TheLionRampant.net

So, I’ve spent all day at my computer, researching and writing my essay on Calvin’s doctrine of predestination. It’s going well, but I think I’m in for a late night. I think it’s kind of amusing that predestination is such a hot topic. Just mentioning the word almost seems to shake people up. I guess it’s because the Bible’s teaching on predestination (and most things) is so opposed to what our hearts want to believe. I mentioned predestination in my sermon last night (because it was in the passage, and you can’t just skip the hard parts), and I had a line of people to talk to about it afterwards :).

Anyway, I may post some more thoughts on predestination, and Calvin, when I finish this paper. Until then…ummmm…feel free to leave a comment.

Oh, by the way, I have installed a couple plugins to prevent comment spam, so if you have trouble commenting please send my an email and let me know. Cheers!

It’s Bryce’s mom’s birthday today! Bryce and his brother Blake were particularly loving sons and bought their mum 40 lovely tulips for her special day this year. To celebrate her birthday on the blogosphere here are five things we love about Mom/Sally:

1. She’s crazy (in the best possible sense). She’s always the first one in the pool with all her clothes on - and the one who thought up the game! Plus she loves waterparks and paintballing.
2. She likes to figure things out - everything from learning theology to reading the guidebook in a country she visits.
3. She’s considerate. She calls us regularly and knows how to help us out practically when we don’t have any income.
4. She’s a good cook - can’t beat red weiners, her mac n cheese, great salads and yummy steaks!
5. She has good taste - in decorating her house (and helping others too), in her clothes, and of course in the people she loves.

So wish her a happy birthday today in the comments section! She’s soon to be over here in Scotland too!

More pictures are here for your enjoyment - particularly of the snow (which has since totally melted) in Edinburgh.

Ok, I’m tired and it’s been a long week, and it’s really just beginning, so here’s a quote from the lighter side:

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the former.
–Albert Einstein

Or to anyone who would like to send us a care package

Things we like from the US:
1. pinto beans
2. black beans
3. Betty Crocker brownie mix
4. Cornmeal (so I can make cornbread on freezing days!)
5. Reese’s peanut butter cups
6. Skittles (they have them here but it’s blackcurrant instead of grape)
7. Oreos
8. Root beer

Thank you and we hope to see you soon (and hopefully something on this list) too!

Sherry at Semicolon offered to interview 5 people and so I signed up; here’s her questions and my answers. As part of the game, I’m offering to interview 5 people and ask them 5 questions. (So, quick, sign up on the comments section!) If you’re one of the first five you must publish the answers on your blog and offer to interview five more people, etc etc.

1. Wow, Scotland! What are you doing there, and where did you come from?
That’s a good response: wow. We seem to get that a lot from people back home! Both Bryce and I are studying - he’s doing the equivalent of an MDiv in Theology at the Free Church College here in Edinburgh. Last year I did a one-year master’s degree in British and American literature; now I’m starting in on the PhD. I come from Orange County, California, home of beaches, beautiful people, palm trees, good food, rampant materialism and lifted trucks.

2. What is the most exciting thing you’ve done in Scotland?
Hmm, good question. I guess the fact that we actually moved to Scotland would have to be the most exciting thing. But besides that, it may be a toss-up for our trip up to the northwest coast with Bryce’s sister and family (completed of course by staying in a caravan and getting eaten by the midgies while trying to have a BBQ) and our trip to Skye with the Hays - a kind of “hey let’s go!” trip.

3. Who is your favorite Christian author and why?
I don’t tend to read a whole lot of Christian authors, especially contemporary ones. However one of my favourite Christian poets is Denise Levertov, probably because she sees the Christian faith through new eyes (she converted late in life and was a poet first) and uses fresh language to speak about the mystery of Christ. Here’s one of my favourites:
“The Avowal”
As swimmers dare
to lie face to the sky
and water bears them,
as hawks rest upon air
and air sustains them,
so would I learn to attain
freefall, and float
into Creator Spirit’s deep embrace,
knowing no effort earns
that all-surrounding grace.

I’m also a fan of John Donne (metaphysical poet).

4. How did you meet your husband and how long have you been married?
I met Bryce in September 1997 when through the course of events one of my good friends who knew both of us decided we’d be a great couple - so she set us up! We had two phone calls before meeting face-to-face. First impression: he’s cute, looks like a surfer, and has big teeth (this I think is more to do with the fact that I have small teeth so his looked huge!). We’ve been married for 2 years and 8 months.

5. What advice would you give to a young lady who’s planning to spend her junior year of college in France next year? (I actually know the young lady and plan to share your advice with her.)
First of all, that’s great that she’s going! I spent a semester in Oxford when I was in college and loved it. My advice would be to try to assimilate culturally as much as you can - try new foods, meet new people, speak the language as much as you can, learn new ways of doing things, while constantly holding it up against the backdrop of your own cultural context. Ultimately this removes a ‘right’ and a ‘wrong’ way of doing things and understands various practices in how they’ve been culturally constructed. This isn’t to say that everything is relative, but small things don’t matter so much - you just adapt cuz that’s what you have to do when you’re in someone else’s country. Find a church to worship in. Also make sure you have fun! Go to the Louvre, eat out in sidewalk cafes, go to shows - all those things you might not think you have time for because you’re there to study - but these things will help to create your memories when you return and will help you get a better feeling for the culture than the classroom does. Lastly, don’t shy away from creating relationships. Although you’ll only be there a short time don’t see burgeoning friendships as merely passing away the time or through a completely utilitarian lens; instead invest yourself in each moment.

Thanks Sherry - that was fun!

My favourite ‘weather condition’ on Yahoo is currently the ‘Unknown Precipitation’ graphic and we’ve been having a lot of unknown precipitation lately; the wind/rain/sleet/hail/snow version actually. It’s all of a sudden winter again and I try to time my walkings to and from places carefully - inbetween the said rain/hail/snow flurries. So I asked Bryce when I got home what kind of weather he got to walk home in. He said, “hail and hail/rain variety” while I got to walk home in the snow/wind/rain combo. What kind of weather did you get to walk (or for those less mobile, drive) home in today?

I just won an iPod Shuffle on Ebay! Yippee! The gym will be so much cooler now! (This is my birthday present from my hubby)

This week keeps getting busier and busier. I have:

1. A Hebrew Test on Thursday
2. A Greek Test on Friday
3. I’m preaching Sunday at church
4. An essay due Tuesday (March 1st) on Calvin’s Doctrine of Predestination
5. My dissertation (10,ooo words) is due on April 1st, and I’m not done reading the book I’m writting it on yet

Is that it? Yeah, I think that’s it. At least that’s all I can remember at the moment.

Friday night we went over to Ben and Elizabeth’s flat for a lovely party with the other North Americans. We had a lovely dinner of mushroom soup (Bryce had the ‘no thank you portion’), salad, spinach and ricotti cannelloni, and chocolate pavlova, plus lots of wine, Bailey’s and lots of laughs - plus free books! (That’s gotta be one of my favourite phrases in the whole world). Here’s a photo.

Saturday, Kerry came down and we had a mad rush to ASDA with the rest of Edinburgh followed by a delicious lunch at Kebab Mahal. We then walked to the National Gallery and enjoyed all the fine art there especially the Impressionists and Kerry loved Vermeer’s painting of ‘Christ in the house of Mary and Martha’. It’s beautiful and I had forgotten it was there. It’s a very early painting and huge (unlike his later ones) but there are still hints of his later style - for instance there’s a shine of light on the chair Jesus is sitting in and a sparkle in his eye from the source of light (which you can’t see). Apparently we missed the ‘Madonna of the Pinks’ exhibit so we shall have to go back. We then walked around the city and stopped for a sit-down at Starbucks and then back to the flat for yummy fondue before Kerry left to drive back to the snow in Banchory. It was a beautiful day!

Sunday we had church and a quick run to go see Sideways, which I haven’t quite made my mind up on. The premise of one character actively trying to cheat just can’t ever sit well with me, regardless of the good acting and all the funny parts interspersed. If you’ve seen it let me know what you think. The rest of the evening was spent after church that night eating homemade baguette pizzas, cuddling on our wee red couch and an early bedtime. Now the week is starting … eek…