Dazzle me gradually

Too bright for our infirm Delight
The Truth must dazzle gradually
Or every man be blind---*

Open my eyes that I may delight.
But open them gradually,
Lest Your glory blind my sight.
Dazzle me gradually!
That I may look long upon You in delight!


*from Tell All the Truth but Tell is Slant
by Emily Dickinson

Fall in New Mexico

Kristin took the kids to the state fair again this year. The best thing there is the McDonald's farm and trying to figure out why the prize chicken is the best when it looks just like the rest of the chickens. Another strange thing is some of the acts (dancing pigs, white tigers) are the same that we saw in Georgia over 5 years ago. What a strange career it must be to go from state fair to state fair telling the same jokes and doing the same routine over and over!

Eli and I also hiked the La Luz trail this weekend; that's the trail that goes up to Sandia peak. We started at the lower tram, took the connector to the La Luz and then ended at the upper tram and rode it down. It's about 10 miles hiking all in all. He did well despite the long distance and still recovering from a cold.

Next stop, Balloon Fiesta!

Sons and Daughters

I highly recommend this album. It is a musically enjoyable and theologically delightful tool to remind yourself of God’s adopting grace. It will put a song in your heart to remind you of what God has done in Christ--while none of us were naturally God's children, God, in his grace has made us his own sons and daughters through the death of his beloved Son.

I have several Sovereign Grace albums and this one is right up there withValley of Vision and Savior.

Back to school

Two weeks ago I traveled to South Carolina to attend orientation at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. So I'm back in school again, but barely, since I'm only taking one course a semester. My hope is to slowly progress through the curriculum so that if I retire from the AF in a few years I will have less to complete in residence before, Lord willing, being called to a pastorate somewhere.

Happily, there are many good seminaries to choose from, but I decided on GPTS because it offers a unique combination: 1. Good academics, 2. Theologically conversative professors and curriculum, 3. Affordablility ($150 per credit hour versus $300+ for other places). It's also distinctly Presbyterian which suits me well and on top of all that it's very close to home, a place I long for more after being away for so long. In God's providence, my brother lives about 5 minutes from the seminary and my mother is less than an hour away.

I'm only in the second week of class but the reading and class discussion (I listen in on class each week by downloading MP3s) has been the most enjoyable of any school I've been part of (and it seems that I've been in a lot). My classmates have started a message board and have shared e-mail addresses so that also helps mitigate some of the drawbacks of being a distance student.

As my time in the Air Force draws to a close, I'm more and more interested to know what the Lord has for our family in the days ahead.