This last month has been a wild one, from climbing Mount Hood in Oregon with a friend (as you can see from the pictures), to lots of wedding planning (getting married August 15—we haven’t had a lot of time to plan). I have also accepted an offer to teach a course on the historical Jesus at UNC this fall—a late-notice offer that has set me scrambling to pick the books and set the syllabus.

I can say that I’m really looking forward to getting back into the classroom after two years away from teaching, however. This should be a fun class. I’ve also been working to learn what I need in order to have a new wood floor in my townhouse (something my new bride will very much appreciate over the carpet I’ve been willing to live with). Add to that that I’m supposed to be preparing for my exams and it’s been a wild month.

At least by now, I’ve got the syllabus partway constructed (largely thanks some very generous scholars who have afforded me the privilege of seeing their old HJ syllabi), the honeymoon is booked (it’s a surprise—even my young bride doesn’t know the itinerary), invitations have been sent (tardily, unfortunately), the wedding website is set up, hotels booked, a wedding band picked, and my groomsmen’s apparel is complete (we chose to have them buy pretty nice tuxes for about the same price as renting, though that put more responsibility on me to buy many of their accessories). But things are finally all coming together, meaning I can return to a little blogging until the honeymoon. It’s good to be back (for now).