Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Soon...

Its hard to believe, but the ticker timer for our new baby is coming to an end. Approximately 1 week is left before Heather reaches her due date. The calm before the storm is upon us. I have always found this to be the strangest kind of position to be in. It is similar to the moment before you are called to give your grade 6 speech. You are the next kid up, and are frantically flipping through cue-cards in hopes that you have memorized what you are going to say. In other ways, it is far from similar to this. Work keeps me busy, so the time has felt very fast. It is nearly August! Where has my summer gone? Alas! Heather is feeling well, and looks like a beautiful balloon. I love this woman. She is a wonderful helper, and she knows me super well.

I'm going to be a father. Woah. Pray for us friends, in the next week or two, and I will do my best to keep you updated!

Value God above all else, because he is reality.

T

Wednesday, July 04, 2007

The Sword and the Swan

Pending on God's miraculous work, and the Trent University English Department, I have tentatively planned the following schedule of mayhem (and possibly learning) for my final bout at beloved Trent. If this was all I had to do I would be busy, but alas, God has determined to discipline me or kill me this coming scholastic year, having given me the responsibility of a wife and child alongside the care of a community of bible-studiers. I used to get those foreboding thoughts of the intensity of the year to come when I was shopping for books for my courses. Now it comes 2 months before classes even begin...

Full Year

English 205 - Form and Context (I refuse to call it 2000)
English 3150 - Studies in Shakespeare
Philosophy 320 - Metaphysics and Epistemology (for Jer)
Latin 100 (for Boyne)

Autumn

MODL 302H - Romance Linguistics
PHIL 275 - Philosophy of Religion

Winter

MODL 303H - Germanic Linguistics
MODL 202H - Historical Linguistics

Besides the madness of an overloaded year (there is a chance I might be able to satisfy the requirements for English 205 without retaking it, thereby avoiding the madness) I am excited about these selections. The Latin is partly to stay in touch with Martin Boyne, partly to satisfy the 'Linguistics Emphasis' requirements, and partly to prepare me for Masters work at TBS. The linguistics is for my own interest, to see if I want to explore that further when dealing with theology. It is always helpful to understand the background of languages and the culture they developed in when dealing with theology, because many arguments and conversations in this day fail to listen adequately, so as to properly refute or affirm what is being said. Understanding language is the root to this. Philosophy of Religion is for sharpening my apologetical skills, because there is ripe opportunity to deal with issues like 'the problem of evil', 'the existence of God', and 'the relationship between faith and reason'. The other philosophy is partly because I am interested in understanding 'ways of knowing', or how people understand knowledge, and partly because I want to spend some time with Jer in some scholastic fashion. The Shakespearean English is my attempt to go as deep as I can in one area of English while at Trent. I think Tromly made me love and hate Shakespeare, and I don't think I gave it as much time as I should have (too many talks with Noah in the O.C. about everything).

One thing I was excited about when choosing courses was the degree of intentionality I was able to suffuse through my selections. My first year resembled Russian Roulette, and my second year was an attempt to do as much English as possible. If everything goes well, this year's selections will mark a development in the purposeful part of my character. Can anyone smell Discipline?... Oh, its only my socks...

Peace,

Todd