List of stuff going on, reasons for blog, et al.

List of stuff going on in my life:

* Just moved to Dallas with my fiance, soon-to-be bride
* Applied to Perkins School of Theology to pursue a Masters of Theological Studies
* Applied to two jobs, one a part time job on campus at SMU, the other a part time job at a tutoring center around the corner from our apartment
* Am currently reading Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond.
* Am currently learning Latin. Right now, I'm stuck on chapter 10 of Wheelock's Latin, and I hope to breakthrough and start regular Latin studies again soon.
* Just started a Blog.

Reasons for doing the aforementioned action:

* Got tired of just reading other people's blogs
* Decided it was high time I started writing again
* Needed yet another daily activity to add to my schedule
* Want to be famous.

Why "My Personal Via Media?" Well, that's a good question, anonymous voice in my head, and I will try my best to answer it. First off, Via Media is simply Latin for "Middle Way." It's the famous Anglican 'slogan,' and it sums up my theological, philosophical and personal convictions in two pretty sounding words. For the longest time, I vacillated between the extremes of both my faith and my emotions, likely to swing violently from one direction to another on a quite regular basis. Only in the past few years have I begun to find an increasing amount of joy in the quest for balance, stability and compromise. I find that my faith is strengthened when I listen honestly and openly to all parties around me; my beliefs are refined and sculpted as I keep exposing them to the chisel of strong dialogue; and my relationships are much more fruitful and much less unpredictable when I seek to constantly find the middle ground with the peoples in community around me.

It's my Personal Via Media (PVM) because I want a fun catch phrase, and the Anglican Communion already has dibs on plain ol' via media.

My brother is good at art. I like this painting alot, because it had an obvious amount of time put into it, it has several layers of color and meaning at work in it, and it really reminds me of my brother. That's my father in the bottom right hand corner (he's blocking a really neat looking skull).