

This morning I woke up to a white blanket of snow and a “School Closure” posting on the seminary website. All classes are cancelled today! I get to stay inside today with my new best friends Herman Bavinck and Francis Turretin — both reformed theologians whose work I’m reading for Doctrine of God.

In honor of my snow day, I present from seasons of grace by mark a. noll his poem Snow . . .

Snow

The snow floats down, fluffing the city to death.
Children and those at peace like sails
catch the surge, mastered giggle-like, and roll
into the snow across the wide, wide spaces
white; the wraith – lovely, inscrutable – calls.
Cars begin to sputter and curse; one by one
withered white they die
as buttoned, capped, and booted, you and I
go dancing, tromping, dancing by,

Where ever you are today stay warm and enjoy the coming weekend.

Sorry for the lack of regular updates. It seems I never have enough time for everything. I started Spring Term earlier this month. I have a full schedule of 13 credit hours. Plus, I’m still working 25 hours per week. When I’m not in the office or in class I’m often found in the Westminster or Arcardia Libraries. But, I thought I’d take a break and give you the run down on my classes*. In no particular order, I’m taking:

Introduction to Pastoral Counseling with Dr. Ed Welch
Topics covered include how to build a counseling relationship, how to gather and interpret data, how to function as an agent of repentance and how to guide and assist others as they seek to apply change to daily life.

Gospel Communication with Dr. Tim Witmer
Topics covered include a biblical theology of preaching and gospel communication; the spiritual principles of proclaiming the gospel; the form of the message; studies in text and theme selection, exegesis, structure and delivery.

Mission of the Church with Dr. John Leonard
Topics covered include a biblical theory of mission, issues in world evangelization, building a missions program for the local church, contextualization, education and the church, curriculum design and building evangelistic outreach for the local church.

Doctrine of God with Dr. Scott Oliphint
Topics covered include revelation, names and attributes of God and God as Trinity.

The Medieval Church with Dr. Carl Trueman
Topics include the influence of Aristotelian philosophy on Medieval theology, Thomas Aquinas, Anselm, Abelard, the pastoral theology of Gregory the Great, the rise of the monastic orders, John Dun Scotus, William Ockham, Medieval mysticism and the rise of Islam.

New Testament Greek with Ros Clarke
Topics include grammar, vocabulary and syntax of Koine Greek

*All course descriptions are from the Westminster Theological Seminary 2007-2008 Academic Catalog

So now you know what’s keeping my so busy. Well, I need to get back to studying. Thanks for dropping by my blog.

Hey, it’s all about you right? I really hope not! I’m too tired tonight to climb up on my soapbox, so I’ll let these two videos speak for themselves.

After the end of Fall Term I headed home to Utah for Christmas.  I’ve had a great time and I’ve really enjoyed reading The Salt Lake Tribune.  Today, The Trib featured a rather distressing article.  Kraft Foods is discontinuing production of Postum.  (It’s nice to be back in Happy Valley where things like Postum, instead of skyrocketing murder rates, dominant the news.)

If you’re not familiar with Postum you’ve probably never lived in Utah.  In my continuing effort to explain Utah culture, let’s explore Postum. Postum was a caffeine-free powdered beverage mix that was mixed with hot water.  For those Mormons who follow the Word of Wisdom and eschew coffee and tea, Postum was a great substitute.  

Growing up in a non-Mormon family I didn’t know anything about Postum.  My parents drank coffee.  I first discovered Postum in middle school at the house of my friend, Jason. Jason came from a large Mormon family and his dad, Mel, drank Postum.  To this day I distinctly remember two things about Jason’s kitchen: the homemade bread his sister made and the jar of Postum sitting on the top-shelf of the cupboard. 

Unless you’ve lived in Utah this loss probably seems inconsequential.  And, truth be told, to many (even in Utah) it probably is.  However,  Postum is part of Mormon-culture and occupies a lofty place on par with green Jell-O.  I can’t really believe it’s gone.  So many people I know relied on Postum as their hot beverage of choice.   Though, no one I know renamed their coffee tables “Postum tables.”  

While were on the subject of hot beverages, coffee itself occupies a rather unique place in Utah culture.  In other places, many young people rebel by smoking or sneaking a beer.  In Utah, many a Mormon youth have rebelled by having a cup of coffee.  I remember a friend “Jon” (not his real name) who nearly got kicked out of his parent’s home by concealing a coffee maker in his downstairs bedroom — a Christmas gift to him from yours truly. 

Click on the picture of the Postum jar to read The Salt Lake Tribune article.

Happy New Year!

*Fetch is a Utah “swear word,” meaning what you probably already think it does.

Added Jan.2 - If you really want to experience Utah culture be sure to read the comments about the Postum article on The Trib site.

Said the little lamb to the shepherd boy, do you hear what I hear?
Ringing through the sky shepherd boy.
A song, a song high above the trees.

Uh, lamb? Yeah, Shepherd boy? That’s just Jason singing.

That’s right, I’m singing. God has helped me to persevere and I’m officially done with Fall Term. Halleluiah! I took my last final tonight. I ended the term with a grueling three-hour Apologetics final. I’m looking forward to catching up on my sleep and just vegging out for a while.

Tonight also marks an interesting milestone in my life. It has been six months, to the day, since I left the employment of Hogle Zoo to attend seminary. At one point, I couldn’t imagine my life without working at the Zoo. Now, the Zoo seems like a distant, happy memory.

I stand constantly amazed at what God has done in my life and where He has called me. Truly, God is good. “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory. . . .” (Ephesians 3:20)

I should be studying, but instead I’m surfing the net.  If you’re a married couple and and are named, Mary and Joseph, Travelodge has a free room for you. Why this free bonanza for Mary and Joseph?  According to Travelodge operations director, Jason Cotta, “the phrase ‘no room at the inn’ is something that resonates with us in the hotel business.  Therefore this year we have decided to evoke the true spirit of Christmas and invite Mary and Joseph couples as our guests.

“True spirit of Christmas my donkey!  What a blatant marketing ploy.  (And, yes, being that I worked in PR myself, once upon a time, I know I played right into their greedy little hands.)  Click here to read the full article.

It’s Advent right now.  A time when we reflect back on the original waiting for the arrival of the Messiah.  So tonight I leave you with the holy and inerrant Word of the Lord, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be call Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6)

Just checking in.  Sorry for the lack of updates.  I’m completely done with two of my five classes.  Ministerial Formations and Second Term Greek are officially in the history books.  The Greek exam was quite fair and, for a change, I didn’t struggle with the translation.

Tomorrow, I take my final in Systematic Theology.  Many of you have asked what Systematics is.  Well, briefly, it’s a topical approach to the Bible; breaking things down to place, topic or theme.  If you want to know more, and really why wouldn’t you, you can email me.

Tuesday, I take the final examination in New Testament Introduction. While I love this class, the professor is rather detailed in his examination method.  You might recall my whining about having to know who was the librarian at the Library of Alexandria.  This is the professor who made me learn this.  In case you’re ever on Who Wants to Be A Millionaire or Jeopardy, the answer is Eratosthenes. 

Thursday is my last final and the final I’m most concerned about — Apologetics.  I also get a lot of questions from many of you about this class.  Despite its name it’s not apologizing for the Christian faith.  Rather, it’s a defense of Christian faith.  The professor is quite concerned about logic and philosophy — areas I’m not gifted in.

In addition to going home for Christmas I have another adventure to look forward to. On Saturday, I’m dropping a friend off to the airport and then I’m headed up to New York to spend the weekend with a friend.  

Words can’t express how forward I’m looking to being done. Happily, the end is near. Well, now that you’re updated, I’m going to bed.  It has been a long weekend and I’ve got a big week ahead.  I leave you with my favorite time waster of the week – Found.

So, I haven’t done a good job of keeping you updated.  Things are quite hectic right now.  This week marks the end of the classes.  But, don’t get too excited, I’m not done yet.  This Friday I have two papers due.  The following Thursday is my final exam in Greek and the next day I have two more projects due.  I get a bit of break for a few days and then have finals on December 10, 11 and 13! 

I had a nice Thanksgiving break and went down to Washington DC to spend the day with my brother, Cory, and his girlfriend, “Toy.”  I had a great time and let me tell you, Toy is one fine chef. Her mac and cheese, in particular, is amazing!  

As you may or may not know, Cory and I are big fans of Black Friday shopping.  What could be better than braving the cold, dark morning to fight crowds for $15 jump drives or $10 Old Navy shirts? We started at 0′dark-thirty and shopped until after Noon. We got some great deals.  It was awesome!

Speaking of shopping, I’m fascinated and perplexed as to why someone would calculate the cost of buying someone every gift mentioned in the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”  I mean, come on, are you really gonna buy Aunt Bimby three french hens.  Unless she lives on a farm or enjoys slaughtering and plucking her own fowl for dinner, it’s not a very fun or usable gift. 

I was quite surprised at the cost of items on the list.  Any guess what the most expensive day is?  Nope, not five golden rings. It’s actually nine ladies dancing.  The troupe of nine will set you back over $4,700.  What really gets me is seven swans-a-swimming. It’ll cost you $4,200 to buy seven swans.  And, there’s no guarantee they’ll swim for you.  To buy the whole twelve days you’ll need to shell out over $19,500. Check out the full article here. 

In other news, the Seminary unveiled its new website today. Check it out, here. It’ll give you a good idea of what it’s like to be a student at Westminster. Also, spend some time perusing the Alumni section, you might just see someone you know!

Alright, I feel guilty neglecting my Greek. See you soon . . . 

It’s late on the East Coast and I’m still up studying. I needed a little background music, so I navigated over to XM Radio. In addition to XM’s fine line up of music, I found something scary. What did I find, you ask? Christmas music, of course. Holly 103 began at the stroke of midnight. The glowing candles in the jack-o-laterns have barely been extinguished and now Christmas is here. Can Santa be far behind? Well, there are only 54 shopping days until Christmas.

Some nights, like tonight, I just can’t study. I should be studying Greek, learning the difference between a Genitive of Quality and a “Wholative” Genitive. But really, when was the last time you mentioned to a friend, over a coffee at Starbucks, “Donna, I think you meant to use a Genitive of Quality, not a wholative.” Frankly, I’m not convinced that it’s that important.

The Internet, however, provides a much more useful diversion. Take for instance this article from MSN Slate about fending off a monkey attack. Its’ very useful information that might come in handy one day.

For example, you might be grocery shopping headed down the cereal aisle. While you’re contemplating the nutritional value of Cinnamon Toast Crunch vs. Sugar Puffs, your worst nightmare unfolds before your very eyes. You’re confronted by two baboons squabbling over the last box of Cap’n Crunch. You panic. You think I’ll just look ‘em right in the eye, smile and politely ask to pass by. But, you’d be wrong. Flashing your pearly whites, to a non-human primate, is a sign of aggression. Now instead of fighting with each other, the baboons are chasing you around the produce department. So, take a minute and arm yourself with some helpful tips to avoid your next monkey encounter going badly. As GI Joe used to say, “knowing is half the battle.”