Any Good Books?

It has been a while since I've posted an update on life in general.  I am still here at Southeastern, and it has almost been 3 months since I moved in.  At this point, I have a daily routine, and life seems normal here.  I go to class 4 days a week, I work in time to do any chores that need to be done (which is a lot more now that I am out here by myself), and I find time to just relax and read one of my many books for fun (many of which I have already read).  So if you have any suggestions of any good books, let me know.  I am always looking for something new to read.

I cannot say that I have necessarily found a church yet, although one I have been attending has been really great.  I could very well end up there, and I will keep you posted on that.  As for a job, I have not really looked around too much.  There were a couple I checked into that did not work out, but I am glad they did not work now.  It has been nice to relax and have an easy semester.  I know that once the new year starts I will really have to look hard for a job, but the right one will fall into place eventually.  The job I looked into at the beginning of the semester would have been great this semester, but I am already noticing that it probably would not have worked next semester.  Classes have been posted and after seeing what I need to take and when they are offered, that job would have never worked for me.  So once again, God took care of that situation without me even knowing why.

The days are definitely getting shorter, and after tomorrow night, we are going to be in the time of year I like the least.  I love the holiday season and cannot wait for all the good movies that will be on through the end of the year.  Plus Christmas music will be playing in just weeks!  But the short days are awful.  I have never liked it getting dark early, and I do not imagine that that will change out here.  But the time change is definitely a sign of the holidays approaching.

As the first semester of seminary winds down, I must say that I have learned a lot in my classes.  I have only had three classes this semester which is actually a light load, but coupled with some placement tests I am taking, I will more than likely receive 15 hours this semester, which is equivalent to 1/6 of the needed hours for graduation.  That means that I am right on target to graduate in three years.  With the remaining tests I will be taking in the Spring, I could very well cut off one semester by the time I graduate.  The classes this semester have been encouraging, informative, and convictional.  Although history can sometimes be boring, I have enjoyed looking specifically at the history of the Baptists (which is actually a complicated and hard lineage to trace).  With my Evangelism class and Missions class I have learned a lot about the mission we have to reach the nations.  Through my local churches back at home and my education at Union, I was well aware of our duties as Christians and the necessity of spreading the Gospel, but these classes have further increased my awareness of the importance of spreading His word both locally and internationally.  Even in our local churches we can, and should, do our part in reaching the nations.

So there is a quick update on my life in seminary.  With only about 4-5 weeks left, the semester will be over before we know it.  With that comes book reports!  Most of my assignments for the semester are completed, and now I just have to turn them in over the course of the next few weeks.  As I receive them back, I will post them on here to give you an idea of what I have been reading.  As always you can look for an almost daily look at Scripture.  I try hard not to miss a day of spending time in God's word, but that does not mean I do not miss a day here and there.  There are times when I do not post my thoughts on the next chapter or chapters of Scripture, but that is typically because I studied something different that day (like today).  We are nearing the half-way point of 1 Samuel, and hopefully we will be on into 2 Samuel by Thanksgiving!

And if you do happen to have any suggestions on some new books out there, let me know!  I just might write a review of them if and when I finish them.

Matt