100 Reasons I’m Thankful

November 24, 2011 – 10:06 am

CC Image • woodleyWonderworks on Flickr

When we were children we were grateful to those who filled our stockings at Christmas time. Why are we not grateful to God for filling our stockings with legs?
- G.K. Chesterton

After seeing my amazing sister list one reason she’s thankful each day leading up to Thanksgiving on Facebook, I upped the proverbial ante. After discussing whether or not we’re truly grateful people, I challenged the men and women in my homegroup, including myself, to list 100 reasons that they’re thankful. I shared this challenge with those I work with, and my boss took up the challenge, even sharing his list with the world via FaithVillage.

Here’s my list, which was both challenging to complete, yet could have kept growing. These are in no particular order, and some specific reasons fall under some of the general reasons.

  1. Jesus
  2. Grace
  3. Breath / Health / Food and Water
  4. Family: Each of them deserves a separate post on the 100 reasons I’m grateful for that particular family member.
  5. Girlfriend: She deserves major points for putting up with this turkey.
  6. Homegroup: They accepted me when I moved to DFW and still haven’t kicked me out.
  7. Bible
  8. Ability to read and write
  9. iPhone / MacBook / Apple products
  10. A warm sun on a cold morning
  11. Texas
  12. Dr. Pepper
  13. Drums
  14. Books
  15. Stories
  16. Job
  17. A roof over my head
  18. Oh The Places I’ve Been: Lorena, Georgetown, Austin, DFW, Alaska, California, Colorado, Idaho, Washington, Washington D.C., Morocco, England, France, Mexico, Jamaica
  19. The opportunity and ability to travel
  20. Music
  21. Completing a difficult task / Doing something I never thought I’d be able to do
  22. Animals, more specifically the dogs I’ve had
  23. Quiet and solitude
  24. Acceptance
  25. Gratitude

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What Books Have You Never Read That You Should Have By Now?

November 18, 2011 – 9:00 am

CC Image • nata2 on Flickr

My GoodReads account tells me that I have 159 books on my “to read” shelf. This is not a good sign, especially since my job asks me to review a number of books. I’m not sure what this says about me, other than book buying is therapeutic for me. Or that I’m not reading as much or as often as I’d like to.

However, even into early adulthood, I felt compelled to finish any book I’d started, even if it wasn’t an engaging read. I’m still learning that the author won’t take it personally if I only make it halfway through. With so much that I want to read, I’m learning to take solace in Dorothy Parker’s famous quote,

“This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force.”

I need to start throwing more books, simply so I can read more of the good ones. To that end, I need to ask honest questions of myself and of you.

What books have you never read that you should have by now?

Don’t be ashamed to answer. This is a safe place (and you can always leave an anonymous comment if you so chose).

For me, those books include

  • Don Quixote
  • The Power and the Glory
  • For Whom the Bell Tolls
  • On the Road
  • Infinite Jest
  • Slaughterhouse Five
  • The Hero with a Thousand Faces
  • The Divine Conspiracy
  • The Everlasting Man

And likely dozens of others that I don’t own. So, what’s on your list?
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The inspiration for this post came from a similar post on Robert Bruce’s 101 Books blog, where he’s blogging through Time Magazine’s 100 greatest novels. For book lovers, it’s a great site that may introduce you to some works that have never crossed your reading radar.

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September, October, November Articles at FaithVillage

November 15, 2011 – 9:00 am

Once again, using the highly technical standard of which ones I like the most, here are five FaithVillage posts from yours truly that have gone up over the last few months.

But first, I heartily encourage you to do one or all of the following:

That way, you can get these articles when they go live, instead of a few weeks or months down the line.

Also, use the right sidebar at FaithVillage.com to sign up as a Charter Member. Go do it now. I’ll wait.

…………. waiting ………………. waiting ……………….. still waiting …………………..

Done? Good. Now you’ll receive our e-newsletter, but you’ll also be invited to partake in our beta launch, meaning that you’ll get the opportunity to try out our site before anyone else. And let me tell you, the latest updates I saw just today are visually amazing. You’ll want to test our site out when it launches, so if you failed to heed my instructions from earlier, get to it now.

You should also know that we do a GiveAway every week, like this one. And sometimes we have featured GiveAways made possible by generous contributors, like this one. So you should definitely check our site on a regular basis, leave a comment, throw us a like on Facebook, and RT our links to all your friends! OK. Enough of the salespitch. Sometimes I can get carried away . . .

As for my favorite articles over the last few months, here they are:

  1. [CONCERT REVIEW]: MUTEMATH at Common Grounds in Waco, TX
  2. Why Are Young Christians Leaving the Church? An Interview with David Kinnaman
  3. [BOOK REVIEW]: Radical Together, by David Platt
  4. Six Steps to Establishing Your Church’s Online Identity
  5. 10 Top Mobile Apps for Church Leaders
What kind of stuff would you like to see more of on the FaithVillage website? We run a wide gamut of content (which will only increase as time goes on), but we hope to maintain a consistency of quality while also providing useful content and beneficial resources to Christians and the church. So, what would you like to see, or see more of, on FaithVillage?

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Get Thee Behind Me Procrastination

November 10, 2011 – 9:00 am

Adapted CC Image • Freidwall on Flickr

I don’t think the Apostle Paul was talking about writing when he said “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” However, like a lot of things in the Bible, his words could be applied to a wide variety of circumstances.

More often than not, when I sit with a blank look in front of a white screen that stares just as blankly back at me, I’m able to think of a thousand different things I could be doing.

For instance, prior to writing this post, I argued with myself that I couldn’t write it because I don’t have the right keyboard. I want a sleek, aluminum Apple wireless keyboard because it’s what I use at work, I type quickly on it, and I miss Steve Jobs. I entertained this idea for so long that I almost went to the store and bought one. Upon my return, I’d surely get back to writing this post.

Surely.

Did I go to the Apple Store? Of course not, because this post exists. What stopped me from doing so? This video, which is well worth your time. Watch it now before proceeding any further:

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Her Name Was Desiree

November 1, 2011 – 9:00 am

CC Image • DonkeyHotey on Flickr

As my girlfriend and I round the corner of her apartment complex, her energetic Boston Terrier in tow, another evening walker passes us by.

“There’s a young girl sitting over there, crying,” he says. “Her mom was supposed to pick her up, but she hasn’t come yet. You should say something nice to her.”

This random statement from an older man that neither of us knew causes us to exchange quizzical glances. With slow steps, made more unsure by the sure-to-be awkward situation, we approach the young girl. The evidence of her sadness, mixed with a tinge of embarrassment, shows in the tear stains beneath her timid eyes.

We walk right by her at first. We had dinner to get to after all. But we don’t venture much further than a few steps when both of us turn around, aware of a child, really, in need of help.

“What time were you supposed to be picked up?” “6:30,” she says quietly. I look at my phone. It’s 7:30. ”Do you want to call someone?” She nods. I hand her my phone. She dials two different numbers.

No answer.

“We’ll come back and check on you in a bit, to make sure that someone’s picked you up.” Another nod.

We go back inside and start dinner. In five minutes, we head back outside, hoping that we won’t see the girl because her mom has finally arrived. We peek around the corner and—voila—she’s gone. “Maybe she just hid because she’s embarrassed,” my intuitively smart girlfriend says, so we walk a bit further down. Sure enough, the girl reappears. We approach and she doesn’t see us.

I didn’t get her name the first time. (It’s this thing I do when I’m hoping a chance encounter doesn’t require anything of me). I ask now, “What’s your name?”

Barely audible, she says “Desiree.”

“Do you want to try to call again?” She nods. No answer. “Is your mom usually on time?” “Yes.” I stare at the ground. It’s almost dark. I’m at a loss as to how to help. Then, a white car pulls up and Desiree starts to walk toward it. I assume it’s her mom, but I don’t go to the car. I smile and wave, and my girlfriend and I walk back to her apartment, glad that the issue has resolved itself.

But the entire event unsettles me.

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