I want to say something here that if I don't say it, no one will ever know it. I remembered just this morning what it felt like when I was thinking about going back to school (over 30 years ago). Why I thought about going back to school and eventually did go back to school had all to do with an internal work.

My family and I were attending a church that met in a home and worship took place in the downstairs of their two-story home on Sunday mornings. The Pastor and his wife were two people that helped me to realize how much closer I really wanted to be with God than I presently was. As I sat under their ministry and began to get a sense of where they were coming from, I began to sense a lonely/longing within me. I had accepted Christ by faith but I was longing for a closeness that wasn't being satisfied.

I was learning to read the bible and the more I read and studied the bible the more I began to sense a closeness to God. This won't make sense to everyone, but I began to feel God close to me when I read His words and I felt He was speaking to me. Of course, the closeness came as a result of studying and then obeying God's Word.

So, here is what I recently remembered about that time. I began to consider going back to school. I had checked out some schools for training in fine woodworking. But that didn't seem to have quite the right draw for me. I enjoyed working with wood, but there was something else at my core that was crying for attention. I was hungry to be close to God and I was beginning to get that through reading and studying and obeying God's word. But I wanted more and more of that. I was lonely for God and so I began to look at schools where I could learn more about how to study the bible.

So it all came to be that I went back to school to get my Bachelor degree in Bible. And then I went onto Seminary to get my Master of Divinity. And the reason for doing that was so that I might study the bible and get closer and closer to God. And the result of all that was this. I went on to become a Pastor of a local Church. But that was never my intention when I began the journey. But it certainly became the outcome.

I guess what I really want to say is that it was all well and good to become a pastor of a local church. But the gut honest reason for getting a bachelor degree in bible and a master of divinity degree was to know God on a deeper level - so I could honestly hear His Words to me. I guess I remembered that in order to return to my first love for God. I am now in pursuit of hearing God speak to me in a fresh and new way. Anyone interested in joining me in this pursuit?