My First Doctoral Paper, My Favorite Hymn

I just finished writing my first paper of the semester…

And it’s November.

This semester, I’m only take 1 class which is worth about 6 hours.  The head hanchos of the program said with great wisdom and caution that I should just chill out and not over-do it.  It was “vitally important for me to get acclimated to the program.”  So after great deliberation, I decided to heed their advice. 

I’m really grateful I did because teaching this semester has been pretty intense.  Did you know you can’t fall asleep during lectures if you’re the one lecturing?? News flash.

Last semester was the exact opposite of only writing one paper in a semester.  I wrote between 160 and 180 pages of material in 16 weeks.  It kinda makes writing a dissertation not seem so ominous.  Welcome to being an Organizational COMMUNICATION major.  If somebody would have told me that communication degrees mean that you write until your mental and computer hard drives explode, I may have reconsidered.  But what’s done is done.  And nobody can take my degree away from me.

The part that most perplexed me about writing this 1500 word paper was how long it took. THREE DAYS!!! First of all, that would have been unacceptable last semester.  Two, if this paper were due last semester, I would have written it in a couple hours.  Maybe I was nervous and actually proofed it because I want/need to impress my professors or maybe my fingers had scholastic rheumatoid arthritis and writing was just completely unfeasible. 

I don’t know.

I have class this weekend and I’m pretty excited about it.  I don’t feel like it’s class, but more like a conference wnere you just share your opinions, listen to others’ ideas, and sit for a really really really long time. 

I also looked at my upcoming semester and it doesn’t seem like death.  I really think that getting my doctorate won’t be absolutely terrible.  It’ll be difficult, but not deadly.  Thank You, Jesus.

So those are my thoughts for the day.

OH ONE MORE THING!! Shout out to my Savior for bringing back my attendance records for my classes.  Something happened on MacKenzie, my laptop, and I wasn’t able to open my files that had my kiddos’ attendance and extra credit points documented.  It would have taken HOURS to recompense all that data and try to remember where each of my babies have been and why.  I went to go heat up my chili in the main communication office and it “just so happened” that the IT guy for the whole college of arts and letters was fixing a computer.  I demurely asked, “Do you by chance know about Macs?” He said ‘of course’ and I almost shouted and did the Baptist two-step.  How grateful I was for such a diving appointment. 

Jesus has been doing a lot of “just so happened’s” lately and they make me giggle all the time.  I feel like He really does love me a lot and is looking out for me.  I knew that already, but whenever he shows me (which is often) in obvious ways, I know know that and I fall more and more deeply in love with Him.

Let’s sing!

Oh! How I Love Jesus
By:  Frederick Whitfield, 1855

V. 1 
There is a Name I love to hear,

I love to sing its worth;

It sounds like music in my ear,

The sweetest Name on earth.

Refrain
O how I love Jesus,

O how I love Jesus,

O how I love Jesus,

Because He first loved me!

V. 2
It tells me of a Savior’s love,

Who died to set me free;

It tells me of His precious blood,

The sinner’s perfect plea.

V. 3
It tells me of a Father’s smile

Beaming upon His child;

It cheers me through this little while,

Through desert, waste, and wild.

V. 4
It tells me what my Father hath

In store for every day,

And though I tread a darksome path,

Yields sunshine all the way.

V. 5
It tells of One whose loving heart

Can feel my deepest woe;

Who in each sorrow bears

A part that none can bear below.

V. 6
It bids my trembling heart rejoice.

It dries each rising tear.

It tells me, in a “still small voice,”

To trust and never fear.

V. 7
Jesus, the Name I love so well,

The Name I love to hear:

No saint on earth its worth can tell,

No heart conceive how dear.

V. 8
This Name shall shed its fragrance still

Along this thorny road,

Shall sweetly smooth the rugged hill

That leads me up to God.

V. 9
And there with all the blood-bought throng,

From sin and sorrow free,

I’ll sing the new eternal song

Of Jesus’ love for me.

JLP

P.S. I had no idea there were this many verses to this hymn.  I copied them all cuz they’re all great!

Have a blessed one, everybody!