Small World: A JBU Alumni

Safa, a JBU alumni, and I.

You'll never guess what happened today! It was one of those crazy small world experiences. I popped into a local Christian bookstore today wearing a grey John Brown University t-shirt. After looking around a bit I start to walk out and the owner/manager asks me if I went to John Brown University in Siloam Springs, AR. That had me pretty weirded out - I mean, what are the chances that someone in the middle east would know about John Brown University - this small, Christian school in northwest Arkansas.

Well come to find out, the owner of this bookstore is Safa, a JBU alumni from the late 90's. He went with JBU on their firstever summer studies trip to Ireland in 1998. Billy Stevenson and I had just been talking about him and his brother this summer. He went to JBU for two years, transferred to Asuza Pacific, then returned here eight years ago and married a Palestinian Christian gal. They have one son, Quais, and have another coming in the next month. He started this Christian bookshop - coffeeshop a few years ago.

What are the chances that in a large city like this I would step into the one bookstore that was begun by a JBU alumni? Then, on top of that, Safa's only at the store a couple hours a week - and he just happened to be there when I was. He'd love to get together for tea/a meal while I'm here, but we'll see. I'm not sure if there'll be the time to make it happen. But, he is hoping to connect with JBU's Abila archaeological dig group when they come in the summers - which would be really cool - for him and for them.

Anyways, I just shook my head, amazed at the small world we live in and excited for what Safa's doing here - in the middle east - and the role he has in this community. So, just had to share the crazy story of the day!

Travelling Adventures

It's been a long time since I've posted anything on here. A lot has happened in the last couple of weeks: turned in the dissertation, got to climb a mountain and visit Donegal - two things I hadn't had the chance to do all year. JBU's semester team arrived at Lakeside, I said goodbye to friends, and so much more. It's been a crazy couple of weeks, with many a 2am morning.

As I type this, I'm laying on the couch in my sister and brother-in-law's beautiful apartment, watching, of all things, 'The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' on arabic t.v. (an edited version, as they all are here) - and I could be watching anything from BBC World news to CNN to Al Jazeera to SAT 7. The mashup of cultures just blows my mind - as our world struggles to cope with/adjust/change/absorb/process globalization. Even in writing my dissertation about 1947-8, I was amazed at the level of globalization in the years following WWII - and here we are 60 years after that. Oh, to prove the point further, I wasn't in my sister and brother-in-law's apartment for 15 min before a friend from the US called about a possible job opening. It was so crazy to be hearing the voice of a great friend from AR on a phone in the middle east, having just left N. Ireland this morning.

Now that I have a week to rest and relax, I'll probably be posting about our adventures and sharing pictures. The first story, as I bring this to a close, was a bizarre cultural experience on the plane tonight.

My seat on the 6 hour flight from London Heathrow was 15c, an aisle seat. I took my seat next to an elderly couple. A couple hours into the flight, the man, sitting next to me, gets up and starts walking up and down the aisle. Shortly after he begins this routine, the guy across the aisle to my right gets up to go to the bathroom. The guy that was sitting right next to me with his wife plops down in this other guy's chair that's across the aisle from me, as if it was no big deal. I mean, the guy had his own personal things in the seat back pocket and underneath the seat - and yet the guy next to me had sat down in this stranger's seat as if it was no big deal. Come to find out, it was a cultural thing, because the guy returned and didn't seem too fussed about it - but I don't think they knew each other.

In the first four hours of the flight, the guy must have been up and down about half-a-dozen times. About four hours in, he and his wife both get out. When the husband returns he pushes me over to the window seat - where his wife had been. He doesn't speak English and I know enough about Arabic culture to know that you respect elders, but I wasn't really excited about moving or having someone else sit in the seat with my ipod and backpack right in front of them. Well, the wife comes back, and the husband just scoots over and I'm stuck in the window seat for the next two hours.

What made it slightly worse was the cultural differences in body odor. Needless to say, to an American nose, the BO wasn't the most wonderful smell in the world. Well, when he pushed me over to the window seat where his wife had been sitting, I just felt like I sunk into this fog of it as the smell settled over me. Bleh.

As we began to decend for our landing, the husband then leaned over me every couple of minutes to see if he could see lights and the city. In my mind I was like, 'If you wanted to see the lights, you could have kept the window seat?'

It was definitely a cultural experience in personal space, smell, and so many other things. It was my welcome back to this wonderful place that I got to spend 7 weeks in a few years ago. A very, very different place then Belfast or the USA, but so very wonderful in its own way.

Making it all the more wonderful is my 5 month old nephew Ben that I got to see for the first time tonight - which was amazing!! He's so adorable and his smile is the best thing in the world! His dad, Allen, was holding him and said, 'Here's your Uncle Daniel' - and Ben instantly reached out his arms to me and gave me a big hug. Oh man, it was amazing!! He's so adorable, loves hugs, and has this great smile. I'm so excited to get to be here for these 6 days with him and with my sister and her husband, love on them and get to rest in their company.

Chaos Ensues :-)

Oh man, what a day! Who would have thought that today, Tuesday, 8 September, would have been such a crazy day!

Today marks the one-week mark for my dissertation deadline. During my editing this morning, I realized just how much work I still have left to do this week. I'm just finishing editing Ch. 1 - so I have 2, 3, 4, 5, and the Conclusion to go - before figuring out how to format the more difficult parts, print it off, and get it bound before turning it. So, there's a certain level of stress involved there - and then the day got crazy! :-)

The JBU students arrived today - which was great and no big deal. The rest of the staff took care of welcoming them and getting them moved in while I worked on my dissertation. Then....

...about 2pm I get a phone call from John Lenschow my roommate. You see, for the last 3 weeks we've been trying to find out from Belfast Bible College whether or not they had students who were going to live here this semester. We had heard NOTHING from them, so Billy and I make the common sense gamble that they probably weren't going to send anyone - they'd been having major problems with visa's for their students. Well, John calls me at 2pm to let me know that one of the couple's arrived today and was on their way over - and, ON TOP OF THAT, there are 6-7 other students that will be hear by Friday/Saturday! Yikes!

Well, it took us a couple hours to get the breakdown of guys/girls in the Belfast Bible group - but once we did, it meant shuffling around nearly everyone. All the guys had to move rooms and all but two of the girls had to move. There's not as much room to spread out and everyon's living a lot closer together. The JBU students were great and understanding once we explained it to them - but to have moved into a room, be tired from jet lag, and then be told you had to move into another room with more roomates - they had a lot of reasons to not be too thrilled.

With the Belfast Bible students and JBU students, we only have 1 bedroom free in the entire house right now - until I leave in two weeks. Well, there's a JBU family coming in on Saturday to spend the night here until Tues - and it's a family of 3! Yikes! So, the parents are going to go in the one bedroom adn we're going to set up a bed in a spacious office room for their daughter.

Needless to say it's been a crazy day! I don't feel like I've made much progress on my dissertation and now that I'm sitting down to it I'm having a hard time focusing (obviously, since I'm blogging) since I've been busy all day having to trouble shoot rooming logistics.

So, there's a part of me that's loving having the students here and I kind of wish I was sticking around for the next three months to experience life with them (and Hadden Wilson could really use another driver). They've got a lot of energy and seem like an amazing group!

But, it's days like today that make me so ready for a vacation. The deadline for Fulbright and other scholarships are less than a month away and I haven't gotten to put enough time into those. So, I'll finish my dissertation next Mon/Tues and then start working on scholarship/grant applications. Oh, and the Oxford app's re-opened, so I need to try to get that app in ASAP to hopefully get some money from Oxford. I need to apply for jobs in the US - both substitute jobs and others, close down a bank account here, and tie up loose ends...

Man, it's a crazy time.

A Prayer

This summer Derek, the pastor at my church, asked if I might be interested in speaking at a Sunday night service. That didn't end up working out, but this week I had the opportunity to participate by giving the intercessory prayer* in the middle of the service. It was encouraging to be asked and a neat opportunity to be a part of a Sunday service.

I thought I'd post the prayer here, not because it's anything wonderful, but because it's my hope and prayer for us as God's Church around the world. For those of us in the Church, my prayer is that this would be true of us. For those who are not apart of the Church or who don't believe in Christ as their Lord and Saviour, I pray that, if and when they do interact with the Church or with Christians, this is the sort of church they would experience.

[Note: I've put in verse references to the passages from Scripture that are referred to, in case you were curious.]

In the Gospel of John, Jesus tells his disciples:

'A new command I give you: [...] As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this
all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another' [John 13:34-5]

Will you join me in praying that this would be true of us - as God's dearly loved children [John 1:12] - and of His church - who are His ambassadors to the world. [2 Cor 5:20]


Dear heavenly Father,

We come before you, deeply grateful that while we were yet sinners, you loved us so much that you sent your sinless Son to die that you might have a relationship with us, a sinful people. [Rom 5:8]

Father, we look around at this broken world and are daily reminded of the darkness that is here. Our hearts break for the young girl who was found, locked in a shed, 18 years after she was kidnapped. Our hearts break for her pain, and our hearts are heavy for those who perpetrated this crime against her - that one human could do such a thing to another is hard to believe. And our hearts go out to the grieving families affected by this week's accident near Newry.

Father, we pray that your Church would be agents of love and healing in both of these situations. May your Church, of which we are a part, be conduits of your love and healing throughout our city, our nation, and this world. May the World experience, through us, the richness of your love. Give us boldness and courage, that your Church might step into the darkest areas of people's lives and shine the light of your Son.

As students begin to return to University and others begin for the first time, help us to reach out to those in our community. That as you bring them into this place - whether it be for a meal, a chat, or to find You - they would experience your love through us. Father, may this be a place where, even as you reached out to us when we were sinners, in the same way, we would welcome - in spite of the colour of their skin, the quirks of their personalities, or the sin in their lives - all those that you bring through our doors. May our lives testify to the abundant life [John 10:10] we have in You and we pray, most of all, that through us and through this place, others would come to experience, for themselves, the freedom [Gal 2:4, 5:1] and joy [Phil 1:26] of a relationship with You in Christ!

Father, we reflect on our own lives and remember what Christ said his disciples: that the world would know they were his disciples by the love they showed for one another. [John 13;35] As we sit today, among your family - this body of Christ, of which we are a part - we think of those seated to our right and to our left, of those we enjoy spending time with and those we have not spoken to in years. May we spur one another on in love and good deeds [Heb 10:24] - that we might reach out to one another. If there are relationships in our lives, ways in which we interact with each other, that aren't loving, give us eyes to see and repentant hearts to change. May we lay down our bitterness, our anger, or our jealousy by serving one another, in love. Help us to make the decision each day to think of others as more important then ourselves [Phil 2:3] - and may we love and serve one another with that in mind.

Christ showed his disciples his love when he washed their feet the last night he was with them. [John 13:1] Give us eyes to see ways in which we might serve one another - and the humility of heart to do act on those opportunities. We are told that greater love has no man than this, than he lay down his life for his friends. [John 15:13] Holy Spirit, grow us into a people that lay down our lives - every part of them - our pride and our preferences, our desires and our wants, our accomplishments and our egos - to serve those around us - this wonderful body of Christ we are a part of. [Eph 5:21] May we become the Family you have called us to be and, in so doing, be a beacon of your Light to the World that is around us and among us. [Matt 5:14-6]

Where there is hurt and distance, may we reach out in love and forgiveness. Where there is loneliness and heart ache, may we reach out in tenderness and compassion, choosing to be a part of one another's lives. As ministers of Your Gospel - in this world and to one another - help us to lay down all of who were are - for you, Lord - and for each other.

We ask that all these things would be true of us and of your Church around the world, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit - who empowers us and enables us to show Your love to each other and to the World we live in that desperately needs you.

We pray all these things in Your name, Amen.

My prayer: That the Triune God, and His deep love for His creation, would be known by all through our love for one another.

*It struck me last night, when I finished writing this, that it isn't really a prayer of intercession...I don't think anyways. Oops!

The End, the Beginning, or the Middle?

The last of the laundry from this summer's JBU groups is done.
I'm really excited - a load takes over 3 hours between washing and drying.

In preparation for next year's staff - two great couples, the Goldfain's and the Beckman's, and my great housemate this year, John Lenschow - arriving at Lakeside over the next four weeks, I moved out of my room and into one of the guest's rooms. I move from this being my home to a place of transition. I leave in six weeks (hard to believe that I've been here for nearly a year!) and between now and then there's a lot that will happen - much of it for the last time.

Tonight I'm getting together with a group of friends from Queen's. While I'm guessing we'll get together as a group again before I leave, members of the group start leaving this week to head to jobs and graduate programs in the US. I'm still not feeling great (I've been down with a cold or flu since last Fri), but I'm going to dose up on medicine and my goal is to try to be there for an hour before I'm completely worn out. By far, this group has been one of the best things that's happened to me this year!

Having grown up as a missionary kid, attended a missionary school in Kenya, been a part of a mega-church in Little Rock, and gone to a Christian university, my life has been lived around evangelical Christians - whether simply cultural Christians or those who really do know the joy of life in Christ. Within minutes of stepping off the plane last September, I met three amazing people that have been wonderful friends this year: Megan, Jude, and Melissa. They come from really different backgrounds, with sometimes very different perspectives on life. Their experiences in life, their passions, their knowledge, and their beliefs have helped me grow in huge ways this year. They've stretched me to think about what I believe, what I know, and how I understand the world. They haven't always changed my mind, but I'd like to think that, through it all, we've sharpened one another.

Through them, and the beginnings of a four-person weekly dinner, the group grew into nearly 20 people who have been an absolute blast! I've made great friends from Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco, Pheonix, Missouri, Magrefalt, Dublin, Belfast, etc.. We all see the world in different ways and understand religion and belief from a variety of perspectives and backgrounds. Through several of them, I was introduced to the joys of the Catholic church and the many there who love Jesus, Scripture, and God's heart for the world.

So, tonight, in many ways, is the last time we all have the chance to be together, as people leave. It begins a season of lasts, at least for the time being, for me. I'll turn in my last paper (my dissertation) to the history office four weeks from today. I rented what will probably be my last rental car here and showed friends around the North Coast for the last time this past week. I just finished the final loads of laundry for Lakeside. Here in four weeks, or so, I'll worship for the last time, for now, with the wonderful church family at Fisherwick - a family I've grown to love, who have welcomed me so warmly, and who I will deeply miss. In a few weeks, I'll go out for the last time with the S.O.S. Bus on a Friday night. I'll pay my last phone bill to Orange and order pizza delivery from Bella Italia for the last time.

This year has brought so much into my life. I am sad to see the end, but really, I'm more occupied with the wonders and the richness that have been a part of this year. The writer of Eccliasastes points out, rightly I think, that our life comes in seasons. This year was never meant to go on forever, but I'm deeply thankful that it's been part of my life. C.S. Lewis, in Peralandra, which I'm reading now, comments that an experience is wonderful because it's not common. This year has been anything but common and it has been wonderful.

This morning I posted on my Facebook status that moving rooms today meant the beginning of the end. In several ways that's true. It's one of the first events, with a number to follow, that mark the end of my year here in Ireland. A year I never expected 14 months ago would happen.

A wonderful friend, who's really more of a brother, Justin, pointed out that maybe it's really just the end of the beginning. Knowing Justin, I had to laugh at his quip, but there's truth to it. In many ways, this year marks the end of over 20 years of schooling. Sure, I hope to go on to a PhD, but that's really all that's left. The beginning of my life was characterized by institutional education. This marks the beginning of a lifetime of learning primarily in non-institutional forms.

After Justin, Dr. Robbie Castleman, one of my professor's at JBU who has deeply impacted, in awesome ways, my life, wrote that maybe this is 'somewhere in the middle of that which you know not at this time.' Probably in more ways then either of the previous two, her comment is true. I don't really believe life is what we make it or that we're simply on a predetermined course - that fate somehow has dictated the steps of our life. I think both extreme do not do justice to the experience of our lives. I would say that life is somewhere in the middle, in the tension of the two - that they hold each other in check. That we have the ability to make decisions in our lives, but our influence only goes so far. There's someone far greater than any of us, who's acting and moving at the same time. And it's my choice to follow in step with His movements, His lead, and His direction - but He'll never force me to. I'm not stuck in fate's predetermined track, nor am I left up to my own to make my way in this world.

And so it's somewhere in the middle of eternity that this year finds itself. For you see, I always existed in the mind of God and I will exist for eternity. So, this year - this wonderful, stretching, growing, life-changing, enriching year - comes as part of that story. In following Him, this year plays a part in what He has planned for me. Like everyone, I have the choice to follow Him.

However, after 26 years of incredible adventures, people, and experiences, I don't plan to ever stop following. I celebrated my birthday last week - as friends reminded me, if I was a fish, I would have been flushed down the toilet long ago :-) - and, perhaps more so then ever, this year in Northern Ireland and this year's birthday celebration have both solidified my commitment to follow Him - it's been one heck of a ride and I think the best is yet to come.

Life's Interuptions: An Unexpected Day

A Jackson Pollock painting.

Today felt like a 'Jackson Pollock' painting. Lines coming from every direction, unexpected, seemingly chaotic, that eventually come together to create a larger picture. C. S. Lewis has said that interruptions don't stop us from living, but rather, the interruptions are our life, given to us from God. That the interruptions ARE life - rather than simply events that interfere with life. The unexpected, rather than the planned, describe the majority of our days on this earth. Thankfully, unlike a Jackson Pollock painting, God promises that the 'chaos' has purpose and meaning (Rom 8:28, Jeremiah 29:11).

Today felt like a Jackson Pollock painting, with 'interruptions' coming at every turn. I had four things planned for my day, and by lunchtime I had to throw the plan out the window.

Today's 'Plan'

What Actually Happened

Work on Ch. 5 Take a taxi to Forest Side Visit with Catherine Bike to and from gym Go to Gym Stop by Library

Read Lonsdale Article Sort out rental van for friends visiting next week Visit with Seth & Julie Seth & Julie give me a lift to Forest Side (a huge blessing!) Visit with Catherine Bus drops me off downtown, so: Fill up empty bus card Get haircut Stop by pharmacy Pick up gift for a friend Go home, then bike back to gym Stop by library Get feedback from Megan on ch. 3 & 4 (Much appreciated!!) Get feedback from supervisor, Prof. Jeffery, on Ch. 4 (also much appreciated!) Go to gym (only to find out membership has expired) Offend a friend after misunderstanding what he had offered to do Bike home Eat dinner Write blog Still to happen: Take shower Hopefully some work on ch. 5

Needless to say, this hasn't been the day I expected. It was full of changes and surprises. I definitely thought my gym membership was good through the end of September and didn't see the offer from this friend coming - making my offense even worse. Didn't plan on spending the afternoon downtown waiting on a haircut or running errands, nor meeting with Megan or Prof. Jeffery.

This morning I posted on my Facebook status that there are days where I just have to trust God to work out the details because life feels like it's falling apart. That was today. I have no idea how I'm going to get this chapter written before Sunday morning, nor how I'm going to fit in all the other pieces that need to be sorted before friends come - train tickets, car rental, house ready...but I'm trusting that what needs to happen will happen. I'll work to remain faithful to the tasks God guides me to do or places in my path, and trust Him. Trust that God, whom Lewis says brings these interruptions, knows what He's doing. (At almost 26 years old, I've learned that He does - but man, sometimes I wish I could see the whole picture! :-)

It's been 'one of those days'. It's also been a day that I realize I need to learn to roll with 'one of those days' better, to flex with the changes and roll with the punches. To really trust God in the midst of it and go through it in joy and gratitude. I'm working on it and I'm sure there'll be more chances too. So, here's to future chances to grow and be stretched.

When I Don't Rest

Van Gogh, 'Noon: Rest from Work'

I worked straight through this last weekend. It's not something I usually do. With two weeks till friends visit and behind on deadlines (self-imposed deadlines, I should add), I felt the need to keep working through the weekend. Chapters 4 and 5 were due Monday and I was way behind going into the weekend. In the end, neither were completed by Monday and I just finished up chapter 4 yesterday.

Working through the weekend, and missing the deadlines, has reminded me of something I had forgotten. Simply put, it's this: every part of me needs the break of a full-day away from work. There's a lot of reasons for this:

(1) A seven day week has turned into 10 days, and my body's wondering when the weekend is going to come. After a 10 day work week, my body is exhausted.

(2) Not taking a break has meant that the breaks during my days don't feel restful, because they're never enough to make up for what I skipped. Whether I take two hours for a movie with friends, go work out at the gym, or take a nap, at the end of each of the activities my body, mind, and spirit beg for more.

(3) As a result, I'm constantly looking for 'more' and my discipline and focus wains. This attempt to find that break comes out in all sorts of ways. Ironically, I blog a lot more when I haven't had breaks - it's a chance to get away from the paper or book I've been absorbed in. I sleep in later than I normally would; I spend more time on Facebook; I watch more T.V. These, and a host of other things, are all attempts at getting the break my body needs - but they're never enough.

(4) What had started as a 'work weekend' to get more done, has left me feeling tired, antsy for a chance to stop thinking about the project, a chance to let my imagination roam, to stop being productive for more than 30 minutes at a time, to rest.

It's a need for rest, not a break or a nap or a distraction. All of those are short and focus on the fact that there's something to get back to. They, inherently, infer that there's something we're stepping away from. Rest brings with it a sense of stopping, of ceasing from activity. It's what I realized I need.

Perhaps I'm the only one like that. I have friends who seem to always be working or thinking about working. I don't know if they ever take a full-day off and rest. Maybe they've been going 24/7 for so long that their minds and bodies have gotten used to it.

I've come to realize this week that I need that rest. I need to take a day in my week where little has to be done. Where my mind, body, or spirit can wander: through a novel, the outdoors, a devotional book, or a Psalm of David. It's that chance to give my whole being a break, not just who I am phsyically, emotionally, or spiritually, but every bit of me.

There's a word for it. It was something I've been told ever since I was a young boy. Truth be told, it's something that's been said for thousands of years. It's been abused through the years, like so many words and ideas that were supposed to be good for us - love, fear, submission, humility - that have been twisted, misunderstood, or abused.

It's a simple word, from an old language: sabbath, or, in the Hebrew, shabat. That day which God put into his ideal for the world, before sin ever entered it. The call to rest, having finished all the week's work. I forgot this week how much I need that rest. I forgot that the 'sabbath' was made for me - not as another day to have a list of things to accomplish - but as a rest from that productivity. My body, my soul, and my mind - all that I am, entirely created by God - needs it.

I think this weekend, I'll be taking a break. Scratch that. I'll rest and take a sabbath.

Learning a New Language. English.

A better title might have been, 'Relearning a Language I Thought I Knew'. I'm in the midst of my dissertation writing. As I complete each chapter, I send it to my supervisor for feedback. Today, we sat down to look over the first three chapters I had sent him. Among other things, I learned that I don't know the English language...well, at least not British English.

I was amazed at how many things are different. For those of you contemplating academic work on this side of the globe, here's some things I've learned:

Quotation Marks: In the U.S., the double quotation mark, ", is what we use to open and close quotations. If there happens to be a quotation within a quotation, we then use single, ', quotation marks to designate this interior quote. Well, turn everything on its head to fit in over here. The single quotation mark is used first, with the double quotation mark used for quotations within the original quotation.

Example (US): Koinange wanted to "give his life to assuage 'the educational hunger of three millions [sic] natives of Kenya'."

Example (UK): Koinange wanted to 'give his life to assuage "the educational hunger of three millions [sic] natives of Kenya"'.

You'll notice that quotation marks aren't the only thing that's different, but also where you put them. In the US, the punctuation almost always go inside the quotation mark.

Example: Berman writes, "Administrators in Kenya came to believe that there was no necessary linkage between African socio-economic problems and political action."

However, once again, flip it around here. With the rare exception that a complete, standalone sentence is used within the quotation, the punctuation always goes on the outside.

Example: Berman writes, 'Administrators in Kenya came to believe that there was no necessary linkage between African socio-economic problems and political action'.

Commas: Commas are also used differently here. For example, in the US, commas separate items in a list:

Example: Billy played soccer, basketball, and baseball.

Over here, there is no comma used in the last pairing of items.

Example: Billy played football, basketball and baseball.

The way we do it in the US is also known as the 'Oxford comma'. It seems as though they are one of the few places in the UK to place a comma in the last pair of items.

Spelling: Perhaps not surprising, words are spelled differently here than they are in the US. Here's some examples:

Where we would use 'ize' in the US, they would use 'ise' here.

Example (US): recognize

Example (UK): recognise

Where we would use an 'ense', they often use 'ence'.

Example (US): defense

Example (UK): defence

They like to add extra letters. For example, where we would use 'o', they'll use 'ou' and where we use one 'l', they'll use 'll'.

Example (US): color and traveled

Example (UK): colour and travelled

Where we would use 'er', they use 're'.

Example (US): center

Example (UK): centre

Introducing Persons and Quotations: In JBU's history and bible department, we were always taught to establish the credibility of someone we're citing. For example:

Jack Gallagher, the revered Cambridge scholar, gave a series of lectures on the British empire at Oxford University.

Here they expect that when you cite someone in your paper, they're an expert. As a result, you leave out the accolades.

Example: Jack Gallagher gave a series of lectures on the British empire at Oxford University.

[Side note: At this point in my paper, my supervisor, who trained under Jack Gallagher, made the comment, 'If they don't know who Jack Gallagher is, they have no business reading your paper.' :-)]

As well, if you're using a quote from a scholar, no need to say who you're using it from, your footnote does the work. So, for example, in my writing at JBU, I would have written:

Drake writes that Koinange "was on a political mission representing [the] KAU."

Here, however, it's better to just write:

Koinange 'was on a political mission representing [the] KAU'.

The footnote then tells the reader who it is that said it.

In Conclusion...
There are certainly lots of others intricacies that I've learned as I've stumbled along this year, these are just a few of them. We may both be speaking and writing in a language that goes by the same name, English, but there are times where I feel like I'm having to learn it all over again.

This doesn't even get into the way they grade over here (a mark of a 70 is an excellent mark and two professors grade your 'anonymous' paper), the use of Dr. vs. Prof., and the expectations for student-professor interaction. It's been a whole new ballgame! :-)

Thoughts on 'Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince'

I thought I'd jot down a few thoughts before moving on to dissertation editing. So, in no particular order, here are the thoughts from seeing the new Potter film with friends tonight:

*Don't start with this one - if you've never read the books, or haven't watched the other movies, at the very least, don't begin watching Harry Potter with this film. You'll be completely lost.

*The weight matches - part of the Harry Potter series is the maturing of the characters, there movement from childhood to adolesence to adulthood. As with reality, with age comes dealing with life's heavier things: death, war, disease, etc. It's in the latter years of high school that we start having to wrestle with the pain of loss. The books follow this, as the years in school (each Harry Potter book is one year in school) go by, the characters begin dealing with heavier and heavier things. This movie matches that well. While they balance it incredibly well with humor and laughs, there is a darkness that sets over the story as the showdown between good and evil comes ever closer.

*Contrasts and foils - I don't remember the book doing as good a job of this, but perhaps it did. There was a wonderful and vividly clear contrast throughout the movie tonight between the opposing sides. (1) Harry Potter is the 'chosen one,' but it doesn't become his all consuming identity or prideful. The foil to that is Draco Malfoy, Voldemort's 'chosen one' who lives in fear, takes it as his identity and pride - an identity that distances himself from everyone else in the school. (2) Harry's promise to follow Dumbledore's instructions is trusted, no need for anything more than Harry's word. For Snape and Narcissa though, especially for Bellatrix, there is no trust and so the unbreakable oath has to be made. (3) This theme of trust and mistrust contrasts the opposing sides of good and bad throughout the story. That for the 'good' guys, their is trust, faith, and loyalty in and towards one another. For the 'bad' guys, there's mistrust, traitors, and a lack of faith.

All in all, it was a really fun film and a great way to spend a couple of hours. Plenty of laughs, plenty to think about, and plenty to enjoy from the detail in the scenes to the CGI. As always, plenty to relate to: from Ron feeling like king of the world after doing really well in a sporting match to teenage infatuation to broken hearts to faithful friends to life's deepest regrets and to choices that redefine who the character is. A lot of fun! Looking forward to the next two!

Random Fact: Professor Severus Snape, played by Alan Rickman, is 63 years old and Maggie Smith, who plays Professor Minerva McGonagal is 75. Amazing to see these two actors still in these movies!

Why I Enjoy Harry Potter

I just finished an email to a friend who had asked why so many Christians my age (and younger) enjoy the Harry Potter books and films. The Harry Potter stories have, ever since they came out, been something that the Christian church has divided over. Point in fact, my parents don't like me bringing the books home or watching the movies, because of the part magic plays in the stories. I know my parents are not the only ones that have reservations and questions about the Harry Potter films.

I'm going tonight to see the new one, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which has gotten great reviews from both secular and Christian movie reviewers. I thought, in light of that, I would post the email I just sent to this friend, in case anyone else might have the same question: Why would I spend time watching the movies and reading the books?

Note: Two things to be aware of: (1) this was originally an email, so it reads like an email and (2) the question was why Christian's enjoy the books, so my comments look at how the Harry Potter books reconcile with a Biblical worldview - not that they 'are Christian books' - but rather, how does the message, themes, story agree with and/or conflict with the message of Scripture. Please, if you're not a Christian, don't take this as a, "He's making them Christian books when they're just stories." :-)

Worth reading: World Magazine's Review and New Testament Pauline Scholar Ben Witherington III's review.

--------
[SPOILER ALERT: This was written to an audience that won't likely ever read the books, so it talks about the storyline of all of them - right up to the last book.]

On the most basic level, we enjoy them for the same reason anyone enjoys them - Christian or non-Christian. They're well written. They're fun stories that weave the reality of life, friendships, and tragedies into the life of the characters. They're fantastic, in that they carry the imagination like few books do these days. It's the same reasons that Tolkien's 'Lord of the Rings' and Lewis 'Chronicles of Narnia' still captivate the imagination and mind of both adults and children. They are stories of good fighting evil, of loyalty in friendship, of growing up, of making mistakes and learning from them.

Which, is also why, as a Christian, I really enjoy them. The very foundations of the Harry Potter stories are things that reflect a Biblical worldview. In a post-modern world, where nothing is right and we hate to speak of Sadam Hussein as evil or terrorists as evil, the Harry Potter stories declare, strongly and boldly, that the Potter world is a world of good & evil. There's no vagueness in it. And it is clear that the good side has won before and will win in the end, but only if good people choose to do something about it. Very much like Paul, who calls us to fight the good fight, to push boldly forward in this battle against the dark powers of this world.

Even more so, the stories are founded on the premise that the greatest power, greater than any magic, strength, or ability, is the power of sacrificial love. I'm assuming you likely won't read the books anytime soon, so I won't be giving away anything. But the premise of the book is that Harry Potter's mother died, sacrificing herself, to protect him. That love then, throughout Harry's life as an orphan, is what protects him - it 'seals' him. And it's that sacrifice and that love that Voldemort, the bad guy, spends the entire series battling against - to no avail. The last book (which the movies haven't come out yet), ends in Harry sacrificing his life for his friends, for his school, for his family. And, once again, it is what breaks the powers of Voldemort and evil. It's the one thing that Voldemort can't get his head around - because he can't imagine a world in which his life and his ambitions aren't the most important - and it ruins him. And yet, the answer of the Harry Potter series is that the greatest power, the greatest act, the greatest thing we can ever do is lay down our lives for others - even to the point of death (it echoes so strongly Christ's words to his disciples, 'greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends).

And that's why I, and I think why many of my friends, really enjoy the books. They're fun, they're exciting - but above all, the values they uphold and that they show to be worthwhile are values of friendship, loyalty, sacrifice, and love. Often Harry Potter disobeys someone or fails to trust others, but it almost always ends up with him paying the consequences - someone else is hurt or put in danger.

Now, as for the place of magic in the stories. The reality is, and any Christian I know who's read the books seems to agree, that the magic is the stage for the story, it's not the story. There's sure to be better analogies, but it's like kids playing cops & robbers. We let them shoot each other, 'rob' things, etc. - because we know it's them using their imagination to have fun, to wrestle with the ideas - as small as they are - that there are good guys and bad guys in the world. But, they know that growing up being a robber isn't an okay thing and that shooting people or stealing things isn't okay. It's similar in these stories. The magic is part of the story telling, but a small part. The themes that come behind the magic are themes of faith - in ourselves and others - of serving others through our abilities (the 'magic'), and of growing up and developing confidence in who we are. At the same time, in the books, there's a very clear delineation between what's appropriate and what's not - in other words, what's okay magic (magic that serves and protects others) vs. evil magic (that harms, injures, or kills others).

J.K. Rowling, an Anglican Christian, has created a world - using the same literary methods of Tolkien and Lewis - where there is good and evil. Where there are choices we make and we pay the consequences for them. And, ultimately, that the greatest choice that has ever been made for us - or we can make for others - is to lay down one's life for another.

This 'Emerald Isle' & that 'New World'

Top: My cousin Tyler and I hanging out on the beach at Sullivan's Island.
Bottom: The Mourne Mountains overlooking Dundrum Bay.

What is it about anticipation that so preoccupies my mind? Throughout this year, I've had short spots of homesickness, where I've missed something particular in the US for an afternoon or a day. Now that I know I'm going back to the US and not staying in the UK for another 3 years, I find myself thinking about the States frequently.

The smell of the salt air and the beach as my family and I drive over the bridge from Charleston, South Carolina to James Island, anticipating getting to see and catch up with my aunts, uncles, and cousins. The feeling of the sand between my toes, walking along the beach on Sullivan's Island at sunrise or sunset. Going for a bike ride from mom and dad's house in Arkansas out to the peninsula that sticks into the Arkansas River. The smell of the fresh air and the tingle of the cool water, skiing and swimming on Lake Ouachita.

What is it that makes the longings for these memories so strong the closer it gets to the end of September?

Perhaps more importantly, or just as important, how do I make sure to enjoy the most of being here, in Ireland for the time I have left? There's so much here that I've fallen in love with this year.

The beautiful drive along the Antrim coastway, passing Carickfergus Castle, the Glens of Antrim, and looking out across the water at England and Scotland. The smell of the bay in Dundrum as the tied comes in, the Mourne Mountains looking on, smiling with me at the wonder of the ocean. The slower paced life and the love for conversation, over a hot cup of tea. The tastes of Banoffee, Caramel digestives, and fish & chips.

My life is so rich. I love the anticipation of heading back to the US - of feeling my 90 year old Grandma's arms around my neck as she calls me her 'boyfiend,' my mom and dad's smile as I drive up to the house, the chance to be with new friends and old friends.

But that anticipation is mixed with a realization that leaving this wonderful place I've called home for nearly a year, will be bitter sweet. There is so much that is left behind. Wonderful people who have opened their homes and their lives to me - the Gilmores, the Wilson's, the Beatty's, Hetty & Dawn, the McKelvey's, the Wrights, and the list goes on. A wonderful church that I feel like I never really got to get as involved with as I'd hoped. To say goodbye to the Prayer Ministry, Bible Study, and Discipleship Group that I so wanted to be a part of, but never had the chance. The 'gang' from Queen's and our weekly dinners that have been an incredible part of this year.

To say goodbye to this Emerald Isle and cross to the shores of the 'New World'. It's something I'm anticipating with great excitement, and yet, I know that as soon as I step foot on that 'World', I will begin missing the gems of this Isle.

What Does That Have to Do with Dating and Friendships? - A Follow-up

I had someone point out that the last post, 'Why do Guy's "Cut 'n Run"?' looked at a passage on marriage, not dating. Very true. So, the natural question, what does love in marriage have to do with me, as a guy, having healthier friendships and dating relationships?

I think it has a lot to do with it, actually. No one wakes up one morning and decides to go run a marathon without months of training. Likewise, waking up this morning wishing I had the discipline to learn a language isn't going to undo all the years I haven't been disciplined enough to learn Spanish, Greek, or French. I think it's important to think about relationships in the same way. That I, and we as guys (really, all of us), have to intentionally develop disciplines and mindsets - in this case, an attitude of self-sacrificial commitment (agape love). It's a love that is most significantly tested in marriage, where our selfishness is seen most clearly/painfully by someone that we spend every day with.

It seems that our culture realizes that agape love - a committed love - is what we all want. It's why we don't want friends dating a guy (or girl, for that matter), who seems to have another girlfriend (or boyfriend) every week or month. We recognize their lack of commitment and know that that's a recipe for disaster and hurt.

Now, an agape commitment in marriage is different then anything else. We don't begin friendships with a mutual decision that says, 'through sickness and health...etc.' I will be faithful to you. Nor do we start dating relationships that way. That's one of the things that's so unique about marriage. There is NO other relationship in our lives where we commit so completely as we do in marriage. And, that's the way it should be. It's why marriage isn't a decision we make in one day. As well, it would be disastrous if all of our friendships and dating relationships carried the same commitment as marriage.

We've all been in friendships or dating relationships that really were not good or healthy places for us (or the other person) to be. We knew it. Those around us could see it. In those sorts of relationships, we start off the relationships with good intentions - of being a 'true friend'. This often used phrase insinuates a hoped for level of commitment and loyalty - the idea that that friend has our back, and we there's. But, as time goes on and we get to know the person, we realize that it's not a relationship we should be in.

For example, both of my parents were very close to marrying someone else. My dad was dating a girl that, had she not broken off the relationship, they might have been married. My mom was engaged to a guy and then realized that it wasn't where she was supposed to be. I can't even begin to tell you how GLAD I am that those previous relationships didn't work out. Mostly because it meant that I'm here :-), but also because I love seeing my parents together. At nearly 60 years old, they are still one of the cutest couples I know.

While our perspective and approach to friendships and dating relationships should be one of agape love - of being a 'true friend', that love that Jesus calls us to show to all people - dating and friendships are relationships that leave room for differing levels of depth, as well as, if need be, stepping away from the friendship. Agape love in marriage, where that sort of self-sacrifical love is most beautiful, doesn't leave room for that.

So, back to the beginning, what about friendships and dating relationships? There's not a mutual agreement for lifelong commitment, so we can't control the other person's actions or reactions. True, but we're entirely responsible for our own choices, attitudes, and perspectives. I, and we, need to think of friendships as something more than only worthwhile if they are convenient. It's not what Jesus modeled or called me/us to.

In my first dating relationship, I failed to communicate what I was thinking and what was going on in my head/heart to my girlfriend. That's a part of agape love where I dropped the ball - communication. I failed to do my part in a healthy friendship by failing to communicate.

One of the most important things in any friendship or relationship is communication. As a missionary kid, I've moved all over the world and I'm no longer friends with people that have been incredibly important in my life simply because we don't communicate anymore. It's why married couples who are on the verge of divorce go see a marriage counselor, because she/he is there to help them learn to communicate with each other again.

Communication is so, so very important. One of the ways we, as guys, can 'love others as I have loved you' (as Jesus called us to), is to be committed to communicating with our friends and girlfriends. Sure, the relationship may still end - which almost always brings with it hurt, disappointment, and heartache and, sometimes necessary, a distancing in the friendship - but we've got a better chance of having a friendship after the end of the relationship if we've communicated openly and honestly, then we do if we don't. It's about that being the goal in our minds, the mindset - to have a friendship with this person, because they are valuable and worthwhile getting to know, because of who God's made them.

There was a girl in college that I pursued for about 6 months, in my typical 'clumsy Daniel' way. I still have the email from her, essentially, saying 'No', in follow-up to a conversation I had initiated about our friendship. It's one of the greatest emails I've ever gotten. In it, she affirmed our friendship, but was incredibly honest and forthright in saying 'No.' We still stay in touch, albeit sporadically because our lives have gone in different directions, but it's been a powerful example that friendships and dating relationships don't HAVE to end badly.

We don't live in a fatalistic world where we are simply pawns and have no power over our decisions. While I'm not fond of a phrase one of my Catholic friends uses - 'God helps those who help themselves' - the truth in that statement is that we are humans, capable and responsible for our own decisions and actions.

So, if you were wondering what it might look like to 'love others as Christ loved us' when it comes to your friendships and dating relationships, here are some things I'm trying to develop in my own life:

1. Consider every person I know worth knowing because of who they are, not because of what they have to offer me or where our friendship may, or may not, end up.

2. That I would be committed to communicating better - whether that be with friends or girlfriends. Being honest about what I'm thinking - it's the SCARIEST thing at the time, but it's not only the right thing, but the BEST thing to do in the long run.

3. That I would be committed, as much as possible, to being a friend who is there to listen, to help, and to encourage. (In this global world, I can't do this for all my friends - but for the ones that I'm able to do it for, I want to do it to the best of my ability).

4. That I would NEVER, EVER treat a dating relationship as if it was only worth it if it ended in marriage. That I would be committed - as far as it is healthy to do so - to maintaining that friendship, even when things don't 'go as planned.'

5. To be committed to the friendships I develop, to the extent that it's healthy. To make the choice to invest and communicate more intentionally in them.

We can all add our own goals to this list, as we push on to learn what it means to agape those around us in the way that God has loved us. For me, as a guy, I want every day to be a day in learning to do this better. That way, when the day comes when I CHOOSE to commit to lay down my life in love for another, I will have had years of practice in loving (and no, not in the sexual sense, in the much more important, life-encompassing sense) - in the agape sense of the word.

Why do Guys 'Cut 'n Run'?

What is it with us guys? This last month seems like it's been the month of 'guys being guys'. A good friend nearly left his wife and kids of seven years. Another friend broke off a serious relationship he was in and stopped being friends with the girl. In another friendship, the guy has stopped talking to or communicating with the girl, without saying why or talking about it. In all of the situations, the women are left wondering what happened, 'Did he ever really care about me?' or 'Did our friendship really matter?'

Now, don't mistakenly think that I'm looking at this from the 'outside.' I will forever carry the shame of doing the same to the first girl I ever dated, a dear friend and an incredible woman. I too brought an abrupt end to a friendship that left her wondering 'What happened?'. And, as a result, I lost an incredible friendship.

So, why talk about this? This last week I was talking to a friend that was here with JBU. He mentioned how he had done the exact same thing in his first dating relationship. That, along with everything else that has been happening in friendships around me this month, got me thinking about why it is that men, all over the world, walk away from the women who were so important in their lives, leaving the women to wonder, 'What happened?'.

Don't expect some epiphany in answer to that question. I think there's a myriad of different reasons. Perhaps personal insecurities or problems with commitment. Sometimes it's just immaturity, not in a heavy handed demeaning sense, but a lack of experience - they simply don't realize what they're doing or how to handle the situation. At times this comes from realizing that, whether for them or for the girl, the relationship isn't the best place for them, they realize things need to change - but then fail to bring about that change in a healthy way.

Whatever the reason, one can't stop at the 'reason' as an explanation or excuse. What are guys to do about their 'cut 'n run' tendency in friendships and relationships?

People believe the Bible for a number of different reasons (don't worry, this isn't a sermon. :-) One of the reasons I've come to trust what it has to say is that it not only explains the world I live in well, but doesn't stop at the explanation (allowing that explanation to be used as an 'excuse' - such as 'it's the way I'm wired'), but rather calls its reader to something more. The word to describe it, which we don't use in modern parlance, is 'exhortation.' Scripture exhorts its reader - that is, urges or calls them to an action - to something that is not 'natural,' but is something that is better - often better personally and interpersonally. (For example, not murdering is a 'healthy' restraint on our natural urge for revenge in order to preserve an orderly community).

So, the question I've been asking myself is what might Scripture have to say about a man's tendency to 'cut 'n run'? Does Scripture go beyond just saying 'guy's struggle with commitment and/or communication' to offer anything helpful? Let me offer this as what I've thought about this week:

In college, my paper for Dr. Castleman's 'New Testament Book Study: Pauline Epistles' was on Eph. 5:20-6:9. For those familiar with this passage, they'll know it's one of the passages on submission that gets completely abused by domineering husbands and fundamentalist churches that see no role for women in the church or in marriages. In doing the paper, there were two really important Greek words that don't come across with the same meaning in our English translations:

upotasso (5:21, 22, 24)

and

agape (5:25, 28, 33)

Verse 21 first uses upotasso and is the introduction to the rest of the chapter and the first part of the next chapter. The verse reads:

'Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.'

Yikes!! Submit. A word that has been used far too often to abuse people - whether women, slaves, or employees. To think that Paul has in mind that type of submission is confusing the modern understanding of the word for the Greek definition - for the idea that Paul did have in mind. Submission here, as meant in the Greek, is better defined: 'to willingly place oneself under another.' It's a choice the subject makes, NOT an action forced on the subject. Paul is calling people to willingly submit their own desires or needs to those of others . No one chooses for someone else to be more important then them without a great level of respect, love, and admiration for that other person.

Second, and JUST as important, is the fact that it calls ALL people to this submission, both husband and wife. Far too often, most likely because of the way the heading splits this section in most English bibles, people simply start with verse 22, which calls the wife to submit to her husband, disregarding this FOUNDATIONAL exhortation for BOTH people in the relationship to submit. It's with the foundational statement in verse 21 - for all people to submit to one another out of love for Christ - that Paul then elaborates on what this looks like in several different social relationships (marriage, families, employment). Paul begins first with what it looks like for a husband and a wife to willingly see the other person as more important than themselves.

Since this post is about men, not women, I'm going to skip verses 22-24. Suffice it to say, however, the women's submission is her choice and is choosing to respect and honor her husband BECAUSE of who he IS and how he honors HER - he sacrifices himself for her, as Christ did for the church (vs. 23). It's not about women submitting to an abusive, domineering, or foolish husband. It's about her being loved by a husband that cares about her more than himself. (Relationships that actually look like this are a BEAUTIFUL thing!)

Okay, on to the men, since this is a post about men - including me - and us growing in the way we care for the women in our lives. So, what does Paul have to say about us, when it comes to thinking about women as more important then ourselves, how are we supposed to 'submit' to them? 'Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her' (vs. 25). Yikes! Dying for someone else is what Christ called the ultimate act of love and is only possible for a man with, excuse the phrase, real 'kahones'. No room for little boys or selfish adolescents here - it's a calling to sacrifice - to willingly walk into and embrace our own death. Here's where the second Greek word becomes important: agape.

As you may already know, there are four words for love in the Greek:

Eros - a passionate, physical, sensual love (where the English word 'erotic' comes from)

Philia - the sort of love present in friendships, between family members, or for an activity

Storge - the love parents have for their kids; a natural affection; used, in ancient Greek almost exclusively within family context

Agape - the love one has for a spouse, a love of commitment

It's the last type of love that Paul uses when he writes about how the husband is to love the wife - and is the same word he uses to describes Christ's love for the church. In the New Testament, this Greek word insinuates the commitment of one's life. In John 15:12, Jesus calls his disciples to love others as he has loved them. In 2 Timothy 4:10, Paul writes of Demas' love for the world that causes Demas to forsake his friendship to Paul.

In the New Testament, the context of agape is one of commitment. Even more so, when in reference to Christ or God, it is a love of self-sacrificial commitment. It's one of the reasons that 1 John 4:8 is such a powerful verse, 'God is love.' Such a simple verse encapsulates so much. A God that came to earth to die for us, to sacrifice himself, that we might respond to and embrace his love. Love which, as the Old Testament describes it, is 'steadfast love' (the phrase is used 196 times in the Old Testament, all in reference to God's character or what he calls his people to).

So, what does this have to do with our tendency, as men, to 'cut 'n run'? Here's how I think it relates. Paul could have called us to eros women - to love them in a sensual way, but honestly, that comes naturally and doesn't call us to anything more. He could even have called us to philia or storge love them - and sure enough, there are a number of friends in our lives that we have affection for or see as 'sisters' - again, in many ways, this comes naturally. But agape - that's a whole different ball game.

It's the type of love that calls men to be more then they are naturally. It calls them to something that is, at times, scary, but doesn't leave any wiggle room for changing their mind. It's a love of commitment, regardless. It's not a conditional love that simply sums up the other types of love. It doesn't leave room for:

1. 'I used to think she was really attractive, but I just don't find her as beautiful anymore.' (eros)

2. 'We used to be friends and really clicked, but we just don't seem to click anymore.' (philia)

3. (Storge...hmm, only examples I can come up with are ones about loving her like you love your mom, which just sounds weird.)

Agape doesn't leave any wiggle room. It doesn't leave a 'way out'. It's not meant to, because, as men, we seem to naturally find the 'wiggle room' and the 'way out.' That's part of the 'cut 'n run' immaturity within us - if we let ourselves, we'll, more often then not, find a reason - eventually or when things get difficult - to not stick with it.

You know what else men are often accused of? You guessed it, not communicating. Agape doesn't leave room for us to say 'I'm a guy and so I just don't talk that much.' Sorry, it's not there. Rather, agape challenges us to a long-standing commitment that goes beyond affection, friendship, or sexual attraction. It's a love that CHOOSES or DECIDES that, 'Whatever comes, I am committed to you. I will have the conversations that are uncomfortable and I will stick this out till I die.'

That, gentleman, is what we are called to. Scared? We probably should be. Think of it as going into war. War will show a man's fear for what it is, but the hero's and the 'real men' are the one's that walk into battle, committed to victory and sacrificing themselves for those around them. Just like men who run away from battle are 'cowards,' so are we, as men, when we 'cut 'n run' in our relationships. When we fail to step into those difficult conversations. When we become something less than men of our word and fail to remain faithful to that commitment we made.

I'm as guilty as the next one. Yet, I know this is what I'm called to and I know it's what every woman I've ever known, deserves. 'Submission' sounds like an entirely different thing when a woman is loved like this - when she's in a relationship where she never has to question her husband's commitment to her - that he will remain faithful, loyal, and care for her more than himself.

That, my friends, is what we're called to. To grow up, to mature, into men who leave 'childish ways behind' - the 'cut 'n run' method - and be men that commit - to have those difficult conversations and to honor and love the women in our lives regardless.

I haven't done this well in the past, but I will push forward and work to grow, that it may describe the man I become. I challenge you, if you're a guy, to step up to the plate with me. Take on the challenge. Become more than you've been. Choose to love the women in your life in a way that will make you the man God's called you to be!

In our culture people excuse their broken relationships away by saying things like, “I fell in love with her, and then I fell out of love. That’s that.” Look: people don’t fall in love. They fall in holes, but they don’t fall in love. You choose love.
-A friend's pastor-

The First Day, 10 Months Later, Father's Day, & Scholarship

Some of the group from the international bible study on Wednesday nights.
Back in April we spent a weekend away at the North Coast. This is us at Giant's Causeway.

Last September, as I walked out of customs at Belfast International Airport, there was a table with a big sign saying 'Queen's University' sitting in the midst of the terminal. Within minutes of being in Northern Ireland I connected with two of the most important aspects of my year: my friendship with three other Americans and the International Friendship Association (IFA).

Who would have guessed that four random people would become best of friends? As we gathered around that table, trying to keep an eye on our luggage, Megan, Melissa, Jude and I shook hands, going through the routine of introducing ourselves to complete strangers after a long, overnight plane ride. It's now June, ten months after we met, and I can't imagine this year without these three incredible friends. From trips to Fall's and Clonard, to quiz nights at the local pub, and weekly dinners, they have been, without a doubt, some of the best memories, and, without question, the best friendships, I have from this year. Through the four of us getting to know each other, I've been introduced to the larger 'gang' - a group of twelve great friends from Missouri, Canada, Northern Ireland, France, and elsewhere.

Along with meeting 'the gang' that day, I also met Kerry Fee and later that first evening, her husband, Peter Fee. Kerry works for IFA and Peter's a local anesthesiologist. Kerry's work involves bringing together community churches to welcome and reach out to the international students that come to Queen's every year. A part of that has been Wednesday night Bible studies. Open to all international students who are interested in practicing their English and learning more about Christianity, the group is usually made up of 20 or so students: mostly Chinese and Malaysian. I was the token America and a couple French students joined us for a while.

We usually break up into a couple different groups after dinner and I would go with the group that was already familiar with Christianity and wanting to go deeper. One of the guys in the group was named Kai. A biology PhD student, Kai had come to know Jesus during last year's Bible study. It was great to be a part of the group with him - his joy for life and an excitement for understanding Scripture.

It was awesome to go to his baptism today at All Saints, a local Anglican Church of Ireland congregation that is Kerry and Peter's home church (Peter's grandfather was a minister there years ago). Having just been to Megan's confirmation a few weeks ago at Clonard Monastery, it's been an incredible month of having friends who have chosen to publicly proclaim their desire to pursue Christ and his calling on their lives in this world.

So, what does this have to do with Father's Day? As Kai and I were walking over to Peter and Kerry's for a celebratory BBQ, Kai told me about his conversation with his dad. His parents are both traditional Chinese communists and Kai's dad couldn't understand why Kai had made the choice he did. Befuddled, he told Kai, 'I didn't think scientists could be religious.' To which Kai answered, 'Religion isn't in conflict with science. It just gives you a different perspective.' I thought it was a great answer.

Over lunch, Kai and I were talking with Lizzy, a mom with a PhD in Physics from Italy, and talking about the great scientists who have also been people of faith in Christ. The ones that first came to mind were: Isaac Newton, Alister McGrath, Blaise Pascal, and, later in life, Charles Darwin. There is a long list of brilliant scientist who have changed and continue to change this world and feel as though their faith in Christ has strengthened their scholarship. One person that comes to mind is geneticist Francis Collins, the head of the human genome project.

In the broader realm of academia - an area that so often seems passionately committed to the minimalizing, if not the death, of faith - the landscape is filled with those who have boldly committed themselves to the best of scholarship, in response to and because of their passion for Christ. And so, for those of us in academia (and those who aren't), we can confidently pursue our fields and areas of study with the best of our ability, knowing that our faith, rather than being left at the door, can and ought to help form and shape our minds and our work. That, as many have found throughout the centuries, our work ought to be the best we can pursue because of a God who gave us our talents, our abilities, and our opportunities. Having been lavished on with such rich blessings, how can we help but not respond by giving our best to the endeavour?

Oxford: Change of Plans

This is my Grandma. At 90, she's the only grandparent I've ever really known.
I'm so excited to live near her again this next year.

It's been a really busy month. JBU's first summer teams arrived - both the studies team (16) and the missions team (8) - so we're nearly a full house with almost 30 people. There was a lot of last minute stuff for David and I to do in getting ready for their arrival, but it's been a lot of fun to have them here.

Once they got here, I had two weeks to pour myself into a 15,000 word paper on the MI5 files I've been looking at. I'd never heard this term before, but what they had us creating was a 'calendar'. Basically, it's synopses, date/name data, and extracts from a group of archival records. On top of providing summary references for the individual 'artifacts', we also had to provide biographies for as many of the names mentioned as we could - which is a bit of a challenge with these MI5 files from 1947-8 that cover topics and people both in England and in Kenya, but I gave it my best shot. Lastly, we had to write a 5,000 introductory essay to the resource to explain/describe the original material as well as explain how the calendar has been set up. Needless to say, I haven't gotten much sleep in the last week. Turned that in on Tuesday and I'll need to start on my dissertation soon.

But, beyond that update, here's the news on Oxford for next year:

Update on Oxford

Plans for Oxford next year have taken a significant turn, but it's not a 'downturn' or a 'turn for the worse'. While unexpected as of three weeks ago - it's exciting!

In looking for funding for next year, nothing has come through, and the possibilities are now quite limited in what could happen. I got in touch with Dr. David Anderson - my potential supervisor there - about delaying a year and it'd be fine by him. So, the big change of plans is that....

I'm coming back to the US!

I'll likely come back shortly after turning in my dissertation (due Sep 15) and be back in the states for a year. During that year, I'll reapply to Oxford (they don't defer) and apply for funding/scholarships/grants. The hope is that, in a year, I could return to Oxford with it mostly or completely funded. I'll also be applying to some really good African PhD programs in the US - Michigan State, Wisconsin, and Indiana at Bloomingfield, all have really strong programs.

It also means I'm on the job hunt for this next year, so I'm going to be looking for history teaching positions at community colleges or private high schools. (If you know of anything, let me know!)

The way the decision has come about has been really great and it's so clear that it's God's direction. I'm incredibly at peace about it. My grandma was recently diagnosed with mild-altheizmer's, so this will allow me to be near her, which I'm so excited about. I call her 'Beautiful', because she is, and I'm looking forward to loving on her for a year (she's nearly 90!). As well, my twin brother's back in Little Rock, so I'll get to be near him - which is something I've been wanting to be for a long while now. So, I'm hoping I can come alongside and encourage him and just enjoy some good 'twin brother' time. :-)

I have a friend who's been praying for me and for Oxford. She emailed me last week with a real sense that there might be something in store for me this next year, something that I wasn't giving much attention to, that, if I were to go to Oxford, would be drowned out. That was long before anyone knew I was thinking about not going. We'll see what God's got planned! Whatever it is, it'll be incredibly exciting! It's another adventure!

Oxford, Funding, and Your Prayers

(St. Cross College, home to 350 Masters/PhD students, 67% of whom are international, is where I'll be living and studying next year at Oxford.)

I just returned yesterday from a great four day trip to London and Oxford. I was doing three days of research in London at the National Archives, and then presented a paper at a conference on researching Africa at Oxford. A great week with a lot accomplished towards papers and my MA thesis.

While I was gone, the one-month mark to when I have to let Oxford know how I'm going to pay for my PhD passed. Oxford's deadline is June 5th. In light of that, I would covet your prayers over the next month - that God would provide in wonderful ways and that I would have ears to hear and eyes to see where He might be leading me to look for funding.

Here are some specific ways that I would love your prayers:

Scholarships/Grants - I've applied for several scholarships and grants at Oxford, but am still waiting to hear back. Pray that the responses would be positive from these funding bodies - and that I would hear relatively soon.

First Year Provision - the first year will be my most expensive year, whereas the second year I'll be in Kenya doing research, where cost of living is considerably less, and the third year I'll be teaching undergraduate classes, which will provide some extra income. I will be able to apply for funds from the US (Fullbright, etc.) for my 2nd and 3rd year, so there should be a lot more not available for this first year.

Wisdom - that God would open my eyes to see opportunities to pursue - ways in which he would want to provide - through finding more scholarships or other funding sources.

Money - that God would provide the money for the three years. I have some debt from my Bachelor's and Master's degrees, and am hesitant to take on more debt then I already have. Loans can be a great way to fund an education, but I'd like to not be limited to high income jobs (which are difficult to find for teaching history) by debt and not be free to follow where the Lord may call - whether that's to a university overseas or a smaller college in the US.

Thanks so much for your prayers! Assuming, in faith, that all the details work out for me to be at Oxford starting in October, there is an open invitation for you to come visit. I'd love to show you around! :-)

Pictures from Dublin Adventure :-)

James sent me some pictures the other day (THANKS JAMES!), so I thought I'd post them for you to see a few from our day in Dublin!

From The Adventure: Dublin

The three of us on one of the many bridges that cross the river in Dublin. This was one of those 'hold at the camera and take a picture shots', but I absolutely LOVE Jenny's smile in this - her whole face is smiling! It's awesome! :-)

From The Adventure: Dublin

We stopped for lunch at this great little crepe place. There's an ongoing joke in our family between my mom and I. Because mom always told me as a kid (and even in high school/college) to drink more juice and less soda, I started calling Coke juice - that way I was always drinking juice. :-) Well guess what?! Coke IS juice! It's right there on the label! 'Sparking soft drink with vegetable extract'. That totally qualifies as juice! (Not sure mom will buy it, but it certainly bolsters my self-deception. :-)

From The Adventure: Dublin

Grafton Street is the big, fancy strip of expensive stores. This was an alleyway off of that with St. Anne's Church at the end. James took this picture and I really like it. The line of telephone's on the right, the modern banners (including GBK - The Gourmet Burger Kitchen), but then the most impressive building is this church at the end of the road that's been around much longer than anything else in the picture.

From The Adventure: Dublin

Here's a view of the river and the old buildings that line it. It was definitely busy this day and PACKED the next day (St. Patrick's Day).

The Adventure: Dublin

From The Adventure: Day 4

My favorite pic of the trip, so since I don't have any pics from Dublin,
I thought this one was fitting. I love these two! They're great!

Nearly two weeks later, I should probably finish the tale of the adventures with Jenny and James. It feels so much longer ago then two weeks - so much has happened since then. JBU was here, my parents flew to the Middle East, my grandma was in the hospital, Jenny and my nephews flew out to Arkansas to take care of her, my other sister's due date came and went for their son (they're inducing tonight and tomorrow!), plans had been made for me to stay here, and then I got excepted to Oxford. In spite of that, my time with Jenny and James has been and will be one of my highlights of my time here in Northern Ireland, so here's the story of our final day together...

--------

We headed to Enterprise Rent-a-Car early Monday morning to turn in the Chevrolet Captiva and get a lift to the Jury's Inn for the bus to Dublin, which we made with just a few minutes to spare. The two hour bus ride has at least one really funny memory - there was this guy in front of Jenny and James who was getting into acting and was headed down to southern Ireland for St. Patrick's day with his friends. Besides having an incredible ability to talk non-stop, he also decided to take his shoes and socks off half-way through the trip. So, for the rest of the ride he had his legs stretched out into the aisle - not the most attractive thing in the world. Jenny and I caught each other's eyes and shared a laugh.

We got checked into the Bewley's Hotel near the airport - for the price, a really good deal. There rooms sleep 5 people and they're really reasonable. We paid £80 for our room for the night, which was about the most reasonable price - free shuttle, close to the airport, and the rooms were nice. After dropping our stuff off, we headed into town, hoping to catch some of the festivities in running up to St. Patrick's day.

The bus from the airport dropped us off on O'Connell street - just down from the GPO, the site of a major stand-off in the Easter Rising in 1916. You can still see the bullet holes in the columns outside the post office. We spent an incredibly long day on our feet seeing everything from the Temple Bar area, the hotel owned by Bono and the Edge from U2 (where rooms start at £300 per night and the penthouse suite is over £2500), Dublin City Castle, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Christ Church Cathedral, Trinity University, and Grafton Street. Grafton Street is the 'upmarket' shopping strip in Dublin. There's some amazing stuff - from the Oxfam store that carries some great stuff to stores selling diamon bracelets for £20,000 to Bewley's Tea. We stopped at the latter place to grab a bite to eat and try out Irish Coffee. We actually splurged and James got both Irish Coffee and Irish Cheescake. We all decided the Bailey's in the coffee was really good. :-)

From there, we had a pretty relaxed evening, grabbing dinner at this little side restraunt where Jenny and James got this really, really good Thai Curry and I had an amazing fajita. By that time, we were pooped and there was no way we were going to be able to stay awake long enough to wait for Irish music to start at the pubs. We decided to head back to the hotel and make an early night of it.

Jenny and James had to head out about 7:30am the next morning to catch their flight back to the US. I ended up heading out with them and hooked up with Nathan and Valerie Cozart and Valerie's two sisters, Lauren and Kristen. But, that's for another story. Needless to say, Jenny, James and I had pushed so hard for five days that we were pretty sure I wouldn't last much into the afternoon before I would catch the bus back up to Belfast from sheer exhaustion. The day ended up going a little different than that...

[P.S. Jenny and James have the pictures from our day, so I'll try to post a link once they're up.]

In Case You Were Wondering :-)

I received an email from a friend yesterday that, among other things, mentioned that he had read my post (Oxford: Surprised by Loneliness) from a couple of days ago and wasn't sure if I was actually going to Oxford. I thought that same idea may have come across to others, so I wanted to clarify that I definitely am moving ahead with the full intention, and desire, of going to Oxford. It's been a dream of mine for years, so, I'm going to give it my all and let God work out the details for whether or not it's where he wants me next year.

Good news, by the way. My supervisor here at Queen's spoke with Oxford this morning and I'm not the only one who had my dissertation due in September, rather than June (which is when Cambridge & Oxford have their's due). Oxford is not requiring me to have it all done by the end of July - praise the Lord!! I will just be required to have enough of a rough draft to my supervisor by then that he can let Oxford know how it's coming along. This is great news! With the full time to work on my dissertation, I have more confidence that I'll be able to write a worthwhile dissertation, and make the grade on it I need to.

Well, that's the update for today. Once again, God continues to take care of me in the midst of me stressing and freaking out. :-)

Oxford: Surprised by Loneliness

From Last Day in LR

It seems that most often, when I post, I post about things I've been doing, something that's happened, or thoughts on my mind, but rarely do I post about how I'm doing emotionally. Perhaps that's expected with me being both a guy and the reality that blogs are public and require a degree of composure and social restraint. Not that I'm going to throw out those last two qualities, but I thought I would write that infrequent post about what's going on emotionally.

------------

Here at the start of April, I'm beginning my eighth month in Northern Ireland. I can't even begin to communicate how quickly it has flown by. It's amazing to think that over ten months ago I gave my notice at JBU and Kim Eldridge, my boss at the time, encouraged me to pursue graduate school. Here I am, ten months later, a stranger in a foreign country, having had experiences that some are only able to in the depths of their imagination. It's humbling, for how fortunate am I that God would smile down on me and give me such a rich life.

The companionship of God is an incredible thing. The idea that God, who knows us completely because of his omniscience, chooses to know us intimately because of His love, when He doesn't have to. There's no question in my mind that I wouldn't be here were it not for the Triune God and His hand. Were it not for His hand, I wouldn't have the blessing of incredible friends - both at church and at Queen's - nor the richness of opportunities - the weekly international bible study, the SOS bus, etc. I am so very thankful for all the friendships, with people from all over the world and all kinds of backgrounds, the Lord has given me this year. They'll be friendships and memories that will stay with me for a lifetime.

Interestingly enough though, I find that its friendship that is the cause of deep longing. At JBU, the word 'community' is mocked for being used so often, yet it encapsulates the two great commandments: to be in community (to love) the Lord Your God and to be in community (to love) your neighbor as yourself.

One of the pains of a year like this is found in one of its richest blessings. A couple of years ago I toured London (and visited Cambridge) by myself for a week. After that trip, I decided I didn't want to spend money on another trip that I did by myself - that life needs to be experienced with someone, with a friend.

Earlier this week, I emailed several friends to see if they were interested in coming over to Ireland for a week this summer, since it looks like I won't be sticking around for another year. The email came in response to their emails saying they missed me, coupled with my own desire to spend time with them.

One of the friends, Jonathan (above), who I've known for five years now and has been a rich blessing in my life, opened my eyes, in his reply, to a reality that I wasn't even aware of. In asking how I was doing, he wrote: "I know it must be pretty lonely over there. It seems that although you are living your dream you are a little discouraged." As I lay in bed and reflected on Jonathan's email, I realized that he was 'dead on' (as they'd say here in Ireland). I may be living an incredible life and experiencing amazing things (which, I am), but it's certainly mixed with a longing for family and friends back home, those who have known me for a longtime and know me deeply and in whose company I will always relish.

And so I realized that Oxford, while bringing a great sense of elation and excitement on Monday when I opened the acceptance letter, has also brought with a sense of longing and, for lack of a better word (since I do have incredible friends here), a sense of loneliness - but loneliness for those who are back in the US. The idea of three more years away from them, of three more years experiencing this adventure and making new friends and adapting to new things - it's three years I know, now more than ever, and not just in the academic side, I will have to rest 'in the shadow of His wings'.

He is God - the one that the prophets of old proclaimed as 'steadfast in love and faithfulness'. And so, in realizing a sense of loneliness and desire to experience this life in community, I push into Him who has promised to 'never leave us nor forsake us' and trust that, as I hold fast to Him, He holds fast to me. That He'll guide me through this adventure He has me on - through excitement, through joy, through sorrow, through fellowship, and through loneliness.

The Triune God - a companion, a guide, and my Rock along the Way.

I'll end this post with something else Jonathan wrote:

'Stay the course my friend; God has great things in store for you!'

And so I press in and I hold on for the continuing adventure.