A Big Mistake I Made in Seminary (But Not the Only One)

When I was in seminary I made a bunch of mistakes. One of the worst had to do with Biblical Hebrew. There were two main teachers of Hebrew at Talbot at that time. One of them was Dr. Charles Feinberg. Yes, THE Charles Feinberg. He was a real expert in Hebrew but he rode his students hard, as in VERY hard. Getting an A in his class was unheard of. But you learned Hebrew. The other prof (whom we'll call Dr. G) was known on campus as a Pushover. You took him if you wanted an easy A. The problem was, you never learned Hebrew. Class time was spent listening to Dr. G. tell jokes.

So who to take?

I chose Dr. G. Big mistake. Yes, I got an A. But I learned no Hebrew. Even the tests were open book. Why did I make this huge mistake? Was it because I was on an academic scholarship that required straight A's from me? Or was it because I was a lazy beach bum from Hawaii who always took the easier road in life? Either way, the sad truth was that years later I had to teach myself how to read Biblical Hebrew. Happy to say I do read Hebrew quite a bit these days, though mostly in one of my three Hebrew New Testaments (shhh, don't tell anyone). I regret not taking Dr. Feinberg for Hebrew. Even then I knew I should have. The harder road was the better road by far.

I'm consistently awed at what the Lord did in my life while I was seminary despite my foolish choices. I learned my lesson from taking Dr. G. From then on, I had no interest in just getting by. It was mastery or nothing. Yes, there were incredibly difficult courses after that. But I was happy that I didn't give up. My seminary experience ended up being an inspiring, challenging, and rewarding adventure.

Farm Update

Farm update:

1) These came today from my daughter.

Just in the nick of time too. I had just run out of veggies and eggs.

2) These too came today. Hmm. Wonder what I should with them?

As with every language I've learned, the key is turning language learning from a boring subject into a pleasant activity you enjoy doing every day. I simply love learning languages. Don't you?

Surfing USA!

Hey guys! Look what I'm dusting off today.

That's right, my Bill Stonebraker custom board.

This baby served me well at Pipeline, Pupukea, Haleiwa, Ala Moana, and Diamond Head. Since I'll be in Virginia Beach this weekend I thought I'd take it along. Just checked the surf report for VB. You won't believe this, but currently the waves are breaking a whopping 10-12!!!

Oops. That's *inches.*😂

Oh well, Saturday's waves are going to get bigger, right? Surfers are eternal optimists!

Perseverance Is Key

Whew! Where has this month gone? Perseverance, folks, that's what life is all about. You have to be patient with yourself as you make your way through this world. I have only two weeks left to tie up all of my retirement decisions -- estate planning, investment planning, trusts and wills, etc. I am also faced with two publishing-related deadlines. 

Can you relate to this topic of perseverance? The ability to remain calm and to keep plodding your way through life is truly a great gift to possess. How do you handle those moments when your whole life changes and you have to make decisions on the fly? How do you keep up with all you're tasked with in life? Like marathon training, life is an incredible journey, especially when you open up to the possibility of pain and the progress you will make with perseverance and patience over years and years of dedication to making your life count for the Lord. 

Stay patient, folks. Perseverance is key. Consistency and patience will win the day. You need to train yourself to overcome the anxieties and doubts in your life. The only way to do that is by staying close to Jesus and "abiding in him." 

I hope this blog helps to bring you some perspective on what it means to face the transitions of life while persevering through the ups and downs of life's milestones.

Running Keeps Pushing Me

I can't believe I missed a day of blogging yesterday, but I was so busy that the day is just a blur. Life ever get that crazy for you? This morning I woke up planning to drive to the Blue Ridge Parkway and climb Sharp Top to see how my Lone Peaks 5s would work as hiking shoes, but the prediction for bad weather nixed that idea rather quickly. I don't mind rain but lightning and I just don't get along very well. But the Lord had even better plans. A day of perfection was kicked off with a fantastic run of 10 miles in Farmville which got me in the best possible frame of mind for the day.

It was also good training for this weekend's race in Virginia Beach, called the Allen Stone Braveheart Run-Swim-Run. It's named for a Navy Seal who died during training and the proceeds go to the Virginia Beach Volunteer Rescue Squad and the Navy Seal Foundation. The race is kinda like a triathlon, of which I have done 5.

But instead of a swim-bike-run, it's a run-swim-run. First you run 1K on the sand, then you enter the ocean and SWIM 1K back to where you started, where you then run a 5K along the famous Virginia Beach boardwalk. Haven't done this race yet? What is your problem? This picture is from their Facebook page.

Strapping young athletes, eh? I enlarged the photo hoping to see someone over 50. Nary a soul. But I have been training hard and I need to trust that. True, I have never swam (swum?) a half mile in open water before (with who knows how many waves and surfers to negotiate), but hey, nothing in life is meant to be easy. Running seems to be pushing me in many different ways than I am used to nowadays, and that's a good thing. But no, I will NOT be going into this race with a sense of confidence. Trepidation is a much better word. It is important to try new things in life or else you will just get stuck in a rut. I guess I'll just have to throw it into grandpa gear and push as hard as I can.

Hi There!

 

Hi there. No, I'm not Dave Black. I'm one of his grandkiddos. Just stopping by to say hey. 

(Feel free to say "aaaww" if you want to.)

When God Says "No"

Continuing my series of reflections on my retirement (don't like that word but I'll use it here) and 44-year career, I'd like you to meet Howard Lyon.

Yearbook pic.

He was the head basketball coach at Biola when I arrived there in 1971. By the time I graduated from high school I had played tons of basketball and volleyball in the islands. I wanted to continue to be active in sports when I got to California and so I tried out for the basketball team. During that time, Biola was famous for its stellar varsity and junior varsity teams. Coach Lyon was the winningest coach the school had ever had. I began to realize it would be tough convincing him I belonged on the team. I was a much better surfer than I was a basketball player. But that didn't keep me from trying out. My plan was twofold: major in Biblical Studies, and play sports.

"But God ..."

You can probably already guess what happened. God had other plans for my life. I think he knew me well, even better than I knew myself. He knew my Type A personally. He knew I couldn't do anything unless I gave it 1,000 percent. And he knew I couldn't be BOTH a student AND an athlete. I needed to make a choice.

Actually, that choice was made for me when Coach Lyon announced that I hadn't made the team. Disappointed? At the time, yes. But looking back, I now see it was the best thing that could have happened to me. Paul said, "We are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." In 1971, I was a diamond in the rough and God was the master jeweler. He began his work in my life -- shaping, cutting, grinding, and polishing until he had prepared me for the work he had called me to.

Friend, is he doing the same thing in your life? The grinding process is seldom a pleasant one. So we must be patient -- with God and with ourselves. Cutting and shaping take time. But God will complete the job.

My roommate and I in 1971. I am wearing my Rick Warren power aloha shirt.

P.S. I was able to use my basketball skills after all. For my "Christian Service Assignment" (required of all Biola students), I went to South Central Los Angeles every Saturday and played pickup basketball with the locals.

During "half time" I would share with them the love of Jesus. I'd give anything to find out where these guys are today and what they're doing.