Porcelain Lives

There’s nothing more beautiful than watching the sun rise above the horizon early in the morning. As it slowly peeks above the horizon and seeps between the branches of the trees, the warmth it sheds is enough to warm every passer by’s shivering hands.

This semester I’ve had the joy of watching the sun rise as I walk to work in the library early in the morning . It’s been something that has brought joy and warmth to my heart and my hands on cold wintry rainy mornings.

As I ponder the little  joys in life, like the rising sun, I thought about our porcelain lives, so fragile and frail… only one crashing wave away from being shattered to peices. Yet with every day I wake and watch the sunrise, I somehow manage to take it for granted. With every breath, I fail to realize His grace in giving me yet another moment.

Another moment to breathe,
to see,
to dream,
to hope,
to grow in godliness,
to smile,
to be His,
to live a Holy life,
and to Love in obedience to His command.

It’s so easy to get distracted by the grandeur of this world and all it has to offer, and I am not immune. But I wonder…what would it look like, if every porcelain life lived wholly dedicated to His purposes? What would my life look like if in light of my hopes and dreams,  I let His light shine the way and change the path where He sees fit?
Maybe a porcelain life isn’t that bad after all. If it’s shattered by a crashing wave of reality, all it’s pieces will rest in the hand of the one who molded it to be in the first place.

C.T Studd put it this way:
Two little lines I heard one day, Traveling along life’s busy way;
Bringing conviction to my heart, And from my mind would not depart;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Only one life, yes only one, Soon will its fleeting hours be done;
Then, in ‘that day’ my Lord to meet, And stand before His Judgment seat;
Only one life,’ twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Only one life, the still small voice, Gently pleads for a better choice
Bidding me selfish aims to leave, And to God’s holy will to cleave;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.
…
Only one life, yes only one, Now let me say, “Thy will be done”;
And when at last I’ll hear the call, I know I’ll say ’twas worth it all”;
Only one life,’ twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

~In Honor of the Life of Dr. Hsu, a loved professor at PBU, who went home to be with Jesus on Decemer 2, 2011. Thank you for letting your Porcelain life shine His light in everything you did. You will be missed by many, but the legacy that He has formed in you, will continue to live on. ~

1 Thessalonians 4: 13: – 18
Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that , we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.

~Grace Suliman

Give thanks for the time

Time is a funny thing.  There are days and weeks that never seem to end, there are times when minutes go past so slowly that you literally feel older just watching the clock tick.  Then there are times when  you cannot seem to keep track of time, the hands on the clock seem to move at lightening speed ticking away the precious seconds and minutes of our lives.  I recently took a trip overseas to Poland and the time change is 6 hours. I lost 6 hours and then regained them on the trip back, and I found that while the plane ride there didn’t seem so long at 8ish hours, the trip back at 10:20 minutes seemed to drag out interminably. 

I have been at PBU for 10 years this semester.  I started my undergraduate work in Fall 2001, I lived in Davis Dorm with a wonderful group of women who loved adventure and had huge goals for the future.  It is has been a privilege seeing how their lives have changed and the paths they have taken in the last 10 years.  I have remained at PBU to work in the library as my life has always revolved around books, my parents and grandparents fostered this love in me and my work as a librarian here at PBU is rewarding as I get to help students at PBU learn and exceed in their academic studies.

During my undergraduate years a large percentage of my friends consisted of music majors and through them and my cousin in the honors program I was introduced to Dr. Hsu.  My first thoughts on Dr. Hsu was that he was brilliant on the keys, he played superbly and yet was one of the most approachable men I have ever met.  I worked in the library and it was months before I realized Dr. Hsu and the Dr. Hui’s were all related, I think it finally sunk in when I was invited to Ms. Stewart’s house for one of the holidays I couldn’t get home for that year.

In the last 10 years I have been blessed to know and to learn from Dr. Hsu, not piano (I am a hopeless cause there), but rather in his wisdom and love of the Lord.  My roommate for many years was a music major and when several of my classmates and Dr. Hsu’s personal assistants had left the area my roommate and I would on occasions take Dr. Hsu home.  Those trips were always interesting and filled with grand conversations.  I especially remember one trip out to a friend’s wedding in Shoamokin, PA when my roommate and I took Dr. Hsu out there so they could play a duet together for the wedding.  Dr. Hsu was internationally known and yet he was always so involved in his students and former students lives that he would frequently play at their weddings and  events.  He is a man who left a deep impact on the people in his church and here at PBU.  Even when he wasn’t feeling well he would always have a smile and a kind word.

We will miss Dr. Hsu, but we also know that he is with the Savior he loved so well.  He spent almost 40 years with the students at PBU, investing and sending them out to the field.  I am sure if you asked him how the time went he would say quickly, and yet what a wonderful investment.

~Laura Saloiye

From the PBU Facebook site:

Dr. Samuel Hsu Memorial Visitation Wednesday, December 7, from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm at the Dunn-Givnish Funeral Home in Langhorne, PA, the family will receive visitors. Memorial Service Thursday, December 8, 10:00 am at Tenth Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, PA. There will be a prelude beginning at 9:30 am with former students of Dr. Hsu playing. The service will also be simulcast at Philadelphia Biblical University in the Chatlos Chapel.  

3rd Annual Art Competition

Join us this year for our 3rd Annual Art Competition!  We have loved seeing the entries and look forward to seeing PBU’s creative side this next year.

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Submission

Requirements:

Original submissions only. No previously published work. Artwork should be submitted in frames ready for display. All entries should be submitted to the Library.

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Include with submission:

           Artist/Writer profile with picture

           Contact information (phone number and e-mail address)

           Hometown

           Anticipated year of graduation

The Saint John’s Bible

Philadelphia Biblical University was privileged to host a display featuring one of the volumes of the Saint John’s Bible for a month. This display was simply lovely and reminded me just how influential the Bible has been to Western civilization and culture. Before I go into that let me tell you about the Bible. The Saint John’s Bible is a work that has spanned more than a decade. Saint John’s seminary in Minnesota houses a significant number of early pre-printing press manuscripts. When the president of the university and the director of the manuscript library had dinner together they conceived the idea that it would be a marvelous task to create a new manuscript using the old techniques used prior to the print press. It took a number of years to get the team and finances in place, but as of this year the 8 volumes housing the Bible (with Apocrypha) and a volume representing the artistic team and donors is now complete.

The manuscript at Saint John’s is printed on vellum which is made from animal skin, is translucent and is the traditional material that manuscripts were written on in the days before the printing press. They used minerals and gold leaf for their numerous illustrations found throughout the text. The process of constructing the original volume was completed in a scriptorium in Wales however because the volume would permanently reside at Saint John’s the Bible would reflect the flora and fauna of Minnesota. It would also reflect the more worldwide culture and technology that we found in science (DNA is pictured in the illustration reflecting Jesus’ ancestry).

Donald Jackson, the Queen’s official calligrapher, was in charge of designing the script that would grace the pages of manuscript. He was also in charge of the team who worked on the illustrations and final product. Over a year was spent designing the script that would be used, the illustrations, and the sequencing before anything could be placed on the vellum sheets. Once the script was finalized and the illustrations approved they began the laborious process of uniting script and illustrations. For the first time since the printing press the Bible would be handwritten from start to finish using the same methods used at scriptoriums in medieval and renaissance eras.

The Masland Library hosted a copy of the Gospels/Acts volume as well as a number of framed prints from August 26-September 23. The use of paintings and calligraphy is simply stunning even as a reproduction. The first page of each book had a whole page illustration, while similar is style each reflected the tone of the book. To see more of these pages you can view the Bible from start to finish at the following web address: http://www.saintjohnsbible.org/see/explore.htm.

What struck me most about this Bible wasn’t just that it was beautiful, but how the beauty of the illustrations reflects the beauty that God created. If you take a look at the Library’s art, Christianity, and culture section you will see that this section is growing and most of the growth has taken place within the last decade. The protestant church has moved away from the idea that art is separate from their faith and I think that is amazing and proper. Everything we do, everything we produce comes from who we are and the worldview we hold. Therefore as the Bible states we should be more than the world because our God is greater than the world; and after all God created the world for us in all its beauty and mystery. The Bible may not be in the Library anymore, but if you are interested in artistic expression you can still view and checkout books that may inspire you in your creative or spiritual journey. I would also point out that we currently are hosting an exhibit of Jonathan Hardesty’s work in the museum area of the Biblical Learning Center and will be hosting an evening talk/chat with Makoto Fujimura on October 26 starting at 7:00pm.

~Laura

Freeman, Michael. “Inscribing The Word, Photographs.” Smithsonian 31.9 (2000): 78. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Print

Ola, Per, and Emily D’Aulaire. “Inscribing The Word.” Smithsonian 31.9 (2000): 78. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 28 Sept. 2011.

Life, Leadership, and Steinberg

Yesterday, April 6, 2011 the Masland Library had the pleasure of meeting the internationally renowned historian, Dr. Jonathan Steinberg. He is responsible for the generous donation of roughly thirteen hundred books to the PBU library, contributing to the University’s efforts of adding a History major to the curriculum.

Upon hearing of Dr. Steinberg’s accomplishments, I immediately wanted to draw from his wisdom. During the near thirty minutes it took me to formulate a question, I reflected on my life. I thought to myself, “what can I ask this highly respected historian about, that will be relevant to me?” I did not want to merely gain knowledge about facts; I wanted to walk away with a new perspective. After finally racking up some courage, I approached him. My question to him was, “In your opinion, what would you consider important qualities for a leader to possess?”

Throughout my life I have been given various leadership positions; whether it be in church, work, or a simple group project, it is always an honor to lead people. So I was eager to hear what Dr. Steinberg had to say. To my pleasant surprise, he gave me more than I even expected. He explained that depending on what you are leading, these necessary qualities may shift. In reaction, I asked him about his experience as the chairman in the history department at the University of Pennsylvania. He mentioned that a leader that is in charge of a board should be able to seamlessly lead a team by simultaneously allowing each member to do what they want to do and being an example of how you desire them to be. It is as almost as if the team can hardly tell that they have a boss. This is due to the fact that their leader actually respectfully works with them, instead of being an overbearing dictator. Dr. Steinberg emphasized the ability to lead by example other than explanation. It was at this point in the conversation that I was enlightened. His statements probed my ideas and thoughts. Dr. Steinberg confirmed my belief that the people I lead should be able to perceive my values and passions by simply examining how I conduct my life.

What is interesting enough, is the direct correlation his view on leadership has with my belief on Christianity; not just in leadership, but in my faith as a whole. In John 13:34-35, Jesus commands believers to love one another. He says, “by this (loving one another) everyone will know that you are my disciples.” In this verse the reader can see that the type of love Jesus is talking about is an active verb. We must literally live to love and by how we live; men should be drawn to us. Think about the people you have authority over in your life; if you never said a word to them, would they still be able to follow your lead? In the broader perspective, think of the unbelievers you come in contact with. Are you a living example of what you want to see in others? As a Christian, we want to see souls be changed by the power of Christ. But are we living as though He has changed us?

Talking with Dr. Steinberg was such an amazing experience. He is the most interesting person to talk to because he does not use his vast background of knowledge to stomp on the intelligence of others. By interacting with him I could clearly sense his genuine interest. It is so refreshing to meet different individuals that are passionate about life and learning. I hope PBU has the privilege to host Dr. Steinberg again.

~Kim Pessoa

For more information on Dr. Jonathan Steinberg: http://www.history.upenn.edu/faculty/steinberg.shtml

For more information on the Steinberg collection at Philadelphia Biblical University.

Keeping Afloat

Today, Wednesday 29, Philadelphia Biblical University held its annual boat raise. After creating their own devices for crossing the water – as I can I hardly deem them boats – a few brave individuals ventured across the pond. Unfortunately, a number of the boats failed to perform adequately enough to support their crew across the water. Thus, they subsequently sunk bellow the murky (to say the least) water. If, as I, you were reminded of the scene in the film Cast Away in which Tom Hanks’ character flees from his island prison on his self-constructed raft, and wish to watch this awesome film, it is available at the front desk of the PBU library along with many other classic titles.

Although the boat race was very funny, the individuals manning the sunken vessels could have easily prevented the occurrence if they would have simply spent some time investigating the physical properties of flotation on the databases available through the library. Listed on the PBU database web-page are numerous databases that relate not only to science but a multitude of other topics including everything from food to politics. For example, Victor L. Streeter, an engineering professor at the University of Michigan, wrote an article that explains how buoyancy works on the Access Science database from McGraw-Hill. If, however, you are looking for a more in-depth study of buoyancy to drastically increase the success of your own personal homemade boat, the Article First database offers large number of articles that pertain to the different highly complex aspects of buoyancy. Next time you are attempting to design a homemade boat, or even writing a research paper for a class, check out the databases available on the PBU Masland Library website.

~Matt Ostrow

Showcasing your Creativity

The Spring school term has officially begun. The halls and classrooms are once again filled with activity and controlled chaos. In the midst of all the noise and chatter I invite you to join the Library for our first ever Art competition.

There are so many wonderfully talented individuals here at PBU, I had many friends who were artists when I was a student here at PBU, but there wasn’t really an outlet. These friends and individuals come in all shapes, sizes, classes, and forms. Last Spring we had an art auction that produced so many wonderful pieces of art I was stunned. From that event a vision of a contest, something PBU oriented came to my mind. I cannot share the whole vision with you here, but needless to say it is something that is slowly coming to fruition.

My desire is that you will participate in this event not necessarily out of a spirit of competition but instead participate to create, to wonder, to explore. You each see things in ways that are unique, help us to see your perspective.

LAS