Mín Englisc Blog

Today has been a great day! Although my parents and Isaac left this afternoon, I have felt great throughout the day, I attended all of my classes, I went to an enjoyable Genevans concert tonight, and I've been able to see so many friends. Now, as I type, I'm watching Cool Runnings, a movie about the origins of the Jamaican bobsled team. Although there is a little language, it's a really funny movie, and I'm having a great time, especially as I'm one of seven people watching it in Tony's and my room.
I should give all of you a short discussion of my experiences over the last few days:
At 6:10 on Tuesday morning, I woke up in bed. Since it was still early, and since Tony had set his alarm for 6:45, I decided to go back to sleep. However, instead of awaking in bed as I expected, I awoke in an ambulance. As it transpired, Tony awoke under me, with me convulsing. He tried to awaken me, but failed, so he called the RA, Wilson. Similarly, he could not awaken me, so he called the head resident, Jensen, who similarly failed and then called 911. As I was being loaded into the ambulance, Dr. Ken Carson, the Vice President of Academic Affairs, walked by, and he soon phoned my parents.
When I arrived at Beaver Valley Hospital, I was quickly taken into the emergency room. There, they took my parents' phone number to give them an update. I was soon joined by Tony, Wilson, and Jensen, who soon left to bring back items such as my glasses and my watch, and one of Mom's brothers, who lives twenty or thirty miles north of here. During the time in the emergency room, I suffered another seizure. After a CAT scan, doctors found blood on my brain, but the scan could not tell what its source was. There were many possible sources that they considered, such as a tumor or a brain aneurysm. Since Beaver Valley does not have this technology, doctors decided to ask my parents to send me to a bigger hospital. Therefore, they called my parents (just left from Belle Center), saying something like the following: "We need to transfer Nathaniel by LifeFlight, either to Columbus or Pittsburgh. We know that Columbus is closer to you, but Pittsburgh would be quicker, and we would really like it to be quicker." Can you imagine my parents in this situation?
The flight went well, landing me at Allegheny General Hospital in about twelve minutes. Once there, I was soon joined by my uncle. After a few hours, my parents arrived, and soon I was taken from the emergency room to the intensive care unit. After several hours, I went through an MRI, which was so peaceful that I fell asleep. Through this time, it was determined that I did not have an aneurysm, a tumor, or anything else dangerous.
While I was in the hospital, I had a wonderful time with the staff at the hospital. I had a wonderful stream of visitors, including six ministers, one licentiate, multiple ruling elders, and many people who weren't ordained at all. Tony, Wilson, and Jensen visited again on Wednesday night, and several other students would have visited if I had needed to be in the hospital longer. Similarly, the College has been so helpful: giving free room and board to my family, sending out emails on my behalf, giving me indulgences for missed classes and assignments, and even sending its President and Chaplain to visit me in the hospital! And I have almost a dozen cards from people: several different classes, the Pearce Hall basement, the group that meets at Filberts' on Tuesday nights, and more.
My problem is called an arteriovenous malformation, or AVM, a congenital condition consisting of a ball of blood vessels near to the surface of the brain. A combination of several factors makes mine rather un-dangerous: although it could hypothetically pose a problem, it apparently is far more likely to cause more seizures or the symptoms of a stroke instead of being drastically dangerous. I have been warned to be careful of seizures or of any stroke symptoms, such as severe headaches, dizziness, slurred speech, paralysis, and loss of sight, for they may be signs that the AVM is becoming more dangerous and may need quick surgery.

Thanks to all of you who prayed for me! I have felt closely the presence of the LORD through this whole ordeal, and among the chiefest signs is the great number of people who have been and are still praying for me. People here at Geneva sent a notice of my condition and an urgent request for care to everyone on campus. Others posted notices of my condition on Covienet. Several thousand people were praying for me, all around the world! And I didn't even have a serious problem! How many people are released from the hospital in great condition just two days after being lifeflighted into it? What a wonderful set of blessings from the LORD! Thanks so much to all of you!

Because it's late, I'm just going to post the text of an email that I put up on Covienet tonight. I may post more in future days, and of course I'll be happy to tell more to anyone who is interested.


Dear friends,
I would like to report that I was released from Allegheny General Hospital this afternoon and am now back in my dorm on Geneva's campus. I have almost no pain except for the places where the IVs were inserted. I have had no surgery, and there are no plans for me to have any. All that is scheduled is a checkup in about a month, which should go quite fine. While I have been put on an anti-seizure medicine long term, and possibly for life, that is a small price to pay to avoid what I suffered on Tuesday.
I had a wonderful experience with the staff at Allegheny General, and I cannot imagine having much of a better experience in that manner. In that, as well as in what my illness turned out to be, as Mr. Bump said, I have been wonderfully blessed. I have been amazed by how many people visited me in the hospital, how many signed cards for me, and (above all) how many THOUSANDS of people have prayed for me! Thank you all for your prayers for me, and let us praise the LORD Almighty for his wonderful grace! At the point where the worst possibilities, such as an aneurism, seemed possible, I was able to trust in the LORD for my safety, regardless of what was in my head. Hallelujah!

Nathaniel Pockras
http://erudil.blogspot.com

"But who is he that is the king
Of glory? Who is this?
The LORD of Hosts and none but He
The King of Glory is."
Psalm 24:10

During the lecture for SCS 110 today, we covered the ideas of atomic bonding, electron shells, the reasons why inert gasses are inert, and so on. As a demonstration of the results of having a full outer shell as opposed to not having one, Dr. McMahon took a candle, put it on a pole, lit it, and held it to two balloons. The first, filled with helium, popped. The second, filled with hydrogen, exploded in a ball of fire. After he exploded the hydrogen balloon, he went across the hall and prepared another hydrogen balloon. At this point, I realized that in my backpack I had my film-capable digital camera. I began to take video — when it alerted me that it was out of batteries. And I had spares — but in my room. What a time to run out of batteries!
If you want to see another person's video of a hydrogen balloon being burned, look here.

BLOGS As usual, blog contest members are marked*
1. *: 10 posts, on 7 days.
2. *: 7 posts, on 7 days.
3. *: 10 posts, on 7 days.
4. *: 7 posts, on 7 days.
5. *: 7 posts, on 7 days.
6. *: 8 posts, on 7 days.
7. *: 6 posts, on 5 days.
8. *: 3 posts, on 3 days.
9. : 2 posts, on 2 days.
10. Maggie*: 1 post, on 1 day.
11. Rebekah: 4 posts, on 1 day.
12. *: 0 posts, on 0 days. Last post 15 March.
13. : 0 posts, on 0 days. Last post 1 February. He will be removed from these ratings if he has not posted by this time next week.

Today was very busy. I woke up this morning just in time to leave for a hike with the Boy Scout troop I work with here. We hiked on a Rails to Trails bike trail (like the Monon in Indianapolis) from west of New Castle to a mile west of the Ohio line, an eight-mile distance, before turning around and going over the whole distance again. Never before have I hiked sixteen miles in one day!
Besides that, nothing very impressive has happened. I went to dinner, played some on the computer, worked some on the computer, and talked with friends. What else is new? Not much.

Today has involved relatively little of interest, except for one thing: the second test in HUM 203. This test covered Renaissance art and culture, along with a good deal of work on the Protestant Reformation. I fear that I did somewhat less well than on my first test, but I'm not very much concerned.
Besides the test, not much is happening. My SCS lab science course involved atoms and atomic bonding today, most of which material I remembered from two or three years ago. HIS 201, immediately before the HUM test, was cancelled, because Professor Werthmuller is out of town. Even my usual weekly time in the Fitness Center under the supervision of my nextdoorneighbor (a personal-trainer-in-training) I didn't have, because he wasn't there to supervise, and I know nothing of what I should do.
Instead of normal work, I did more of my less-structured work. For example, I spent an above-average amount of time on my statistical-compilation project (almost done!), played Colonization (a computer game from 1994) for a good while, and watched much of tonight's big basketball games. Talk about a comeback, with the Villanova victory over Boston College!
As well, I did some more schoolwork. I worked on revising my final paper for the history class (which I wrote over spring break) and finished a small project due for that class on Monday. For this assignment, I had to find a range of types of documents, including an unpublished archival document. I ended up calling Mr. Reid down at the Seminary, who provided me with — of all things — a congregational report from Belle Center!

Recently, with this statistical project, I've been working through tons of Minutes of Synods. Each year, the published Minutes include a memorial for each minister who died during the year. I'd like to post the memorial for one of our ministers who died in 1954.

The death of Rev. Chung of China was reported two years ago, but nothing was known of the circumstances of his passing. From very recent reports we learn that death came as the result of persecution and torture at the hands of communists in an attempt to make him deny his faith in Jesus Christ. So he has become the first Covenanter minister to be martyred by communists.
Rev. Chung was born about 1873 in a rural village called Che Tsai, meaning Little Wheel. Later when most of the people became Christians it became known as Sun Tsai, or the Little Village of Faith. As a youth, like his people, he was an ardent idol worshiper, and had a part in persecuting a brother who had become a Christian.
He was employed by Dr. A. I. Robb as a laborer about the mission. After conversion he was baptized and received into church membership at the age of 19 years. He attended the Bible Training School and after three years was graduated with the first class in 1908. He was licensed to preach on January 16, 1915, by the China Commission and ordained to the Gospel Ministry, January 20, 1926, by the China Presbytery. During the years, he was employed as a circuit pastor over the many groups of the mission field and as stated supply.
Rev. Chung was not a highly educated man, but did have a good understanding of Gospel truth and was diligent in declaring it to both Christians and non-Christians. In manner he was humble, kind, and gracious. He was wise in counsel and upright in example.
He was acquainted with persecution, for when he first became a Christian he was persecuted by clan and neighbors and three times by secret anti-Christian societies. He attributed the saving of his life to the answer to his prayers to the Heavenly Father.
The transformation of his life was striking. From heathenism to a child of God. From a coolie to an ambassador for Christ. From a cruel death to a crown of life.
During trial and cruel torture the testimony is that he remained faithful to his Lord to the end of his earthly life.

After doing a bit of Bible homework last night and printing it today, I've realized that I only have 22 items of homework left for that class! That may seem like a lot, but ten of those are simply taking ordinary class notes, eight more are reflections or answers to questions from a textbook, and one is the composition of a bibliography. Only three are actual papers.

During my SCS 110 lecture today, we discussed the basics of the periodic table, including the manner in which some elements are very reactive, some violently. None of the lecture was new for me, although I had never seen either of the two aspects demonstrated. First, Dr. McMahon took a small piece of sodium and placed it in water, which caused it to smoke, to sizzle, and soon to disappear. Next, he took steel wool, lit it on fire, and placed it in a jar of oxygen. While I have previously seen the effects of combining pure oxygen with a burning match, this was different. He wanted to demonstrate the powerful effect of pure oxygen, and he easily accomplished this: he accidentally dropped the burning steel wool into the jar, and its violent heat actually cracked the sturdy glass jar!

Nothing really impressive happened today, although several smaller things did. I'll just present them each separately.
• Alcohol was the discussion of the day in Bible, as Dr. Smith divided my class into several groups. Each group, composed of the people assigned to write on each part of Christian Liberty, discussed their findings and what they plan to present to everyone else in future class sessions.
• At dinner, I sat next to the family of the college chaplain, the Rev. Tom Grey. He plans to end his chaplaincy after this schoolyear, and therefore he has been candidating around recently. From speaking with his elementary-age sons, I found that he (and the rest of the family) will be in Selma this weekend. Hopefully Selma has better weather!
• Also at dinner, I witnessed an interesting event. An employee was pushing a trolley carrying dishes when a stack of bowls fell over, crashing everywhere. I was too far away to help, but it was still impressive. I have heard glass and ceramic break many times, but never before have I heard so much at once.
• Lab tonight involved making magnesium react with the air. It was quite interesting, especially when the instructor demonstrated with a lighter an uncontrolled reaction. Magnesium, in case you don't know, was once used in cameras to produce the flash.
• Stillwater has been on my mind a bit lately. Dr. Smith completed and turned in a form today that I asked him to fill out; Matt Filbert gave me a similar form tonight; and I will soon turn in the rest. Meanwhile, talking with my benefactor and with my parents helped me to realize that we need to get airplane tickets very soon. Therefore, I called down to Stillwater and talked to Pastor Bruce Parnell. One flight to take me home, which had been in consideration, leaves Oklahoma City (an hour's drive away) at 7AM. Fancy leaving at 5AM, to get in the gates at 6, and leave at 7! Thankfully, this flight is no longer in consideration.

Saturday's game of The Price is Right was quite entertaining. One of the best parts came when Liz Hoffman, the daughter of the professor playing Bob Barker, was called! She ended up winning some small thing — and $150. However, she didn't get to go to the Showcase.
Today was not extremely exciting. Perhaps one of the most unusual parts of the day came this evening, as I was preparing to go to the Scout troop meeting. Apparently, the man who normally picks up Garrett and me was gone, because he didn't come either to the dorm or to the meeting. We eventually got there, but it was rather late.

Remember Gollum during the Veggietales Live performance at Calvin? I'd like to ask for prayer for the mother of the Gollum actor. Mrs. Brenda Wallace has fought cancer for many years, and yesterday at College Hill RPC it was announced that more has been discovered. Please pray for her health and life, and also please pray that this might be the last round of cancer, followed by many years of life. She is a faithful Christian, and will be preserved eventually, but her pilgrimage has been difficult with cancer in the past, and it may be difficult for a long time yet.

What is a proverb? I'd like your opinion.
Pastor Selvaggio's sermon at College Hill today was an introduction to a series on Proverbs, with his text on the first seven verses of the first chapter. He asked the question that I ask above, although I don't remember if he answered it or not.
Dr. Robson's sermon today at Eastvale was a topical sermon on Jesus as a carpenter. I've never heard anything like it before. It was quite appropriate, looking at how (among other things) Jesus is the master builder for everything. We had thirty-two people at worship this morning, including two girls from Treasure Diggers and one Kansas University student who is visiting the Seminary in preparation to enrol there this autumn. Some people were missing, including a couple who are visiting family and a lady with severe back pain.

BLOGS As usual, blog contest members are marked*
1. *: 7 posts, on 7 days.
2. *: 7 posts, on 7 days.
3. *: 7 posts, on 7 days.
4. *: 7 posts, on 7 days.
5. *: 7 posts, on 7 days.
6. *: 7 posts, on 5 days.
7. : 5 posts, on 4 days.
8. *: 4 posts, on 3 days.
9. *: 2 posts, on 2 days.
10. *: 2 posts, on 2 days.
11. Maggie*: 2 posts, on 1 day.
12. Rebekah: 0 posts, on 0 days. Last post 5 March.
13. : 0 posts, on 0 days. Last post 1 February.

Tonight, I went to a Price is Right game in the Old Main Chapel. I'll post more later.

Luke and Maria apparently have had their blogs destroyed recently. We need to expose those who have done this, if possible, in a Christian manner. One word of warning: I would advise all of you to change your passwords immediately.

I'm confused about what's expected of me in my SCS 110 lab science course. Early in the semester, the professor instructed us to round numbers to three digits. Today, I received back my last lab report (graded by someone else) in which my answers consistently were changed by the grader because I had too few digits. Why can't we just use significant digits?

Classes today went generally well. One of the interesting points was a set of "housekeeping," or scheduling, notes in my history class: among several changes was a postponement of Friday's assignment until mid-April. Humanities class was a lecture by Dr. Byron Curtis on the Reformation in Britain. Excellent as usual, the lecture looked mostly at England, although he included Scotland as well. Although he covered our church's origins somewhat, I wanted him to go farther than he did, but the clock interrupted him.

Below this post, finally, is my alcohol paper. This is a stripped-down version of the paper I wrote for my Bible class, so please forgive me if it seems rather long. I would like you to note two things:
• I cannot "tell you what the Bible says" about this issue. What I have written is my own beliefs about the Bible's teaching, and I do not claim to have a perfect interpretation. Indeed, I am sure that I have made errors in this paper. Please do not interpret my words to condemn anyone! I believe that anything correct that I hold is through God's grace, and that all of my errors are my own fault. I do not want to condemn anyone who disagrees with me!
• Please do not interpret this paper to say that we must use alcohol! Total abstinence is not a sin, and illegal alcohol use is wrong in God's eyes as well as in the eyes of the state. It is completely true that you cannot become drunk if you never taste alcohol. I have posted more about this at the end of my post.

The subject of moderate use of alcohol is a much-debated issue among faithful, Bible-believing Christians. One side seeks to prohibit beverage alcohol because the Bible prohibits its use as a beverage and because such use places a stumbling block before the blind. The other side seeks to permit the use of beverage alcohol and to ensure that Christians use this liberty responsibly, without becoming drunk or leading others astray. While not every faithful, Bible-believing Christian falls into one of these camps, most do, and therefore this paper will address those two opposing doctrines.

One of the most basic principles in this debate is that material things are free from moral qualities. In Mark 7, Jesus said that nothing that enters the human body could corrupt it, and Mark says explicitly that Jesus’ statement proclaimed every food clean. As well, in Genesis 1.31, God pronounced all of creation very good. This means that something God created is not inherently evil. Because alcohol can occur naturally, as we often see in cases of birds becoming drunk upon fermented grapes and berries, the existence of alcohol in nature is due to God.

Because God’s creation includes the presence of alcohol independent of human action, and because many passages in the Bible proclaim the goodness of all of God’s creation, such as Genesis 1.31, it should be obvious that alcohol is not inherently sinful. Furthermore, several passages can be used to demonstrate that alcohol use is not inherently sinful. Paul wrote, “I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself,” and, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 14.14, 17). As well, Luke says (Luke 7.33-35) that Jesus himself drank something that his critics said made him a drunkard, so Jesus must have drunken alcohol. Furthermore, it is obvious from references such as Luke 22.17-20 that Jesus drank some sort of grape juice at the institution of the Lord’s Supper. Since it was held at the time of the Passover, in the spring, this juice had been produced several months beforehand, in the autumn. As the process of pasteurization had not been invented at that time, there likely was no method of preserving this juice from fermentation, and many of us have observed that untended grapes begin to ferment within a few weeks of falling off the vine. Therefore, the grape juice that Jesus used must have contained alcohol, and passages such as 1 Peter 2.22 establish that Jesus “committed no sin.” If Jesus committed no sin, and Jesus used alcohol in such instances as these, the use of alcohol cannot be inherently sinful. It must be possible for us to use alcohol responsibly in some way, because imitating Jesus’ sinless example cannot cause us to sin.

However, those who use alcohol must ensure that they act properly, doing all things for God’s glory. As Paul said, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10.31). They have the responsibility to obey alcohol laws, as Romans 13.1 says, “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established.” As well, drunkenness is obviously prohibited by passages such as 1 Cor. 6.10 and Eph. 5.18.

Alcohol users also must not subject themselves to the control of their beverages. Because alcohol is a mind-altering and habit-forming drug, its drinkers must ensure that they control themselves. Proverbs 23.29-35 provides an excellent example of one who is subjected to both of those problems: although the man in this passage hallucinates in his drunkenness, he longs to continue drinking. This responsibility is similar to that of users of other similar drug-containing substances, such as coffee and tobacco. Those users also must not subject themselves to addiction to their drugs, such as caffeine and nicotine, because they thereby subject themselves to nearly irreversible control by something other than God, which is prohibited by 1 Thess. 4.1-8.

One major issue in the question of alcohol use is the responsibility of its users not to cause others to fall into sin through their use. As Paul said, “Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall” (1 Cor. 8.13). Earlier in that chapter, he remarked that because some people do not know that every food is allowable, eating certain foods in front of them might cause them to sin. Such eating would be similar to the situation addressed earlier in this paper, where a person would eat but consider such eating sinful.

Paul called those who thought eating certain things was wrong the “weak,” while those who realized that any diet was okay he called the “strong.” Passages such as Romans 14 and 1 Corinthians 10 tell the strong not to scorn the weak and the weak not to revile the strong. Passages such as 1 Thess. 5:14 demonstrate that wiser and stronger persons have a responsibility to teach and to help simpler and weaker persons. Since a man who knows that all food is permissible is stronger than a man who shuns certain foods for religious reasons, the first man has a responsibility to teach the second. He must seek lovingly to instruct the weaker brother, to show him his error, and to lead him in the right way.

One of the most important passages for the strong to remember is 1 Cor. 6.19, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit?” Alcohol can easily be used in a way that harms the body, and such a use is plainly sinful. As well, those persons whose bodies are harmed by alcohol must not drink it at all, because they thereby are harming themselves. Furthermore, due to œconomic considerations, responsible alcohol use may lead to financial hardship. We have the responsibility to provide for ourselves and for our dependents (1 Tim. 5.8), and we must manage our spending properly in order to fulfill this responsibility.

Another important consideration is the impact of alcohol use upon evangelism. As Paul said in 1 Cor. 9.20, “To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law.” Therefore, one who seeks to win non-Christian total abstainers must avoid giving offense to them through alcohol. For example, Islam prohibits alcohol, and a missionary in a Muslim land will present a terrible witness if he uses alcohol, because his behavior will cause him and his message to seem unworthy of attention.

Therefore, modesty in alcohol use is entirely appropriate. For this reason, as well as for others, I support laws prohibiting public drinking of alcohol and would support similar laws to restrict improper exhibition of other freedoms. We have a responsibility to use our freedoms wisely and without causing others to sin, and modesty in the use of our freedoms is one of the best means of fulfilling this responsibility.

I only have time for a few notes:
I'm now back in my dorm room, with spring break over. Classes will resume as normal tomorrow morning.
Today's trip was generally boring, although punctuated by a few flurries.
Today, I'm exactly halfway in between my eighteenth and nineteenth birthdays.
In the mail today, I received the signup forms for next semester's classes. I like the idea of taking European History II and American History III, since I already took European History I, and since I have CLEP test credit for American History I and II.
Thanks to all of you for the extra comments. As Nathan remarked (in a comment :-), Katie and I really are benefiting from all of these comments that you're giving!

Tonight is mostly preparation for tomorrow. With classes resuming on Wednesday morning, with Geneva being four hours' drive from here, and with Dad wanting to attend tomorrow night's troop meeting here, I'm leaving for Beaver Falls early tomorrow morning.
Today has been rather quiet overall. Very little happened from morning until afternoon. This evening, we went to Bellefontaine for shopping and dinner at Arby's. After we returned, Wes Deardurff (from the Scout troop) came up to interview Dad. He needed to do the interview because he is working on God & Life, the religious award that Isaac and I earned some time ago. He stayed for quite a while (enjoyable :-). Meanwhile, I set up and ran Paul Soma's scanner, which he lent to me. Problems dogged me throughout: first I found that parts of the connecting apparatus were bent (Dad straightened them), then I discovered that part of my problem was that it wasn't turned on, and then when I gave up and decided to disconnect everything, I found that it wasn't connected! At least I got everything connected in the end.

Dad preached today from two passages, since we had lunch at church and afternoon worship. We looked at Joash (I can't remember whether Dad used II Kings or II Chronicles primarily; he used both somewhat) and the passage at the end of John 7 where Jesus is rejected by the Pharisees. I've always liked parts of the John passage, when the guards are sent out to arrest Jesus. In case you don't remember: partway through the Feast, the chief priests and Pharisees send temple guards to arrest Jesus. At the end of the Feast, days later, the guards return without Jesus. The leaders criticize the guards, who reply, "No one ever spoke the way this man does." Although these guards weren't necessarily believing in Christ, this is a simple yet profound testimony of who Christ was: greater than anyone else!

BLOGS Contest members are *marked. Note that Grace has been restored after a year's hiatus. I'll be restoring my link to her soon.
1. *: 10 posts, on 5 days.
2. *: 6 posts, on 6 days.
3. *: 6 posts, on 6 days.
4. *: 6 posts, on 6 days.
5. *: 6 posts, on 6 days.
6. *: 15 posts, on 5 days. This includes a string of photo posts.
7. *: 4 posts, on 4 days.
8. *Andrew: 5 posts, on 5 days.
9. : 3 posts, on 3 days.
10. Rebekah: 4 posts, on 1 day. This includes a string of photo posts.
11. *Grace: 1 post, on 1 day.
12. *Maggie: 1 post, on 1 days.
13. : 0 posts, on 0 days. Last post 1 February.

Today has been occupied mostly on my laptop. This morning, I was working on my history paper (now almost complete :-) for a couple of hours, and this afternoon I discovered an old computer game. I'd not played Colonization for several years, and I got rather carried away, playing until late evening.
While I was typing my paper this morning, I was at Wittenberg University in Springfield, where the annual Merit Badge Trail Drive (for Scouts) was held. Since I'm an adult leader now, I simply went along to help, although actually I was mostly a tagalong. It was enjoyable to see several people with whom I had not talked in a long time, including a friend in the Bellefontaine troop (with which troop I went to summer camp) whom I'd not seen since last April.

Today has been a rather busy day. After a doctor's appointment (went well :-) this morning, we headed down to Cincinnati to visit my grandparents. Grandmother appears stronger than I remember her since before her strokes. Although she had a cane, she almost never used it when walking: she usually would walk around carrying it. Anyway, we had a rather good visit, although it was rather short. We received some bad news (although it turned out to be not as much of a problem as it had been thought), and Dad decided to leave a little early to check on that. Because we had some shopping to do, we went into Bellefontaine, shopped and attended to other business, ate dinner, attended to more other business, and came home just a little while ago.
Isaac hopes to get a blog set up in the next few days. I'll keep you updated as far as that is concerned!

Please don't think that I've forgotten the alcohol thing. I do still hope to post it!
Tomorrow, I have a doctor's appointment (don't worry, I'm not in danger!), after which all of us are going to visit my Pockras grandparents in the Cincinnati area. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow: I've not seen them for over two months, and I'll not have another chance for several more months. When I consider how ill Grandmother was a year ago, her condition today seems simply fantastic! Noöne expected her to improve at all, but she has been mostly better for months! What a blessing from the LORD!
Tonight, I went with Dad to the District Roundtable, a monthly meeting for Boy Scout adult leaders in my county. Since this was my first time, I obviously can't compare it to anything. Apparently, most meetings are like tonight's except less well attended. We had a time of announcements (rather pointless for me, since I'll be at school when the announced events take place) and a training time, where one of the "Roundtable Commissioners" spoke about the Safe Swim Defense system. I especially enjoyed a short bit before the announcements, where they asked for each of the newcomers to be introduced. Among the other newcomers were two women who are beginning a new troop in a nearby town: always welcome news! Another thing I appreciated was the chance to see several people whom I'd not seen in many months, such as the man who was my counsellor for the Cycling merit badge, which I earned on the bike trip to Calvin.

Much of today has been occupied by working on the alcohol paper. I do plan to publish something along the lines of what Ellie requested, but it will be at least tomorrow (perhaps later) in coming.
Tonight I will attend a regularly-scheduled prayer meeting for the first time in a long while. I would be interested in attending Eastvale's prayer meeting, except for the fact that I would have to miss a class to attend it!
After prayer meeting, I plan to begin work on my history term paper. Although it's not due until Finals Week, I've decided to write it this week, because I have significantly fewer classes this week than I will later in the semester. My paper I'm planning to write about parts of my stamp collection: the interrelation between US stamps and US history and culture.

Today has been rather unexciting as well. Most of my morning was occupied by a combination of two things: (1) a successful completion of the Civilization game (the first time that I ever did it!), followed by (2) a trip with Mom to Bellefontaine. Throughout the day, I've been reading books on the subject of alcohol use from a Christian perspective, so as to understand better my beliefs on the subject. I must write a paper on my beliefs about the Bible's views of alcohol use.
Tonight, as well, I visited the meeting of my "home troop" in the Boy Scouts. Eighteen members and potential members attended, a far higher number than that to which I am accustomed. Hopefully this growth will continue, and the troop will continue to improve!

Today is the beginning of another blogging contest, which is somewhat different from last year's. This contest is based mostly upon frequency of posts and upon comments. Therefore, I encourage all of you to comment frequently!

I have had another rather boring day today. Most of the day was occupied by reading this book (click on the image to find more) for my Bible class. This evening, I discovered how to install Railroad Tycoon Deluxe and Civilization on my laptop. These games, both from the early 1990s, have very primitive graphics and gameplay, but they are quite interesting. So far, as Emperor Abraham Lincoln of the Americans, I've destroyed the Aztecs and the Egyptians (who tried to settle in central Brazil) and built a civilization in the eastern United States.

Dad preached today from II Kings 9-10, in which Jehu overthrows Joram and Ahaziah and becomes king. One thing that struck me about the passage is this: although Joram was commissioned to kill every descendent of Ahab, he failed. How do I know? Ahaziah's son Joash became king after him, and his line held the scepter until the fall of Jerusalem centuries later. From his line came the Christ. Jezebel was an ancestor of Jesus!
By the way, during my Bible class last semester, we got into an interesting discussion about Jehu. Was he a good king or a bad king? I will post my answer in the future. Meanwhile, your opinions are strongly requested.

BLOGS
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Today has been rather boring, except for a trip to Bellefontaine with Mom. Isaac was gone most of the morning at the local Cub Scout pinewood derby, helping the pack for which he is a den chief. He made a car for the races with the other leaders, but it came in last — even though he added rocket engines! Actually, he used the engines solely for weight, as setting them off would have caused fires and rather violated the spirit of the race.
Sorry to all of you whom I normally see on IM: although I have plenty of time for IMing, others need the main computer. Ever since the installation of broadband Internet in January, the cable that I used on Christmas break to have the laptop online has been obselete. However, because Dad has been very busy lately, he has not had time to set up a wireless network. Therefore, I cannot get the laptop online at all! Since others need the computer, I have very little chance to be online at the same time that you are.

I'm now back at home for the beginning of spring break. Due to a combination of factors, I'll not be able to go to Indiana at all over break, so I dearly hope for a chance during the summer. Since that's not in the picture, I've wondered what I will be doing, and I can't come up with much. I know that I do have some things to do, including getting a haircut (my hair is the longest that it's been since I was a toddler!) and writing two papers, one for Bible and one for history.

As I was reading stories on Fox News, I came across this story, which tells of the recent discovery of two more living French veterans of the First World War. One, whom the authorities thought had died, had simply moved from one retirement home to another and forgotten to notify veteran's affairs officials. The other, Rene Riffaud, the man in the picture, aged 107 years, had never registered as a veteran because he felt unworthy of the honor, since he was a draftee and never saw combat.
To me, it is so sad to see these last ones of their generation passing away. Ten years ago, there were nearly 4,000 "poilus" in France alone. Today, a spokesman for the US Department of Veterans' Affairs says that there are fewer than fifty alive worldwide. This includes seven Frenchmen, thirteen British, eight Americans, ten Italians, and perhaps five Germans. Does anyone yet remain in Russia, Austria, or Eastern Europe? There is no living Turkish veteran. How many will live another 2½ years until the ninetieth anniversary of the Armistice?
Some of these men have amazing stories. For example, Emiliano Mercado del Toro, the oldest living man in the world, was born in Puerto Rico in 1891. Besides his service in World War I, he has the distinction of clearly remembering the American invasion of the island during the Spanish-American War.
Unless the Lord return first or we die young, we who are teenagers will see the death of the last veteran of the Second World War. How will we remember them? I like one plan that I have read: the British government have supported the idea of holding a state funeral for whichever man dies last. This is the natural pattern in a world filled with death and sin, but it is still sad. Obviously, the same thing has happened with every war. None remain of the Hundred Years' War, the Thirty Years' War, the Seven Years' War, the American Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars, the Crimean War, the American Civil War. Soon, none will remain from this war. Let us remember them faithfully and praise God for their brave defense of our liberties!
As the French would say, Hommage au poilus!

Today has gone rather well, although not much has happened. After my Bible class, where there was an energetic discussion of the theology of predestination, I had a test in my PE class. While the test wasn't too hard, I did have one problem: the Scantron forms that are used for these tests require a #2 pencil, and just before the start of the test, I realized that I had no pencil! With five minutes to spare, I had to run all the way from Metheny Fieldhouse at the south end of campus to my room at the north end of campus, get the pencil, and return. Well, I didn't quite make it (came in about three minutes late), but all that happened was that I began the test three minutes after others. I still finished with plenty of time — although I was the last one in the class to finish. Still, I had a workout, and a very good reason why I'm glad that I came to a small college! I can't imagine trying to run across the Purdue campus, even if I didn't need to.
Other than that, I've had very little. Except for meals and Treasure Diggers, I've spent almost all of my day with historical reading, mostly in old Minutes of Synod. I discovered how to borrow things from the Covenanter Collection in Macartney Library, and with that knowledge I dove into their oldest volume of Minutes, from 1834 until 1861. It's fascinating reading such old records, although some things tend to be confusing. Around 1840, there were six presbyteries, and two of them were named "Western." Talk about a bad idea!

HIS 201 is cancelled today :-)