January's Already Over?!

Though it's a cliched way to begin, I really can't believe that January has already come and gone. I promised that I'd write an update on what our month was like. For the most part, with Liana having begun full-time work and my studies having entered a busy season (more on both these items below), most of January consisted of... well, of life! Regular, every day, work, rest, time together, time with friends, church, study, etc. Life! And it is good, and we are thankful. A few details, though, of the January that was:

• We welcomed in 2013 with Liana's parents, Laura and Gerry, who were here visiting us for two weeks. It was wonderful to have family here! We had a great time with them, showing them around our new 'hometown' (I don't think I'm ready to take the quotation marks away from that word yet), sharing what our life is like here (including the consumption of lots of soup), introducing them to our friends (at least those who remained in town over the holidays), and doing some sightseeing. We spent a week in St Andrews, during which time we made day trips to Glamis Castle, Stirling Castle, and the towns of the East Neuk, and then headed off to Glasgow and Edinburgh, spending three nights in each city. Liana and I hadn't spent any real time in either of these main Scottish cities, so it was great to have the chance to do so with Laura and Gerry, who are well-seasoned travellers. We really enjoyed aspects of both Glasgow and Edinburgh -- they are quite different, but both certainly have their own highlights.
• Liana has begun working full-time at Balgove Larder, a cafe and farm shop just on the edge of town. This is a lovely place that the Watts took us to in our first week here, and Liana is very excited to be working there. She plans on writing a blog post herself about work in the very near future, so I will leave it at that.
• On the last day of the month we celebrated my 30th birthday. Yes, I am 30 years old! It was strange to not be with family for this. Liana decided to be all sneaky and throw me a surprise party, which was really wonderful -- I've always wanted one! I can remember very clearly wondering aloud to Liana (with a definite amount of concern in my tone) almost exactly a year ago who in the world we'd be celebrating our thirtieth birthdays with. It has really been amazing to stop, look, and see how gracious God has been in his provision of a community of friends for us here. Friendships have sprung up and put down roots pretty quickly. It's probably something to do with all of us being in St Andrews, away from our homes and everyone we know -- we are 'in it together'. That, and the fact that these are the people who we're spending all our time with here. Regardless of the why of it all, we are very, very thankful for the friends we've made here, and it was wonderful to celebrate my birthday with them!

Front: Marijke, Liana & me, Lindsay and Adam
Back: Tim, Andrea, Garrick, Sam, Mary Blake, Elissa, Raymond, Steve, Chris, John, and Rachel

• I have entered what is shaping up to be a very busy season of work. After taking off a couple of weeks around Christmas, I spent most of January working primarily on two fronts: (1) Book reviews. I've been sent several books to review for a few journals, which is great -- a good opportunity to get some initial publications, and free books! -- but time consuming. (2) Researching and writing up some work on eschatological violence in the Dead Sea Scrolls. If that seems obscure, I'm sorry. Send me an email or something if you're interested in knowing more. I've found the Scrolls material fascinating, and some stuff has turned up that will be very important for my larger work. Now, however, I've got to turn my attention to a couple of very important deadlines coming up in the next two months. March 1 is the deadline for papers to be submitted for the annual Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) meeting next November. I hope to get something in for consideration in the group titled, 'Violence and Portrayals of Violence in Judaism and Christianity'. Seems right up my alley! April 8 is the deadline for my GRO (Graduate Research Ordinance), the first big marker of my PhD. At that point I have to submit a written chapter of my thesis, a bibliography, and a (preliminary) table of contents for the whole thing. Considering that what I've been focusing on for the first five months has mostly been preliminary background work, there is a lot for me yet to do. If my GRO is successful, then -- and only then -- am I considered a PhD candidate!
• I've completed German Quickly! I can now rudimentarily read German with a dictionary beside me. My friend Raymond and I are meeting together three times a week to work through Modern Theological German, which basically consists of a bunch of excerpts from 20th century German theologians and comprehension questions. Es ist sehr hilfreich!
• All in all, I'm enjoying my work. It's been a challenge to learn how to approach a project of this size on a daily basis without either (a) feeling overwhelmed; or (b) feeling like the daily work is contributing in any worthwhile way to the final project. It's certainly a marathon, not a sprint to the finish line. I've also had to learn not to constantly compare myself to other PhD students, as it's pointless and damaging to my mental state (just ask Liana). I need to trust that God has brought us both here for a reason and for his purposes, and what is required of me is to daily be faithful in my work and in my life, by his grace.

I think that's enough from me for now. Wherever you are reading this from, I pray that you know God's blessings of grace, joy, and peace in your life!