A Late February Update

It has been five weeks since I submitted my thesis, but still
there is no date set for my oral examination that must be
convened before April 21. Meanwhile I try to keep the shape
of the day that I had before I finished my thesis, but without
the intensity and stress. I continue with Morning Prayer on
weekdays and the North Point a couple times a week. I am
usually in my office from 9:30 or so in the morning until 8:00
in the evening, leaving my office often to eat meals, run er-
rands, go for a walk, and nap, a gift from God.

There are plenty of things for me to do each day. I have dis-
ciplined myself to read through Psalms and Proverbs each
month and to work through the whole Bible in five or six
months. I have people whom I remember in prayer. If I neg-
lect this spiritual discipline in my life, I get discouraged and
run down. I am working hard to respond to all the letters
and emails that I have neglected since the summer. I am
reading Robert Kaplan's Hog Pilots, Blue Water Grunts,
Stephen Lawhead's The Iron Lance, and Christopher Wright's
The Mission of God. Also I am correcting a colleague's doc-
toral thesis and volunteering four hours a week at a Chris-
tian coffeeshop and bookstore nearby. Considerable time is
spent filling out all the paperwork for the admission process
to the Church of Scotland. I am beginning to dismantle my of-
fice desk and bedroom in preparation for the next task God
has given me to do.

Overall, it is a pleasant time to be in, but I am eager to move
on to the next stage in my life. Please keep me in your thoughts
and prayers.

All the best to you and yours, Jeff T.