A peek at the life, times and thoughts of John during his two-year stint in Knoxville.

This break thing is nice. I'm really enjoying it.

 

I said I planned on taking a look back at finals, so let's do that.

 

Let it be said from the outset that it took me almost no time to lose my schedule for exam week and I am now recalling the exams in the proper order only because I borrowed a copy from a roommate. Part of the fun of my finals week was repeatedly asking "What's next?"

 

Monday Morning: We started finals week with our test for Synoptics. There was a gargantuan sigh of relief from the class when we learned Sunday that we would be able to use our notes and Bibles. That had been the case all quarter, but it was extra comforting this time. Edwin Jones teaches Synoptics and does an incredible job. His tests are not designed such that you look at your notes and know *exactly* what to put. They are essay tests and require you to think. Notes are helpful, but just because you have your notes doesn't mean you're going to ace the thing.

 

I believe I did well on that test. I don't know yet for sure but it did not worry me.

 

Monday Afternoon: Timothy and Titus was one of the exams that everybody seemed extra worried about in terms of difficulty. It was no cakewalk, but it was manageable. I don't feel like I did too terribly on it.

 

Tuesday Morning: The test in Evangelism I was similar to the midterm. In terms of study time this was probably the easiest test to prepare for other than Greek.

 

Tuesday Afternoon: Our Greek test was straightforward. There are no real surprises in Greek. You know each Tuesday you're going to have a test and if you've kept up with the work you'll do all right. I goofed a sentence translation up and ended with a 58/61 on the test. My average entering the final was a 98 or 99, so I should finish Greek I with an A.

 

Now's a good time to note that tests weren't the only thing happening during Finals week. Many of us were also putting the finishing touches on projects such as outlines, research, evangelism plans, notebooks and papers. I could be misremembering, but I believe Tuesday night was a productive night from the "get projects done" standpoint. I had a paper for Synoptics that lingered through the week and was the last thing I completed.

 

Wednesday Morning: I still am not sure what happened with my Thessalonians and Philemon class. Maybe it was the fact I was wearing a Hawaiian Shirt as I was already looking forward to the break. I botched this test like it was going out of style. I virtually caught myself putting wrong answers on the paper and then couldn't convince myself to change them. I missed questions I knew from the first week of the quarter. It was a miserable feeling. I still pulled off an 84 on the final. My final grade might have gotten knocked into the B range because of that. I had an A going in, and 84 is a better result than what I thought I was heading for when I turned it in, so I'm not complaining.

 

Wednesday Afternoon: Wednesday afternoon was the final for English. Thanks to the fact that I paid my dues in English when I was at Marshall I didn't have to take English and ergo did not have to take the final. I spend a big chunk of Wednesday working on that Synoptics paper I mentioned.

 

Thursday Morning: By Thursday everybody was ready for the break. We didn't get to go that easily, though. Genesis was our morning exam. It was not overly difficult but it did involve writing five essays. Hand cramps were a given. My hand began to ache in ways I had not previously known possible.

 

Thursday Afternoon: We concluded Finals Week with the long-awaited test in Intro to Bible Study. The test was simple enough: list the 66 books of the Bible in order and give a synopsis of each book. Of course, they had to be spelled correctly too. That aspect was a hangup for some people in the class, but I wasn't worried about the spelling. I was worried about remembering that Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon come directly after Proverbs and hoping I would recall they synopses for Zephaniah, I Peter and I John.

 

I know I did well enough on the test to pass it. I listed all the books correctly and I believe I got all the descriptions correct. If not, I got enough right that I didn't fail the class. It took about a week of working through flash cards to get the material for this one to stick. Now that it has it is quite helpful.

 

Having all the tests finished was a relief, but there was still one thing standing between me and the bliss of break. The finishing touches on my Synoptics paper. I went home, finished it and handed it in.

 

It's been precisely two days since the tests were over and it already feels like ages. I suppose that's good, it means I have been relaxing well. Next Monday we'll be back after it and back to insanely busy, so I'm trying to enjoy the time.

 

Yesterday I took a trek to Nashville and spent a nice chunk of time in the Opry Mills/Grand Ole Opry area. I even got a Grand Ole Opry snowglobe as a momento. I visited Lipscomb University on my way to see my friend Kevin. I got to catch up with him and meet his roommate.

 

This morning I watched the first Cross Country meet I've been to since (I think) my freshman year of college. I got to see my other Point Pleasant friend that has relocated to Nashville. It was the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship race and she ran well. Being back near a Cross Country course makes me glad I'm back in some kind of running shape but it makes me want to jump back into training full tilt. I don't have time to go full-tilt...but maybe more tilt than I'm doing now.

 

Tomorrow morning I'm on assignment. Monday I'm driving home to Marion County. Wednesday I'll be in Huntington for a doctor's appointment and an evening with the 26th Street congregation. Saturday it will be back down the road to Knoxville. That's going to be a lot of driving. Good thing I like to drive. 

 

In Him,

-John