Weekly Email: September 14, 2026
We are now in Week 7 of the Fall 1 term. This week I want to talk about how we answer when someone asks how we're doing. I also want to point you to some of the electives being offered in Fall 2, which starts in a few weeks.
In this email:
- Student Tip: I'm Busy
- Program News: Fall 2 Registration
Student Tip: I'm Busy
"Hey, how's it going?"
"Going well, just really busy."
"Yeah, me too. It just feels like there's always things going on."
"Same."
How many of your conversations end up being like this? I was listening to a podcast a while back and it's made me think about how I respond in these situations.
One thing it talked about was that too often we have developed this identity where we have things going on all the time and we're always feeling overwhelmed and busy. That may be true. But it also pointed out, and I know this is true in my own life, that the busy and scattered feeling oftentimes, now not always, but oftentimes, comes from a lack of control and foresight in our schedule.
Let's say you have a lot going on and there's not a lot of downtime but you feel like every day or every week something is always coming up. Oftentimes that feeling could have been minimized by some planning.
And so two people may have the same exact schedule but one knows exactly what all is coming up and has a plan and the other thinks everything's just going to kind of work out and looks at the next thing. They're probably going to have two different weeks.
I just want you to think about which category you're in. I know some weeks I'm feeling scatterbrained, where everything just seems to be piling up. And if I take an honest look, it's usually because I haven't done some basic things, like looking at the week and planning out how it's going to work. And if there is going to be that overwhelm, it's being able to say no to protect my schedule.
So as Fall 2 is coming up and you're looking at the syllabus, looking at your classes, take a look at every week. Write down things that might be a barrier to school. That could be an upcoming church event. That could be your kids' soccer tournament. Back in December of 2024 I wrote about marking the hectic weeks on your calendar before the Winter term.
I've taught online classes and been an online teaching assistant over the years and it still surprises me how often a student emails me way after the fact saying, "I just had this going on." My first inclination is, why am I just now hearing about this? That mission trip you were going on, that church event that was happening. Those should have signaled that you're probably going to have a lot less time that week. It would have helped to tell your professor or OTA what was going on before that week or, even better, to work ahead. So as you look ahead, mark off those things and make a plan.
It may be true that busy is reality but the feeling of being scattered doesn't have to be.
Program News: Fall 2 Registration
Fall 2 begins in a few weeks and we have several great electives. For example:
- 29370 Moral Theory with Dr. Andrew Walker
- 28720 The Problem of Evil with Dr. Stephen Wellum
- 27400 The Doctrine of the Person of Christ with Dr. Stephen Wellum
- 32985 History & Religion of Islam with Dr. Ayman Ibrahim
- 23000 The Parables of Jesus with Dr. Jonathan Pennington
- 21360 Isaiah 1-39 with Dr. Kaspars Ozolins
If you want to continue to make progress in your degree, check out what's being offered on MySBTS and get registered. If you want to see some sample lectures and reading for the course, check out our Course Snapshots.
Quick Reference of Upcoming Term Dates:
- Current Week: Fall 1, Week 7 (September 14-21)
- Fall 2 Term Begins: October 5, 2026
- Winter Term Begins: November 30, 2026
Register for Courses →
Registration for Fall Experiential Modulars is open now
