Classes, week 1.

So... one week down with many more to go. The bad news I guess is that I feel that I'm already behind on all of the reading that I need to do for class. The good news is that I finish my first week of seminary feeling very confident in my abilities to accomplish what I came for. I have a very full schedule of classes on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, but no classes (or anything else for that matter) on Monday and Friday. My first class everyday is Greek I. This is the class that I think I have been the most nervous about since day one. In the first week we have learned the Greek alphabet and have already been quizzed over it. There is going to be a lot of work involved in this class, but I really like the instructor and I already know the Greek tutor she has set up as well. I have found my roommate Eric to be a good study partner as well when he is in town. All in all I think I will enjoy this class. After Greek everyday Chapel meets. While this is not mandatory, I made it mandatory for me. It's amazing to be able to take an hour out of each day between classes to devote to worship. It's a great reminder of why I am here, and it ensures that I won't let the daily grind of school turn this experience into just another masters program. After taking my Greek quiz on Thursday, I went into chapel and at the prelude music I closed my eyes and could literally feel every muscle in my body just start to relax and become calm. Tuesdays and Thursdays I follow up on chapel with my Introduction to the Old Testament class. This is probably going to be the class that I like the least, but was probably the one I looked forward to most going in. I really like the instructor of the class; a very spunky older lady, but I have trouble following her lectures in class and I'm not a big fan of her textbook. I don't worry about passing, but I don't think I will look forward to the lectures as much as I will others I have. My third class on both days follows lunch and is Early and Medieval Church History. If OT will be my least favorite class, this will probably be my favorite class. This tends to be a class that a lot of people don't like, but I love the subject matter, and the professor who teaches it is probably the best that I have. It's taught in a lecture hall type setting since every incoming student must take it (all 40ish), but the professor is very organized and puts his notes up on a screen so it's easier for somebody like me to listen and take notes at the same time. I really have enjoyed the textbook for this class as well. The last class on Tuesday and Thursday is Foundations of Worship. The Associate Dean of the seminary is the instructor of this class, and his passion for the subject really shines through in this class. It is going to be a lot of work I think, but I feel that I will really enjoy this class as well. My other two classes meet on Wednesday. Following chapel that day I meet with my Spiritual Formation Group. This is a required course for the first year students (I really hesitate to call it a course though) which puts students in small groups with a faculty advisor to encourage students to explore spiritual disciplines and practices. It’s a unique concept and one of the reasons that I picked Dubuque as well. My last class on Wednesday is a three hour course after lunch on Presbyterian History and Confessions. The instructor is the same as my church history class and has really divided the three hours into two classes, one on the history and one on the confessions. It's a nice way to break up the time in class and give both hours a different feel. All in all it's a 16 credit load, which is a lot, but as I said before I feel good about everything.

I have also gone through with turning in my application (if that's what it was?) to get on the ballot for student council. I have no clue what comes next or how/when one gets elected, but I'm pretty content to play this one by ear. I'm not tied to the idea of being elected, but for some reason I really felt called to putting my name in. I have always run from any organization like this, and I sometimes question my leadership skills for something like this, but I'm trying to keep my mind open to what I feel God wants me to do and well......

Thursday was a lot of fun for me, but I really think that I try and put too many things into too small of a space. After class I came home and had a bite to eat. Following that I went up to the practice football fields above the townhouses I live in and played about an hour of ultimate Frisbee with some friends here. Immediately following that I rushed back home to change so I could go out for some drinks with another group of friends here. I organized this outing to celebrate my making it through the first week of classes unscathed. On the way back to campus I mentioned that I enjoyed poker and I was invited over to another townhouse to play with yet another group that was playing that night. I got home at about 11:30 that night and pretty much crashed. It really is a special community that I have been able to join here, and I thank God daily for the opportunities he has given me to be a part of this.

I just got back from a trip to Chicago today. I found out Thursday as well that friends of mine from back home, James and Alice, were going to be in Chicago this weekend. I arranged with them to drive up to see them on Saturday evening and James and I watched the Colorado State football game versus Colorado. It was great to see the Rams win. We followed that up with the Ohio State victory over Texas while I tried to teach his two year old who for and when to cheer. It didn't work out that great, but it was a lot of fun to watch her enthusiasm even if it always came late or at the wrong time. I was treated to an incredible spaghetti dinner that night and was given a room to stay overnight at Alice's dad's house and left this morning to go see my roommate preach at one of his church's near Rockford. It was an odd experience for me to sit in a worship service attended by probably under 20 people in a very small church, but it was also refreshing to be welcomed so warmly and have people take a genuine interest in me as well. Eric gave a remarkable sermon that made me think, which is always something I appreciate. Afterward I followed Eric home to have lunch with his wife. They treated me to some great sandwiches and football on the TV. Before heading back to Dubuque Eric drove me to the largest of the churches he serves at (it's a 3 church coop). It was a very nice church that reminded me a bit of Mountain View as far as its size goes. The drive home was very nice, if very rainy. I really do like this area of the country with its rolling hills and very green trees everywhere.

Tomorrow I've organized a fantasy football league with some other of the first year guys and we have our draft during the Monday Night Football game. I probably need all the luck I can get with this draft as I have not had a great week in my other league. Oh Well.

I can't express just how blessed I really feel at this point in my life. Looking back at things a year ago I would have said that I was in the best place I had ever been in my life. I worked for a great Christian company, made more money then I ever had before and had a great group of friends. One year later I find myself as poor as I have ever been, living halfway across the country going to school full time. I have sold almost everything I own, but I feel more free then I ever have before. I still have the great friends I have made in Colorado over the years, but have added to their number all of the great friends I have in Iowa as well now. God has been great to me, and I can't wait to see what he has in store for me next.