Updates
A lot has happened this year. Sure, we’re getting married, and that by itself would be a major event for a year. But, both Amy and I have more going on than a wedding. Which is good, as we have just enough to almost help us pass the next month and a half without entirely obsessing about our upcoming celebration.
Amy, if you hadn’t heard, was back in the studio this past summer and fall. She recorded a Christmas album. Eight songs. Four of them are brand new, written by her. Four are classics, given a unique Amy approach. The CD is called That Holy Night. It’s not for sale quite yet, but just about. We have a website where you can learn more and listen to some excerpts: That Holy Night.
As for me, I’m now fully engaged with the PhD in Theology program at Fuller Seminary. This is my first quarter and I’m taking a class called Theology of Beauty. I have inspiration for this class. Every time I look at Amy I know that God is a maker of beauty. The course, of course, isn’t nearly as delightful as my bride to be. It’s mostly pretty intense readings and deep discussions, that fairly make my brain feel fuzzy and light after a session. But, it’s good for me. My main paper topic is likely to be discovering a theology of beauty in the writings of Jurgen Moltmann, with beauty to be found, I propose, in the intersection of his pneumatology and eschatology. I know what you’re thinking… yes, you can borrow it to read when I’m finished.
This quarter also got me a wee bit of teaching experience as I took over five class sessions for Systematic Theology II. I’m a TA, and the professor, my mentor, was traveling. So handed me control. It was good fun, and I got some encouraging compliments. Seems like maybe there’s a career in that for me.
I also have another bit of news. My second book was accepted to be published by Barclay Press. The basic idea of the book is to look at the idea of Christian spiritual growth, especially as problems and frustrations try to pull us down and away. I used the story of Israel’s exodus from Egypt as the model of how God seems to work in our lives. He doesn’t bring us problems, but he doesn’t always shield us from them. And while we can’t often know the why of evils, we can know that we can trust in the God who has called us and will bring us to His end. No settled title or publication date, as it’s currently in its initial stages of hearty editing.
Life presses on for both of us, each of us seeking to follow God’s call in our lives, as we have for so many years. We press onwards, now no longer in a solitary pursuit but soon to be joined together.
Isn’t life fun?
Tags: life