Poem "It Couldn't Be Done"

Somebody said it couldn't be done.
But he wiht a chuckle replied,
That maybe it couldn't, but he would be one
Who wouldn't say so till he'd tried.
So he buckled right in with a trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn't be done and he did it.

Somebody scoffed: "Oh you'll never do that;
At least no one ever has done it";
But he took off his coat and took off his hat
And the first thing we knew he'd begun it.
With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
Without any doubting or quiddit,
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn't be done, and he did it.

There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure;
There are thousands to point out to you one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you;
But just buckle in with a bit of a grin,
Just take off your coat and go to it;
Just start to sing as you tackle the thing
That cannot be done, and you'll do it.

by Edgar A. Guest

T minus 13 days

That's right, in 13 days, I will have completed my first semester of law school. Crazy to think about. I don't remember if I have mentioned this before or not, but I was feeling really overwhelmed on our last day of classes, not because of finals (though that is starting to set in a little now), but just over how faithful God has been to me this whole time. I am humbled and amazed to look back and see the road that He brought me through. Who would of thought that a small-town farm boy from up-state New York would make it this far??? (Many of you outside of family may not realize those are my roots!! - crazy huh?)

Certainly gave me much to be thankful for over the holiday. Had a good time with my family and extended family, returning to my roots in up-state New York. The Wohlschlegel gathering wasn't as large this year since we were missing some from Kentucky, Tennessee, and Michigan, but was still fun-filled and crazy none-the-less. Games, great food, jokes, and fellowship. I love it! Even made it over to Rochester to see our long-time friends, the Bells and Whitakers. Then got a little time at home. Very nice break.

I barely cracked a book at all, which is now what I will be doing for the next 2 weeks straight. My first final is on Thursday, Dec. 1st, and last on Dec. 12th. I have a lot of material to go over between now and then, and try to get the concepts to stick in my head. Will be pretty busy. Have to remember to commit the work to the Lord, since He has to bless for it to go anywhere. Time will go by fast, though right now it seems not fast enough. :)

NOTE: Reading in Proverbs 29 today (matching it with the date) and noticed it had a lot to say about Christians and the law & justice. Have to confess my first thoughts of where I regularly break the law is in the car - speeding!! The context however, may be referring more to the higher law handed down from God.

Who Needs Enemies with Friends like this

Coming down to the last days of class. This past Thursday was our last class for Property, Civil Procedures and Torts. Can't say I am too sad, but man, time has gone fast. Hard to believe that we are at the end of the first semester already. Classes are completely done on Tuesday, then I get to come home for Thanksgiving!! yeah baby!!!

Okay, yes there is a story to the heading above, and it involves my great, great good friend and roommate Jeremy. We were in our last Civil Procedure class, one with a professor, who if you don't know, seems pretty intimidating. Jeremy and I sit next to eachother. As always, class starts out with devotions, and after that Professor Madison was saying "I wonder who will get the opportunity to get the last case of the semester?" Then he looks up and says, "Is there any one who hasn't been called on yet this semester? Not like you would volunteer that." Well, I didn't remember getting called on in his class, but I wasn't about to volunteer. It turns out that I didn't have to. My great, great good friend and roommate Jeremy was pointing to me!! Professor Madison said, "Mr. Wohlschlegel, you haven't been called on?" I looked over and Jeremy had that mischievous smile on his face. I answered honestly, "I don't remember." The professor went to his cards to look if he had marked me down for speaking. I couldn't believe Jeremy, my great great good roommate and friend did that!! I wasn't particularly happy with him. It wasn't that I didn't know the material, for I always try to be prepared for class, but I felt a little betrayed. Well, thanks to Jeremy I got to have the last case of the semester, which I explained well. I guess he didn't want me to miss out. When I asked Jer what if I had not done the reading, all he said was, "But you did." I don't know what I am going to do with him. Good grief.

In other news, I have a small fracture at the bottom of my left middle finger. I earned it in a football game ... 2 weeks ago. :) I just had it x-rayed this week. I have it in a splint right now, and am supposed to keep it in one for the next 2 weeks. I have to be careful when I am drinking something now a days. "Sorry mam', I am not really giving you the finger - its in a splint, see? Oops, sorry again." ; )

Words of Wisdom from a modern day great man of God

Greetings,

Why the silly picture of me? Well your focus should not be on me, but rather the fellow with his back to me. This week former Attourney General John Ashcroft has been visiting Regent campus. This picture was taken after a class lecture he gave. I went up to have him sign his book, "Lessons From a Father to His Son" (which is a great read, by the way). A fellow classmate o"f mine (who is actually a homeschool mom - they are everywhere!!) made me stand back up there to get a picture with him.
(I think he may have been offended when I told him his feet smelled - joking!) :)

General Ashcroft also spoke in chapel today. I really enjoying hearing him speak. He is a very godly man, down-to-earth and quite humble considering all the accomplishments in his life. I really appreciated what he had to share and thought I might give you a few quotes:

"Do you know why they bury lawyers 12 ft. underground instead of the normal 6 ft? Because every lawyer is good down deep."

"Old lawyers never die, they just loose their appeal."

On the will of God: "A man so intent on doing the will of God wakes up in the monring and goes to his closet, opens it and says, 'Oh God, is it your will that I wear the brown suit today or the green?' After a moment, a voice comes from heaven saying, 'You dummy, I'm your Father, not your Mother!'"

On a more serious note:
"Freedom is the ability to change the future."

"Our decisions have future consequences for us and others."

"God created us to make choices. We are limted in one sense because we don't have the mind of God. But He has given us the Word of God."

"Instead of worrying about the will of God, fill your life with the Word of God."

"You never grow if your not shooting for something higher than you are - shoot for God's way."

The verse that he loves to quote is from Deuteronomy 30: 19-20
"Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, that you and your decendants might live! Choose to love the Lord your God and to obey him and commit yourself to him, for he is your life."

What wonderful words of truth. Let me close with a few verses pertaining to this that I read from Proverbs 16 this morning:

(1) We can gather our thoughts, but the Lord gives the right answer. (Great comfort for a law student like myself about to take first round of law finals on Dec. 1st!!)

(3) Commit your work to the Lord, and then your plans will succeed.

(9) We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.

Grace & Peace all.

Mark is quoting poetry?!

Greetings,

I came across this recently and really liked it, so I wanted to share it with you all. It is quite profound, and gives us in a picture of words what it is like to rise above oru vices and keep moving in an upward direction. The more we make the conscious decision to do the right thing (i.e., keep God's Word), the more the path will appear before us. I have to say that stanza 10 is my favorite, becasue it sounds like a law student ("The heights by great mean..."). Take a look see what you think. Enjoy!


THE LADDER OF ST. AUGUSTINE

Saint Augustine! well hast thou said,
That of our vices can frame
A ladder, if we will but tread
Beneath our feet each deed of shame!

All common things, each day's event,
That with the hour begin and end,
Our pleasures and our discontents,
Are rounds by which we may ascend.

The low desire, the base design,
That makes another's virtues less;
The revel of the ruddy wine,
And all occassions of excess;

The longing for ignoble things;
The strife for triumph more than truth;
The hardening of the heart, that brings
Irreverence for the dreams of youth;

All thoughts of ill; all evil deeds,
That have their root in thoughts of ill;
Whatever hinders or impedes
The action of the nobler will; --

All these must first be trampled down
Beneath our feet, if we would gain
In the bright fields of fair renown
The right of eminent domain.

We have not wings, we cannot soar;
But we have feet to scale and climb
By slow degrees, by more and more,
The cloudy summits of our time.

The mighty pyramids of stone
That wedge-like cleave the desert airs,
When nearer seen, and better known,
Are gigantic flights of stairs.

The distant mountains, that uprear
Their solid bastions to the skies,
Are crossed by pathways, that appear
As we to higher level rise.

The heights by great men reached and kept
Were not attained by sudden flight,
But they, while their companions slept,
Were toiling upward in the night.

Standing on what too long we bore
With shoulders bent and downcast eyes,
We may discern--unseen before--
A path to higher destinies.

Nor deem the irrevocable Past,
As wholly wasted, wholly vain,
If, rising on its wrecks, at last
To something nobler we attain.

~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Yes, I am still alive

Greetings,

Yes, I am still alive and well... (a rather relative term seeing I am only 2 weeks out from my first bout with law school mid-terms!!). Have I been busy...yes. Is this a good excuse not to update everyone...of course not. :)

I was repremended by a friend for keeping everyone on edge so long about the Championship football game. Yeah..well...we lost. No big heroics from yours truely. Probably one reason I have not been so anxious to report. We only lost by a touchdown, but regardless, it was disappointing. We are continuing to play in a intermuel league now. Had a double header on Saturday and won both games.

Another reason I have been M.I.A. was a 10-page memo for Legal Research and Writing. This was turned in a week ago today, and as long as I worked on it, this past week I felt like I was not absorbing anything in classes. Hopefully my notes will make sense when it comes to review time.

While many of you probably keep better tab on whats going on in the world than I do, I came across two articles of interest on one of my favorite news sites, The DrudgeReport. I would encourage you to check them out.

1) France has been engulfed in riots since Oct. 27th. Seems that two youths, 15 and 17, were accidently electrocuted as they hid from police. Not sure how it all plays together, but it is still raging. " More than 1,400 vehicles were destroyed, two policemen were injured by birdshot and petrol bomb attacks were launched on schools, churches and public buildings." Remember to pray for our Christian brothers and sisters over there. (For more on causation see this link. )

2) The UN wants to take control of the Internet. What doesn't the UN want to control??


Anyways, that is all for now. Hoping to make it home for Thanksgiving in the next couple weeks. Once I return, we are given a few reading days and then head into finals. God give us 1Ls much grace!