Wow! A New Post!

Howdy folks,

Sorry for the long delay in posting. I just haven't really felt much like blogging lately, and life got a little on the crazy side at I got toward the end of the semester. But now its been a couple of weeks since school got out, and I've had some time to get over the stress, burnout, and illness that usually seem to accompany the end of a school-year. I've actually been putting in a lot of hours getting research done. My committee has told me if I can finish the result I am currently working on, that I can start putting together my dissertation. The bad news is that I found a gap in one of my proofs last week, and it is going to take a lot of time and effort to fix it (that is, assuming that fixing it is possible).

With that, I've officially postponed my graduation until December. I'm still going to try to get as close to finished as possible this summer. But until I get my results squared away, it is hard to predict what my progress will be like. The transition from research to writing is really the biggest, and in a sense last obstacle I have to face before graduation. Sure, writing and defending will take time and effort, but the process is more about getting your thoughts expressed clearly and correctly in writing at that point rather than the unpredictable nature of research where weeks of work can evaporate in a mere moment.

Anyhow, I'm heading out to the pacific northwest to visit family from next Wednesday through June 4th. After that, I'll be working for the math department doing New Student Enrollment (the same job I had last summer) and also working hard to get my research done so I can start writing. Please be praying for my progress. It can get frustrating being so close and yet so far from being done. It can be hard not to get discouraged at times.

Anyhow, am going to try and be better about updating this throughout the summer, but that comes with one proviso - you guys need to let me know if you are still reading this blog. If no-one is going to read what I write, I have much better ways of spending my time and energy.

I'll leave you with a quote from Sundar Singh - A Christian Mystic from India:

"Belief in the future life has been found among all nations at all times. Desires imply a possible fulfillment. Thirst implies the existence of water, and hunger of food. The desire to live forever is itself a proof of its fulfillment. Again, we have some higher, nobler desires of the Spirit which cannot be fulfilled in this world. Therefore there must be another spiritual world in which those desires can be met. This material world cannot by any means satisfy our spiritual cravings. The soul's real desire can only be satisfied by God who has created the soul and the desire for him inherent in it. Because God has created man in his own likeness, man has in him something of the divine nature which longs for fellowship with him. Like seeks like by the laws of being. And when we are rooted in the Eternal Being, we shall not only feel satisfied, but also have eternal life in him."