Category Archives: Blogging

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Just Life and Stuff

Sorry for the silence here… I’m still alive — I haven’t died or gotten tied up and drug away by wild and nasty gnomes. Just haven’t had the energy to blog lately. Been pouring it into life, and other stuff.

Have you ever had so much to say, on so many topics, you don’t know where to begin or how to get it all out? That’s my problem lately. So much I’ve taken in and learned and experienced and now I just can’t figure out how to get it all on paper — or, rather, into my blog. It may ultimately take me many posts.

Over the last couple of weeks I’ve started a new "program" (Weight Watchers — woohoo watch my weight go up and down and up again!!), fulfilled a wish I’ve had for several years and contemplated deep things of God.

Okay, so it hasn’t been the most adventure-packed of times, but it was enough to keep my mind whirling like crazy and my body aching for sleep. And now it’s given me mental/writing constipation. Too much that wants to come out all at once. Its kind of like when you don’t think through the timing as you cook a big meal and every dish is ready and must be attended to at the very same moment. Maddening.

My sister came out last weekend and both of us attended a 4-day taping of Beth Moore’s new Bible study, due out next September (’07). It was awesome — if not a little overwhelming. Those of you who’ve participated in one of her studies knows she gives a lot of information and a lot of insight in each weekly 50-minute or so session. Try taking in 6 of those in 4 days. Yikes! My head was spinning. But such good stuff! And it was fun just to get to see Beth in person, which had been a longing of mine for several years, and to see how things go in a "real time" study with her, rather than just the polished finished product on tape. Good, good stuff. Nina and I stayed up late into the night/morning talking each night about what we’d learned

I’ve been on Weight Watchers now for a week and a half. It’s going okay I think. Its a little more complicated than I thought — with all the points counting and such. But I’m getting used to it. I didn’t lose but about a pound last week due to all the late evening activity and a visit to the Cheesecake Factory on Saturday (yummmm!). Hopefully, I’ll do better this week.

Through all this, God has been speaking and moving and teaching and challenging. My oh my. I’ve learned much as we talked together and wanted to duck and pretend I didn’t hear when the challenges came. Yet I didn’t. And we are now walking through some places that are familiar, yet new. Forgiveness, Grace, Love –even when combined with dislike, all familiar, yet new every time I walk through them.

Finally, here’s a passage I’d nearly forgotten till Beth reminded us Saturday morning. It brought me hope; hope that I’d forgotten was there. Hope for not just the future, but for Today.

"See, it is I who created the blacksmith
       who fans the coals into flame
       and forges a weapon fit for its work.
       And it is I who have created the destroyer to work havoc;

"no weapon forged against you will prevail,
       and you will refute every tongue that accuses you.
       This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,
       and this is their vindication from me,"
       declares the LORD. — Isaiah 54:16-17

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House Cleaning

I did a little house-cleaning on the blog last night; updating and adding categories to all my postso, including all my old posts from my Blogspot blog. Man, that took some work!  But I’m glad I did it. I feel like the category cloud to the right more accurately reflects all my posts since starting Blogger in 2004.

Check them out and let me know what you think.

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New Design & Content

I got bored today and thought I’d change the look of my blog. How do you like the two columns and the color scheme? It’s hard at times because Typepad’s color palette isn’t as wide as I’d prefer. I know I could move on up to something like Word Press, but I just don’t think I’m ready to do that much designing. Perhaps someday, though.

What ultimately necessitated the changes, though, were all the new fun widgets Typepad recently made so simple to add to one’s blog. Take a look around at the sidebars and you’ll see lots of new fun stuff. On the left side there’s things like my "43 Things/Places" lists and over to the right you’ll see a fun little "blog tattoo" with Kanji characters, as well as a OpinMind which feeds a steady list of quotes from this very blog for your enlightenment. Or amusement, which ever comes most.

My list of categories has also changed to a cool "cloud" that highlights the ones I use most.

And while I was at it, I changed a few other small things here and there. Take a look around and let me know what you think.

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Where is Jesus?

I’m inquisitive by nature. I’ve been known to spend the afternoon watching an ant hill prepare to swarm, a spider spin its web and fireflies make their magic in the evening warmth. So naturally I follow the links on blogs I frequent. And I’ve noticed a disturbing trend.

A few weeks ago my friend, Joe (whom I discovered through a link on Alex’s blog), posted that he was done blogging about the goings-on in the SBC. Its through his blog I came upon a plethora of blogs of SBC pastor-types and I gotta tell ya, I’m with Joe on this. I’ve not blogged on the issues and politics and power and control crap I’ve seen because it just makes me nauseated to even think about it. But I feel compelled to say something here about what I’m seeing in these pastor-types blogs of late.

I’ve noticed that of all the many things they discuss, and there is no derth of topics, there is something very conspicuously missing:

Jesus.

Even Alex, bless his soul, spends more time talking about "the mystic" or church-planting philosophy than on what God is teaching him right now, or what passionate discussions He and Jesus are locked into currently.

Why is that? Why is it that we are so bent on discussing every spiritual topic known to man except what God is teaching us, working in us, stirring in us right now? As I followed the umpteen-millionth link and read the umpteen-millionth blog, I wondered, where is Jesus in all this?

I’m not saying that every post needs to be "And the Laaahwrd said to me…" (in booming baritone voice). But it would be nice to read posts that are much more personal and Jesus-oriented than what I see on the pastor-type blogs today.

One blogger carries on about landmark-ism. Another rails against the new nominee for SBC president, several others give reports on the latest church-planting conference or missional conference of some sort, still another gives a review of the latest controversial film, tv show or book.

But what did Jesus teach them through these things? Where is He in all of this?

What an opportunity a blog is! People read this space that I will probably never meet this side of the Veil. We have one opportunity to grab their attention and give them a word of Hope before they click on another link and move on. Shouldn’t what we post about somehow point to Jesus?

I’m not saying that every word of our blogs ought to be all scriptural and "religious". That turns people off just as much as if we hit them on over the head with our biggest hard-back Bibles. But what I am saying, what I am convinced of, is that what we are passionate about is revealed in what we write. Our passions will inevitably infiltrate and permeate every post we write. If your passion is church-planting, then that’s what will permeate your posts. If its politics — whether in the secular or denominational realm — it will permeate your blog.

What are our blogs, our daily/weekly/monthly posts, saying about our passions? What does our writing reveal about our true passions?

And where is Jesus?

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Is Silence Golden?

You tell me… since I haven’t been posting I thought you’d know best if my finally being silent for a bit brought a little gold into your life.

1_baaa

Never fear… this too shall pass and soon I’ll be my noisy self again.

PS — Nothing’s wrong — just thinkin’ more than I’m writin’.

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Checking…. Test 1-2-3… Is this thing on????

Update: I still can’t view my blog’s main page. But it appears from my Stats reports that some people are visiting. So you if you can see me, please give me a shout out and let me know. I can see my comments from my Typepad homepage.

Thanks mucho!!

12:58pm

I can’t seem to see my blog… my computer won’t/can’t read the page. Just checkin’ to see if anyone else can….. Am I here???

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Welcome

So glad you came! As my friend Alex says, you belong here.

Take a look around, grab a drink from the frig, plop yourself down on that big fluffy couch and stay and chat with me a while. Tell me what’s on your mind. What’s exciting in your life? What really hacks you off right now? What’s God been teaching you lately?

Tell me your story. I wanna hear it. I know it’s good, because, well, just look at you. What depth and character you have. You don’t get that by accident. You aren’t born with it. It only comes by walking through dark places and living the real, gritty Life.

So talk to me. Tell me who you are. Let me see it in your words and in your passions. I want to know you.

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Something New

I’m testing out Typepad. You can get a free 30-day trial when you sign up. Mine starts today. Thought I would see if its easier than Blogger — especially with my Mac.

I got an idea from another blog I happened upon and thought I’d journal the last 26 days of my 30s. And probably reminisce a little about the paths I took getting here. Here’s the link.

Turning 40

Check it out and let me know wha’cha think.