Blessed Be Your Name
Blessed be your name,
In the land that is plentiful,
Where your streams of abundance flow,
Blessed be your name.
Blessed be your name
When I'm found in the desert place,
Though I walk through the wilderness,
Blessed be your name.
Blessed be your name
When the sun's shining down on me,
When the world's all as it should be,
Blessed be your name.
Blessed be your name,
On the road marked with suffering,
Though there's pain in the offering,
Blessed be your name.
Every blessing You pour out I'll turn back to praise.
When the darkness closes in, Lord, Still I will say,
Blessed be the name of the Lord,
Blessed be your holy name.
Blessed be the name of the Lord,
Blessed be your glorious name.
You give and take away,
You give and take away.
My heart will choose to say,
Lord blessed be your name!
"The voice of weeping shall be no more heard."
--Isaiah 65:19
The glorified weep no more, for all outward a causes of grief are gone. There are no broken friendships, nor blighted prospects in heaven. Poverty, famine, peril, persecution, and slander, are unknown there. No pain distresses, no thought of death or bereavement saddens. They weep no more, for they are perfectly sanctified. No "evil heart of unbelief" prompts them to depart from the living God; they are without fault before His thrown, and are fully conformed to His image. Well may they cease to mourn who have ceased to sin. They weep no more, because all fear of change is past. They know that they are eternally secure. Sin is shut out, and they are shut in. They dwell within a city which shall never be stormed; they bask in a sun which shall never set; they drink of a river which shall never dry; they pluck fruit from a tree which shall never wither. Countless cycles may revolve, but eternity shall not be exhausted, and while eternity endures, their immortality and blessedness shall co-exist with it. They are for ever with the Lord. They weep no more, because every desire is fulfilled. They cannot wish for anything which they have not in possession. Eye and ear, heart and hand, judgment, imagination, hope, desire, will, all the faculties, are completely satisfied; and imperfect as our present ideas are of the things which God hath prepared for them that love him, yet we know enough, by the revelation of the Spirit, that the saints above are supremely blessed. The joy of Christ, which is an infinite fulness of delight, is in them. They bathe themselves in the bottomless, shoreless sea of infinite beatitude. That same joyful rest remains for us. It may not be far distant. Ere long the weeping willow shall be exchanged for the palm-branch of victory, and sorrow's dewdrops will be transformed into the pearls of everlasting bliss. "Wherefore comfort one another with these words."
Entry taken from Morning and Evening, by Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892).
1 God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
Selah
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
5 God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
7 The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Selah
8 Come and see the works of the LORD,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear,
he burns the shields [b] with fire.
10 "Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."
11 The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Selah
13Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. 14We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18Therefore encourage each other with these words.
~1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
My name is Ben Finnegan. I am a former homeschooler (all through elementary, middle, and high school), and, having finished my Master's degree, I am currently working for my PhD in Classical Studies at Indiana University. I'm looking for more teaching experience in an environment that I know and enjoy, so I thought I would offer Greek, Latin, and Classical Culture classes or tutoring to members of the homeschool community.
I would be willing to do a larger cooperative class or smaller tutoring sessions in any of these subjects. I must say that, given the difficulty of the material and my expectations as a teacher, these classes are generally limited to those of high school age, though if a student is well developed enough and has a good work ethic I would be willing to accept younger children as well.
--Beginning Latin
Using the venerable and exacting Wheelock's Latin Course, this course of study would introduce students to learning foreign language in general by close grammatical study, and would provide the same amount of Latin as one semester of College language study.
--Intermediate Latin
With this offering, I would ask for a diagnostic meeting with any prospective students in order to ascertain at what level their Latin is. This course would work towards greater reading comprehension and analytical grasp of the Latin language.
--Advanced Latin
As with the above, a diagnostic meeting would be required. I would give students an overview of several types of Latin literature (poetry, history, drama, oratory), and then move on to intensive translation and study of particular authors and works, dependent on the interests of the student. Books for this class would likely be more expensive than any of the other offerings, given the high price of original language texts.
--Beginning Classical Greek
The study of Greek is a difficult but rewarding enterprise. This class would be at a much slower pace than any of my Latin classes, as the material is much more demanding. The textbook used would be Chase and Phillips' course for Classical Greek
--Beginning Koine (New Testament) Greek
For those who do not wish to embroil themselves in Ancient Greek literature, but would like to approach the Bible and other Late Classical and Patriarchal authors. Koine is a slimmed-down, simplified form of Greek. The text used would be the beginning text written by the great J. Gresham Machen.
--Greek Literature in Translation
This class avoids the problems of a second language altogether, but still gives a larger cultural and historical grasp of Ancient Greece. With this class, I would read at least one work by all the major authors, and at least one work of each literary genre. The emphasis here would be on religious, political, historical, and cultural ideas viewed through the lens of beginning literary criticism and a good understanding of the Greek world-view. A word of warning, though: much of Greek literature deals with troubling themes of violence and sexuality. While I will avoid the lewd and obscene, these currents are too strong for any class in Greek literature to avoid completely. So please consider this offering only for those spiritually and emotionally mature enough to discuss these subjects from a Biblical world and life view
--Latin Literature in Translation
Like the above class, this will deal with English translations of the great works of Latin literature. Again, the emphasis in this class would be on developing a good understanding of the Roman world-view through literary-critical reading and involving discussions of the Roman religious, political, historical, and literary world. As with Greek literature, much of Latin literature is filled with themes of violence and sexuality. Again, I would avoid the more lascivious of the works, but the history of Rome is filled with too much corruption and deviance for any course to completely avoid the actions of immoral men and women.
These classes would be offered twice a week beginning in September and continuing through early December for the first term, and beginning in February and ending in May. The exact schedule of the classes will depend on interest and enrollment. I can accept a maximum of 18 students per session because of the software that I will be using.
At this point, I do not want to settle on a price, as that will depend on demand and the number of students. Books for each course should be readily available at an online bookseller, and would average about $40-60 per class, depending on the class. My rates for each class will be negotiable, but as a ball-park idea, in the past I have been paid $15-20 per hour of one-on-one tutoring, $12-18 per hour of class with less than five students, and $8-15 per hour of class with more than five students. However, I am perfectly willing to work with anyone who wants to come to a reasonable price that they find more appropriate for the services rendered.
If you are interested in any of these classes please either e-mail me at: bdfinn@gmail.com or call 505-690-8936.
References available upon request.
There once was a teacher named Whalen
Who terrified students of Hillsdale in
Their poetry class,
Which they're hoping to pass
With an A, or at least avoid failin'.
Instructions on an Omelet
It's not an easy task by far
to make an omelet well.
Misinformation wrecks the skill,
though cook might quick excel.
Your mother told you, I suspect,
that you should always add
a dash of milk unto your eggs—
Oh! No! it makes me sad.
The milk you add will not improve
the texture of that omelet.
It makes it fluffy, tender, brittle!
'Twill form it into crumblets!
If only scrambled was your goal,
the milk a help would be.
But if you want those eggs to fold,
then leave them liquid-free.
And then your eggs will stick and bend
Like all good omelets ought
To form the case in one whole piece
For fillings tasty hot.
One afternoon in dad's hospital room, when he wasn't doing too well, mom was sitting by his bedside – scooted up as close as possible – tenderly holding his hand. We were all listening to the music I had set-up for dad as it played in an endless loop on an iPod and a dock:
"What can wash away my sin? What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood. Nothing but the blood of Jesus." Matt Redman was cranking out a particularly earthy and melodious version of the old hymn and mom was singing along. Her head was pressed down into dad's hand and tears rolled out of her eyes past his fingers to the sheets. I watched the spectacle in awe.
I could not articulated then, or now; but somewhere in that spectacle was the answer. The answer to the "problem" of pain. The answer to why God's ways are so unexpected. Even the answer to why dad had leukemia, and why we were now preparing to say goodbye. I saw a glimpse of the mystery that angels long to look into. A picture of the fall, and the cross, mingled together with tears and hope.
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