Putting together a Master's Thesis 1(?)

So I am trying to grapple with how to put together my Master's Thesis. I have 5 chapters with fairly straightforward structure but I am not sure where to start. It's like trying to fit a whole bagel in my mouth except the bagel is the size of ten bags of bagels... or is that beagles? ... Bugles?

Anyway, I thought I would start with reading through Watson's Doctrine of Repentance and take notes like usual. I read through it, took some notes, and then also read through his Jerusalem's Glory. This book wasn't nearly as straight forward as the other but still useful because it dealt with corporate repentance which he only covers briefly in Doctrine. Alright, off to a reasonable start I suppose. Now to re-read Doctrine and turn my notes into pros for use in chapter 4, defining Watson's doctrine of repentance. This is quite a job in itself and as I began I found something that makes it easier and harder at the same time.

Two years ago I had written a paper on this topic and this is when I was first encouraged to pursue it as a thesis. Well, I found the paper, the pros, and the notes for all my research that I had done two years ago. About 40 pages worth of literature typed by me two years ago. This obviously makes taking study notes on Doctrine easier... since it's already done. How does it make it harder? Well, I don't remember how thorough I was when I made these notes and I think my perspective may have changed since then. Deep inside I feel like I have to start all over again just in case I missed something the first time. At the same time I am very NOT motivated to do that because I already did it. So I am at a loss for what to do now since the work I set out to do is already done but may need to be redone.

Right now I think I will just relax though. I don't get the chance to relax all that often and with only four more days left for visiting my in-laws I think being present with them should be a priority. That, and I am tired. I have been tired for two years I am just starting to feel not tired again. My thesis adviser told me to take a break before beginning if I needed, and I think I do need it.

When I get back though I have a few things that I need to do ASAP. I need to find the Doctrine of Repentance Paper that I submitted and got marked up by my supervisor two years ago. I need to take a look at other Master theses that follow a pattern of research similar to my own to create a mental template to build mine off of. Once I do both of those things I should have a meeting with my supervisor. Then I will have a clearer understanding of how to go about stuffing ten beagles in my mouth.

Greg Out