What Paul's breathing today...

Today I'm breathing Oxygen, the ultimate oxidizing agent.

Sorry for now recent updates, but grad school is keeping me really busy. I know the bad ones from the good ones based on how easily I fall asleep.

Last Friday we had our Grad IV departmental dinners. Well, our discussion was over dessert. The non-life sciences and life science groups joined together to discuss the types of truth claims that we make being scientists. I came away from this exceedingly encouraged and wondering why we don't have these meetings more often. This is what para ministries should seek to promote - incorporating faith, beauty and truth with learning. The academic environment is not only a place where I can share Light through relationships, but a place to soak in the glory and righteousness of God in the very things I'm learning. For instance if God had not given isotopes of atomic nuclei different spin states we wouldn't have the modern NMR or MRI. Because of these devices (NMR and MRI) God's wonderful healing grace has been administered to hundreds of thousands. Furthermore, God gave us rational minds able to preform the complex mathematics behind all of the calculations in order that we could use the varying spin states of isotopes. Praise be to God!

My Iranian officemate was so interested in the reason for our meeting that she insisted on skipping a friend's birthday party to attend the departmental dinner. Talk about out reach!!! This is what God calls us to do as students - seek truth and beauty in our work - and he uses it to speak to our neighbors.

Sunday afternoon I visited an open house at the local Mosque. This highly-promoted event introduced the community to islam, and it helped explain the Islamic response to the political cartoons published overseas and locally. (Our campus made the mistake of republishing all six cartoons). This was really good for me. I was being evangelized while there, and being on the receiving end gave me a different perspective on sharing my own faith. My best advice is to listen to the people you're talking with and inquire about what they think and why they think what they do.

So I've been looking around for apartments this week, well checking out websites. I've decided that living alone next year will just be too expensive. So I need a roommate - problem solved! A friend of mine who also helps with International Friendship Link, as well as being a physics PhD student, was looking for a roommate to share an apartment with. I'm not really wanting to live in a house next year and my current roommates have already filled my spot, so everything's working out just great!

My space bar is hard to push down, as a result I'm tired of typing!
But before you go take a look at some pics from the 21st Annual Insect Fear Film Festival last Saturday evening. Nina and I attended to see the Praying Mantis Kung Fu demonstration and to watch the '50s Mantis horror flick. We also picked up bugs! And, yes, that grasshopper is the size of Nina's hand!




Oh, I'll be in St. Louis with some friends on Tuesday to see Jars of Clay and Derek Webb in concert. Anyone up for a road trip???