bierkergaard

Psalm 119:71 "It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes" I think it significant that the good of adversity is a present tense "is" even if the afflicted is "have been." What was bitter is now sweet . Tomorrow I make my final trip to Temple University as a student. I had to complete revisions to my Dissertation since Commencement which still made me a student, but a graduated one. It was kind of an odd status but the thinking is that if someone passes his/her Oral Examination Dissertation Defense, that is the decisive battle to be won or lost. Since I won, so to speak, what remained was a cleaning-up operation. Tomorrow I put the mop to rest. The last 8 years of going to school and working for most of the time has been hard, so hard. I feel a sense of relief but also a strange emptiness of what now? Something that has defined my life for so long is now passing away...I am hoping in a week or two my sore butt recovers fr

James 1:21 "Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your soul." KJV, KJV, KJV!!! Eugene Peterson in his book "Tell It Slant" writes: "Jesus came to save our souls. He also came to save our words. Word and words are at the very core of God's revelation of himself to us. If the words are damaged through careless or malicious usage, or are left in bad repair....words wear out. We have a responsibility for cleaning them up, scrubbing off the grime." (p. 107). I edited this...I know, what temerity! One should be cautious when modifying the master's prose, one who has produced his own translation of the Bible. Having an M.A. from Johns Hopkins in Semitic languages gives some cred. I had a handyman over at the rental property the other day. I basically served one major function that day as he fixed several and assorted problems on the property: Dutifully writi