19 Ways You Know You Are a Graduate Student

This may not be true of ALL Grad Students, but since we are BOTH in Grad School, we have found these things to be true during this period of our lives. Some of them we have found ourselves to be silly, but others we have only discovered odd because of the reactions we have gotten from others. At the least, we have come to appreciate the little things in life in a period of time where little things come to mean a lot!

You know you are BOTH in full-time Graduate School when:

1. You run out of toilet paper often and revert to a kleenex box. 
When that runs out, you borrow a few handfuls from church before you finally make it to the store.

2. You save twist-ties off of bread or bagged goods just in case you can use them for something else.
Yeah, I don't think we ever used them for something else yet...

3. Date nights to the grocery store or the car wash are extremely exciting!
Oh, the little things...

4. You rejoice over a bottle of soap found deep underneath the sink because you've been without good soap for a few weeks.
He was really stoked.

5. All your conversations revolve around the books you are reading, the people you are investing in, and how to put what you are learning into practice.
Fun and exhausting.

6. You take turns checking out library books in order to save money on buying books for a semester.
Desperate times...

7. Paper towels are a great luxury. 
The gift of paper towels feels like a real present.  

8. You debate between buying groceries or paying to do laundry.
Thank goodness for frozen foods and old camp shirts.

9. You walk a lot more to save gas.
Good thing we live close to most places.

10. You realize loving each other means giving into bouts of "IASI"
Irrational acts of spontaneous irresponsibility 

11. Time to clean the house or make a meal seems like it would be a dream come true.
I literally daydream of these things while doing my homework.

12. The books you are reading are actually of interest, rather than simply work for a degree.
This is a great blessing of getting your Masters.

13. You realize you haven't spent much time with friends in…..a long time.
Ahhhhhhh!!

14. You use candlelight for 1 month to save on electricity the month of December. 
It really was for a better reason, but hey, it sure helped!

15. Your brain-work becomes balanced by watching tame TV.
Like watching the entire series of the Wonder Years & Dick Van Dyke show on Netflix.

16. You compensate intellectualism with extreme goofiness during down times.
Music videos, crazy dances, made-up songs, silly voices, spontaneous adventures...just to name a few. 

Party At My House from david and keri lippman on Vimeo.

17. You begin to see how much you really DON'T know and enjoy learning more and more.
Church History, Theology, Listening to others well, Philosophy, Psychology, oh my!!

18. Your excuse for everything is, "I have a paper to write." 
And it is legitimate.

19. All your best plans have the tag line, "And we can do THAT after Grad school too!"
And the list continues to grow, provided that we have means to follow-thru.

Who do I follow? Psychology, Theology, Philosophy...Part II

With confidence and humility, we must enter the conversation of integrating various disciplines in order to understand God and His interaction with His world.

But How do we begin to integrate various disciplines with discernment while keeping their integrity intact?








In our Theology 1 class, The Wesleyan Quadrilateral, has been suggested as a way to do integration with confidence and humility.

The quadrilateral is not an endorsement of Wesleyan view, but a simple tool to utilize in our Theological Method.

Who Do I Follow? Psychology, Theology, Philosophy....Part I

Who is right? Can I share my views with someone who disagrees with me?

Is faith blind? Can I trust in reason, and still trust in God? 

Am I too emotional? Can I bring psychology into my faith? 

Will it matter if I participate in church, or just be non-religious? Can I forsake (or learn) from tradition, and still have faith? 

What if I don't "feel" God? Can I use my daily experience to guide my faith?

Our Theology 1 class is studying Theological Methodology--or the method by which we study God.

The Theological method we bring to the Scriptures leads directly to our Theological conclusion. (i.e. if I don't believe in miracles, and I study the bible, I will minimize or even debunk the bible of the supernatural).

But what makes up the "method" we bring to the Scriptures?

And who can contribute to the theological knowledge we conclude?

Which disciplines give us clear knowledge of God?

We're back! Summer Review :)

Welp, school is back in and summer just ended, which means we are back to posting. We thought we would share with you all some summer highlights. God has really given us rest this summer, as we took a break from school, as well as energy for some fun adventures. Stay tuned for our 3 posts on classes we will be taking beginning with "Do I really know God?" for those of you who would like to journey with us as we process and dialogue our classes this Fall.

We got to be there in Idaho to celebrate!!!!

Jono proposed to Erin in June!

Spring Semester Update

Homework at Creek Park

We have been reading lots of books this Semester!! With 4 classes our load has been large! Yet, each semester our classes have blended and overlapped in material, which has been helpful in our learning process. This is why we are quite a bit behind at posting what we have been studying and learning, but don't worry, we want to catch up now that it's Easter Break. Here are the 4 classes we are taking:

Developmental Spirituality and Contemplative Prayer
Just like studying development of humans, from infants to old age, we are studying the "developmental" process of the Christian life. The journey is different for everyone, but we are learning the ways our spirituality develops from those that grow up in the church to those that become Christians later in life. Though the Spirit works differently in all people's lives, there are certain ways we can learn and understand the process of "growing in Christ".

Psychopathology and Personality Theory
Here we are studying what "abnormal" means physically, socially, emotionally, psychologically, developmentally, cognitively, behaviorally, etc. We will also be studying personality theory, i.e. how you've become who you are.

Retreat
We are learning what it means to go on "retreat", what "retreat" means in-and-of-itself, how to plan a personal retreat, individual retreat for someone else, group retreat, silent retreat, etc. Dave and I each get to plan a retreat for each other, go on the 48 hour retreat that we planned, and then write-up a paper on how the retreat went.

Theology 2: Study of Works of God, Man, Angels, and Sin
Though this is an independent study class, this has been one of our favorite classes this semester. The books we are reading are challenging and foundational as we continue our study of humanity, sin, God, and angels. Reading articles by Augustine, Anselm, Aquinas, Luther, Edwards, Wesley, Calvin, etc.  are giving us a broad understanding of how Christian History has shaped our study of God.

Grace & Easter

On our way to Grace!

Today was our first day at Grace! We recently accepted the position of Assistant Youth Directors at our church, Grace EV Free. We are STOKED for the opportunity to work with the Junior High and High School Youth Group. Our main role will be discipling/shepherding the Core Group leaders, being apart of the teaching rotation, and partnering with the Pastor of Youth Ministries- Jackson Randall. We feel extremely blessed that we get this opportunity at our church and we are looking forward to getting to know the youth and leaders more.

Easter:

We just had Easter with both of our families together at the Mellis'. We had a blast hanging out as family, laughing, chattin', eating good food, and makin' memories. We are both so blessed by our families and thankful for time with them! 

Well, that's all for now! Here are some pics of some recent happenings:

2nd Year Anniversary in Tahoe!

Dave's Bday hike in Malibu

New Years with Erikson's & baby bump
and Bouris' & baby bump

Time with our favorite 3, the Thoennes'!

Date Night!!

Easter time with our bro!

Half smiles and yellow flowers :)

Hamilton's here for a visit

My Soul

Generally, people don't wonder about the state of their soul. It's actually kind of a weird phrase, don't you think? Is the soul able to have a state? Is it constant or ever-moving? Is it real or a nice idea? And can I or you or anyone really change it? (and, really, who has the time to care?). It's  the same with the "heart" and "looking inward" or any other reflective imagery.

The inner life doesn't really become important to our society until there is a reason for it. As long as it is "under control" or at least "manageable", then one feels okay. It is like the old saying "children are better seen than heard".  As if one could calm the inner life by telling it to be quiet and sit in the corner.

The inner life is a scary environment. It is full of all the monsters that have scared us, all the

                                                                                                         rules that have broken us, all the moments that

                                                          have shaped us.

"When my heart was embittered 

And I was pierced within,

Then I was senseless and ignorant; 

I was like a beast before You." 

-Psalm 73:21-22

We are complicated creatures. We feel in control only when we don't have any issues. Jesus has powerful words regarding this...

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!

 For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, 

but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence."

-Matthew 23:25

The state of our souls mattered very much to Jesus. Not just for robbery and self-indulgence, but every form of evil. George MacDonald has a great insight regarding this:

"No, there is no escape. There is no heaven with a little of hell in it; no plan to retain this or that of the devil in our hearts or our pockets. Out Satan must go, every hair and feather."

In "The Great Divorce" C.S. Lewis expounds on this:

"Both good and evil, when they have fully grown, become retrospective. Not only in this valley [heaven] but all their earthly past will have been Heaven to those who are saved. Not only their twilight in that town [Hell], but all their life on Earth too, will then be seen by the damned to have been Hell...both process begin before death. The good man's past begins to change so that his forgiven sins and remembered sorrows take on the quality of Heaven; the bad man's past already conforms to his badness and is filled only with dreariness. 

And that is why, at the end of all things, when the sun rises here and the twilight turns to blackness down there, the Blesses with say 'We have never lived anywhere except Heaven,' and the Lost, 'We were always in Hell'. And both will speak truly."

This is the gravity of our inner life. It is constantly shaping and forming an eternal reality within us. By love the Holy Spirit works Heaven into our hearts and lives. And through sin and deception Satan fosters Hell. And though some areas seem grey now, it will be black and white very soon.

"Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, 

And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom."

-Psalm 51:6

God desires an unashamed honesty with us. Jesus praised those who came to him sinful and broken. He often rebuked those who did not. How have we twisted His gospel so much?

When I sin I often feel afraid, ashamed, guilty. And I wonder, "How can I come to God now?" Somewhere inside I'm certain He will reject me.

Or I think, "I cannot let Him see me like this..." as if keeping my darkness from Him is some sort of religious pity on Him (Yet dark and light are alike to Him).

Even deeper, I wonder if Jesus can handle my sin. "No one else could deal with me. I can't even deal with me sometimes. How could Jesus?"

Each of these hesitating questions shrinks my view of God and avoids my true state. In essence, this is blindness.


12 "For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.

 14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.

 15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.

 16 Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

-Hebrews 4:12-16

Chillin' with Maddie

Just chillin' with Maddie today. I get the privilege of hanging out with this little one twice a week. She is just over 6 months old. We spend the day laughing, singing, going on walks, sticking our tongues out at each other, and discovering new things. I love watching her learn. She teaches me so much! Her acceptance of love, her freedom to be herself, her openness to having her needs met....she is such a precious little miracle. :)

Finals--Pizza--The Desert Map--Hibernation Day

Finals

Keri and I just finished finals, and I wanted to share with you a story I wrote for our Hermeneutics (Greek for 'Interpretation') Final. It's called The Desert Map! (Keri made up a Memory Game!! But that you would have to see in person). Click the link below if you'd like to read it.

The Desert Map

Mornings Musings and the Value of Life

As I sat one rainy morning and just drank tea, letting my mind wake up, some thoughts drifted through it...here they are in semi-rawness...

a poem sketched in my journal:

as i drink my morning cup

and watch the steam rise off the mug

i wonder,

has my life steeped too much in the warmth of the world?

have i only leaked into

or rather

have i failed to rise like vapor purified?

away from everything sweet on which i lean

to surmise

and be apart

and at peace

without my everyday comforting of things as they seem.

The Weekend Before the Retreat...And After

We had an extra-eventful weekend before we left for the retreat...

First, our little Hume friend "Abby Slawson" who is 2.5 yrs old came a spent the night with us (allowing our friends Nate and Josie, her parents, to go out on a date!). We took Abby on her first pony ride at the Autumn festival for Talbot students, we enjoyed free apple cider, talked with the Thoennes' and listened to Dr. Horner play acoustic guitar. Then we took her home and fell asleep watching "Looney Tunes!" But not before....

Cal & Kenzie/Redwood Camp Dinner

We celebrated Calvin and Kenzie once again for their SoCal Wedding Reception. What a blessing to be apart of further celebration of our wonderful friends. We loved watching them on the dance floor, enjoying their junior high/high school students. Another special moment was watching the Father/Daughter, Mother/Son dance, where they invited all the Fathers and their daughters, as well as all the Mothers and their sons, to dance with them. Click on the clip to see! It was amazing to see their church surround them in support and celebration.

We're celebrating. Does it look like a celebration to you? It should because we have things like a blanket, pizza, candles, rootbeer and smiles. We're having such a dandy time. Celebration is a wonderful thing. There is a very important reason we celebrated this night, though. Can you guess why...

I lost my job at Starbucks. I was late 3 times over 6 months, and I guess they had enough. It was humbling and sobering. 9 months ago, when Keri and I felt like God wanted us to get simple jobs--I never expected that I'd lose mine. It was hard to "fail" at something so "easy." Keri was wonderful, and extremely supportive. She reminded me that my value is in Jesus by the way she treated and trusted me. And she reminded me that God's hand is in everything that happens even our own mistakes. So that night, I treated her to a candle lit dinner, under a starry sky, to let her know how special she is to me. What a great thing to celebrate; a wonderful wife, a lost job and a faithful God.

Pray for us as I am 3 weeks into looking for a new job. God's timing is good, and He knows what He's doing, so we're learning to wait patiently in Him.

Keri's Average Day at The Little Gym

Here is a taste of a typical day at the Little Gym. This is a video that one of the moms in my Parent Child classes captured. Definitely would qualify for America's funniest home videos. No children have been injured in the filming of this video. Oh and Bode, the little boy I am helping on the balance beam, happens to be my favorite and the most precious!!! Watch at least the first 5 seconds!! :)

Short Entry

Hello friends,

Keri and I are off on another busy weekend. She is going on a mom retreat to Rancho Cucamunga (I don't think I spelled that right). They're shopping, seeing movies, walking around, going to dinner and loving mom-daughter time :)

I'm going to Grace Ev Free's Men's Retreat at the Church in La Mirada (near Biola). I'm spending time with Gil (Father-in-law), and reflecting on manhood. There is a lot to learn. Really looking forward to getting to know Gil better and learning from other older men :)

That's our lives for now. Keri and I will reunite on saturday to rest and reflect :)