With Joy and Happiness

This week was oober busy, friends, so I have had zero time to sit down and write a blog post. This nice thing about this week is that it is over! I have successfully completed all of my assignments, exams, projects, papers, everything! Wooo Hooo! Time for a loooong weekend before May term begins! Before moving onto that, however, I will try to fully recap this past week:

NT Exam. After spending 3 days or so memorizing the entire New Testament, studying key terms, reviewing essays, remembering maps, etc etc. I took the test Wednesday morning, and I feel great about it. Easy peasy! Word in the cafeteria has it that the hardest part about the whole thing was Scripture Identification. Lucky for me, I am very good at this without actively studying it. It's just the kind of memory I have, I suppose. Also, we had some interesting bonus question: seven dwarfs, seven churches in Revelation, quotation from Jude, etc. Our NT professors have quite a sense of humor.

Hesed in Pastoral Care. My 12 page PC paper was about my theology of Pastoral Care. I wrote about the importance of hesed--that is, steadfast love and faithfulness--in care-giving. It's quite interesting. I discussed compassion, empathy, and co-suffering on three levels: individual, communal, and cosmic. I'll let you all know what my professor thought of my paper in about a week's time. ;)

Hannah's Identity. My other paper, which ended up being about 10 pages in length was a little bit more difficult to write. There isn't much literature on Women's Narratives in the Old Testament, so much of what I wrote was just from me (with little scholarly support). I made an argument from a feminist perspective about Hannah's search for self-identity. We'll see if my professor thinks I made a compelling argument.

Psalms. I love the Psalms! They're pretty awesome. I have had to do a number of projects for this class, and I did each and every one of them with joy and happiness! If you'd like to see some of my work, shoot me an email, send me a text, or find me at church on some random Sunday; I'd be happy to share. =) After going to the singing portion of my final, my whole practicum class went to our professor's house for a cookout! It was pretty awesome to relax at this point during finals week!

 

Let's go Pens! On top of all of these finals, I have had to deal with the up-down, roller coaster, inconsistent playing of my beloved Pittsburgh Penguins! Now, I know that many of you reading this are Flyers fans, but come on, this series has been ridiculous. The defense and goalies need to step it up! I'm hoping we push it to a game 7 after tomorrow's game! Let's go Pens!

I hope all is well with each and every one of you! Blessings and Peace!! 

Final(s)ly Finished!

HOOOORAY! Hooray for finished finals! Boo yah, finals! So, I finished my finals about... oh, 9 minutes ago! And first thing on my agenda--tell all of you! Well that, and I have time to kill before dinner, so what the heck?!

Old Testament. The test and studying for it were like reading from Genesis through Malachi--just a matter of endurance. It was a lot of information--39 books worth! I'm feeling pretty good about it though, and I am very satisfied with the amount of knowledge I learned from this class! Wow!

Hebrew. This was largely reproduction of verbs, different forms, and translation. I already got my grade back because my preceptor is awesome, and I did really well! Man, I love Hebrew.

Theology. Oh Calvin, why do your Institutes need to be so lengthy and theological? I'm convinced that Calvin was trying to be the death of me... but oh no, not this day, no sir! Also, I wrote about Enlightenment theology for my other essay. Systematic (really, Liberation) theology--done!

Speech. Easy peasy--finished last week.

...so now that I am done with finals, I have two weeks off! Sounds great, right? Well, HECK YES, but I have been a tad overwhelmed with studying that I have not yet:
done my laundry
cleaned my car
cleaned my room
went Christmas shopping
deposited three checks
stocked up on food for next week
answered several emails
 Plus, I have intensive Hebrew II in the J-term, beginning January 2, which will make me a busy bee over break!

BUT, I am super looking forward to Christmas Eve and a chance to see all of my wonderful friends and family! And I'm still wearing my advent colors! Yippee! Now, I'm off to dinner and celebratory games and fun with  friends! What a great day! =)

Finals Preview & Sunday Review

Greetings dear friends! So guess what I just realized? I am done with classes for this semester! Oh yeah! Go me! Trouble is, I still have these 'finals' to get through before I can say that I successfully completed my first semester of seminary! I am feeling rather confident. But I don't know how I feel about my feelings of confidence. I hope I haven't fell into a a unsafe sense of control and preparedness. I guess we'll see! =)

Hebrew.  or "the Hebs" as I have come to call it. I have been intentional about keeping up with my vocabulary and grammar, so I am feeling pretty good about this test. Plus, I also enjoy studying it in a really geeky way because now I can read my favorite OT passages in their original language and actually understand what it means (for the most part). It is quite incredible how much progress we as a class have made this semester. I am especially grateful for my preceptor--he is truly amazing.

Old Testament. So I don't know if you are aware how long the Hebrew Bible is, but it's pretty long. 39 books as a matter of fact! This means that there is a lot of material to cover. Besides the essay prompts, I am required to know outlines of many of the books, summaries of Ruth, Esther, and Jonah, significance of many OT characters, prophets & their associated kings, significant years, ten commandments, order of the OT, and several other facts.

Theology. This is the final that I am least looking forward to for several reasons. After today, however, I am feeling pretty confident that I am good with more than half of the final--Calvin and theological terms. I still have some reading up to do on the topics of Barth, the Enlightenment, and evangelical theology.

Well, I am feeling good about these finals, but I am still planning on studying my brains out the first half of this week! The second half is devoted to the finals themselves. On another note, I had quite a wonderful Sunday! I went to church with a very good friend of mine, and I really like this church I have been attending while out here in Princeton. Allentown Presbyterian Church (NJ).

Allentown Pres. This church has some similarities with my own church, but also a number of differences. Considering it as a whole, I really like it. They sing a wide variety of songs, both contemporary and traditional. They use a keyboard, guitars, and drums as well as the organ. It's all very well balanced out. The service also has a very nice flow to it, and this is something I can appreciate. The pastor is also a really cool guy and a great preacher. He's a walker and really doesn't use the pulpit. His messages are very good, thought provoking, and they have a academia component to them.

Handel's Messiah. What a wonderful advent Sunday school taught by the pastor. We talked a lot about the history of this genius piece of music and the compiling of scripture. It was pretty awesome. We listened to clips of the performance, soloists, and talked about the structure of the piece itself. I always appreciate going into more detail about the music behind advent (Messiah was originally intended for lent).


How Great is Our God. If you like Chris Tomlin. advent-themed songs, or guitar/piano (or all three like me), you should check out this alternative Verse 1 for Tomlin's song How Great is Our God:

The splendor of the babe

In the manger hay

A new way has begun, a new way has begun

Through darkness comes our light

Messiah born this night

O listen to his voice, his tender gentle voice

Wish me luck during my last week of my first semester at seminary! It has been a great beginning to what is going to be a long week. I hope to see you, whoever you are, very soon! Happy Advent and God bless! 

Exegetical Tools

Whoa! Let me shift+tab back to my title and give a little clarification. I understand that some people may not recognize the word "exegetical." It's not a common, everyday word, so let me give an informal definition. Exegetical comes from the greek word "exegesis" meaning to interpret. It is usually used in the context of interpreting a text, and in this respect, I mean it to refer to an essential part of a pastor's sermon prep. Think of it as a critical analysis of a Bible text. So what do I mean by exegetical tools? We'll get to that in just a little bit, but first I'd like to tell you all of a wonderful event that I attended last night.

Oratorical Society Debate. That's right. I went to debate #2 last night! The proposition: Systematic Theology at PTS should be taught primarily through the lens of Liberation Theology. I am very good friends with each of the debaters, so I was even more excited! Plus, I'm in the current Systematic Theology class that is being taught through a Liberation Theology lens, so I was also interested in it from this perspective. I must admit, however, that this week has been exceptionally busy with extracurricular activities, so it kind of snuck up on me. Anyway, the debate was really good. Both sides articulated their points very well and both of the arguments were very intriguing. Also, the Q&A section was really thought provoking. The proposition ended up winning--flipping 14 votes to the affirmative. Impressive. Events like this remind me how incredibly blessed I am to be a part of such a wonderful academic and faith community. =)

Exegtical Tools. Ok, good job with the patience! Back to my main point of this blog. If you are ever interested in the process of exegesis, feel free to talk to me or shoot me and email, or even better yet... go bug your pastor! Anyway, for OT we were required to do two formal assignments involving this process and several informal activities during group precepts. Well, during precept the past two weeks, we got to use very professional, serious, big-time pastor, Ph.D student, tenured professor, secretive exegetical tools! Colored pencils! Whooo Hooo! ...wait, what? You mean these exegetical tools are available for everyone to use? Interesting. =) So, yes, we got to use colored pencils during precept. This is actually a simple device that is exponentially helpful when exegeting a passage. You color code things to keep everything straight in your head! So... why would I get so excited about colored pencils (other than the coincidental advent timing where I am always excited)? Well, let me answer this question with a question... have you ever tried interpreting the book of Daniel, Chapter 7? .....go ahead, whip those Bibles out, or simply go to:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Daniel%207&version=NIV.

Yeah, talk about weird and hard to envision. Colored pencils come in handy. Or, if you are having trouble tracking everything through the text, you could always improvise:

Daniel 7 by yours truly

We all drew our very own version, in a fun last-precept-of-the-semester activity. Who says we don't do very professional things in OT precept or at Seminary? Although, I must say, maybe this horrendous picture might need some exegeting of its own. Feel free to have at it! If nothing else, I hope it gives you all a laugh! 

Well, I had better get back to studying for these darn finals! Or, better yet, I can go "study" at Starbucks while I read awesome Christmas cards from my church & wonderful session liaison! I am incredibly blessed to have an awesome church family! Check this out--package! =)

Blessings and peace to each of you!

Great and Unsearchable Things

Since I am very much in need of a study break, I shall follow through on my promise to post reflections from reading week. Let me begin by saying that whoever came up with this idea of a reading week is both a genius and also an evil schemer at the same time. Genius because it seems like you will have time for a break, some down time, and even a whole lot of fun if you plan accordingly; evil schemer because you really don't have all the much extra time, you get wacked out of routine, and when they say "reading week," they aren't kidding. It's literally like a 10 day weekend full of reading assignments. Looking back on it, however, I think I've made the best of it. A little something to keep us going while studying: "Call to me and I will answer you, and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know. (Jer 33:3)"

My awesome job. Now don't get me wrong, I am going to have an even more awesome job in 3 years, but I have a pretty swell one at the moment considering my circumstances. I work for the school's catering service. Sounds boring--right? ...wrong! It is sooo much fun. Check this out: I get paid to hang out with friends, study while people eat, and chat with alumnae, trustees, pastors, and the president of the seminary! Talk about pretty neat! I had quite a few hours this week because there were obviously no classes and also because there were a lot of catering events for alumni week! During these events, I had several conversations with many very interesting people including: Iain Torrance (president of the seminary), his Scottish friend (who has two Th.M's and two M.Div's), chair of the board of trustees, countless alumni, distinguished pastors, and our "southern pastor friend" (who is absolutely hilarious)! Overall, I have learned so much from conversations I have had with each of them. It makes me even more excited (I didn't think this was possible) about my future!

70th anniversary. Now, I know quite a bit of people who have graduated from this seminary. One very distinguished alumni is none other than Dr. C. Edward Brubaker who graduated in 1941. I knew he was going to be on campus this week, and I was fortunate enough to run into him on Monday during the State of the Seminary address! We then had lunch together after Chapel on Tuesday. Talk about wisdom... this man just emanates it. We spoke mostly of my first semester, but he also told me of his time here. We even talked briefly about his ministry in Trinidad. I can't even explain in words how blessed I am to have met him (he attends my home church). He has been a true inspiration to me on my journey to seminary.

Philadelphia trip. See last post: Cheesesteaks and Tastykakes. Easily the best part of the week! But, here are some of the pictures from my church:

Studies. Other than all those incredibly fun things, I have been reading, reading, reading. And when I'm not reading, I'm thinking about what I should be reading. Even meal times have been drastically shortened in time due to all the reading that needs to be read. If any of these following topics interests you, I would love to take a break from reading, reading, reading and write a brief post, email, or text message about them (ahem, begging for distractions here!): Calvin's Institutes, pretty much any part of the Old Testament, Hebrew prepositions and roots, predestination, reformation, etc.

Jeremiah. I am currently working on my Jeremiah paper (Jer 20:7-13), so I may post something about this in the near future. It is one of my favorite scriptures in the Hebrew Bible, and I would highly recommend that you take a moment in your busy, hectic day and read over it (I like the NIV translation, but any one would get the gist across). It's very interesting. =)

Until next time, I am very glad you all have take a few minutes to read this blog! All the best. Peace.