"This is literally just a male version of a soap opera," my wife astutely noted the other day as I was watching WWE. She's right, of course, WWE isn't really about the wrestling, anymore. In fact, they don't even consider themselves to be a wrestling company. They famously changed their name a few years ago from World Wrestling Entertainment to WWE. The men and women who compete in the ring aren't known as wrestlers, they're known as WWE Superstars and Divas.
Showing posts with label 30before30. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 30before30. Show all posts
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Monday, January 13, 2014
When Holly and I got married, we went to Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg for our honeymoon. We returned the next year when Holly was pregnant with Xavier. We haven't taken a vacation since. We spent a day in Washington DC about a year ago, but that was a part of an interview weekend in Baltimore, so I don't count it as a vacation.
It was one of my goals before my birthday to take Holly to a big city on a vacation. We found the time and the finances to go to Chicago the week of Thanksgiving.
I had gone to Chicago for a mission trip with my students in 2012. It was actually the final thing I did as a staff member at High Street. It was bitter and difficult for me, that trip was meant to be a long term investment from me to my students, but it turned out being something different.
I was eager to take my wife to Chicago, I thought she'd like it. We found a great rate for a hotel, but the catch was we had to go the week of Thanksgiving. We stayed at the Hotel Indigo in the Gold Coast neighborhood on the north side of Chicago.
We loved the hotel and the neighborhood. Seriously, we both were just in awe of the beautiful neighborhood as we drove through it.
We enjoyed pizza at Giordano's and had breakfast at a little pancake house and enjoyed dinner at a little Italian place a block away from the hotel.
We visited Navy Pier and shopped along Michigan Avenue. We didn't have any money to spend, but we did splurge on some wonderful popcorn from Garret Popcorn! I had it my last time in Chicago and absolutely loved it!
My major goal in Chicago was to relax and enjoy the company of my wife. We were able to do that and we had a great time.
We'll definitely be returning to Chicago someday, hopefully for a Cubs game! It's the thing I haven't been able to do there, but I really want to!
This was one of the larger and more expensive things to do on my list of 30 things, so I'm glad to have it scratched off. I'm making progress, but it's slow going, slower than I'd like. I'll have to work at a couple other items on the list before the month is up, I'm just not sure which things I'll do first.
Any thoughts?
It was one of my goals before my birthday to take Holly to a big city on a vacation. We found the time and the finances to go to Chicago the week of Thanksgiving.
I had gone to Chicago for a mission trip with my students in 2012. It was actually the final thing I did as a staff member at High Street. It was bitter and difficult for me, that trip was meant to be a long term investment from me to my students, but it turned out being something different.
I was eager to take my wife to Chicago, I thought she'd like it. We found a great rate for a hotel, but the catch was we had to go the week of Thanksgiving. We stayed at the Hotel Indigo in the Gold Coast neighborhood on the north side of Chicago.
We loved the hotel and the neighborhood. Seriously, we both were just in awe of the beautiful neighborhood as we drove through it.
We enjoyed pizza at Giordano's and had breakfast at a little pancake house and enjoyed dinner at a little Italian place a block away from the hotel.
We visited Navy Pier and shopped along Michigan Avenue. We didn't have any money to spend, but we did splurge on some wonderful popcorn from Garret Popcorn! I had it my last time in Chicago and absolutely loved it!
My major goal in Chicago was to relax and enjoy the company of my wife. We were able to do that and we had a great time.
We'll definitely be returning to Chicago someday, hopefully for a Cubs game! It's the thing I haven't been able to do there, but I really want to!
This was one of the larger and more expensive things to do on my list of 30 things, so I'm glad to have it scratched off. I'm making progress, but it's slow going, slower than I'd like. I'll have to work at a couple other items on the list before the month is up, I'm just not sure which things I'll do first.
Any thoughts?
Thursday, January 2, 2014
2013 was a big year for me and my family. I started the year living with my in-laws and working as a part time cook making nearly minimum wage at a restaurant. I ended the year working full-time as a pastor again, living on a farm!
I've taken some time and thought about ten of my favorite experiences/memories of the year. Here they are, in no particular order.
I've taken some time and thought about ten of my favorite experiences/memories of the year. Here they are, in no particular order.
Monday, November 11, 2013
In 2005, at the age of 26, David Platt became the lead pastor of The Church at Brook Hills, a megachurch in Birmingham. He was known as the youngest megachurch pastor in America. I imagine this has to be a pretty huge honor and responsibility.
It's probably a good thing God never called me to be the youngest megachurch pastor in America because I'd probably be too prideful.
That said, Platt wrote a book called Radical in 2009. I read it and then studied it a little bit with the Northeastern High School FCS group a couple of years ago. The subtitle of the book was "Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream."
Platt is telling us that something is wrong, then he sets out to fix it.
His latest book, Follow Me is about making disciples. He takes aim at the Sinner's Prayer and some of the cliche ways we've gone about furthering the kingdom. I even preached a sermon about this a couple weeks ago called, coincidentally "Follow Me."
Needless to say, the concepts really struck me. He's completely right that too often we preach for converts but not disciples. Because, the truth is, converts are easy to get, disciples are much harder to make. But the mission of Jesus is to make disciples. His call is to follow; his mission is to make disciples.
I was challenged by this book, and a quote from the book jumped out at me more than any other.
"We've taken the lifeblood out of Christianity and put Kool-Aid in its place so that it tastes better to the crowds, and the results are catastrophic."
With 9 and a half months to go before my birthday, I'm 1/3 of the way through my goal of 30 books!
It's probably a good thing God never called me to be the youngest megachurch pastor in America because I'd probably be too prideful.
That said, Platt wrote a book called Radical in 2009. I read it and then studied it a little bit with the Northeastern High School FCS group a couple of years ago. The subtitle of the book was "Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream."
Platt is telling us that something is wrong, then he sets out to fix it.
His latest book, Follow Me is about making disciples. He takes aim at the Sinner's Prayer and some of the cliche ways we've gone about furthering the kingdom. I even preached a sermon about this a couple weeks ago called, coincidentally "Follow Me."
Needless to say, the concepts really struck me. He's completely right that too often we preach for converts but not disciples. Because, the truth is, converts are easy to get, disciples are much harder to make. But the mission of Jesus is to make disciples. His call is to follow; his mission is to make disciples.
I was challenged by this book, and a quote from the book jumped out at me more than any other.
"We've taken the lifeblood out of Christianity and put Kool-Aid in its place so that it tastes better to the crowds, and the results are catastrophic."
With 9 and a half months to go before my birthday, I'm 1/3 of the way through my goal of 30 books!
Thursday, November 7, 2013
I read Kyle Idleman's first book, Not a Fan, a few years ago. It was a great book about seriously following Jesus, as opposed to being a fan of Jesus. We even used that book as the foundation for a sermon series at church. When I saw that he had written a second book, I made sure that I included it on my list of books to finish before I turned 30.
Then, my Sunday School class at my new church decided to use this book as a study resource. I bought the book and read it, we're still going through it as a class, but I finished the book a few weeks ago.
Basically, the premise of the book is that all of our sins boil down to idolatry, and that's why the sin of idolatry is mentioned so many times in the Bible. Kyle suggests that everyone of us has created idols in various forms. These idols range from sex to money to food to self.
The book was hard to read because he cuts through the muck to deliver simple truth that's difficult to digest at times. I'd recommend the book to any of my friends, but I'd also recommend the study materials too. There's a video series that goes with the book including a spectacular section with Chuck Colson's story. He must've recorded it just weeks/months before he passed away last year.
Next up, Follow Me by David Platt.
Then, my Sunday School class at my new church decided to use this book as a study resource. I bought the book and read it, we're still going through it as a class, but I finished the book a few weeks ago.
Basically, the premise of the book is that all of our sins boil down to idolatry, and that's why the sin of idolatry is mentioned so many times in the Bible. Kyle suggests that everyone of us has created idols in various forms. These idols range from sex to money to food to self.
The book was hard to read because he cuts through the muck to deliver simple truth that's difficult to digest at times. I'd recommend the book to any of my friends, but I'd also recommend the study materials too. There's a video series that goes with the book including a spectacular section with Chuck Colson's story. He must've recorded it just weeks/months before he passed away last year.
Next up, Follow Me by David Platt.
Saturday, October 26, 2013
In 2009, my friend Daniel got me to start running. I had flirted with running before, but had never been able to get past the DTR discussion. I would run for a week or so, then give it up because... couch. But this time, I used the Couch to 5k program. It was already popular then, now it's uber-popular! I ran my first ever 5k in June of that year.
I floundered with my running until the next summer, when I picked it back up. At church, my friend Nate said he wanted to run the USAF Half Marathon. I volunteered Daniel and I to run it with him. I spent the whole summer training for the Half and ran it in September of 2010. I'll never forget, after the race, Nate asked me if this made me want to run a full marathon. For him, there was no chance, the half had convinced him that he wouldn't be running a full, ever. I had the opposite reaction, I wanted to run a full at some point.
In 2011, I didn't do a lot of running, just periodically. I actually finished the year really strong in 2011, joining a couple of friends in a challenge to run every single day from Thanksgiving Day through New Years Day. I didn't miss a day, and finished the year with a 10-miler (which was my longest run since the half the year before).
Late Spring of 2012, my friend Nick asked me if I'd run the Columbus Marathon with him that year. I eagerly said YES! Well, in June, I was fired from my job. I kept running until the end of July, when it all fell apart. I didn't start running again until 2013.
This year, I started running in the Spring, then decided that I'd run the Columbus Marathon. I invited everyone I knew who was even mildly into fitness/running. They all declined. Solo training would become the mantra of my summer. I was absolutely determined to run in the Columbus Marathon, no matter what happened in my professional life.
Last Sunday was finally the big day! Training had gotten old and boring for me, I had been missing lots of days, so I was eager to finally get the marathon over with, that way I could cross it off my list and be done with the race.
I had looked over the course all week, agonized over what I'd wear and what kind of pace I'd be able to run. I got into Columbus early in the morning and found my corral, which I eagerly considered my first win of the day. (On a side note, Columbus Marathon, it'd be nice to direct toward the corrals a little better. I found the A corral with no problem, a sign indicating "B, C and D corrals this way" would've been awesome!)
I waited in the corral for over an hour (early to get there, woot woot!), nervous. My teeth chattered the entire time because I was so nervous. There was a guy in the corral who was talking to some women who were about to run their first half-marathon. He said, "There are 18,000 people running today. That represents one-half of one-percent of the population of Central Ohio. You've already won today because you showed up." He repeated this about 25 times between the first time I heard it and when we finally started running. Seriously, this guy was the bomb. Greatest stranger motivation I'd ever heard!
Finally, we moved into the start position. One of the cool things about this marathon is the staggered start. They rerun the start four times, so each group gets to experience the magic and awesomeness that is the starting line. Fireworks, cheers, music and the surprisingly loud sound of thousands of feet hitting the pavement. I looked, in vain, for my wife and her parents who were at the starting line to wish me well. There were so many people!
The early part of the run, I maintained a pace that I knew was faster than what I'd be able to keep throughout the race, but I didn't want to slow down. In hindsight, that was probably a mistake. The spectators were amazing, I saw my super awesome friends Penny, Adam and Micki! They were cheering all the runners, but I suspect most of Micki's cheers were for her husband Troy who was running in his first ever half.
The signs all over the course made the day WAY better! I saw one twice through Bexley that said, "I don't know you, but I'm proud of you!" Seriously, stranger motivation, ftw! On the way into Bexley, we saw the people who were going to win the marathon and the half-marathon. They were absolutely killing it, I hoped to see my friends Dave and Ryan running the opposite way, but I didn't see them. The runs through Bexley and then through German Village were awesome. I'm super familiar with both parts of town, so it was nice to see them on foot, since that was a new experience for me.
I knew, from my looks at the course all week, that High Street was going to be the mentally difficult part of the course. It's not the hardest part of the course (that comes later), but it was going to be mentally difficult. Midway up High Street, the half marathoners turned off the course and got the wonderful blessing of being finished! There was a huge sign at the 13.1 mark that said, "Now the fun begins" Nothing about the next 10 miles was even remotely fun. I promise.
Towards the end of High Street, at mile 16 (or so), I hit the mental wall. I started walking. Once we got near the Horseshoe, I decided that I had to do some more running, because... Buckeyes. Running into Ohio Stadium was an awesome experience. The super steep hills that await you to enter and exit weren't that welcome, however!
Miles 20-23 were brutal, that's the most difficult part of the course for a few reasons. First, it has the most uphills and second, it's just boring. You run through residential areas and parking lots. The half marathoners are gone, so there are considerably fewer participants. It's just grueling to get through it. I walked/ran through this part, lots of stiffness and pain.
I was very frustrated with myself for walking so early, it just killed my momentum. I was determined to finish, and I really wanted to finish running. At the 22.5 mark, I thought to myself, "At 23, all that's left is a 5k. Even on my worst day, I can run a 5k. Even right now, I could run a 5k." So, I committed to running the entire thing after the 23rd mile marker.
Once I passed the marker, I started running, and I didn't stop. I had to mentally tough it out a few times as I'd think, "Nobody knows the deal I made, I could just walk a little bit." But I knew the deal I had made, and I wasn't willing to let myself down in such a way. There were SNACKS at one point near the end! Orange pieces, Oreos, pretzels, skittles, bananas! I grabbed all that I could carry so that I could get a little snack in to finish strong. I was most excited for the banana, then the girl running next to me dropped her banana on the ground after unwrapping it. She stopped to pick it up. Read that again. She stopped to pick it up. She was going to eat it. I couldn't let that happen, so she got my banana, and I got karma (which I don't believe in, even slightly).
As I was in the final mile, I saw an older guy on a stretcher about to go into an ambulance. My heart broke for him because he was so close! It was at that point that I began to think about the gravity of what was happening in my life. I was never even remotely athletic in my entire life and I was going to do something amazing. I was about to finish pushing my body over 26.2 miles! I genuinely started to tear up before I had to snap myself out of the emotion. I told myself that I couldn't, under any circumstances, waste any hydration on tears!
As I neared the finish line, I saw my friends Penny and Adam!! I actually stopped for a second and gave Adam a great big kiss on the cheek. I had to celebrate! As I got closer, I saw my wife and family cheering me on! They were right at the final turn on the course. This was the moment pride kicked in.
As I passed them, I waved, and a girl passed me on the course. There was no chance I was letting her finish that race before me. She may not have known we were racing, but I had about a tenth of a mile to pass her! I turned on the jets and made my way up to her, I caught up and passed her on the left. Just as I passed her, though, I tripped on something! I caught myself from falling by a tiny fraction. Seriously, a tiny, tiny fraction! The entire crowd on the left side of the street took a huge breath as they saw me almost face plant onto the bricks outside Nationwide Arena!
I didn't fall, and I ran across the finish line! Took me 5 hours and 3 minutes, but I did it!
I was, am, and always will be, a Marathoner!
Final Thoughts:
1. The greatest sign of the day said, "Chuck Norris never ran a marathon."
2. The second greatest said (there were a few of these), "You are running better than the government!"
3. There was a guy on a bike who met the course 5-6 different times and had great motivational signs. He was awesome, even got a high five from me at one point.
4. High fiving all the kids was definitely the way to go! It made the course a lot more fun, even if it did add some time and distance to the race for me.
5. If you ever get the chance, go spectate a marathon, or volunteer at a water station or something. You'll be amazed at what you see.
6. I finished the race and said it was my first and last race. I'd never do it again. By Tuesday, I was already thinking of how to do better the next time. I think it's official, I'm an addict.
I floundered with my running until the next summer, when I picked it back up. At church, my friend Nate said he wanted to run the USAF Half Marathon. I volunteered Daniel and I to run it with him. I spent the whole summer training for the Half and ran it in September of 2010. I'll never forget, after the race, Nate asked me if this made me want to run a full marathon. For him, there was no chance, the half had convinced him that he wouldn't be running a full, ever. I had the opposite reaction, I wanted to run a full at some point.
In 2011, I didn't do a lot of running, just periodically. I actually finished the year really strong in 2011, joining a couple of friends in a challenge to run every single day from Thanksgiving Day through New Years Day. I didn't miss a day, and finished the year with a 10-miler (which was my longest run since the half the year before).
Late Spring of 2012, my friend Nick asked me if I'd run the Columbus Marathon with him that year. I eagerly said YES! Well, in June, I was fired from my job. I kept running until the end of July, when it all fell apart. I didn't start running again until 2013.
This year, I started running in the Spring, then decided that I'd run the Columbus Marathon. I invited everyone I knew who was even mildly into fitness/running. They all declined. Solo training would become the mantra of my summer. I was absolutely determined to run in the Columbus Marathon, no matter what happened in my professional life.
Last Sunday was finally the big day! Training had gotten old and boring for me, I had been missing lots of days, so I was eager to finally get the marathon over with, that way I could cross it off my list and be done with the race.
I had looked over the course all week, agonized over what I'd wear and what kind of pace I'd be able to run. I got into Columbus early in the morning and found my corral, which I eagerly considered my first win of the day. (On a side note, Columbus Marathon, it'd be nice to direct toward the corrals a little better. I found the A corral with no problem, a sign indicating "B, C and D corrals this way" would've been awesome!)
I waited in the corral for over an hour (early to get there, woot woot!), nervous. My teeth chattered the entire time because I was so nervous. There was a guy in the corral who was talking to some women who were about to run their first half-marathon. He said, "There are 18,000 people running today. That represents one-half of one-percent of the population of Central Ohio. You've already won today because you showed up." He repeated this about 25 times between the first time I heard it and when we finally started running. Seriously, this guy was the bomb. Greatest stranger motivation I'd ever heard!
Finally, we moved into the start position. One of the cool things about this marathon is the staggered start. They rerun the start four times, so each group gets to experience the magic and awesomeness that is the starting line. Fireworks, cheers, music and the surprisingly loud sound of thousands of feet hitting the pavement. I looked, in vain, for my wife and her parents who were at the starting line to wish me well. There were so many people!
The early part of the run, I maintained a pace that I knew was faster than what I'd be able to keep throughout the race, but I didn't want to slow down. In hindsight, that was probably a mistake. The spectators were amazing, I saw my super awesome friends Penny, Adam and Micki! They were cheering all the runners, but I suspect most of Micki's cheers were for her husband Troy who was running in his first ever half.
The signs all over the course made the day WAY better! I saw one twice through Bexley that said, "I don't know you, but I'm proud of you!" Seriously, stranger motivation, ftw! On the way into Bexley, we saw the people who were going to win the marathon and the half-marathon. They were absolutely killing it, I hoped to see my friends Dave and Ryan running the opposite way, but I didn't see them. The runs through Bexley and then through German Village were awesome. I'm super familiar with both parts of town, so it was nice to see them on foot, since that was a new experience for me.
I knew, from my looks at the course all week, that High Street was going to be the mentally difficult part of the course. It's not the hardest part of the course (that comes later), but it was going to be mentally difficult. Midway up High Street, the half marathoners turned off the course and got the wonderful blessing of being finished! There was a huge sign at the 13.1 mark that said, "Now the fun begins" Nothing about the next 10 miles was even remotely fun. I promise.
Towards the end of High Street, at mile 16 (or so), I hit the mental wall. I started walking. Once we got near the Horseshoe, I decided that I had to do some more running, because... Buckeyes. Running into Ohio Stadium was an awesome experience. The super steep hills that await you to enter and exit weren't that welcome, however!
Miles 20-23 were brutal, that's the most difficult part of the course for a few reasons. First, it has the most uphills and second, it's just boring. You run through residential areas and parking lots. The half marathoners are gone, so there are considerably fewer participants. It's just grueling to get through it. I walked/ran through this part, lots of stiffness and pain.
I was very frustrated with myself for walking so early, it just killed my momentum. I was determined to finish, and I really wanted to finish running. At the 22.5 mark, I thought to myself, "At 23, all that's left is a 5k. Even on my worst day, I can run a 5k. Even right now, I could run a 5k." So, I committed to running the entire thing after the 23rd mile marker.
Once I passed the marker, I started running, and I didn't stop. I had to mentally tough it out a few times as I'd think, "Nobody knows the deal I made, I could just walk a little bit." But I knew the deal I had made, and I wasn't willing to let myself down in such a way. There were SNACKS at one point near the end! Orange pieces, Oreos, pretzels, skittles, bananas! I grabbed all that I could carry so that I could get a little snack in to finish strong. I was most excited for the banana, then the girl running next to me dropped her banana on the ground after unwrapping it. She stopped to pick it up. Read that again. She stopped to pick it up. She was going to eat it. I couldn't let that happen, so she got my banana, and I got karma (which I don't believe in, even slightly).
As I was in the final mile, I saw an older guy on a stretcher about to go into an ambulance. My heart broke for him because he was so close! It was at that point that I began to think about the gravity of what was happening in my life. I was never even remotely athletic in my entire life and I was going to do something amazing. I was about to finish pushing my body over 26.2 miles! I genuinely started to tear up before I had to snap myself out of the emotion. I told myself that I couldn't, under any circumstances, waste any hydration on tears!
As I neared the finish line, I saw my friends Penny and Adam!! I actually stopped for a second and gave Adam a great big kiss on the cheek. I had to celebrate! As I got closer, I saw my wife and family cheering me on! They were right at the final turn on the course. This was the moment pride kicked in.
As I passed them, I waved, and a girl passed me on the course. There was no chance I was letting her finish that race before me. She may not have known we were racing, but I had about a tenth of a mile to pass her! I turned on the jets and made my way up to her, I caught up and passed her on the left. Just as I passed her, though, I tripped on something! I caught myself from falling by a tiny fraction. Seriously, a tiny, tiny fraction! The entire crowd on the left side of the street took a huge breath as they saw me almost face plant onto the bricks outside Nationwide Arena!
I didn't fall, and I ran across the finish line! Took me 5 hours and 3 minutes, but I did it!
I was, am, and always will be, a Marathoner!
Final Thoughts:
1. The greatest sign of the day said, "Chuck Norris never ran a marathon."
2. The second greatest said (there were a few of these), "You are running better than the government!"
3. There was a guy on a bike who met the course 5-6 different times and had great motivational signs. He was awesome, even got a high five from me at one point.
4. High fiving all the kids was definitely the way to go! It made the course a lot more fun, even if it did add some time and distance to the race for me.
5. If you ever get the chance, go spectate a marathon, or volunteer at a water station or something. You'll be amazed at what you see.
6. I finished the race and said it was my first and last race. I'd never do it again. By Tuesday, I was already thinking of how to do better the next time. I think it's official, I'm an addict.
Thursday, September 12, 2013
A few years ago, a guy named Terrace Crawford friend requested me on facebook. Terrace is a youth pastor in Virginia, he's been worth following over the past few years as I was a new youth pastor learning the ministry.
Terrace maintains a website that includes a blog and some other news about his ministry over at TerraceCrawford.com. He released a book a while ago called Going Social about how to use social media in ministry.
I read the book, hoping to gain some new insights on using social media in ministry. Unfortunately, this book wasn't really written with me in mind. Terrace goes through many different social media methods/sites, including facebook, twitter and youtube. He teaches mostly the basics, like how to set up a facebook page or a twitter account. He explains how to use hashtags and some basic tips on how to set up a youtube page.
Unfortunately, this was pretty much all info I already knew. So, at the end of the day, this book would have a lot more value for someone who is completely new to social media. If you're that person, you're probably not reading my blog, but if you are that person, then this book would be of great value to you.
Terrace maintains a website that includes a blog and some other news about his ministry over at TerraceCrawford.com. He released a book a while ago called Going Social about how to use social media in ministry.
I read the book, hoping to gain some new insights on using social media in ministry. Unfortunately, this book wasn't really written with me in mind. Terrace goes through many different social media methods/sites, including facebook, twitter and youtube. He teaches mostly the basics, like how to set up a facebook page or a twitter account. He explains how to use hashtags and some basic tips on how to set up a youtube page.
Unfortunately, this was pretty much all info I already knew. So, at the end of the day, this book would have a lot more value for someone who is completely new to social media. If you're that person, you're probably not reading my blog, but if you are that person, then this book would be of great value to you.
Thursday, August 29, 2013
I'll be honest, CS Lewis is one of my absolute favorite authors; but before this year, I had never read what many people consider to be his best book. My friend Daniel gave me this book a few years ago, and I never got the chance to read it. I made sure that I added it to my list of 30 books to read before my 30th birthday, because I wanted to read one of the pinnacles of 20th century Christian literature.
Before I talk about the book, I'd like to mention something. I have tons and tons and tons of respect and love for teachers. I originally went to college to be a math teacher. With that said, my favorite teacher through 13 years of non-college schooling was my 4th grade teacher. Mr. Kirker started reading The Chronicles of Narnia to us right at the beginning of school. We read through the entire series together. I still have that original set of those books, as you can notice, with our kitty, "Lucy the Valiant."
Once I became a Christian, I already knew of CS Lewis since I was such a fan of the Chronicles of Narnia. I ended up taking a long while to read through Mere Christianity just because of everything happening in our personal lives. We moved and I had a lot going on in the job front.
That said, it was an absolutely fantastic book and I'm so happy to have read it. Lewis basically runs through a logical explanation of Christianity starting with the basic premise that there is a moral code that exists apart from individual and even cultural bias. He calls it "The Law of Human Nature."
At any rate, I heartily recommend this book for anyone. It's a very manageable entry into the thoughts behind Christian principles.
One of my favorite passages, from later in the book has Lewis' thoughts on marriage from a Christian perspective:
Have you read it? What were your thoughts?
Once I became a Christian, I already knew of CS Lewis since I was such a fan of the Chronicles of Narnia. I ended up taking a long while to read through Mere Christianity just because of everything happening in our personal lives. We moved and I had a lot going on in the job front.
That said, it was an absolutely fantastic book and I'm so happy to have read it. Lewis basically runs through a logical explanation of Christianity starting with the basic premise that there is a moral code that exists apart from individual and even cultural bias. He calls it "The Law of Human Nature."
At any rate, I heartily recommend this book for anyone. It's a very manageable entry into the thoughts behind Christian principles.
One of my favorite passages, from later in the book has Lewis' thoughts on marriage from a Christian perspective:
"Before leaving the question of divorce, I should like to distinguish two things which are often very confused. The Christian conception of marriage is one: the other us quite the different question-how far Christians, if they are voters of Members of Parliament, ought to try to force their views of marriage on the rest of the community by embodying them in the divorce laws. A great many people seem to think that if you are a Christian yourself you should try to make divorce difficult for every one. I do not think that. At least I know I should be very angry if the Mohammedans tried to prevent the rest of us from drinking wine. My own view is that the Churches should frankly recognise that the majority of the British people are not Christians, and therefore, cannot be expected to live Christian lives. There ought to be two distinct kinds of marriage: one governed by the State with rules enforced on all citizens, the other governed by the Church with rules enforced by her on her own members. The distinction ought to be quite sharp, so that a man knows which couples are married in a Christian sense and which are not."
Have you read it? What were your thoughts?
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
It didn't help that this reading fell over the job transition into Hillside, so it was a pretty busy time in my life.
Anyway, this biography on Bonhoeffer was full of the fluff that I find frivolous, but it did have some definite gems and some major points to make about the way Christians reacted and were treated in the growth of the Nazi movement throughout Germany.
The insight into the German psyche following World War I helps a reader who is 70 years removed from the Second World War to understand a little more of how it was possible that a man like Hitler ever came into such a dangerously powerful role. As I read this, I remembered learning some of it in high school history.
But the impact on the church was relatively impactful for me, since the church is my vocational setting and primary concern when reading a book like this.
How did the Christians of Germany allow themselves to get so taken by the horrible Nazi movement? How did they so quickly and easily lose sight of Christ, the Prince of Peace?
One word. Nationalism.
There are some incredible parallels to be made between the German church of the 1920's and 30's along with the American church of the early 2000's. I'm afraid the nationalistic tendencies are running rather deep here, too, with many "American Christians" identifying first as Americans then as Christians, similar to their German predecessors.
We should all be quick, I think, to learn a lesson from these German Christians and understand that our Kingdom is not of this world. We are dual citizens, but our primary citizenship is in Heaven and because of this, we should allow heavenly thought to impact each of our decisions, regardless of our American citizenship.
I feel obligated to make a clear point of what I am not saying. I'm not suggesting that we burn our flags. I'm not suggesting that we move to another country. I'm not suggesting that America sucks. I'm not suggesting that Christians shouldn't feel blessed to have a freedom of worship guaranteed by the Bill of Rights.
It is most assuredly a blessing to live in America, but it's a far greater blessing to be a citizen of Heaven. Let us never lose sight of that.
Thursday, August 15, 2013
A little background is necessary to understand the scope of where I'm heading with today's thoughts. I grew up in Columbus, in apartments and rentals. The most formative of those years were spent in apartments where we didn't have room to grow plants or do things like that.
Holly and I recently moved out onto a farm. Full disclosure, we are not operating the farm, it's operated by other people, but we do have a significant amount of land with which to "play." So, I've decided that I want to get some chickens and start a garden.
This week, I've begun the planning phase. It's obviously too late to start planting my garden, but I can definitely start planning on it. Here's the problem, though, I don't know anything about gardening! My thumbs aren't green!
I'm wanting to start composting, but I have no idea where to begin. I've looked up some resources online, but I feel like I'm trying to drink from a fire hose! Anyone have any helpful tips?
The chickens are another thing I'm attempting to learn about. We already have a large chicken house on the property. It hasn't been used for chickens in years (more than 20 years, I think). So, I'm going to work on it to get it ready for the hens, but that's the easy part!
What type of chicken is best for Ohio? I'll be honest, I always thought chickens were chickens, didn't realize there were different types. What are the pros and cons of having a rooster?
So, dear friend, who has some farming experience!? Who wants to dole out some advice? Leave any tips in the comment section!
Holly and I recently moved out onto a farm. Full disclosure, we are not operating the farm, it's operated by other people, but we do have a significant amount of land with which to "play." So, I've decided that I want to get some chickens and start a garden.
This week, I've begun the planning phase. It's obviously too late to start planting my garden, but I can definitely start planning on it. Here's the problem, though, I don't know anything about gardening! My thumbs aren't green!
I'm wanting to start composting, but I have no idea where to begin. I've looked up some resources online, but I feel like I'm trying to drink from a fire hose! Anyone have any helpful tips?
The chickens are another thing I'm attempting to learn about. We already have a large chicken house on the property. It hasn't been used for chickens in years (more than 20 years, I think). So, I'm going to work on it to get it ready for the hens, but that's the easy part!
What type of chicken is best for Ohio? I'll be honest, I always thought chickens were chickens, didn't realize there were different types. What are the pros and cons of having a rooster?
So, dear friend, who has some farming experience!? Who wants to dole out some advice? Leave any tips in the comment section!
Thursday, July 18, 2013
I met Brooklyn and Coy Lindsey a couple years ago at NYC. I'm not sure if either of them would remember me, but she was a speaker at NYC and was one of the emcee's of the entire event. Her and Coy both grew up in south-central Ohio (the Lancaster/Logan area), so there was (at least on my end) some sort of connection there. I connected with her through facebook and twitter after the event.
Actually, there's a funny story about Brooklyn. Francis Chan also spoke at NYC, and anyone who knows me knows that I have a slight infatuation (man crush) with Chan's writing and preaching. So, Brice (my friend) and I left the arena early that night to try and intercept (seriously, we're not creepers or anything) Francis Chan on his way back to the hotel to get his autograph and get to meet him. We waited at the hotel, but at some point, I had to leave so Brice hung out and waited to see if he could meet Chan and get his autograph for me.
When I reconnected with Brice later that night, he handed me Francis Chan's autograph! But not really, he had run into Brooklyn and she signed the paper in Chan's name for me.
Anyrate, Coy posted a list of books he was reading on his blog and Ready Player One by Ernest Cline caught my interest, so I added it to my list. I went to the library and checked it out, not sure what to expect.
Best. Book. Ever.
One of the reviews summed it up perfectly, it's like Dungeons and Dragons and the 80's had a child and raised it in Azeroth! I like all three of those things, therefore the book was a major hit for me.
It's the literary equivalent of a Summer Blockbuster, so it won't make you sit and scratch your head in deep thought for the next two weeks, but it sure was an awesome read! I heartily recommend it to anyone who wants a few days of awesome reading material!
I also can't wait for Cline's next book, called Armada, which should be out sometime in the future (no dates announced yet).
There's also a pretty elaborate contest that coincides with Ready Player One. (Similar to the entire plot from the book, actually).
Check out Ernest Cline's website here!
Actually, there's a funny story about Brooklyn. Francis Chan also spoke at NYC, and anyone who knows me knows that I have a slight infatuation (man crush) with Chan's writing and preaching. So, Brice (my friend) and I left the arena early that night to try and intercept (seriously, we're not creepers or anything) Francis Chan on his way back to the hotel to get his autograph and get to meet him. We waited at the hotel, but at some point, I had to leave so Brice hung out and waited to see if he could meet Chan and get his autograph for me.
When I reconnected with Brice later that night, he handed me Francis Chan's autograph! But not really, he had run into Brooklyn and she signed the paper in Chan's name for me.
Anyrate, Coy posted a list of books he was reading on his blog and Ready Player One by Ernest Cline caught my interest, so I added it to my list. I went to the library and checked it out, not sure what to expect.
Best. Book. Ever.
One of the reviews summed it up perfectly, it's like Dungeons and Dragons and the 80's had a child and raised it in Azeroth! I like all three of those things, therefore the book was a major hit for me.
It's the literary equivalent of a Summer Blockbuster, so it won't make you sit and scratch your head in deep thought for the next two weeks, but it sure was an awesome read! I heartily recommend it to anyone who wants a few days of awesome reading material!
I also can't wait for Cline's next book, called Armada, which should be out sometime in the future (no dates announced yet).
There's also a pretty elaborate contest that coincides with Ready Player One. (Similar to the entire plot from the book, actually).
Check out Ernest Cline's website here!
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
A few years ago, when I was pastoring at High Street, a church on the district got a new youth pastor. He literally started just a few months after me, but I had "seniority" on him, since I was on the district first.
Joel and I quickly became friends. We directed a district retreat together, attended events together and basically just started really enjoying each other's company. We actually were pitted against each other a couple years ago for District Secretary (I won). He went through a difficult time at his church which ended with him leaving for a church in Michigan. He's not an OSU fan, so this didn't bother him nearly as much as it bothered me that he ended up in Michigan.
We've stayed in contact since he left the district (and now that I've left the district in any sort of official capacity). He and his wonderful wife had a baby a few months ago and they instagram tons of pictures so that we can keep up.
Anyrate, a few weeks ago, Joel asked me for my address because he wanted to send me a book. I gave it to him and a couple days later a book called The Land Between arrived in my mailbox. Written by Neil Mancini, this book parallels the difficult times in our lives (like being between jobs) and the struggle that the Israelites felt when they were between Egypt and The Promised Land.
The book was fantastic! If you saw any of my instagram/facebook/twitter (social media junkie!) activity while I was reading it, you know that I was touched by the honesty of the book and the way that it connected with my life.
This past year has been incredibly difficult. Without a doubt, it's been the most difficult thing I've ever gone through (and that includes an almost-cancer scare). But, Mancini summed it up so well as he wrote about his son (who is, coincidentally, named Alex too):
My prayer is that these things are true, that my "Land Between," my "Exile" has provided me with the opportunity and proven me to be a man of faith, a man of trust.
Joel and I quickly became friends. We directed a district retreat together, attended events together and basically just started really enjoying each other's company. We actually were pitted against each other a couple years ago for District Secretary (I won). He went through a difficult time at his church which ended with him leaving for a church in Michigan. He's not an OSU fan, so this didn't bother him nearly as much as it bothered me that he ended up in Michigan.
We've stayed in contact since he left the district (and now that I've left the district in any sort of official capacity). He and his wonderful wife had a baby a few months ago and they instagram tons of pictures so that we can keep up.
Anyrate, a few weeks ago, Joel asked me for my address because he wanted to send me a book. I gave it to him and a couple days later a book called The Land Between arrived in my mailbox. Written by Neil Mancini, this book parallels the difficult times in our lives (like being between jobs) and the struggle that the Israelites felt when they were between Egypt and The Promised Land.
The book was fantastic! If you saw any of my instagram/facebook/twitter (social media junkie!) activity while I was reading it, you know that I was touched by the honesty of the book and the way that it connected with my life.
This past year has been incredibly difficult. Without a doubt, it's been the most difficult thing I've ever gone through (and that includes an almost-cancer scare). But, Mancini summed it up so well as he wrote about his son (who is, coincidentally, named Alex too):
"Though it was a difficult [year] for Alex, I am grateful he had to endure it. I believe God is molding him into a leader, and this molding will require pressure as part of his formation. I am thankful for the trials [he] experiences and for the hardships he faces. It is my belief that he is not only maturing as a man but also as a man of God. I trust that God will use the difficulties and challenges in Alex's life to transform him. Far from being alarmed by [his] burdens, I give thanks, because I know that he is being stretched and pulled for a reason. Alex is being provided with an opportunity to become a man of faith, a man of trust." (emphasis mine)
My prayer is that these things are true, that my "Land Between," my "Exile" has provided me with the opportunity and proven me to be a man of faith, a man of trust.
Sunday, June 23, 2013
On June 16, 2012, I was on my way home from MVNU with a small group of my students. Things at High Street had been very tense for a few weeks. There was a lot of pressure coming from a few individuals on the board that was wearing me thin. Xavier was five weeks old, so sleep was at a premium. All-in-all, I was already high-stress.
We had a conversation in April or May with some of the board and the DS, the DS informed us that finances were somewhat tight at HSN and nobody's job was secure. He told us there would be no hard feelings if we left in the interim because, quite frankly, it would make things a lot less painful. (My wording, not his)
So, I started "looking" then. I had already been down to the "final 2" of a church before June. My resume was already in the hands of a couple churches even after that original interview on the NWO District."
Anyway, back to June 16. I was on my home from BLAST at MVNU and I got a call from a board member asking if I could meet at Tim Hortons. After a few phone calls back and forth, they cancelled the meeting then asked again if I could meet. I asked if it was anything important so that I could prepare myself for the conversation (already having had a number of tough conversations with some board members), they told me it wasn't. So, I went.
My spidey-senses were tingling, I even told my friend Dave (another youth pastor) that I was pretty sure I was being let go. He prayed with me in the parking lot of a Wendys before we parted ways.
I went to the meeting and was, in fact, let go. My ministry at High Street would be over at the end of June. They asked me to keep tight lipped about it and not tell the whole church, they wanted the opportunity to present the facts.
We were absolutely devastated.
In the weeks that followed, we prayed and asked God for direction. I started a more earnest search, enlisting the help of friends who were more connected than I was.
I had a phone interview with a church in Mason, Michigan while I was in Chicago on the HSN mission trip with my students. I sat in the air conditioned van and talked with the church board.
I had a phone interview with a church in San Diego, where I was informed I was the pastor's top candidate.
Then, I made the "Final 4" with Mason. They were having 4 candidates come in to interview for the soon-to-be vacant youth pastor position and I was given the choice of when to come in (which felt like an honor to me). We went first.
After the interview weekend in Mason, we had another phone interview in San Diego, this time with the search committee. The pastor seemed really excited about Holly and I. We were ready to pack our bags for a weekend interview onsite in San Diego.
Then Mason called, they were going with one of the other candidates.
Then San Diego called, they wanted someone more "SoCal."
After months of silence, we got a call from a church in Baltimore. I had a couple phone interviews, then we went out for a weekend interview. I asked if we were the only people being interviewed, basically asking "Is it my job to lose." We were told that there was another interview scheduled, but it was my job to lose.
After the weekend in Maryland, we were ready to move out there, even getting an "unofficial offer" on the last day we were there. After about a month of waiting, Maryland called, they were going with the other guy, he was from the area, his folks actually went to the church.
Cue another couple months wait before getting the call from Marietta. Things went really fast there before getting asked down for a weekend interview. We went down knowing we were the only interview scheduled and the NYI President (who had run the search) was really excited for us to come be the new youth pastor.
We left there knowing they were having a board meeting in 2 days, so we were ready to get the call on Wednesday morning. As Wednesday afternoon rolled around, my senses started going off again; I texted the NYI President and she told me the pastor was going to call me. He did about 5 minutes later, they were going to go with someone else.
That was in April. I even wrote about the absolute heartbreak that accompanied that phone call. You can read it here.
Fast forward a couple months and we got another chance with a church in Springfield. I met the pastor over coffee, we met the search committee then finally the whole church was invited to meet us. I preached there on June 16, 2013 (exactly one year to the day after being fired).
They voted this morning and the vote was "overwhelmingly positive." So, as of tomorrow morning, I'm the Family Life Pastor at Hillside Church of God in Springfield Ohio!
Thank you all, seriously, I can't thank you all enough for your prayers, love and support. The past year was the most difficult year of my life (which is sad because I had such joy with my little boy). There were times when I thought we'd never find another position in ministry. But, we've accepted the position, start there tomorrow.
I'm so excited to be back in the saddle. It feels great to be "pa" again. Note, that's not "Pa" to my hillbilly friends (although there are a couple people who do call me Pa), it's p-a, as in, Pastor Alex!
Thanks for supporting us through our time of Exile, our Land Between and being willing to console through the tears, frustrations, and moments of anger. We count ourselves lucky to have such great friends.
And with this news, I officially cross off the first thing from my list of 30 things to do before turning 30, get back into full time ministry!
We had a conversation in April or May with some of the board and the DS, the DS informed us that finances were somewhat tight at HSN and nobody's job was secure. He told us there would be no hard feelings if we left in the interim because, quite frankly, it would make things a lot less painful. (My wording, not his)
So, I started "looking" then. I had already been down to the "final 2" of a church before June. My resume was already in the hands of a couple churches even after that original interview on the NWO District."
Anyway, back to June 16. I was on my home from BLAST at MVNU and I got a call from a board member asking if I could meet at Tim Hortons. After a few phone calls back and forth, they cancelled the meeting then asked again if I could meet. I asked if it was anything important so that I could prepare myself for the conversation (already having had a number of tough conversations with some board members), they told me it wasn't. So, I went.
My spidey-senses were tingling, I even told my friend Dave (another youth pastor) that I was pretty sure I was being let go. He prayed with me in the parking lot of a Wendys before we parted ways.
I went to the meeting and was, in fact, let go. My ministry at High Street would be over at the end of June. They asked me to keep tight lipped about it and not tell the whole church, they wanted the opportunity to present the facts.
We were absolutely devastated.
In the weeks that followed, we prayed and asked God for direction. I started a more earnest search, enlisting the help of friends who were more connected than I was.
I had a phone interview with a church in Mason, Michigan while I was in Chicago on the HSN mission trip with my students. I sat in the air conditioned van and talked with the church board.
I had a phone interview with a church in San Diego, where I was informed I was the pastor's top candidate.
Then, I made the "Final 4" with Mason. They were having 4 candidates come in to interview for the soon-to-be vacant youth pastor position and I was given the choice of when to come in (which felt like an honor to me). We went first.
After the interview weekend in Mason, we had another phone interview in San Diego, this time with the search committee. The pastor seemed really excited about Holly and I. We were ready to pack our bags for a weekend interview onsite in San Diego.
Then Mason called, they were going with one of the other candidates.
Then San Diego called, they wanted someone more "SoCal."
After months of silence, we got a call from a church in Baltimore. I had a couple phone interviews, then we went out for a weekend interview. I asked if we were the only people being interviewed, basically asking "Is it my job to lose." We were told that there was another interview scheduled, but it was my job to lose.
After the weekend in Maryland, we were ready to move out there, even getting an "unofficial offer" on the last day we were there. After about a month of waiting, Maryland called, they were going with the other guy, he was from the area, his folks actually went to the church.
Cue another couple months wait before getting the call from Marietta. Things went really fast there before getting asked down for a weekend interview. We went down knowing we were the only interview scheduled and the NYI President (who had run the search) was really excited for us to come be the new youth pastor.
We left there knowing they were having a board meeting in 2 days, so we were ready to get the call on Wednesday morning. As Wednesday afternoon rolled around, my senses started going off again; I texted the NYI President and she told me the pastor was going to call me. He did about 5 minutes later, they were going to go with someone else.
That was in April. I even wrote about the absolute heartbreak that accompanied that phone call. You can read it here.
Fast forward a couple months and we got another chance with a church in Springfield. I met the pastor over coffee, we met the search committee then finally the whole church was invited to meet us. I preached there on June 16, 2013 (exactly one year to the day after being fired).
They voted this morning and the vote was "overwhelmingly positive." So, as of tomorrow morning, I'm the Family Life Pastor at Hillside Church of God in Springfield Ohio!
Thank you all, seriously, I can't thank you all enough for your prayers, love and support. The past year was the most difficult year of my life (which is sad because I had such joy with my little boy). There were times when I thought we'd never find another position in ministry. But, we've accepted the position, start there tomorrow.
I'm so excited to be back in the saddle. It feels great to be "pa" again. Note, that's not "Pa" to my hillbilly friends (although there are a couple people who do call me Pa), it's p-a, as in, Pastor Alex!
Thanks for supporting us through our time of Exile, our Land Between and being willing to console through the tears, frustrations, and moments of anger. We count ourselves lucky to have such great friends.
And with this news, I officially cross off the first thing from my list of 30 things to do before turning 30, get back into full time ministry!
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
They say the more you do something, the better you will get at it. It should be no secret that I enjoy writing. This is my third blog attempt, each on focused a little differently. I find difficulty in blogging, however, because I think the majority of people who I'm already connected with won't be interested in a lot of the things I could sit down to talk about.
For instance, I finished A Dance With Dragons tonight. It's the 5th book in George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series which has been made wildly popular by the show Game of Thrones on HBO. I had read the previous four books a while ago but was reluctant to read the 5th book because it garnered pretty negative reviews from readers (especially on amazon).
However, when compiling a list of 30 books to read, I went ahead and added it onto the list. It took me three weeks to read it, and I absolutely loved it! It continues the very adult saga of Martin's world, but is hands down the greatest fantasy literature over (Yes, move over Tolkein)!
My greatest frustration, however, is Martin's incessant use of cliff hangers. There are what feel like 100 cliffs that we're hanging on, waiting for the next volume of the epic series. There were 6 years between the publication of the 4th and 5th books. I'm horribly anxious for the next book in the series!
But alas, most of my friends don't want to read my musings on that book. So, I could write about some new music. I recently picked up 2 albums from Benjamin Dunn from noisetrade.com. The first one is called Fable. It's an amazing album. RadioU plays 2 singles from the album, and I loved both of the songs.
Fable (at least for the first 5-6 songs) plays on a litany of Narnia references. If you've gotten to know me at all over my life, you may know that The Chronicles of Narnia has a very special place in my heart. The Narnia novels remain one of my favorite book series of all time.
Sail to the End speaks about Reepicheep and his journeys to the end of the world to travel to Aslan's country.
My Name is Eustace is a wonderful song rendition of Eustance Clarence Scrubb being transformed by Aslan's grace and mercy.
Sing references the Emperor/Aslan creating the world of Narnia by singing it into being.
But alas, I'm not sure I'm musically aware enough to write an entire post about an album (or even two). However, I highly recommend the Benjamin Dunn albums. Find them and get them!
What I could spend a lot of time talking about is my idea for a gaming adventure. I want to have an adventure published by next August. This gives me more than a year to get an adventure written and published. I also want to fill a journal up with only gaming ideas (not necessarily just Pathfinder). Why gaming ideas? Because gaming forces me to be creative. Writing is a creative endeavor, but writing for gaming really embraces my imagination in a completely different way.
So, I went to Barnes and Noble and got a new "Gaming Journal." I must admit, I actually bought my first Moleskine journal. After using it a little, I can see why they're so popular.
Anyrate, I've started brainstorming ideas for my new adventure. I have a title and a very loose concept in my head. I spent a few hours yesterday writing down a lot of information on the setting of the adventure. It needs to be loose enough to fit into any campaign world, and not be tied down to a single campaign setting.
I can literally feel more than 3/4 of my readers clicking away from this post already.
The issue I'm having, though, is where to begin?! I can see the end-game really well. Kill the BBEG (That's gamer talk for Big Bad Evil Guy), take treasure, WIN!
I can see the mid-points well. Get to BBEG, travel through dungeon full of traps and monsters.
But the beginning of adventures is so vexing for me. How do great stories begin?
A hole in the ground.
The beheading of a Night's Watch Deserter.
4 children avoiding the blitz by moving into a country mansion.
Traveling along the road in the desert and being blown up.
A traveling merchant singing a song about hot nights before peddling his wares.
(Bonus points to anyone who can name all 5 of those stories based only on my interpretation of their beginnings)
What about you, I've hit some writer's block, can you help? What's a great way to begin an adventuring story? The old school gaming trope is to meet in a tavern, get the mission pitched, save the world. So, I'd prefer to avoid that type of introduction altogether.
At any rate, thanks for reading. Leave comments below!
For instance, I finished A Dance With Dragons tonight. It's the 5th book in George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series which has been made wildly popular by the show Game of Thrones on HBO. I had read the previous four books a while ago but was reluctant to read the 5th book because it garnered pretty negative reviews from readers (especially on amazon).
However, when compiling a list of 30 books to read, I went ahead and added it onto the list. It took me three weeks to read it, and I absolutely loved it! It continues the very adult saga of Martin's world, but is hands down the greatest fantasy literature over (Yes, move over Tolkein)!
My greatest frustration, however, is Martin's incessant use of cliff hangers. There are what feel like 100 cliffs that we're hanging on, waiting for the next volume of the epic series. There were 6 years between the publication of the 4th and 5th books. I'm horribly anxious for the next book in the series!
But alas, most of my friends don't want to read my musings on that book. So, I could write about some new music. I recently picked up 2 albums from Benjamin Dunn from noisetrade.com. The first one is called Fable. It's an amazing album. RadioU plays 2 singles from the album, and I loved both of the songs.
Fable (at least for the first 5-6 songs) plays on a litany of Narnia references. If you've gotten to know me at all over my life, you may know that The Chronicles of Narnia has a very special place in my heart. The Narnia novels remain one of my favorite book series of all time.
Sail to the End speaks about Reepicheep and his journeys to the end of the world to travel to Aslan's country.
My Name is Eustace is a wonderful song rendition of Eustance Clarence Scrubb being transformed by Aslan's grace and mercy.
Sing references the Emperor/Aslan creating the world of Narnia by singing it into being.
But alas, I'm not sure I'm musically aware enough to write an entire post about an album (or even two). However, I highly recommend the Benjamin Dunn albums. Find them and get them!
What I could spend a lot of time talking about is my idea for a gaming adventure. I want to have an adventure published by next August. This gives me more than a year to get an adventure written and published. I also want to fill a journal up with only gaming ideas (not necessarily just Pathfinder). Why gaming ideas? Because gaming forces me to be creative. Writing is a creative endeavor, but writing for gaming really embraces my imagination in a completely different way.
So, I went to Barnes and Noble and got a new "Gaming Journal." I must admit, I actually bought my first Moleskine journal. After using it a little, I can see why they're so popular.
Anyrate, I've started brainstorming ideas for my new adventure. I have a title and a very loose concept in my head. I spent a few hours yesterday writing down a lot of information on the setting of the adventure. It needs to be loose enough to fit into any campaign world, and not be tied down to a single campaign setting.
I can literally feel more than 3/4 of my readers clicking away from this post already.
The issue I'm having, though, is where to begin?! I can see the end-game really well. Kill the BBEG (That's gamer talk for Big Bad Evil Guy), take treasure, WIN!
I can see the mid-points well. Get to BBEG, travel through dungeon full of traps and monsters.
But the beginning of adventures is so vexing for me. How do great stories begin?
A hole in the ground.
The beheading of a Night's Watch Deserter.
4 children avoiding the blitz by moving into a country mansion.
Traveling along the road in the desert and being blown up.
A traveling merchant singing a song about hot nights before peddling his wares.
(Bonus points to anyone who can name all 5 of those stories based only on my interpretation of their beginnings)
What about you, I've hit some writer's block, can you help? What's a great way to begin an adventuring story? The old school gaming trope is to meet in a tavern, get the mission pitched, save the world. So, I'd prefer to avoid that type of introduction altogether.
At any rate, thanks for reading. Leave comments below!
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
My goal with this blog is to post twice a week, on Monday and on Thursday. You'll notice, if you're closely following, that I didn't post last Monday or Thursday. Why didn't I post? Why the week of silence?
Easy. I didn't have anything to say that I haven't already said. I didn't have anything to say that I wanted the entire world to hear.
Frankly, I don't want to come across as a whiner.
But, the truth is, I'm frustrated. I'm not sure what to do next.
In the meantime, I've been working on staying focused. I've been running consistently, logged 33 miles over the past 2 weeks. If I'm being honest, a few of the things on my list were really put on there for when we moved, but since we haven't moved yet, they're on hold.
I've finished 2 of the books on my list, working on a third.
I also now have two gaming works published. You can find them here and here. The third installment will be available on May 9 here.
I also have a micro-goal for May 2013. I will run each and every day of May, at the very least, one mile. I'd like to top 75 miles for the month, too. This would be my highest mileage of all time for a single month. I hit 68 last year while training for the marathon that I never ran.
Thanks everyone for your encouragement over the past few weeks. We really thought we'd be back in ministry by this point. I honestly felt as if God had called me to the position in Marietta. It was pretty rough when we didn't get the job, but we're pushing forward (expanded the search farther outside the denomination and sent out 22 resume's over the last 2 weeks).
Be blessed!
Easy. I didn't have anything to say that I haven't already said. I didn't have anything to say that I wanted the entire world to hear.
Frankly, I don't want to come across as a whiner.
But, the truth is, I'm frustrated. I'm not sure what to do next.
In the meantime, I've been working on staying focused. I've been running consistently, logged 33 miles over the past 2 weeks. If I'm being honest, a few of the things on my list were really put on there for when we moved, but since we haven't moved yet, they're on hold.
I've finished 2 of the books on my list, working on a third.
I also now have two gaming works published. You can find them here and here. The third installment will be available on May 9 here.
I also have a micro-goal for May 2013. I will run each and every day of May, at the very least, one mile. I'd like to top 75 miles for the month, too. This would be my highest mileage of all time for a single month. I hit 68 last year while training for the marathon that I never ran.
Thanks everyone for your encouragement over the past few weeks. We really thought we'd be back in ministry by this point. I honestly felt as if God had called me to the position in Marietta. It was pretty rough when we didn't get the job, but we're pushing forward (expanded the search farther outside the denomination and sent out 22 resume's over the last 2 weeks).
Be blessed!
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
The reading project is going really well. I finished the second of thirty books on Sunday night. The book is Church Unique by Will Mancini. When the new pastor of High Street (Rob) began his ministry, he had the entire staff and board read this book. My mother-in-law had a copy of the book and so it's been in my "to-read" pile for months.
I completely understand why Rob had the entire board and staff read the book, it's a great read for casting vision with your church.
Some of it got a bit wordy at points, but overall, I was glad I read the book. I'm eager to see how that book, and it's method of vision casting can work in a youth ministry. Especially in a church with a well-established vision. All in all, it's worth reading for pastors. Check it out on amazon!
---
You may not know this, but I've been published! Raging Swan Press is a 3PP (Third Party Publisher) for the Pathfinder Role Playing Game. I contacted Creighton, the publisher, to see if he was looking for any freelance writers and he was looking for someone to do a long project.
I've worked on a few installments of Dungeon Denizens. I don't find this to be a MAJOR outlet for creativity. I mean, there isn't a lot of story (if any) but I think it's a great way to get my foot in the door, and hopefully get an adventure published within the next 16 months.
But, the most recent edition of Dungeon Denizens is going to be released on May 9. If you'd like more information, you can check out Dungeon Denizens EL1 here, or EL 2 here.
The PDFs are only two bucks, and if people buy them, it increases the legitimacy of what we're trying to do and possibly the legitimacy of me as an author/designer increasing my chances at getting an adventure published.
---
Finally, apologies for this being a day late... I was up late desperately trying to finish that book on Sunday and just didn't have the energy to write last night! Thursday's post will be ON TIME!! (For those of you who are curious, I'm updating on Mondays and Thursdays)
I completely understand why Rob had the entire board and staff read the book, it's a great read for casting vision with your church.
Some of it got a bit wordy at points, but overall, I was glad I read the book. I'm eager to see how that book, and it's method of vision casting can work in a youth ministry. Especially in a church with a well-established vision. All in all, it's worth reading for pastors. Check it out on amazon!
---
You may not know this, but I've been published! Raging Swan Press is a 3PP (Third Party Publisher) for the Pathfinder Role Playing Game. I contacted Creighton, the publisher, to see if he was looking for any freelance writers and he was looking for someone to do a long project.
I've worked on a few installments of Dungeon Denizens. I don't find this to be a MAJOR outlet for creativity. I mean, there isn't a lot of story (if any) but I think it's a great way to get my foot in the door, and hopefully get an adventure published within the next 16 months.
But, the most recent edition of Dungeon Denizens is going to be released on May 9. If you'd like more information, you can check out Dungeon Denizens EL1 here, or EL 2 here.
The PDFs are only two bucks, and if people buy them, it increases the legitimacy of what we're trying to do and possibly the legitimacy of me as an author/designer increasing my chances at getting an adventure published.
---
Finally, apologies for this being a day late... I was up late desperately trying to finish that book on Sunday and just didn't have the energy to write last night! Thursday's post will be ON TIME!! (For those of you who are curious, I'm updating on Mondays and Thursdays)
Thursday, April 18, 2013
I imagine that every family has an odd-ball cousin or uncle or nephew or whatever who doesn't quite fit in. Maybe that person smells bad, or doesn't understand normal social conventions, or whatever.
I feel like I'm that odd-ball cousin of the running family. I enjoy running, but I don't really think of myself as part of the "Running Family." I'm sure my runner friends will disagree with that sentiment, they'll say, "You run, you're in the 'family.'"
But seriously, when I'm running on the roads and oncoming traffic gets over to what I consider a safe distance from my body, or slows down to a near-stop to allow me to run next to them, I always give them the "live-long-and-prosper" made famous by Mr. Spock. Yeah, I'm a nerd runner.
I play the drums while I run. Seriously, if you watch me running, quite often I'm playing the drums with my hands/arms while running. It means I'm not streamlined or efficient in my motions, but why do I care?
I'm slow as Moses. I ran my first (and so far only) half-marathon in 2011. I finished in 2:38. That's 13.1 miles in 2 hours and 38 minutes. To me, it felt Herculean. However, to qualify to run the Boston marathon (if you're under 35), you have to post a sub-3:05 time. That means, I'd have to run 13.1 more miles in about 30 minutes to qualify for Boston. I may be the slowest runner of all time.
But, check this out. I'm perfectly okay with that. Seriously, I don't mind being the awkward cousin of the running family.
We all know what happened on Monday. The bombings at the Boston Marathon actually made me sick to my stomach. Knowing that a lot of people try so hard just to qualify to run that marathon, and then to DNF or be injured in a bombing makes me sick.
But here's what I've learned about runners. Don't ever tell us it can't be done. Never.
Some people might see this tragedy, and think, "I would never put myself in that sort of danger."
That's not what runners do. Never, in my whole life, have I wanted to run a marathon more than I have wanted to this week.
Had I been at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday night, I would've belted out Sweet Caroline at the top of my lungs, because some things are bigger than sports rivalries.
I may never actually Run for Boston, meaning, qualify for the Boston Marathon. But, for the rest of my life, I'll be Running for Boston, because I'll never give up. As my good friend Dave said, "we can't live in fear or it allows the bad people to win."
So, keep running.
I feel like I'm that odd-ball cousin of the running family. I enjoy running, but I don't really think of myself as part of the "Running Family." I'm sure my runner friends will disagree with that sentiment, they'll say, "You run, you're in the 'family.'"
But seriously, when I'm running on the roads and oncoming traffic gets over to what I consider a safe distance from my body, or slows down to a near-stop to allow me to run next to them, I always give them the "live-long-and-prosper" made famous by Mr. Spock. Yeah, I'm a nerd runner.
I play the drums while I run. Seriously, if you watch me running, quite often I'm playing the drums with my hands/arms while running. It means I'm not streamlined or efficient in my motions, but why do I care?
I'm slow as Moses. I ran my first (and so far only) half-marathon in 2011. I finished in 2:38. That's 13.1 miles in 2 hours and 38 minutes. To me, it felt Herculean. However, to qualify to run the Boston marathon (if you're under 35), you have to post a sub-3:05 time. That means, I'd have to run 13.1 more miles in about 30 minutes to qualify for Boston. I may be the slowest runner of all time.
But, check this out. I'm perfectly okay with that. Seriously, I don't mind being the awkward cousin of the running family.
We all know what happened on Monday. The bombings at the Boston Marathon actually made me sick to my stomach. Knowing that a lot of people try so hard just to qualify to run that marathon, and then to DNF or be injured in a bombing makes me sick.
But here's what I've learned about runners. Don't ever tell us it can't be done. Never.
Some people might see this tragedy, and think, "I would never put myself in that sort of danger."
That's not what runners do. Never, in my whole life, have I wanted to run a marathon more than I have wanted to this week.
Had I been at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday night, I would've belted out Sweet Caroline at the top of my lungs, because some things are bigger than sports rivalries.
I may never actually Run for Boston, meaning, qualify for the Boston Marathon. But, for the rest of my life, I'll be Running for Boston, because I'll never give up. As my good friend Dave said, "we can't live in fear or it allows the bad people to win."
So, keep running.
Monday, April 15, 2013
I can't lie about this, part of the reason I started writing this blog, made a list of books to read and things to do, is that I'm so frustrated with where my life is right now.
If you had asked me a year ago where my life would be right now, this was not it. This was nowhere near what I expected in my life. I can't overstate that enough.
So, I've spent the past 10 months trying to "right the ship," if you will. I've been trying to get things back into a place where I want them. I spent three months unemployed, but still drawing a salary, so I didn't do much. I sent my resume to every single Nazarene youth pastor opening I saw.
The next five have been spent working at a restaurant as a cook. I hate it. I thought I'd be there for a few weeks because surely I wouldn't be stuck in this place so long. Boy, that wasn't even close to correct.
So, a few weeks ago, things started to line up. We got an interview nailed down, and everything seemed like it was going to happen. I felt like God was finally bringing us out of this place. God had finally decided that it was time to move on from here.
I know a lot of people get excited when they have interviews and they think "this is it!" I had taken four interviews prior to this most recent one, I didn't feel that way about any of them. I was so sure that this was it, I was preparing the restaurant for my departure. Holly was preparing her employer for her departure. We even discussed timing plans with the in-laws regarding how/when we were going to move. I started collecting some boxes from work.
This wasn't all just fantasy, I promise. Every communication from the church we were heading to made it seem like the interview was just a formality. We were in. They even took our opinion on what color to paint a couple rooms in the parsonage.
We went for the interview and on Saturday night, after the interview, Holly and I talked, after talking with our hosts. We looked at each other and said, "this is it."
Well, it wasn't. Not by a long shot. Dreams were crushed. Plans were stopped. And now... nothing. I don't know what's next. Everyone likes to ask that, after a crushed soul, "What's next, Alex?"
The truth is, I have no idea. I literally have no idea what we're going to do next. Keep looking for a ministry position? Go into management at the restaurant I'm in (They're dying to have me do that)? Go back to school and get my MDiv? Go back to school and start a whole new career?
I have no idea what's next. Most of those are exclusive. If I do one, I can't do the rest. God says, "Ask, Seek, Knock."
I've asked. I mean, I've asked. I've begged and begged and begged. I've cried tears of desperation. I've asked everyone I know for advice. I've asked God for guidance and direction. I've asked. Over and over and over.
We've sought. I'm not sure I can even begin to count how many places I've sent my resume. I've sent it far and wide (as close as the NWO District, as far as Washington State). We've had interviews with churches on both sides of the country (literally: San Diego and Maryland). We've even discussed an over-seas opportunity at one point. Every single youth pastor opening that I've even been given wind of, I've contacted. More often than not, I'm getting no response. That's not figurative, it's literal, no response. I've sought.
I've knocked. Every single door I can think of, I've knocked. Career change? Knock knock. Youth pastor openings? Knock knock. Senior pastor? Knock knock. Discipleship pastor? Knock knock. Young adult pastor? Knock knock. Military chaplain? Knock knock. Military officer (non-chaplain)? Knock knock. I've never experienced something like this before. Every door we've knocked on, none have opened. The ones that seemed to be open have been shut in our faces.
I'm bone weary.
I'm completely exhausted.
I'm confused.
I'm doubting.
I'm questioning.
I'm broken.
I'm sad.
I'm angry.
I'm weak.
I'm hurting.
I'm at the end of my rope.
And here's where the cliches come in, "when you're at the end of your rope..."
"God gives rest to the weary..."
"God gives strength to the weak..."
"When one door closes..."
In my experience over the past ten months, none of that seems to be true. Every door that I've pursued has closed. Every window that I've pursued has been closed. Every small glimmer of light has gone dark.
I really thought this was it. I thought I was going to begin writing about starting a new ministry, moving to a new place, meeting new friends. Instead... none of that.
Last week was a complete bust. I didn't read anything. I didn't run a single mile.
This week will be different. I've got a list of things to do, going to turn it around, make something happen.
Be blessed, friends. Continue to pray for us as we continue to struggle through this time of Exile.
If you had asked me a year ago where my life would be right now, this was not it. This was nowhere near what I expected in my life. I can't overstate that enough.
So, I've spent the past 10 months trying to "right the ship," if you will. I've been trying to get things back into a place where I want them. I spent three months unemployed, but still drawing a salary, so I didn't do much. I sent my resume to every single Nazarene youth pastor opening I saw.
The next five have been spent working at a restaurant as a cook. I hate it. I thought I'd be there for a few weeks because surely I wouldn't be stuck in this place so long. Boy, that wasn't even close to correct.
So, a few weeks ago, things started to line up. We got an interview nailed down, and everything seemed like it was going to happen. I felt like God was finally bringing us out of this place. God had finally decided that it was time to move on from here.
I know a lot of people get excited when they have interviews and they think "this is it!" I had taken four interviews prior to this most recent one, I didn't feel that way about any of them. I was so sure that this was it, I was preparing the restaurant for my departure. Holly was preparing her employer for her departure. We even discussed timing plans with the in-laws regarding how/when we were going to move. I started collecting some boxes from work.
This wasn't all just fantasy, I promise. Every communication from the church we were heading to made it seem like the interview was just a formality. We were in. They even took our opinion on what color to paint a couple rooms in the parsonage.
We went for the interview and on Saturday night, after the interview, Holly and I talked, after talking with our hosts. We looked at each other and said, "this is it."
Well, it wasn't. Not by a long shot. Dreams were crushed. Plans were stopped. And now... nothing. I don't know what's next. Everyone likes to ask that, after a crushed soul, "What's next, Alex?"
The truth is, I have no idea. I literally have no idea what we're going to do next. Keep looking for a ministry position? Go into management at the restaurant I'm in (They're dying to have me do that)? Go back to school and get my MDiv? Go back to school and start a whole new career?
I have no idea what's next. Most of those are exclusive. If I do one, I can't do the rest. God says, "Ask, Seek, Knock."
I've asked. I mean, I've asked. I've begged and begged and begged. I've cried tears of desperation. I've asked everyone I know for advice. I've asked God for guidance and direction. I've asked. Over and over and over.
We've sought. I'm not sure I can even begin to count how many places I've sent my resume. I've sent it far and wide (as close as the NWO District, as far as Washington State). We've had interviews with churches on both sides of the country (literally: San Diego and Maryland). We've even discussed an over-seas opportunity at one point. Every single youth pastor opening that I've even been given wind of, I've contacted. More often than not, I'm getting no response. That's not figurative, it's literal, no response. I've sought.
I've knocked. Every single door I can think of, I've knocked. Career change? Knock knock. Youth pastor openings? Knock knock. Senior pastor? Knock knock. Discipleship pastor? Knock knock. Young adult pastor? Knock knock. Military chaplain? Knock knock. Military officer (non-chaplain)? Knock knock. I've never experienced something like this before. Every door we've knocked on, none have opened. The ones that seemed to be open have been shut in our faces.
I'm bone weary.
I'm completely exhausted.
I'm confused.
I'm doubting.
I'm questioning.
I'm broken.
I'm sad.
I'm angry.
I'm weak.
I'm hurting.
I'm at the end of my rope.
And here's where the cliches come in, "when you're at the end of your rope..."
"God gives rest to the weary..."
"God gives strength to the weak..."
"When one door closes..."
In my experience over the past ten months, none of that seems to be true. Every door that I've pursued has closed. Every window that I've pursued has been closed. Every small glimmer of light has gone dark.
I really thought this was it. I thought I was going to begin writing about starting a new ministry, moving to a new place, meeting new friends. Instead... none of that.
Last week was a complete bust. I didn't read anything. I didn't run a single mile.
This week will be different. I've got a list of things to do, going to turn it around, make something happen.
Be blessed, friends. Continue to pray for us as we continue to struggle through this time of Exile.
Thursday, April 11, 2013
I set out to finish 30 new books before I turned 30 years old next August. To start my adventure, I read a book about... an adventure.
Holly and I fell in love with the Lord of the Rings trilogy; in fact i twas one of the things in our lives that we shared before we dated and have fallen in love with the extended editions through our marriage (we actually took the entire series on our honeymoon with us and watched the trilogy that week).
When The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey came out, we put it at the top of our "Must see list." Once we saw the movie, Holly took to rereading the book (she had read it before).
She absolutely insisted that I read it, and so I made it the first book I read on my list! I read the book in the shadow of the movie, which is something I generally try to avoid doing. However, I read the Lord of the Rings trilogy in college, and really struggled with Tolkein's writing. I just couldn't get into the flow of his style. He was a genius, no questions asked; but I really had trouble hanging with it.
The Hobbit didn't give me any of those problems. It was a fantastic read, and helped to flesh out more of the world I've come to love so much. It's also gotten me super-excited for the next couple of Hobbit movies.
One book down, Twenty-nine to go!
Holly and I fell in love with the Lord of the Rings trilogy; in fact i twas one of the things in our lives that we shared before we dated and have fallen in love with the extended editions through our marriage (we actually took the entire series on our honeymoon with us and watched the trilogy that week).
When The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey came out, we put it at the top of our "Must see list." Once we saw the movie, Holly took to rereading the book (she had read it before).
She absolutely insisted that I read it, and so I made it the first book I read on my list! I read the book in the shadow of the movie, which is something I generally try to avoid doing. However, I read the Lord of the Rings trilogy in college, and really struggled with Tolkein's writing. I just couldn't get into the flow of his style. He was a genius, no questions asked; but I really had trouble hanging with it.
The Hobbit didn't give me any of those problems. It was a fantastic read, and helped to flesh out more of the world I've come to love so much. It's also gotten me super-excited for the next couple of Hobbit movies.
One book down, Twenty-nine to go!
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
This isn't the first blog I've had. I had the Revolutionary Nazarene site for a while, I last posted there two years ago with my picks for the 2011 baseball season.For those of you who are counting, I did horribly. I picked the Phillies, Reds, Giants and Braves for the NL and the Red Sox, Twins, A's and Yankees for the AL. Of those teams, only the Phillies and the Yankees made the playoffs, and only the Phillies did it in the position I predicted (NL East Champs). In my defense, the Braves and Red Sox were both only a game out of the playoffs, but the Twins and A's each finished below .500. So, alas, not the best at predicting baseball. Honestly, I have hidden my head in shame since then on that site. At some point, I may move the posts over here, because they tell part of the story of my life from that time. More on that later.
Once we found out we were pregnant, I realized I wanted to catalog some of my thoughts regarding fatherhood into a journal-type format, so I started the "First Time Father" blog experiment. It was a lot of fun detailing some of my thoughts into blog posts; giving people an inside look at what I was thinking in my role as a first time father.
However, neither of those blogs really encapsulate me as a whole. The former was focused mostly on the theologian side of me (and apparently to some degree the baseball lover, too), and the latter exclusively focused on my life as a first time father-to-be; there have been no posts since I told the story of Xavier's birth on that blog. Feel free to check it out, though.
So, I wanted to make a site that would capture Alex as Alex, not just one (or two) parts of Alex. My dear friend Johnna decried when I first started the "Baby Blog," that it was unfair to separate life into compartments for blogging because that's not the way life really works. She's right.
So, here I am. This is going to be something different for me, I'll be sharing things that interest me, things that make me laugh, things that taste delicious (little known fact about me is that I absolutely love to cook!) and other facets of my life, even the nerdy side (minecraft screenshots, anyone?).
However, to start with, I'll be having one major focus in this blog.
I'm heading full-speed toward a major milestone in my life. It should be no surprise to you that some birthdays are more important than others. When you're younger, almost every birthday is of the utmost importance. As you get older, they start to space out in importance, though. 16 is a big one, and 18 is a big one, but 17 is rarely celebrated with the furor of its neighbors. Following those milestones, you hit 20, 21, 25... and finally, 30.
At this point in time, 30 is that benchmark birthday, for whatever reason, it's expected that we are settled down and making progress on our life goals at the age of 30. Some of us do, some of us don't. It's okay if you weren't in "that place" at 30, but be honest, society has sort of turned that into a really big deal.
In light of my thirtieth birthday coming up next year, I've hammered out a list of thirty things I want to accomplish in the 17 months between now and then. My friends Nate and Micki have each spent some time making these sorts of lists. They have both inspired me to do the same for myself. So, I made a list of my 30before30. These are the 30 things I want to accomplish before I turn 30. I'll spend some time explaining what I mean here on this blog, and share in the successes (and inevitable failures) here too.
I love living my life publicly and collaboratively. I appreciate the input from my friends and family on these sorts of things.
Be blessed.
a
Once we found out we were pregnant, I realized I wanted to catalog some of my thoughts regarding fatherhood into a journal-type format, so I started the "First Time Father" blog experiment. It was a lot of fun detailing some of my thoughts into blog posts; giving people an inside look at what I was thinking in my role as a first time father.
However, neither of those blogs really encapsulate me as a whole. The former was focused mostly on the theologian side of me (and apparently to some degree the baseball lover, too), and the latter exclusively focused on my life as a first time father-to-be; there have been no posts since I told the story of Xavier's birth on that blog. Feel free to check it out, though.
So, I wanted to make a site that would capture Alex as Alex, not just one (or two) parts of Alex. My dear friend Johnna decried when I first started the "Baby Blog," that it was unfair to separate life into compartments for blogging because that's not the way life really works. She's right.
So, here I am. This is going to be something different for me, I'll be sharing things that interest me, things that make me laugh, things that taste delicious (little known fact about me is that I absolutely love to cook!) and other facets of my life, even the nerdy side (minecraft screenshots, anyone?).
However, to start with, I'll be having one major focus in this blog.
I'm heading full-speed toward a major milestone in my life. It should be no surprise to you that some birthdays are more important than others. When you're younger, almost every birthday is of the utmost importance. As you get older, they start to space out in importance, though. 16 is a big one, and 18 is a big one, but 17 is rarely celebrated with the furor of its neighbors. Following those milestones, you hit 20, 21, 25... and finally, 30.
At this point in time, 30 is that benchmark birthday, for whatever reason, it's expected that we are settled down and making progress on our life goals at the age of 30. Some of us do, some of us don't. It's okay if you weren't in "that place" at 30, but be honest, society has sort of turned that into a really big deal.
In light of my thirtieth birthday coming up next year, I've hammered out a list of thirty things I want to accomplish in the 17 months between now and then. My friends Nate and Micki have each spent some time making these sorts of lists. They have both inspired me to do the same for myself. So, I made a list of my 30before30. These are the 30 things I want to accomplish before I turn 30. I'll spend some time explaining what I mean here on this blog, and share in the successes (and inevitable failures) here too.
I love living my life publicly and collaboratively. I appreciate the input from my friends and family on these sorts of things.
Be blessed.
a
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