Buy one get one free

So, are you married? Does your spouse want to get his or her degree as well? There might be a great opportunity available for you.

Many seminaries offer the spouse of full time students the opportunity to attend the seminary at no charge at all! Now, this is really an amazing offer. The catch is often that the spouse my “audit” classes for free. That just means he or she can sit in on the classes for free. However, there are a few seminaries that will actually offer your spouse to take classes FOR CREDIT! Now, THAT is amazing. Your spouse is a real student, with real coursework, receiving a real grade, that will result in a real degree. Can you imagine that, two degrees for the price of one!!!

Now, one challenge is that most of us can’t have both spouses attending seminary full time. So, how can you both get your degrees? Well, an admissions officer I spoke with recommended that one of you go full time halfway through the program, while the other goes part time. Then, when you hit the midway point of the program, switch. Your spouse goes full time, and you go part. The program takes longer, but again, 2 for 1 is worth it if you ask me.

So, as your looking at seminaries, be sure to ask the admissions officer what kind of opportunities there are for your spouse. You might be pleasantly surprised.

When Sinners Say I Do

Ok, if you’re going to seminary I am going to assume that you like to read. If you don’t… um, yeah, seminary is not going to be fun for you. So, here at goingtoseminary.com you’ll probably find lots of book recommendations. Today is no different.

While books can’t, in and of themselves, make your marriage better, there are certainly books that will help you to focus on Jesus a little more clearly and thus better understand how to be a better spouse. I was recently give a free copy of When Sinners Say I Do: Discovering the Power of the Gospel for Marriage, by Dave Harvey, thanks to the very kind folks at the Westminster Bookstore and want to say that it is really amazing.

Harvey dives into the often neglected fact that we are sinners (yes, saved by grace and made righteous in Christ… but sinner) and that this is ultimate reason for conflict in our marriages… Two sinners, together, till death. Thankfully, the very gospel that saves and transform our personal lives is the very gospel that will save and transform your marriage. Harvey is a great writer and this one is well worth the read.

Anyone else picked this one up? What did you think?

Reading the Bible to your kids

Anyone else read those children’s bibles and find yourself going, “oh, that is so wrong.” If I’m reading one to my kids and I find bad theology, I’ll typically just change the story to be a bit more in line with the original text. Or, sometimes I’ll read a sentence and then pause for a moment… then tell little man that what I just read was wrong and that is should say “…”.

Well, recently my wife and I found, what I believe to be, the absolutely BEST children’s bible I’ve ever read. The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name, by Sally Lloyd-Jones, is amazing. Remaining quite true to the the intent of the original text, Lloyd-Jones masterfully tells the biblical story, keeping Jesus where he blongs… at the very center of it all.

I commend Lloyd-Jones on her work and pretty much recommend this book to every parent I meet. And, if you’re willing to lay down you I’m-a-smarty-pants-seminary-student attitude, this book might actually teach you something about Jesus.

So, help your kids learn early, and remind yourself at the same time, that the Bible is about Jesus and every story whispers his name.

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