I was thinking.....I wonder if the AF would pay for a certificate from a seminary? I know a lot of them offer a 30 credit hour certificate. Anyone have any recommendations? I'll have to look into this. Not the same as getting an MAR, but it's continuing my education, and after all, the price might be right.

Went to the gym and did my usual hour killing myself on the cross-trainer. With my family history of heart trouble, cardio fitness is important to me. Lord willing, I want to collect my retirement pay for a long time! :) As I've done every day I run or do cardio, I'm listening to something to help me redeem the time. I've listened to many hundreds of John MacArthur sermons while working out; for the last few months, I've been listening to lessons from here: http://www.covenantseminary.edu/worldwide/default.asp What a great resource. There is so much cool stuff on the Internet, it's amazing! Currently, I'm working through "God and His Word", the lesson at the moment is "Classical Theism and Aquinas". My head hurts!

It's a beautiful day. I'm going to grab Vos' "Biblical Theology", head outside, and relax.

I've only been stationed here a few months, but it's clear the opstempo here isn't like that of my last base. I've therefore been looking hard at doing some self-improvement stuff. I'm back into the swing of things regarding fitness - lost about a dozen pounds since the first of the year. Cool stuff. I've been trying to figure out a way to further my education. I already have a Master's degree, and the AF won't pay for another, nor will they pay for anything beyond a Master's (there goes my PhD ;)) Nor do I qualify for the Montgomery GI Bill (long story). If I did, here's what I would be doing: http://virtual.rts.edu/ So, the only thing left is a professional certificate, which the AF will pay for. But here's the catch - they'll pay for one, and only one. So, I have to find the best I can get. I've asked a couple of schools for more info about a couple of management certs. I'm leaning toward HR. Not exactly a seminary degree, but it's moving forward. On to other things. The Shepherd's conference at Grace Church this week produced some controversy. Evidently, MacArthur really went after amillenialists. According to some of the blogs I read, he said some things that just aren't true. I'll withhold judgment until I listen to his remarks, but I heard him say some unkind things about non-premillenialists earlier this year. I don't know why he's doing battle on this front - scholars have been perplexed about end times issues for centuries. He seems to think he has it figured out. Ironic thing is, his view (dispensational premillenialism) is the only one of the four I think can be ruled out as unbiblical. I have so much respect and admiration for the guy - I hate to seem him tank on an important, but non-essential issue of the Christian faith.

Revival - postscript

My church finished our revival yesterday, and I was pleasantly surprised how it turned out. I thought it would be more of the same revivalism stuff, emotion based to get the crowd whipped up......which inexorably leads to a bunch of spurious "conversions." It wasn't. The purpose of this revival was to revive us. It was God centered, and the guys leading it were solid. I really got a lot out of it.

When you get to the stage of your military career I'm currently at, you begin thinking increasingly of retirement. I can stay in the AF a maximum of four more years - although I can't retire until next summer at the earliest. Today, I found out General Dynamics has a big operation in Scottsdale, AZ.......which is where my in-laws live. My wife and I would both love to be near them, although it's really expensive out there. In any event, GD has a lot of openings; some of the positions sound suited to me. My wife and I have long agreed I would only leave the AF kicking and screaming - the pay, benefits, and security are just too much. Plus, I love the military. However, if the right job with the right pay in the right location came up....