Recycle your VCR

Step 1: watch video

Step 2: Profit

Finally we are connected to the world

Sometime today we will finally be connected to the internet for the first time since the big move almost a week ago. I am super excited. Expect bigger and better things next week when I no longer have to send my blogs in to Blogger using morse code and a telegraph. Of course, things have definitely been better since I stopped using that danged, unreliable pony express...

Mr. Ben

I miss teaching. I really miss the interaction with the students every day. I really started to feel a sense of ownership towards my kids. I have found myself wondering how their next teacher is going to do. Is that person going to know them like I did? Are they going to care like I did? Are they going to give that little extra to make sure that the kids were pushed to learn as much as possible? I hope so.

One of the things I loved the most was the unpredictability of the kids. Every day was a new day, I never knew what they were going to think of next, or where there ambitions would take them. One day, one of my students decided she would be my secretary and subsequently screened everyone who came in the room and took notes on everything that would happen. Another one created a skee ball game out of classroom materials while waiting in line. One of my sixth graders spent an entire week trying to find her "angry face". She never did find it and had to settle for a mix of confused and puppy dog.

Teaching is a passion of mine, but for now it has to take a back seat to medicine. I'll be back though. One day, I will teach again and it will be a glorious day.

Bible winner

I recently bought the new English Standard Version Study Bible, it was World Magazine's"Book of the Year". It is phenomenal. 

The commentary is 2/3 of the the book. The introductions to the individual books are lengthy and detailed and help provide context and explore the content deeper. The verse commentaries are helpful and provide explanations in context with the rest of the Bible. The authors of the various commentaries also do an excellent job of not picking sides in controversial areas. They present the facts and tell which opinions are more widely held.

There are also many full color pictures and diagrams in the text. In my brief skimmings, I saw an excellent depiction of Solomon's Temple with a nice break-down of the temple articles. I'm sure there are many more to be found, but I haven't discovered them yet. 

With commentary by both Packer and Grudem, among many others, this is an excellent version. I highly recommend it.

Busy and yet not

Med school starts in a month. I can't wait. I'm ready to get on with this next stage of life. Until then, God has seen fit to give me a time of respite. While I'm soaking it in as much as I can, I know that this is probably the calm before the storm and God knows that I am going to need a little extra rest in the days to come. During the month of July, it is looking like I will be spending lots of time with my wife putting together our new apartment, enjoying God, working for Bios down at Paradise Bakery, and playing basketball. 

Working the late shift at the Donor Network has been most excellent. I go to bed at 10 or 11 pm, sleep for a couple of hours and then I usually get paged in around 1 or 2 in the morning. I work for a couple of hours and usually make it home by 6 or 7. I sleep for another couple of hours and my day begins around eleven. I spend some time with my beautiful wife before she leaves for work and then crack open my new study Bible (more on that tomorrow). After spending some quality time with God, Turk and I play outside for a bit and then I head down to Paradise. I work there for a couple of hours and then head to LA Fitness for some basketball. In the evenings, my bride and I work on putting together our new apartment. It's a pretty sweet life right now. The only downside is the lack of acquaintances on this side of town, but we're trusting God that they will come...

Pinky swear

There has been no posting the past three weeks due to vacations and moving. Regularly scheduled posts will resume tomorrow, pinky swear. A quick update is in order however. My beautiful wife and I moved from Central Phoenix to North Glendale this past week. It was an excellent move, no issues or problems arose. My father, mother, brother, FIG, and MIG were all crucial to everything going so smoothly. We love our new place and there will be more in the future about it. Really. Posting resumes tomorrow. Probably.