My final Final is finally here!

The exam I took today went very well I thought. We were allowed four (!!) pages of notes for the class, 8.5 x 11 too, I only used one side of one page because I honestly didn't know what else to put on there. I could have put several complete programs if I wanted to. So this morning I spent about 15 minutes writing down a few extra things I "might" need and then called it good. I don't think it's being lazy, it's just there was not really anything to study for, there was no "cramming" to do, none of that. Just take a test upon what we'd learned.

The test itself went very easily, it was a matter of copying a few section of code I'd written down and looking at a few simple problems. It was worth just as many points as the previous three exams and only slightly more difficult. I finished in about 30 minutes and we had an hour and fifty allotted. It's just that perhaps my sheet of notes was better prepared, I'm not sure. I'm definitely not that quick normally! I was finished at 1030 hours.

Then I went to the Student Union to wait for Pastor and J. Nathan, the meeting was scheduled for 1345 hours and I had plenty of time. Three hours to wait I guess. I spent it in reading "The Puritan Hope" by Iain Murray. I got up to page 108 I believe, nearly halfway through. I also read a chapter in the weekly book we're going through in this meeting and answered the questions at the back (talk about waiting until the last few hours). And I also went to the registrar and asked about a course schedule and listing of buildings they were in, which I received. The lady was a grump though. I went up to the desk and she stared at me. I smiled (disarmingly) and stated that I wanted to get a listing of where my classes would be and was wondering if I could get it here or possibly when I paid for the next semester.....
she interrupted me right there and said that she would print it out, she needed to see a photo id.
I whipped out my wallet and handed my student ID to her with a smile (the picture isn't the best) but she just took it, typed in my name and asked me if I was so and so (which I was) and then said "it will print out here (pointing to a printer beside her) in a moment. " It soon did, she was back to doing whatever it was she was doing on the computer so I reached over and took it myself, glanced at it and then (again smiling at her in the best way I knew how) said "Well, thank you very much! That was easy and painless!"
She just glanced at me for a second and then went back to the computer. No smile, no nod of acknowledgement, no words, nothing. I slunk out feeling like I had done something worthy of disgrace. All I wanted was to see her smile, to cheer her up? I bet if I told her a joke she'd have called the campus police. Scrooge.

Eventually my waiting upstairs paid off and Pastor and J. Nathan arrived, we had a very good discussion and I appreciated it very much. It was on the Christian Life and dealt with the Ten Commandments etc. I was especially interested in number four of those, dealing with the Sabbath because in the past year or two I have been convicted of that myself and in the last few months have been able to actually do what I wanted to, and that is devoting the day to the Lord, not just going to a morning service and then feeling like the day was wasted because it took out "such a large chunk of my play time" but actually spending it in worship, fellowship, and learning. I have been tempted to study for a coming exam on Sunday but decided to just study a bit more during the week and have that entire day to spend at church and at the Enid Bible study (in between I'll sometimes read a book such as the one I'm working through now). Even though it seems like there should be less time because of that "sacrifice," the rewards are far greater than I'd imagined. Yes, Sunday is not a day for "me" to do what I want, but a day for "me" in that I can spend more time learning and fellowshipping with other believers. I can't explain how much of a blessing it's been but it's something I desire more and more and never grow tired of. Sunday is a blessing indeed. Also I've been convicted recently that if I feel that way, by going out and buying things at Wal-mart on Sunday or doing something similar to that, I'm supporting others who are required to work on Sunday because of their jobs. In Oklahoma it's a bit different than in California because in many towns, the stores to shut down for Sunday, or perhaps the morning (like the Wal-mart down where my folks live). Isn't that kind of odd though if you think about it. It's like just half the day is devoted to the Lord then, that's all we can spare.

It hasn't "just" been devoted to the Lord though, the benefit I cull from it is so much greater than I would imagine. Yes, give unto the Lord and He will richly repay, I do pray for my focus to be for His glory and not just my benefit.

So that was what the discussion centered on quite a bit. Afterwards I went home and have been answering some more e-mails and listened to a sermon etc. Not much else really.

Before I forget, I wanted to mention that on my Economics test, the teacher had a question that dealt with two people in a market: Rose, and Sharon. I gave an involuntary glance at the teacher when I saw that. I still wonder if it was a "coincidence" or if it was intentional. So that was a bit of an easter egg for me.

Now, I've been storing up a few quotes for a little while, so perhaps now would be a good place to use them. Speaking of Economics:

My problem lies in reconciling my gross habits with my net income.
- Errol Flynn

And not gross as in "disgusting," but as in... exorbitant, just to make it absolutely clear! I liked Errol Flynn in a lot of movies.

My dog is worried about the economy because Alpo is up to 99 cents a can. That's almost $7.00 in dog money.
- Joe Weinstein

That one is pretty self explanatory. For some more funny quotes.....

For a list of all the ways technology has failed to improve the quality of life, please press three.
- Alice Kahn

Every journalist has a novel in him, which is an excellent place for it.
- Russel Lynes

That last one is amusing because I think just about everybody aspires to write a novel. I used to dream of doing it myself. After some very poor (and corny attempts) I decided that it would perhaps best be unwritten. My "stories" were entirely too ridiculous, or too predictable. Much like myself I'm sure......
And for a more serious quote,

Abortion is advocated only by persons who have themselves been born.
- Ronald Reagan

Yes, that is true and I often wonder how someone can say that they are "pro-choice." What if their parents had decided to murder them while they were yet unborn? Does that idea bother them? I think they choose rather to not dwell on that idea but still stubbornly stick with their "beliefs" that women have a right to choose. Choose what? Death or life for an unborn child? As soon as a child is born, it immediately becomes a crime to murder him or her, but while unborn it's acceptable to most. Why? I was going to write some differences and show why they are meaningless (I remembered the acronym "SLED") but this person does a much better job so I 'll simply quote.

1. Size or Physical Appearance – Do humans lose value when they don’t look right? Does size equal value? Men are generally larger than women. Does that mean men are more human than women? Shaquille O’Neil is larger than Hillary Clinton. Does that mean Hillary Clinton is less human than Shaq? The term used to describe the destruction of groups of people based on their physical appearance is ethnic cleansing or genocide. But human value transcends physical appearance. Therefore, “not looking right” cannot disqualify a human being from being valuable.

2. Level of Development – Is a person’s value defined by his abilities, by what he can or can’t do? Do we forfeit our rights as human persons because we don’t have the capabilities others have? Do stronger, more capable, more intelligent people have more rights than others? Do human beings become disposable simply because at their level of development they are helpless, defenseless, and dependent? Human value transcends abilities or the lack of abilities. Therefore, missing abilities cannot disqualify human value.

3. Environment – Do humans forfeit their worth when they change locations? Baby Rachel was born prematurely at 24 weeks. She weighed only 1 lb. 9 oz., but dropped to just under 1 lb. soon after. She was so small she could rest in the palm of her daddy’s hand. She was a tiny, living, person. Heroic measures were taken to save her life. If a doctor had killed Rachel we would have recoiled in horror. However, if this same little girl was inches away from the outside world, resting inside her mother’s womb, she could be legally killed by abortion. Clearly, one’s environment can’t be the deciding factor. Changing locations is morally trivial. Environment has no bearing on who we are.

4. Degree of Dependency – Is human value determined by our degree of dependency on others? The unborn’s dependency on his mother for sustenance is irrelevant to the baby’s value. No baby is “viable” if degree of dependency matters. All babies need their mothers for feeding whether via blood (an umbilical cord), breast, or bottle. Human beings may be dependent on others for their survival, but they aren’t dependent on others for their value. All physically dependent people are at risk if degree of dependency determines their value – those dependent on kidney machines, pacemakers, and insulin would have to be declared non-persons. Dependency does not determine worth.

I just simply don't understand, and never will understand. People, in their depravity, wish to make themselves their own gods, and to live in a lifestyle that they desire to with as little consequences as possible, even at the cost of a baby's life. That is very sad and discouraging.

I didn't mean to end on such a sorrowful note but it is an extremely important issue and one which most American simply ignore even if they don't agree with it.