Hanging in There

Decision Update

Just a quick update today.  I've completed all my semester work for ST104OL Soteriology and I'm getting ready to head home for the first time in years to take a little time off.  Before heading out though, I thought I'd share that I've made a decision with the assistance of the kind staff at DTS.  Rather than withdrawing at this time, I'm going to audit a course this Fall to buy myself some time to see if I can make things work moving forward.  Still not sure what's on the horizon, but at least there's still hope.

What will I be auditing?  Well, I can't audit any course that I might end up taking as part of my degree.  So I've decided to go ahead and audit NT101OL New Testament Greek.  Basically, I'm terrible with languages, so I figure this will give me an opportunity to gain some skills I wish I had, without having to stress out over being - right, terrible with languages.  And in case you think I'm being overly hard on myself; I've been living in Poland for ten years now and I still hardly speak a lick of Polish...

Stay tuned, I'll be posting my ST104OL recap shortly after the final grades are posted.  Really couldn't say how I did in the course as much of the final grade rests on the last two assignments I submitted.  I did OK on the final exam with an 88 after answering 3 questions wrong.  I had a facepalm moment as one of the answers I got wrong was from a passage I actually taught on a few weeks back.  I think I mentioned how much I hate taking tests - yeah, it's the little details that getcha.  So look for that debrief in a week or so.

At A Crossroads

The Tough Decisions

As I approach the end of my summer semester in ST104 Soteriology I find myself at a crossroads and faced with a very difficult decision.  If you've followed at all the story of my seminary education at DTS, splotchy as my updates have been, you know that I've endured a lot over the past couple of years.  Life changes, health changes, work changes, and everything in between have made my pursuit of a seminary education challenging to say the least. And now it's time for me to make some difficult decisions.

While my spirit is willing to continue to make the necessary sacrifices to see my studies through, my pockets are empty.  I've just run out of the green needed to pay the bills.  I'm having some conversations to consider my options and I've not given up hope yet, but the truth is, it doesn't look good.  That said, whether I find the means to pay for school and continue or not, I know this effort will not have been in vain.

What I've learned in the short time I've been at DTS has already had a profound impact on my life.  I know this is by God's design and according to His will.  And what I've learned I've also shared, and will continue to do so with those around me; in my church, in my community, and at my work.  While the journey may look different for me soon, it will by no means be over.  I'm sure I'll have more to write on this soon as the picture becomes more clear.

But for now I'll continue to grind through the final weeks of my current course.  You know I was really looking forward to taking this class, and I can tell you that I have not been disappointed.  In the shorter summer schedule it's been a little more challenging, but it's been great and I look forward to sharing a lot more about what I've learned very soon.

This Is My Story

Evangelistic Testimony

I am generally opposed to sharing my work for my classes on this blog.  It's not in any way that I'm ashamed or that I'm trying to hide what I'm doing.  But I do so for two primary reasons; First, many of my assignments have a specific context within my classes which is important to the actual learning.  If I were to post my work, it might somehow spoil the experience of a student and detract from their learning.  Second, obviously, there is always the concern surrounding the temptation of plagiarism.  However, my story is unique to me, so I don't see the harm in sharing it.  With a few minor edits, this is my submission for my PM102OL assignment to write my evangelistic testimony.

 

PM101OL - Critical Review

PM101OL - Highlights and Lowlights

The final grade was posted a couple days ago for PM101OL which means it's time to reflect on how things went in the course.  So I'll offer a critical review of the class and my performance throughout.  As with any endeavor, there were things that were done well, and things that could have been done better.  Without pulling any punches, here are my highlights and lowlights.

PM102OL - Critical Review

PM102OL - Highlights and Lowlights

The final grade was posted a couple days ago for PM102OL which means it's time to reflect on how things went in the course.  So I'll offer a critical review of the class and my performance throughout.  As with any endeavor, there were things that were done well, and things that could have been done better.  Without pulling any punches, here are my highlights and lowlights.

All Over but the Cryin'

Another Semester in the Books

Well, it was a hard sprint to the end of the semester and plenty of Coke Zero was consumed over a number of sleepless nights.  But all projects and papers have been turned in and it's all over by the cryin'.  Right now I'm just waiting on my final grades and then I'll post my course reviews.  This was a tough semester, but I'm generally pleased how everything went.  Stay tuned as I'll be posting more in the coming days.  Now I'm gonna get back to bed...

Controlled Chaos

Too Busy is a Real Thing

With a little more than a month remaining in the semester, I thought it would be good to post an update on how things are going.  The best way I can describe how things are at the moment is controlled chaos.  Between changes at work, family needs, church commitments, and school, I've been crazy busy and I'm learning that there is such a thing as being too busy.  There are battles raging for my time and admittedly, I'm not doing as well on these fronts as I could - but you already know this as this is my first post in over a month.  Today I'll share a bit about this and how I plan to get things back on track in my crazy life!