Valerie's excuses for not going to swimming class!

Mom,
During recess, my classmates and I created this list of all the reasons you should not take me to swimming classes today:

• Last time I went there was a shark that ate a girl
• I have a headache
• I am gonna puke
• I am so tired
• Some special agents put a chemical in the water that will kill everyone
• Too much chlorine
• There is a ghost there called “the ghost of the swimming pool
• There is a ancient burial ground under the pool of the Mayans, which makes it too dangerous to swim there
• It’s too deep and I can drown
• I heard that some of the other swimmers have a infection that is contagious only through water contact
• Last time I observed a lot of moss in the pool, might be a health hazard
• I just remembered I have an earache
• I don’t spend that much time with you, Mommy, let’s go to the movies for some girl-to-girl-  bonding
• I have a rare disease in my skin that will kill people when it comes in contact with chlorine
• I have a lot of homework and won’t finish if I go to swimming class

After laughing quite hysterically, I celebrated her creativity (this one and only time!) by not taking her to swimming class!

What have been the best excuses you have come up with or your children have given you to not do something?

The journey of learning marches on

What are my thoughts and feeling as I sit in class for a class on Leadership and Organizational Development and then attend a one-day conference for missions work? 

• What a wealth of new knowledge is available to us because scholars, students, practitioners have invested untold hours of their time and thought to study and distill but a small part of all they are learning.
•  How can I effectively "translate" some of these gold nuggets to those I work with?
•  Listening to these brilliant men and women make me curious to know more. It makes me thirsty. 
• Listening to these scholars lets me put but a finger on the world of knowledge that floats around like a huge iceberg. I see only the tip of the iceberg as a missionary in Latin America.
• There has been so much study and thought under-girding the missionary endeavor that I am completely unaware of. 
• I have long been content to just be a practitioner, now I am being challenged to be a reflexive practitioner, to act and think and think and act. 
• I am ashamed to admit that for much of my missionary career, I had a hidden disdain for scholarly work and schooling. I just wanted to get the job done!
• I am thankful for God opening my eyes to value the work of scholars, great thinkers, and to setting aside significant hours to think, ponder, and investigate what others around the world are doing and thinking.

In my own PhD journey, I have three more courses to take here at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School  and at that point I will  be a third of the way through.  I will have to do my comprehensive exams which means writing two publishable papers and finally my dissertation.

Whew...

I love each step of the journey and count it a privilege to be walking this path with numerous other co-scholars, outstanding professors, and my group of friends and family who all want a piece of that diploma...when I finally get it!

What journey have you been on lately? How's it feel?