I'm finally into the swing of things. That isn't to say that my weeks have developed the sort of regularity that will come in the next few weeks, but I've made it through the first gauntlet of Oxford, and although I lost some feathers along the way, I'm still flying high. Alright maybe that was too cheesy. The point is, I've experienced what Oxford has in store for me, and I'm excited for the rest of the experiences. I'm still trying to get connected to my college's soccer team, which should happen this week. That will be a nice diversion from constant reading and writing... which by the way is all that you are missing. The past few days have not been full of English life as you might expect, sadly they've just been like most of my time here. Another paper, another 10 books, another set of late nights, and yet another 2,500 word essay. Although this most recent one came together quite well... either I'm getting more fluid with this writing thing, or it was an easier assignment. I hope it is the first one.

The picture is from Ireland. This is Nick and I looking at the Atlantic on the Beara Peninsula.

However, I have had some great experiences the past few days. Last night was an especially valuable time. About 20 of us got together and had a night of worship. We just took an hour out of our studies and gathered together with a couple of guitars and sang for an hour and a half. It was wonderful. I enjoyed the chance to worship but it was also nice just to be able to sing. So that was the highlight of my week so far.

Another highlight of my week was editing a fellow student's paper on the Messianic Secret in the Gospel of Mark. Ever since meeting Dr. Tim Geddert from the MB Seminary I've been falling more and more in love with Mark, and I've been studying it quite a bit. I really enjoy it and I had a blast discussing the ideas with the student. I found a lot of self worth in that discussion, much more than I found in the philosophical theology discussion you can read about in the last post. Maybe its because I felt prepared and strong in my position... but I'd like to think that its because I see so much value and worth in studying the bible and grasping truth in God's word... instead of trying to find it in the conceptualization of philosophy that eventually makes God unrecognizable to us. But its probably just because I didn't get stomped. We'll see.

The paper I just finished, which freed me up to write another blog entry, is on St. Augustine again. But this time its attempting to answer the question: "Was St. Augustine a progression or a regression from Classical models of history?" It was a lot of fun to write, because it was one of the few times I've been able to really paint a picture or tell a story with my writing, which is really why I enjoy history. If you want a copy of any of my papers, (although I can't imagine why) I'll begin posting some so you can see what I've been up to, and hopefully the progression of my writing.

The paper that I started today for Philosophical Theology is on Miracles and Petitionary Prayer... I'll let you know how it develops.

Sadly, I can't think of much more to report. I'll let you know if something comes up. But I really want to acknowledge a few people who I'm told just starting reading the blog. Greg Claassen and Noelle Dickenson... glad you found the blog... tell your friends. Maybe we could start some sort of raffle for the person who introduces the most people to the blog, I'll bring you back something nice. I don't know, we'll work on that later.

For your viewing pleasure, here is another video from my time at Oxford. This video is of the River Avon as it runs through the city of Bath in South East England. In the background you can see a bridge with shops on it, this is the only remaining bridge in Europe that still has shops on it. Its not the same river Avon that runs through Shakespeare's home of Stratford... because there are many rivers named Avon in England. "Avon" is either Gaelic or Anglo-Saxon for "River." But none-the-less, this was an interesting river because the city of Bath has designed an artistic waterfall. I thought it was cool.


Also want to give my love to my family back home. Grandma Lil and Grandpa Charlie; Grandma Marj and Grandpa Denys, and of course all my Aunts and Uncles and Cousins that I love and miss very much. Praying for you all and thinking of ya.