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Josh’s book for his first semester at Dallas Seminary.

I am writing this note at 4:08 AM. That’s a lot earlier than I planned to get up this morning, but I’m sitting by myself at the table in the kitchen because our caravan for Dallas leaves at 5:30 AM. We’re getting an early start to try to beat the heat as much as we can. 

These are exciting days for our family. Josh starts Dallas Seminary in a few weeks. Mark starts in January. Vanessa has been accepted also and may start in January or sometime later. She and Leah will also be working to help pay the bills. And Mark and Josh will be looking for jobs also. 

Yesterday we loaded the U-Haul truck. This morning we’ll be a four-vehicle caravan to Dallas—the U-Haul truck, Josh and Leah’s car, Mark and Vanessa’s car, and our car. I’m taking my bathing suit so we can go swimming in Dallas—the high this afternoon is expected to be 105-110. We drive to Dallas today, on Monday we unload and help them move into their apartments (about a mile from the seminary), and then Marlene and I will drive back to Tupelo on Tuesday.

The picture shows Josh’s books for his first semester at Dallas Seminary. One thing that’s changed is how much of the curriculum is on the Internet. He already has the syllabus for each of his classes online. When I started seminary in 1974, we used IBM Selectric typewriters so we could change the little metal ball every time we changed fonts. We thought we were on the cutting edge—and I guess we were back then. Times have changed—but as the pile of books proves, some things haven’t changed at all. 

Today we’re driving to Dallas with Mark and Vanessa so that they can visit Dallas Theological Seminary. They both feel called to do further study for the ministry and are seriously considering going to DTS this fall. For Marlene and me this will be a fun trip because 33 years ago we got married in Phoenix on a Thursday night and spent our honeymoon driving to Dallas where I started my first semester at Dallas Seminary the following Tuesday. Mark and Vanessa will meet with various people, tour the campus, and we will connect with some friends we haven’t seen in a long time. Should be a fun trip. We drive to Dallas today, visit the campus tomorrow, and then drive back to Tupelo on Wednesday.