Hello dear ladies of University House! I have missed you all. Welcome back to Baylor!

I have thought about you all over the break and have prayed that you would find rest, restoration, and a renewed sense of purpose and strength. Each of you possesses a unique set of skills and talents, and it is increasingly apparent to me that you 1) deserve to be here, 2) have both the maturity and the fortitude to continue along this path.

For a few of you, you may have decided that you needed to change majors, or at least rethink your current major. This is completely normal and why you came here in the first place! I remember early on in my musical study at Rice, I often worried I hade made the wrong decision or maybe I overestimated my ability to follow this dream I had of being a professional musician. After a very long first semester of what seemed like endless hours in the practice room, learning scales, it was much less sexy and appealing than I had imagined. No worse for the wear, I elected to stick it out and just do the dirty work - that is, actually learn the scales.... and I mean, every possible kind of major, minor, harmonic, melodic, modal, pattern and arpeggio known to all of western music... That was my assignment and I absolutely hated every second of it... Or did, I?

When I finally stopped worrying about where I ranked, and how good everyone else was, and simply began the process of learning, something strange happened. I got better. I began to relish my little practice cave in the basement of the music building. I found a time early in the morning, before classes that allowed me to get in and get out. I found I enjoyed coffee.. I stared a running routine and ran to the music building before practice. I went to my first class a little less fresh and sat in the back.
I began to look forward going in deep on patterns, Arban etudes, and Blazhevich sequences... I found a mysterious sense of calm and security in the routine I had established - through necessity and invention. I began to take inventory of how far I had come and was proud of the quality and became less concerned about the monumental task ahead of me. I thought much less about how everyone else was better and more about how much better I was doing.. 

Perhaps you have found yourself neck deep in code, formulas, theory, biology terms, cellular work or anatomy. The first semesters of school may also have NOTHING to do with things that matter to you. You are "forced" to take Christian Scriptures, or Heritage, or a writing course, or perhaps you are plowing through British Lit!! This is where practice can help. Find your routine, do the dirty work, and eventually, you may just find some peace. Don't wait for your conditions to change to be joyful. Learn to chose joy in spite of your conditions. 

I remember taking African Pre-history, Space Physics, Sociology, The Japanese Mind, Bismarck To WW2, Shakespeare, and a writing course that nearly decimated my GPA.... Oceanography or "underwater rocks for jocks" seemed a safe bet for a budding musician trying to spend hours a day practicing, but I was sorely mistaken. 

It is so strange how at the time I considered these courses my plight and suffrage for a cause to purse my musical dreams - but now - I remember every one of those classes FONDLY! How is that possible? My professors showed mercy and were genuinely concerned. They helped me and they seemed proud, as if I possessed some innate ability that I myself knew nothing about... They actually thought I was worth the trouble... They would actually come to my Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra Concerts and make it a point to tell me how much they enjoyed the Mahler, or the Berlioz, and asked me to write a little something about the text found in Orf's Carmina Burana... 

Like me, you may have made mistakes along the way and miscalculated one thing or another. Baylor is a good fit for you. You are becoming better people and I know you are developing into beautiful women with high standards, excellent ideals, and a true sense of strong character. 

Life is very good. Try to love one another. I think you women are doing well, and I know you have great things in store. Pray that God will direct your paths, stay open in all your classes, and seek His face, feel His presence, and trust His love. 

Say hello to me when I pass - you make my day. You are lovely and I am proud. 

Your FIR,

BP

We can choose joy in the face of adversity or pain. We can chose joy in the midst of difficulty. Joy is the entrance into the things of God that for so many have seemed out of reach. Joy is actually an obedient act that allows us to keep mental wellness. 

Jesus endured the cross because of the JOY that was set before him. The Joy of the Lord is our strength, not just a giggle or a smile, but rather a reality that gives us an emotional and mental encounter, an act of surrender that engages us to the heartbeat of God.

Choosing Joy actually causes our circumstances to work well. Pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks and walk in joy. I believe that Joy is the greatest evidence of conversion. They will know we are Christians by our love, peace and joy.. Love is the greatest of these but Joy is a powerful weapon that I believes help usher in peace. 

If you have questions about what it means to be a Christian or if you are not sure if this is something you even want, and would like to discuss - by all means - let's talk. 

Rejoice greatly, you have been given the keys to the kingdom and nothing can take that away from you - not your failing test grades, dying family member, daily pressures, failing relationships - nothing. 

Joy is your birth right and you have been designed to live this way. Joy is not a denial of life challenges or walking in oblivion to huge problems, but instead a powerful tool that was granted to you that allows you to function.

Last - if you are not free from sin, stress, addiction, depression, until death, then Jesus is not your savior - death is...

Somehow, rejoicing before your have earned the right to become happy transforms you into a person who can live a Christlike powerful life. 

Joy - comes in the morning - after you have made a choice to surrender to His purposes and walk in Joy.

Humbly - your FIR - BP

It has been a pleasure getting to know many of you this past week. I have enjoyed visiting with you at Penland, walking to class, eating breakfast, and in passing. I have been at Baylor for nineteen years. I tend to take stock in the merits and challenges for each incoming freshman class. I believe that your class carries with it a certain stoicism and strength. 

You have lived through trying times and endured a pandemic. You now face historic inflation, increasing college expenses, global instability and an uncertain economy. Your generations is in many ways redefining social norms, terms, and values. Your freshman class is capable, resilient, adaptive, and ready. 

What are the challenges you face personally this semester? What are the things in your life that can be improved upon? Are there areas of spiritual growth, interpersonal relationships, family, career goals, academic goals, that you can be intentional about firming up and correcting? I would encourage you to design your routines around these goals. Try to avoid "reacting" to stress and allow your daily fellowship of close friends to help you navigate. 

Consider making sacrifices and being of service to others to help guide your routines. College is inherently a selfish time. This is not all bad. You are investing in your future and making your plans. All of your intention and energy is focused on "you" - your degree, your classes, your projects, your homework, your emotional and academic needs.

Consider how you might make daily sacrifices in your routines for others? Why, because you will be happier. You will be fulfilled. You will begin to use your gifts and talents for His service and helping other people and in turn will help you to become a more powerful and strong woman. Write down 10 ways you can sacrifice for others, in small ways. Take this list and transfer it to your daily routine and schedule. Example - eat breakfast with your suite mate, bring her coffee, take out the trash, invite someone out, meet someone new, lead a small group study, complement your neighbor, get to know someone who is not like you, wash the dishes, pray.

Failure to make the proper sacrifices, failure to reveal yourself, failure to live and tell the truth—all that weakens you. In that weakened state, you will be unable to thrive in the world, and you will be of no benefit to yourself or to others. You will fail and suffer, stupidly. That will corrupt your soul. How could it be otherwise? Life is hard enough when it is going well. But when it’s going badly?

What shall I do when I’m tired and impatient? Gratefully accept an outstretched helping hand. This is something with a twofold meaning. It’s an injunction, first, to note the reality of the limitations of individual being and, second, to accept and be thankful for the support of others—family, friends, acquaintances and strangers alike. Exhaustion and impatience are inevitable. There is too much to be done and too little time in which to do it. But we don’t have to strive alone, and there is nothing but good in distributing the responsibilities, cooperating in the efforts, and sharing credit for the productive and meaningful work thereby undertaken. - JBP 12 Rules

I am proud of each of you and I believe you are each uniquely equipped to walk confidently and humbly towards helping restore the soul of our nation. By repairing your own soul and seeking noble service and charity, with the blessing of our Lord and Savior, your stories will help postpone the current decay of our civilization. We need peace. We need joy. We need to love others the way Christ loved us - show His love. They will know we are for real by our love for one another. 

Until we meet again,

Brent Phillips
FIR - University House
​Baylor School of Music 

What can I say? I have only raised boys. I live primarily in the company of men. My beautiful wife, Meredith, is still a complete mystery to me however I think she understands me well. We communicate differently and on a heart level that I obviously don't share with other men. 

The last two years University House has been an all freshman male experience. We did things like mountain bike rides, early morning runs, Johnny Zombie tag, we had a campus wide Amazing Race and we watched plenty of football. 

You will notice the construction of a new fire pit just outside our Uhouse front entrance. The men of Uhouse and I began a weekly "Fireside Hang" with guest speakers, hot dogs, hamburgers, drinks, s'mores and plenty of late night conversation.

So - my question to the women of Uhouse is this - how can I best serve you? How can I help you on your academic, spiritual, and emotional pathway to maturity? I am delighted and honored to serve you and I feel God has placed me in this unique position for my own spiritual growth as much as yours.

We will do breakfasts, invite guests, cook out on Thursday evenings and hopefully you will be up for some adventures. I would like to host day hikes in Cameron Park, games, speakers and help facilitate discussions on your calling, mission, career plans, and vision.

Thank you for letting me serve you. 

​ 
Dollar Cost Averaging - Dollar-cost averaging (DCA) is an investment strategy in which an investor divides up the total amount to be invested across periodic purchases of a target asset in an effort to reduce the impact of volatility on the overall purchase. The purchases occur regardless of the asset's price and at regular intervals.
 
What Is a Roth IRA?
A Roth IRA is an individual retirement account (IRA) that allows qualified withdrawals on a tax-free basis provided certain conditions are satisfied. Established in 1997, it was named after William Roth, a former Delaware Senator.1
 
Roth IRAs are similar to traditional IRAs, with the biggest distinction between the two being how they’re taxed. Roth IRAs are funded with after-tax dollars; the contributions are not tax-deductible. But once you start withdrawing funds, the money is tax-free. Conversely, traditional IRA deposits are generally made with pretax dollars; you usually get a tax deduction on your contribution and pay income tax when you withdraw the money from the account during retirement.2
 
This and other key differences make Roth IRAs a better choice than traditional IRAs for some retirement savers.
 

• KEY TAKEAWAYS
• A Roth IRA is a special retirement account where you pay taxes on money going into your account, and then all future withdrawals are tax-free.
• Roth IRAs are best when you think your taxes will be higher in retirement than they are right now.
• You can't contribute to a Roth IRA if you make too much money. In 2021, the limit for singles is $140,000 (In 2022, the limit is $144,000). For married couples, the limit is $208,000 (In 2022, the limit rises to $114,000).34
• The amount you can contribute changes periodically. In 2021 and 2022, the contribution limit is $6,000 a year unless you are age 50 or older—in which case, you can deposit up to $7,000.34
• Almost all brokerage firms, both physical and online, offer a Roth IRA. So do most banks and investment companies.

 
Cryptocurrency is a type of currency which uses digital files as money. Usually, the files are created using the same ways as cryptography (the science of hiding information). Digital signatures can be used to keep the transactions safe, and let other people check that the transactions are real.[1][2][3] The first cryptocurrencies were made to be free of government-given currencies.
Cryptocurrencies use 'decentralized control'.[4] That means that government can not control cryptocurrencies. This is different to 'centralized' electronic money and central banks.[5] The control of each cryptocurrency works through a distributed ledger (a list of transactions shared by everyone), usually a blockchain,[6] that serves as a public financial transaction database.[7]
Bitcoin, first released as open-source software in 2009. It is often called the first decentralized cryptocurrency.[8] Since then, over 4,000 cryptocurrencies (sometimes called altcoins, which is short for alternative coins) have been created.
 
My personal favorites - Dogecoin, Etherium, Bitcoin, Etherium classic.
My crypto strategy - I treat crypto investing as a third level priority of investment. This may continue to move up my investment list as fiat currency continues to devaluate (inflate). I would not necessarily recommend crypto as a single source investment strategy unless you are willing to risk losing everything. 
That being said, my crypto portfolio is now occupying a significant portion of my portfolio but I have years of Roth and Trad IRA contributions. As inflation is projected to continue at staggering rates, I see blockchain as a hedge against inflation and it seems more and more individuals (free from mutual fund/investment/retirement planners) are moving towards crypto. As governments continue to print more and more Fiat the value to me is becoming increasingly worthless. A hedge against this would be to own bitcoin and ultimately use those tokens as payment for goods and services. I feel like the day is around the corner when that may happen. 
I am currently on Robinhood and Coinbase. 
 
I have been using the Robinhood “Cash” for daily small coffee, gas, and lunch out purchases - linked to my Apple Wallet. Robinhood cash is essentially a pre-paid debit card the account comes from designated profit from sold crypto assets or stock gains. 
 
In many cases, cryptocurrencies cannot be converted to real currencies; it is only possible to convert them to other cryptocurrencies, or to use them to buy things. Some cryptocurrencies can be converted to real currencies: They usually have a high volatility, and using them carries a high risk.[9] They are also a target for so-called Pump-and-Dump-Attacks.[10] They act like a big distributed economic system: as they are not issued or controlled by central banks, their value is difficult to influence: For this reason, they cannot really take the place of a stable currency.[11]
Cryptocurrencies are prone to speculation, which makes building a system of more or less stable exchange rates very difficult.[12] 
 
Whales - Another problem is the inequality of distribution: Many cryptocurrencires are held by only few people. As an example: about 1.000 people hold half of the total amount of bitcoins in the world. This means that if any of these persons starts using their cryptocurrency, this has an effect on the exchange rate. It also means that these people have a great influence on the value of the currency, and are able to change its value easily.[13] The currency itself only documents ownership changes. Exchange rates of cryptocurrencies are established outside the system. Exchange rates are issued by brokers and traders; their indication is no guarantee that the currency is traded at the value proposed. In itself, the unit of cryptocurrency has no value.
In contrast to cyptocurrencies, real currencies are controlled by central banks. Certain econnomic phenomena such as inflation or deflation may change the value (and exchange rate) of a currency. The people who own units of the currency have no direct influence on its value.
 
According to Jan Lansky, a cryptocurrency is a system that meets six conditions:[14]

1. The system does not require a central authority, distributed achieve consensus on its state [sic].
2. The system keeps an overview of cryptocurrency units and their ownership.
3. The system defines if new cryptocurrency units can be created. If new cryptocurrency units can be created, the system defines the how to create new units, and how to determine the ownership of these new units.
4. Ownership of cryptocurrency units can be proved exclusively cryptographically.
5. The owner of a unit of cryptocurrency can transfer this unit. For this transfer to be successful, the current owner must prove the ownership.
6. If two different instructions for changing the ownership of the same cryptographic units are entered at the same time, the system performs at most one of them.

 
What Is Fiat Money?
Fiat money is a government-issued currency that is not backed by a physical commodity, such as gold or silver, but rather by the government that issued it. The value of fiat money is derived from the relationship between supply and demand and the stability of the issuing government, rather than the worth of a commodity backing it. Most modern paper currencies are fiat currencies, including the U.S. dollar, the euro, and other major global currencies.
 
KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Fiat money is a government-issued currency that is not backed by a commodity such as gold.
• Fiat money gives central banks greater control over the economy because they can control how much money is printed.
• Most modern paper currencies, such as the U.S. dollar, are fiat currencies.
• One danger of fiat money is that governments will print too much of it, resulting in hyperinflation.

 
Brent Phillips - Professor, FIR - University House

We will use the book by Stephen Ambrose captured by HBO in arguably one of the most successful mini series ever. Band of Brothers!
Join us for a 10 part series on leadership. We will discuss elements of leadership, loyalty, honor, sacrifice, and examine the decisions made by the 101st Airborne, Easy Company 506. In addition to learning about key battles in the European theatre, from boot camp to Normandy to Bastogne and ultimately the Eagle's Nest, we will discover what it takes to be a great leader. We will also discuss characters in the series who made poor decisions. This will be leadership training at its best. University House Faculty in Residence, Brent Phillips will host the forum. Meet at 3:15 every Monday and Wednesday beginning  January 25th, 2021. Meet in the U-house lobby.

All episodes are available from the Baylor Library stream - Swank Digital Campus
You may search Baylor Library for "Band of Brothers, Currahee Episode 1" and then click on the link to view. Some devices may need to download the free app "Swank Digital Campus"

I will post the Critical Viewing Guide here each week. 

This will be an excellent way to study WWII, learn about real life characters and discuss leadership traits. 

Over the next 2 Tuesdays, beginning October 20 and ending October 27, we will discuss the Johnny Zombie event. You must register for the event and exact teams will be announced on the 27th. 

Join us this Tuesday at 8PM and we will answer questions about the format, game play, rules, options and cover a few of the game elements. You won't want to miss as these Chalk Talks will help players better understand and prepare for the October 29th World War Wu!

This Tuesday I will interview Jonny Wu - our 4th floor CL. I will ask him about his first year Baylor experiences - what he did well and where he fell short. Perhaps you are feeling a bit behind or completely overwhelmed. Let's talk about strategy, connecting with academic help and how to reach out and ask for support. There is nothing weak or timid about taking control over your time, schedule, study prep and being intentional about your work. Stop by - 30 min - in and out. 

We will interview Jonny live in the lobby of the 4th floor - 4th floor gents may visit in person and I will have something to eat for you. The rest of you can tune in on Zoom. 

Strength and Honor!! 

​BP

Dr. Kenley will share her story on how she went from an undeclared major to finding her calling in detective fiction.
Nicole Kenley’s areas of interest are detective fiction, contemporary American fiction, gender studies, and the literature of globalization. She is currently at work on her book project, Detecting Globalization, which examines American detective fiction’s shift from a national literature to a global one post-1970.   In addition, her scholarship appears in the journals Mississippi Quarterly, Clues, and the Canadian Review of Comparative Literatureas well as the edited collections Crime Uncovered: Antihero (Intellect), Teaching Crime Fiction (Palgrave Macmillan), and the forthcoming Companion to Crime Fiction (Routledge) and Animals in Detective Fiction (Palgrave).