fun fact

The New International Commentary on the Old Testament and the New International Commentary on the New Testament, two very solid intermediate-level commentary sets, are available for public reference on Google Books. I had no idea. Good stuff.

Carry on.
  • harbermama
    Nice to know. Thanks. You are a wealth of information. :-)
    by harbermama at 05/11/10 12:10AM
  • mjintexas
    Good to know!
    by mjintexas at 05/11/10 9:27AM
  • rundrummerrun
    I would say "Word," but that's another commentary altogether...
    by rundrummerrun at 05/14/10 11:54PM
  • jlmanager
    Nice.
    by jlmanager at 05/15/10 1:51PM
  • big_guy
    that's great news that you're headed back south for some more master's work. best wishes for you guys on the move. as it turns out, the class i was hoping to get into with the fdic to start work filled up in august. so i got enrolled into the program starting in october, so probably at the end of this year or early next year i'll actually move my stuff down to savannah.
    by big_guy at 07/13/10 12:22PM

new entry

That title is enough news in itself, isn't it? And to think I used to be a Pleonast snob who refused to join Facebook...

A lot has happened since I last updated. I just don't remember what. Mostly people getting engaged, I think.

I guess the one big piece of news is that Katie and I will be moving to Birmingham, AL in the fall. I've been accepted to Beeson Divinity School at Samford University, and will be starting a master's degree program (yes, another one...stop judging me). We're excited about the move, but we're going to miss the people here in Pittsburgh quite a bit.

Meanwhile, I'm about to start teaching Proverbs in our adult class tomorrow. I've really enjoyed preparing for it, but there's still a lot of work to do. Which reminds me...I need to get off of here.

Until next year, then.
  • jlmanager
    That IS a lot going on. Best wishes on your move.
    by jlmanager at 04/17/10 4:23PM
  • wifelet
    What will the master's be in?

    Decided you couldn't hack another winter like that one? :)
    by wifelet at 04/17/10 6:17PM
  • diminished_seventh
    Lauren, I will be getting a Master of Divinity.

    Clever Bystander: HA, does that mean that when you're done, you'll be divine? HAHAHAHA

    [Flashback to early 2007:]

    Clever Bystander: What's your bachelor's in?

    Me: Liberal Studies.

    Clever Bystander: HA, does that mean that when you're done, you'll be a liberal? HAHAHAHA

    Me: *bang*
    by diminished_seventh at 04/17/10 8:31PM
  • jabberwock
    Is a Master of Divinity anything like a Master of the Universe? If so, do you get a cool sword when you graduate?
    by jabberwock at 04/18/10 6:56AM
  • thepoeticmadman
    Mat, looks like your going to have a really hard time with that "Introduction to Biblical Greek".... lol

    It's cool that yall are getting to move back to AL (at least for Katie) B-ham's a great area. Any idea of where thereabouts you'll be living?

    And yes, I too got the "liberal preacher" jokes about my degrees from FC.
    by thepoeticmadman at 04/18/10 7:07AM
  • thepoeticmadman
    Yeah, Wheaton accepts 6x students per year per focus, so 6 for bib. studies, 6 for archeology, etc., but yes, very select group. Ditto for JTS and HUC.
    by thepoeticmadman at 04/22/10 5:29PM
  • jabberwock
    No. I prefer idiomatic Sindarin.
    by jabberwock at 04/22/10 5:56PM
  • soccer_warrior04
    hey alright! the Ham is pretty close to Tuscaloosa...
    by soccer_warrior04 at 04/26/10 1:20AM

weekend update

Katie and I decided to have a very fast vacation last weekend. We were both off of work by 3:00, and we left Pittsburgh around 6:00 and headed to Cowans Gap State Park, which is about an hour west of Gettysburg. After a successful night's camping, we headed to Gettysburg to do a tour of the battlefields. We've wanted to tour Gettysburg ever since we moved to PA, and we weren't disappointed. It was very impressive and moving, and I think I could easily spend another full day looking around. We walked around with our paperback copy of The Killer Angels in hand so that we could follow the progress of the battle and see which skirmishes happened on whatever place we were visiting. It was quite something to stand at the top of Cemetery Ridge (the Union position) at sunset and look out over the open fields that the Southern army had to cross during Pickett's Charge.


We went back to our campsite that night and decided to build a fire. After about 20 minutes of lighting, re-lighting and scrounging for kindling, we got the fire to start--and then, 10 seconds later, the rain started. It's funnier in hindsight than it was to me then.

All in all, it was a great mini-vacation. It was nice to get away from the two papers I'm supposed to be writing and spend some QT with Katie. The weekend also doubled as an anniversary trip that we took two weeks early. Next on our wish list: DC, NY, Niagra Falls.
  • harbermama
    Happy Anniversary, son. Got your card in the mail a day late, so it won't be there today. Sorry.
    by harbermama at 08/12/09 8:33AM
  • nickomundo
    I love Gettysburg. They have a whole 9 mile trail you can hike as Boy Scouts and if you complete it you get a patch. I think I hiked it two or three times. Very cool.
    by nickomundo at 08/12/09 10:02PM
  • ramman111
    That gave me chills just reading about it. I hate that battle.
    by ramman111 at 08/20/09 7:59AM
  • wifelet
    Actually, I had a dream the other night that I was having 6 ... so 5 would be an improvement. :)
    by wifelet at 08/25/09 8:44AM
  • mjintexas
    Gettysburg is a pretty interesting- and sobering- place.
    by mjintexas at 08/25/09 10:15AM
  • justcallmejoe
    i don't think you understand; i smack the kitten around and yell at it to purr until it darn well purrs.
    by justcallmejoe at 08/27/09 9:30AM
  • justcallmejoe
    gettysburg rocks.
    by justcallmejoe at 08/27/09 9:30AM
  • nerdosaurus_rex
    So I pretty much love your parents. And their house. And your mom's cooking. But mostly your parents.
    by nerdosaurus_rex at 08/30/09 9:53PM
  • mamap
    ...because he was doing the dutiful husband/father thing... :)
    by mamap at 09/01/09 10:51PM
  • jesspico
    What a nice weekend away... very glad y'all did that!

    Good to talk to you for a nanosecond the other day :) We love ya!
    by jesspico at 09/04/09 2:59PM
  • nerdosaurus_rex
    I have indeed. Lots of great people and great teaching there, from what I've seen in my handful of visits!
    by nerdosaurus_rex at 09/07/09 11:50AM
  • soccer_warrior04
    Stinkin' J.E.B. Stuart...great vacation choice though Matt, haven't been to Gettysburg yet.
    by soccer_warrior04 at 09/15/09 3:38PM
  • ward
    Yep. That's how I ended up with the duplicate copies of Thessalonians and John.
    by ward at 09/29/09 6:17PM
  • wifelet
    Although, we did verify yesterday that she has a brain, so she can't resemble Matt too much ... :)
    by wifelet at 11/10/09 3:38PM
  • rundrummerrun
    Your comment gave me a good laugh. Those were good times at the Jeremiah study! How've you been, brother?
    by rundrummerrun at 11/15/09 3:29PM
  • ashlee
    i don't blame you... i wouldn't either.
    by ashlee at 11/19/09 8:38AM
  • tom_bombadil
    You're right! Obama must be the Messiah!
    by tom_bombadil at 11/26/09 10:30AM
  • jabberwock
    I wrote it to the tune "Calon Lan"; however, if you would like to write music to it, I'd much rather do that. Let me know if you want to do that; if so, I'll send you a copy reflecting the most recent changes.
    by jabberwock at 01/28/10 7:23AM
  • jabberwock
    Yeah. I must have sung it to your tune about a hundred times today. Us preachers, we can be on the clock and do stuff like that.
    by jabberwock at 02/04/10 9:46PM

Your score: 15 out of 16

I just took a quiz for my online graduate Bible course. Here was the final question:

Some of the Thessalonian believers were not working because:

A. They were waiting for Christ to return
B. They were lazy
C. They couldn't find jobs
D. The stratified social conditions were oppressive


The following excerpts are from the textbook upon which my open-book quiz was based:

"The development of eschatological fanaticism and disruptive laziness prompted his writing."

"Paul urged the Thessalonians to avoid a habit of idleness"

"The fact that laziness was a serious shortcoming by the time 2 Thessalonians was written suggests that already the seeds of sluggishness were sprouting in Thessalonica."


Like a fool, I picked B.


**UPDATE** The professor did in fact give me credit for this question. You can all rest a little easier now.
  • thepoeticmadman
    Where are you going to Grad school?
    by thepoeticmadman at 07/20/09 4:33AM
  • jabberwock
    Tsk tsk tsk. Overthinking. Btw, I sent "Maranatha" to Mark Coulson to sing at SS this year. I wasn't sold on the rhythm changes originally, but I changed my mind.
    by jabberwock at 07/20/09 7:02AM
  • benb
    They're just trying to remind you that you can't trust everything you read. :)
    by benb at 07/20/09 7:45AM
  • wifelet
    Glad I could do a valuable service for Katie. :) Matt makes so much fun of me for it. I tell him he's just jealous.
    by wifelet at 07/20/09 12:17PM
  • thepoeticmadman
    Ahh, gotcha. I just hadn't been aware you were doing the gradschool thing, so I thought I'd ask. I'm starting Amridge this fall. What classes have you taken, and what did you think of them?
    by thepoeticmadman at 07/22/09 11:42AM
  • thepoeticmadman
    Yeah, I can understand that. I always revel at an excuse to buy more books... I'll have to figure out how to manage the time as well. Here's hoping it won't be too terrible -- especially since I'm taking the Grad version of two classes I've already taken...
    by thepoeticmadman at 07/23/09 10:03AM
  • rundrummerrun
    I hate that it took me 10 minutes to figure out who this was, because A) Pleo 3 took away the "friend names" page (killin' me), B) I don't know your forehead that well (it looks similar to Justin Mock's), and 3) Context clues in comments were 2 or more posts back. Good to hear (see) from you! How are things in Pittsvegas?
    by rundrummerrun at 08/05/09 3:06PM

overheard today

Pre-teen Girl #1 to Pre-teen Girl #2: "Yeah, it keeps, like, whatever-ing!"
  • tom_bombadil
    A little part of my brain just died.
    by tom_bombadil at 04/26/09 8:08AM
  • dwatkins
    Now try saying it with a Mexican accent. That's my life every day.
    by dwatkins at 04/26/09 8:14AM
  • jabberwock
    I hate it when things whatever.
    by jabberwock at 04/26/09 10:00PM
  • mjintexas
    That's deep.
    by mjintexas at 04/26/09 11:24PM
  • snoopy
    ooooh that's bad!
    by snoopy at 05/06/09 11:35AM
  • emmylou
    people between the ages of 2 and 19 are so obnoxious. (Yes, that includes me.)
    by emmylou at 05/11/09 7:59AM
  • ashlee
    ha, my b was upside down.
    by ashlee at 05/18/09 11:24PM
  • dr_corndog
    Sadly, it doesn't stop when they hit the teen years.
    by dr_corndog at 05/21/09 5:34PM
  • emmylou
    ....thanks.
    by emmylou at 05/30/09 8:12AM
  • hanban
    you're funny. :) (Katie will probably want to kill me for encouraging you. ;) )
    by hanban at 05/31/09 6:59AM
  • canabar
    remember when i wrote you and you took forever to write back and then i took even longer to respond. response is coming soon. get ready for it
    by canabar at 06/07/09 10:54PM
  • rosemary
    hahaha
    by rosemary at 06/08/09 12:16PM
  • lastoflakewood
    I agree; it was not at all what I expected!
    by lastoflakewood at 06/11/09 10:11PM
  • motherofall
    Our family got quite a kick out of this. :)
    by motherofall at 06/15/09 5:59AM
  • lilsis
    Yeah! Sorry about that! Hopefully we can get together next time!
    by lilsis at 06/15/09 11:37AM
  • jadyc
    I wait all year for that. Thanks.
    by jadyc at 06/17/09 9:19PM
  • jenniferlyn
    I haven't seen it, it sounds like a need to! but I love that Katie thinks I'm prettier, ha! What I really need to do is visit ya'll though... or you could always make a trip to visit the great meca of Lewisville, texas!
    by jenniferlyn at 06/25/09 6:05PM
  • nerdosaurus_rex
    So I hear! I'm hoping to come up and stay with Katie and Kyle on Tuesday, so I'll see you and your Katie at church!
    by nerdosaurus_rex at 06/26/09 9:53PM
  • micah
    just transferring to a starbucks up there while i'm in school. i just didn't know until yesterday that there would be one that had space for me.
    by micah at 07/14/09 10:46PM
  • harbermama
    In a weird sort of way, your profile picture, or avatar, or whatever that is called now, makes me miss you. And your funny note on his blog. Love you!
    by harbermama at 07/19/09 9:41PM