A full plate

Well, I figured that since I haven't actually contributed to this blog for a few months that I should probably say something! So I thought I would share what has been going on with uncle G (as Brady calls me).

Have you ever looked at your "plate" and thought, "how did I fit all that on there?" I definitely have eyes that are bigger than my stomach, both in a literal and figurative sense. My plate lately has been extremely full with the following:

-Work, which has been crazy lately. We have a record number of applicants, which means a record number of times I've gone crazy.

-School, which is going well, but keeps my stress level at a constant high. For those of you who don't know, I'm working on my M.A. in New Testament. In order to keep up with everything, I should be reading about 50 pages a day and writing about 1,000 words a week. Needless to say, these goals are not always "reached."

-Preaching, which is a bittersweet situation. I love preaching, and it gives Carie and I a lot of time together (since we're in the car for 3 hours every Sunday). It's also a little extra income, which is definitely a blessing. Of course, the downsides are that we're in the car for 3 hours every Sunday (count the dollars flying by...), not to mention the reason for my being there--the normal preacher, Pat, is fighting cancer.

-IVF stuff, which takes up a whole lot more time and emotional energy than most people realize.

-Being a husband, which is the most important, challenging and yet rewarding thing of all. Carie deserves all of my best, and sometimes I fall short of giving that to her. But her understanding and gracious attitude is unparalleled in anyone I've ever met, and it daily makes me want to be a better husband.

I thought I would close with an interesting "discovery" I made the other day while studying the book of John for one of my courses. If you already knew this, well, then you're one step ahead of me.... This was a huge epiphany for me, and I just get really excited whenever I have one. Here it is:

In the second temple period (the time when Jesus lived), Jews celebrated the Feast of Booths (sometimes called Sukkot, or the Festival of Tabernacles) in a unique way. In the morning of each of the 8 days of the festival, the priests would gather water from the pool at Siloam, mix it with new wine from the harvest, and pour it over the altar in the temple. The water would flow down the temple steps and out into the courtyard beyond. Then at night the priests would light four large menorah's in the Court of Women, just outside the inner court of the temple, and the glow of these lamps would radiate the temple area. (Just as a side note, the Court of Women is also where the treasury was located. This detail is important).

In John 7 and 8, Jesus is speaking to the Jews, and John writes, "On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'"

Then, in chapter 8 (after a side-step episode) it says, "Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." A few verses later, John gives the detail that Jesus said this "in the treasury," hence, the Court of Women. Jesus was a master of situational teaching!

I love it when things all fall into place like that.

Until next time....