Study Bibles plus

By | June 30, 2008
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June 30, 2008.  Today Bill Gates retires from Microsoft.  Today I retire from Master’s.  He goes to improve the world.  I go to improve myself.  He goes to spend lots of money.  I am going to spend lots of money.  Microsoft will be different when he leaves.  Master’s will be different when I return. 

When I was in high school, my parents bought me the NIV Study Bible.  I used it faithfully through college and have always regarded it as the best study Bible, even though I don’t usually carry it around because of its size.  I like the translation, but what sets this study Bible apart are the notes, which are relevant and helpful.  Some study Bibles have notes that don’t answer the questions that I have.  This fall two new study Bibles are coming out, and you can compare the contributors of the notes in this handy chart at Rejoice Software.  It won’t help much if you aren’t familiar with the scholars in the field.  Another study Bible at the top of the class is the NET Bible, though this is more appreciated by those with some knowledge of Hebrew and Greek.

This blog will not become a political zone, but if I see articles I think are worth reading, I may mention them here.  This column in the JPost tells some things about McCain that you may not know.  This article in the Washington Post argues why a McCain win would be dangerous for the Supreme Court (but you can read it the other way).

Bible Atlas and Companion

By | June 27, 2008
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Today’s mail brought some copies of the new Bible Atlas & Companion.  You can’t tell from this book cover image at Amazon, but my name is on the front cover (the authors’ names are printed in the blank space at the bottom left).  I believe this is the first book that has my name on thebibleatlas2 front.  Now, before you get excited and say that because Todd Bolen wrote this Bible Atlas that it must be the best (or worst) one ever written, let me hasten to add that my contribution was primarily photographic.  The editor wrote the text, another guy created the maps, and I supplied the photos.   We all interacted on everything, which included my fine eye reading over all of the text and maps, but someone else gets credit (or blame) for anything not said by a photo.  There’s a lot that I like about the atlas, even though I didn’t get my way at times with suggestions made concerning the text or a map (and no, I never saw the Introduction which says that Joshua ambushed the Philistines).  The atlas is very colorful, very catching, and very easy to access.  It was written for laymen who are looking for a good introduction to the lay of the land and its history.  I can think of a number of atlases that this one should replace, many of which are listed in the best-selling atlases list at Amazon.  Anyway, thought I’d mention it while it’s fresh.

French

By | June 26, 2008
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Doctoral programs usually do not have many exams.  None of my classes, as far as I know, will have an exam of any kind.  Two major writing projects, which will take about 2 years total, have no exam component apart from an oral defense of the dissertation.  All the exams for the PhD program are concentrated in a space of 15 days, and for those you only have to know…everything.  I’m looking forward to the study for those exams but not the ordeal itself.

There are two exceptions to the above in my program.  I must pass reading proficiency tests in French and German.  This summer I have to pass one, and next summer the other.  The school offers non-credit (but for-pay) courses for each in alternating summers.  I opted to learn French on my own and tomorrow is the exam.  If I fail, I can take the test again on July 31.  If I fail again, I have a whole semester to do whatever I want.  (Assuming they let me take the test a third time and thus continue classes in the spring.)  I really want to pass it the first time so that I can get on with my life.

All I have to be able to do is to read.  There is no need to be able to speak, understand, or write the language.  The intent is that I will be able to access books and articles in French that could be useful for my research.  You can use a dictionary, but it is a timed test.  I feel pretty good about it, not knowing how long the test will be or how precise the grading will be.  You have to score an 86 to pass.  Overall I am surprised at how easily it came and how similar French is to English.  It may help that I used to know Spanish and have studied other foreign languages.  There is a sense of accomplishment when a page that looked like gobbledy-gook only a few months ago now makes sense (with a dictionary at hand).  It’s also cool that now I can understand much of what this amazing website says.  Listening to it, of course, is another story; it all sounds like a bunch of vowels strung together.

Update:  The test was hard.  My take is that they intend for students to fail, at least the first time.  I won’t know if I passed for a week or two.

Here and There

By | June 24, 2008
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If you’ve ever considered getting certified to scuba dive, take a look at Sam Neylan’s pros and cons.  Now that I’m convinced, I live in the middle of a barren wasteland.  (While you’re there, you might note that she has at least 7 links to me on her blog.)

In the “I know that person” category: Heather Donckels won first prize in a national contest on religious writing.  If you know her, write her and tell her that she rocks!

In the “that could’ve been us” category: Last Sunday a family of five was driving home from church about one mile from where we live when they were hit by a car and all killed.

In the “these guys are brilliant” category: One Texas congressman makes fun of the law to require CFL lightbulbs (video; gets good about halfway through).

In our family, Mark has now passed to swimming level 4, all the kids are enjoying the swimming pool in the nearly 100-degree heat, Kelli is moving around better on her “scooter,” and I am preparing for a French reading exam on Friday.  The boys are in a “reading contest” sponsored by the church and are reading a lot.  It’s amazing how far they have come in one year.

Summer Solstice

By | June 20, 2008
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The summer solstice this year is on June 20, the earliest it has been since 1896 (but it made it to the 20th only by a minute).  More fascinating facts, including what you would see at the Egyptian pyramids, at National Geographic.

One of the most important reference works ever written, and one of the best gifts that I ever received (volume 2 thereof), was the Context of Scripture.  Unfortunately they entitle the section “The Tell Dan Stele.”  Do you know why that is wrong?  (Or am I just becoming too much of a nerd?)

Afraid of heights?  You probably don’t want to hike this trail in Spain

Krauthammer has a couple of good columns recently: Israel at 60, much better than the title makes it sound, and Environmentalism as the new tool of the liberals to rule the masses

News that makes me happy: Firefox 3 is out

News that makes me sad: Tim Russert has died

Update on the Last Month

By | June 17, 2008
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An update here is overdue, for which I apologize.  Besides having other things to do, I tend to be a streaky guy, and when I’m in a groove for French, I do more French.  When I’m out of the groove of blogging, it’s harder to start back.  In addition, I wasn’t sure quite what to say in resuming.

Last month was challenging and some challenges remain.  As you no doubt have experienced, one “little” thing can trigger a bigger thing and that can have consequences that no one would have guessed.  That has been true for us.  I have at points been discouraged, but frequent reminders of others in greater struggles can quickly leave pity parties gasping on the floor for oxygen.  For a few reasons, accepting help is difficult as well.  Accepting a “little” help is fine, but accepting more is less comfortable. 

My time in Israel (and Jordan and Paris) went well, aside from concerns of home.  It was good to be back in familiar places, to return to a former life, and to be supported by a strong, encouraging group.  As expected, many times I forgot that I had ever left.  A few times, I was glad that I had.  One of my frustrations was the large number of tourists, particularly in Jerusalem, and I saw an article today that said that Israel had a record-breaking number of tourists in May 2008 – 300,000.  That’s 60% higher than in May 2007.  Another frustration was Bush’s visit, which compounded the tourist problem (everyone in the area was shoved around, to the same places, because of what he caused to be closed).  Other minor things were frustrating, but the major things all went well.

I went with the group to Jordan for 3.5 days, which was the first time I had been with a class to that country in 10 years.  It was my first time back there in 4 years.  On my first day, I remembered why I liked the country.  By my last day, I was recalling why I didn’t like it.  I’m glad I went and I managed to take a lot of photos.  As always, the view from Mt. Nebo was poor.

My plans to visit the Louvre were made months ahead when I bought the plane tickets, and that seemed to be a mistake following Kelli’s fall (and the fallout).  Ultimately it all worked out as my parents arrived to help Kelli (and relieve Kelli’s mom) and so I could enjoy my time there knowing that all was well on the homefront.  I took 1,000 photos (not counting the explanatory signs).  The signs, and my visit to Paris as a whole, worked in well with my current French studies.  There was a lot that I understood because I have been studying French, and since the museum explanatory signs are nearly all in French only, I got lots of extra practice. 

Since my return, I’ve spent a lot of time with family and family matters (e.g., doctor visits, swimming lessons, house and car repairs).  Otherwise, I’ve been putting as much time in learning to read French as possible.  I feel like that is going well, but I don’t know how much I really have to know to pass the test, which means I could be overpreparing, or woefully unready.  My plan is to work hard for another 7-8 days and take the test around June 25-26.

For those of you who have been concerned for us, I appreciate that.  For those of you who have prayed for us, I appreciate that.  For those of you who want me to post something more interesting on this blog, I’ll work on that.

Kelli out of hospital

By | June 4, 2008
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It’s Wed afternoon in Texas and Kelli is in the car on the way home from the hospital.  She’ll have to take some shots for the blood clot condition, but she has been released.  She also had an appointment with her ankle surgery doctor today and he gave a good report and put on a cast (replacing the splint).  The kids will be excited to have mom home as they haven’t seen her in four days.

I’m about to go to bed in Paris.  I took just under a million pictures in the Louvre today.  My trigger finger (and the rest of me) is quite tired.  Tomorrow I fly home.  In about 29 hours, we’ll all be reunited. 

We appreciate your prayers and are thankful to the God who is answering them.

Kelli in hospital

By | June 1, 2008
7 Comments

We do have a family update (by email) for things like this, but given the nature of the situation and my location on the other side of the world, I am posting an update here.

A few days ago Kelli started feeling some pain in her chest and yesterday (Saturday) she was sent by the doctor to the emergency room.  They discovered a blood clot in her lungs and put her on blood thinner.  She awoke in the middle of the night with severe pain (now reduced with pain medicine).  At this moment (noon Dallas time Sunday) they are doing an ultrasound on her leg to see if there is another blood clot.  She’ll remain in the hospital until they get the blood thinner dosage figured out, hopefully only a few days.  It seems likely that this situation is related to conditions from her surgery and medication. 

My parents are on the road to Dallas from Oregon right now and should arrive by Monday afternoon.  That will be a blessing.  Kelli’s mom has been serving the whole time and goes home on Tuesday.  I arrive home on Thursday evening.  These are tough days for the kids.  Our Sunday School class has served us enormously, being one of God’s ways of answering our prayers.

We would appreciate your prayers.

May update

By | May 27, 2008
2 Comments

Your prayers for us are appreciated.  The pain in Kelli’s ankle is starting to reduce and she is beginning to move around with a walker.  It’s still obviously a long road, but progress is encouraging.  Kelli’s mother is staying an extra week and my parents are driving out to be there when she leaves.  I’ll be home a few days later.  Your prayers for 1) the healing of Kelli’s ankle and 2) the behavior of the kids, esp. one of them, is greatly appreciated.  My time in Israel is going well, and the last four days have been terrific.  I appreciate your prayers for that too, esp. after a challenging start.

Mass Burning of New Testaments in Israel

By | May 21, 2008
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From Arutz-7:

The burning of hundreds of New Testaments by yeshiva students in Or Yehuda last week was regrettable and unplanned, the city’s deputy mayor, the man who spurred the students to act, told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday.

Deputy Mayor Uzi Aharon of Shas used the opportunity of speaking to the Post, which publishes a monthly Christian Edition, to apologize to Christians worldwide, saying he hoped the incident would not inflame tensions between Jews and Christians.

Following the publication of the story on Tuesday, however, many messianic Jewish and other Christian groups expressed grave concern over the increasingly violent nature of anti-missionary activity in Israel.

Aharon had a very busy Tuesday. In the morning, Ma’ariv ran a story on how he organized to retrieve and burn hundreds of New Testaments given to Ethiopian Jews in his city by local messianic Jews. By 9 a.m. he was on an Army Radio news-talk show defending his actions, which he called "purging the evil among us."

At 10:30 he was on Channel 2’s morning news show saying that Ethiopian immigrants in Or Yehuda were being encouraged to go against Judaism by messianic Jews. "We need to stop being ashamed of our Jewishness and to fight those who are breaking the law by missionizing against us," he said.

But by the early afternoon he had already been interviewed by Russian, Italian and French TV, explaining to their highly offended audiences back home how he had not meant for the Bibles to be burned, and trying to undo the damage caused by the news [and photographs] of Jews burning New Testaments.

But then he also told The Associated Press that he didn’t condemn the Bible burning, calling it a "commandment."

The rest is here.