At a recent family meeting, Danny tried something new. "In a minute," he told us. "I'm going to ask each of you to share the highlight and lowlight of your week. So be thinking about what you want to share with the rest of us." (Stay tuned and I'll share mine.)
But Easton (almost 4) couldn't wait a minute. He needed to share
right now. "I have a high light!" he exclaimed. We all waited to hear what he had to say. "I can reach it if I climb up on Emma's ladder, and then my room's not dark anymore!" As we all giggled he added, "I have another high light in my closet, but I can reach it if I stand on my bed."
My highlight yesterday was watching Easton check out the latest addition to our family library, the
Zondervan Illustrated Bible Background Commentary on the Old Testament, edited by John Walton. A beautiful set! Even Easton thought it was cool. He pointed to every map, asking, "Is this where we live?" Then he found lots of other pictures and kept asking, "Is this from 'Prince of Egypt'?" (My answer was yes.) He did eventually go back to his Thomas the Tank Engine catalog, which is even cooler. But I was delighted to see how much he liked these commentaries!
Commercial break: Check out this fun promo video Dr. Walton sent me yesterday. If you come to ETS or SBL this November you'll be able to buy a set at 50% off (which is what I did at the regional ETS meeting last month). The set takes you through the entire Old Testament, offering insights into the cultural and historical background that can help you understand each chapter.
My highlight today was finishing the last of my 5000+ pages of required reading for the semester. Yahoo!
One more paper to write and I will officially be done with my first year of doctoral study. {brief pause to celebrate} Then I can dive into my summer projects (you guessed it ... read, read, read, and learn French, take a class at Notre Dame, read through the whole Bible, and write my first chapter).
All this reading is giving me highlights of another kind ... long gray ones. They must be a sign of my increasing wisdom (the gray matter is leaking out, right?). I can tell I'm getting smarter because every day that passes I feel like I know less than I did the day before. With every new thing I learn I realize how much more there is to know. Very. Humbling.
So how about you? Do you have any highlights?
Well, I have a head start on the long gray highlights! (We're going back to visit friends we haven't seen in years tomorrow. Today, I was cutting Doug's hair, and thought, "They will be surprised by how gray Doug has gotten. Wait, what am I thinking? They will be surprised by how gray *I* have gotten!"
ReplyDeleteBut I, too, know I am learning more because I know that I know less. The pastor today made an exegetical decision and commented that he expected to hear arguments from the scholars in the congregation during the course of the week. I thought, "No, not from me, because this is not my area of study. I know that I know only a little in my own area; I know that I know nothing in other areas."
My highlights over the past two weeks were finding another avenue of evidence for Latin in John (that makes 4) and being invited to join a Latin study group over the summer. I'm also very excited to be back TAing Greek 3 students starting in May.
And if you ever need someone to practice French with . . . pick me! pick me! pick me! (Although I'm not a good person to ask about the rules, since I mostly just know what sounds right.)
Hi, Laura!
ReplyDeleteI admit I was thinking of you, too, as I wrote my post. I LOVE your highlights, and love how you wear your hair. Your wisdom is so evident. :)
So glad to hear that you found another line of evidence for your dissertation! That's exciting. And I'm glad I have a friend who knows French! I don't know if I'll even try to learn how to pronounce it, since I only have to read it. We'll see. I'd love to practice with you.
Have a blessed week!
Carmen