Education

If speech is free, why is it going to cost me a lot of money to go to school for it?

That's my attention getting line for this post...one of my goals in life is to, someday, finish both a Master's and Ph.D. in Communications, and teach college students. Maybe part-time, then spend my 'retirement' doing that. One of mentors in college, Dr. Roy Buckelew, did just that. He preached and led churches, and then slowed down to being a full-time teaching professor until he passed away. He loved every minute of it, and was always a great challenge.

Anyway, UAM doesn't offer graduate study in that area, and doing 'wood utilization' for Dave Patterson doesn't really appeal to me. I know how to use wood: burn it for warmth, nail it for building, pulp it for paper. So, I was looking for an accredited, respectable, distance-learning approach. It's hard to find. Most schools want you to live there, and many of the schools that only require you to email in work aren't known for their quality. There are some good ones, like Gordon-Conwell Seminary, for theology, but you have to do at least 30 hours of the degree in residence. Which is a lot of week or 2-week trips to Massachusetts. I don't want to go to Massachusetts, especially 3 times a year for 4 years. Communications programs are harder to find.

Well, I found a couple, and the one that looks good, and only requires one trip to the school, is through Gonzaga University. NCAA Basketball fans will remember Gonzaga's run in March Madness a few years ago. They have a good program, with respectable teachers, and graduates who have strong support for the school (one good indicator. If graduates from a communications program find their main job is asking 'Do you want fries?' it's not a good program.).

The catch is cost. Ann and I are trying hard to get out of debt, and don't want to add $27,000 worth of student loans to the mix (which still includes student loans from seminary). So, we're praying for the money to come in. If I can remember to fill out my game show application to be on "Are you smarter than a 5th grader" and get on, I should be fine.

So, we're asking God for the money. That's right. We're going to pray. We have a need, and we are going to the One who can handle it. Does that guarntee that we'll get it? No. Praying guarantees that if God intends for us to have it, we'll recognize His hand in the provision.

We've talked in church about living in faith. This is where it comes in. Do you have a need? Are you seeking God about it first? Or are you trying to make your own plans? Submit yourself to His guidance, and then act based on His word and His direction. It makes a huge difference.




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