One More Month

I know I'm about a half an hour too late to say that its one more month, but this is the time that I have to post this first blog. I have one more month from today (lets say it still the 17th) until I leave for Israel. Right now I'm still trying to decide on what to buy to bring. I still have to do this book of maps before I go so that I know the land better. I have about two and a half more weeks until the winterm class with Dr. Halstead for New Testament Survey II. I really want to get everything done well and on time for this class so I'm not sweating it right before I have to go, because I will already be doing enough of that packing. The reason for the name of this blog 'Among These Stones' was given to me by one of my friends at TMC Zach Edwards. I asked him what he thought I should name it because he had been there this past summer, and he gave me the idea of walking around the rocky terrain of Israel, and I wanted to correlate the title with not only what I will be doing over but also the meaning of things that I will be seeing and learning. In the land of Israel, among those stones, I will read the Bible, as Dr. Varner says, "in color". I see the Bible come to life as I stand in the places where Jesus and the apostles preached and lived, where kings and kingdoms stood and fell, and where the end of all things will be. Hopefully I can keep up with updating this. I'm really hoping to keep a field type journal so that as we go along I can write things I learn. I've also purchase a digital voice recorder so I can record wherever I go and wherever I am so I will always have what I receive, in word, with me, and I am sure that I will cherish the sound clips long after I leave. I will probably want to write pages of my experiences that I will have, but I might not have much of an opportunity to be able to do that because of the short time I will probably have to blog. So if it is short blog, it will probably be what I have written down in a field journal and if there are extensive discussions that follow up the blog I could probably talk via Skype or when I return.