Return of the Living Greg

After a summer of thrills, I have finally returned to good ole Austin, U.S.A.

I'm hoping not to study for Ords 24 hours a day, so hopefully there are others of you out there who have also survived the summer and made your way back to the fold. Leave me a message or give me a ring when you get a chance and maybe we can catch up over a drink.

I do have a new phone number (which I won't post here), if you don't have it yet send me a message and I'll get it to you.

Are You Ready For Some Football?

I've decided that I miss all the fun and excitement of Fantasy Football, so I've created a league on Yahoo. Since I likely won't have time to spend hours poring over stats and figuring out which player to draft, the league will have an automatic draft to make it easier on me and any other non-football stat fanatics.

Now that I have a league created, I need some players. So this is an open invitation to all of you to join the excitement of amateur Fantasy Football. Even if you've never played before, you can still have a bit of fun this fall with minimal time investment. If you'd like to join, just leave a comment to that effect or email me.

Rah Rah!

My Summer Vacation

I remember always hating to have to write reports about my summer vacation as soon as school started again. It didn't occur to me until years after I was out of school how fun it would have been to have just made up something outrageous to turn in. Now that I'm back in school, no one asks for reports like that anymore. Fortunately, we now live in the age of blogs which provides me the perfect venue to share my extraordinary adventures.

Unfortunately, I still lack the motivation to do so.......


Be that as it may, I do feel a certain responsibility to the APTS blogging community to make an entry, since it's been 6 months since my last entry. So, first off, yes, I finally made it back from the Philippines. For those of you who didn't realize that I had been replaced last semester by a Beta Unit while I completed my mission abroad, I apologize if I (it) did anything inappropriate in my absence.

I've spent the last couple of months in an advanced research facility undergoing a series of mind-altering procedures they call CPE. When I've completed the entire process, I believe I'm supposed to be able to perform stupid Jedi mind tricks, or possibly even possess psycho-kinetic powers. In addition to bending all the spoons in the cafeteria, another fun thing I get to do is to develop my very own secret identity! I'm still trying to decide on either super hero or super villain...I'll let you know this Fall. Bwah hahaha (Oh, and I'm also working on my evil laugh. If it doesn't come along better than this, I guess I'll have to settle for super hero).

Well, they're coming to take me away, so no more writing for now. Listen for further developments telepathically through the Low Beta Wave frequencies.

.end of transmission.

I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane...

but, if all goes according to plan, I do know when I'll be back again, and that will be on February 7th.

Thanks to the generosity of my home church, I will be accompanying my pastor to the Philippines for a week (or so) long tour of the mission field there. From the abbreviated itinerary I've been given, it appears that we will visit several of the main islands and cities. Along the way, we will see churches and hospitals and schools, oh my!

Having never been overseas before, I'm looking forward to the trip as an exciting adventure as well as a learning experience. I'm sure we will also get a chance to see some beautiful scenery and enjoy some touristy type activities while we are there.

My prayers go with you all. Especially prayers for peace and confidence for those of you in the Hebrew class as you get past this last little hump and then for those who are taking the Bible Content Exam and working on Exegesis Ords.

See you all soon!

-- Greg

P.S. Someone be sure and take good notes for me in Entry Into Ministry, Philemon, Christian Education in the Congregation, and Mission & Evangelism. :-)

Snow and Ice and Frost, Oh my!

Words of the Day

Snow - שלג
Snow is used rarely in the OT (21 times), and interestingly, on multiple times it is used in describing the whiteness of leprousy.

Ice - קדר
Ice is even rarer in the OT, occuring only 3 times.

Hoarfrost - כפור
Is also used only three times in the context of frost, although it is also used three additional times with the meaning of a silver or gold bowl.

So....may you all enjoy this time of leprous bowls of precious metal. Be Safe!

Merry Christmas

Well, the Christmas festivities are winding down so that there can be a brief lull before the New Year's celebrations begin.

In addition to the always wonderful time spent with family and friends during the Christmas break, I've also managed to get a number of other things accomplished. My CPM had its annual retreat the week before Christmas, and apparently I have their blessing to move into Candidacy. I've also been innoculated against flu, hepatitus, and typhoid, in preparation for my trip to the Philippines late in January (although I have since come down with a sore throat).

Assuming the typhoid doesn't get me, I should be returning to good ole APTS just in time to assist with the January Hebrew class. It should be a rousing fun time for all!

True Christmas merchandise

If you're trying to avoid finishing a paper, or looking for an excuse to avoid studying, start your Christmas shopping now at....

http://www.jesusoftheweek.com/