Inside the Mind of a Nathan

I know you've said it. We all have. "When am I ever gonna use the Pythagorean theorem?" "When am I ever gonna use trigonometry?" "When am I ever gonna use radical simplification?" I only mention math questions because most of my pedagogic energy is spent teaching math. However, "When am I ever gonna use that?" comes up in all arenas. My answer to that: you won't. With that attitude, there's no way.

I typically tutor high school math, but I often get students who want help with SATs or writing in general. I have a student that's aiming to earn the NROTC scholarship. I'll be meeting with him later this week to talk about it, but I wanted to give him something to do before we met. Below is the second e-mail I sent him. I thought it'd be worth sharing with you aspiring writers out there.

Jeremiah 29:11-13 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart." Lately, my heart has felt as though it is collapsing, shrinking, atrophying. Perhaps God is trying to make it easier for me to love him with all my heart: if I have nearly no heart left, it doesn't take much to seek with all of it.

in•tol•er•ant |inˈtälərənt| adjective not tolerant of others' views, beliefs, or behavior that differ from one's own

Colossians 1:21-23 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.