Recent celebrations and explorations
I spent this past weekend in PA and NY celebrating my brother's graduation - huzzah, huzzah! :) I hope to post some photos soon, but they aren't ready quite yet. Until then, I'll just say that we had fun cheering through three commencement ceremonies and celebrating with two cakes! I was so thankful to be able to share that time with my family. My brother has worked so hard the past few years and I really respect him for what he's accomplished. May the Lord continue to help and guide him every step of his future. While we may not know where our path will take us, we can know the One who is Sovereign and who walks beside the humble who rely on Him & believe in Him :)
Back in DC, my curiosity has led me to begin a study of the Akkadian language (specifically, the Old Babylonian dialect, which dates back to the time of Abraham or thereabouts). I can't really explain why this has snagged my interest, but I'm really enjoying it. A professor at a nearby university was kind enough to direct toward a good textbook and I've completed the first two lessons so far. Those were fairly easy, but it looks like lesson three is going to require that I roll up my sleeves and fight for comprehension! My methodology this time around is: be consistent, be patient, enjoy, commit more to memory than to notebooks, and be faithful to the end of this textbook before going out to purchase a stack of other stuff that looks awesome but will shift my focus and end up growing dusty on the bookshelf.
I really do hope to complete this course in Akkadian (and I say it knowing full well how weak my self-discipline is and how fickle my heart is). I always seem to have a handful of justifications ready to explain why I'm diving into this or that study or why I need to commit time resources to this or that hobby. Well, this time I come with no justification except that I really want to complete this study. If I do, I would love to put this knowledge to use reading ancient cuneiform texts, taking more advanced courses at a university, studying Hebrew, and exploring the "primary sources" of the ancient world.
mārtum ša šarrim atti
Back in DC, my curiosity has led me to begin a study of the Akkadian language (specifically, the Old Babylonian dialect, which dates back to the time of Abraham or thereabouts). I can't really explain why this has snagged my interest, but I'm really enjoying it. A professor at a nearby university was kind enough to direct toward a good textbook and I've completed the first two lessons so far. Those were fairly easy, but it looks like lesson three is going to require that I roll up my sleeves and fight for comprehension! My methodology this time around is: be consistent, be patient, enjoy, commit more to memory than to notebooks, and be faithful to the end of this textbook before going out to purchase a stack of other stuff that looks awesome but will shift my focus and end up growing dusty on the bookshelf.
I really do hope to complete this course in Akkadian (and I say it knowing full well how weak my self-discipline is and how fickle my heart is). I always seem to have a handful of justifications ready to explain why I'm diving into this or that study or why I need to commit time resources to this or that hobby. Well, this time I come with no justification except that I really want to complete this study. If I do, I would love to put this knowledge to use reading ancient cuneiform texts, taking more advanced courses at a university, studying Hebrew, and exploring the "primary sources" of the ancient world.
mārtum ša šarrim atti