A book, a visit

The past week has been one of those deceptively quiet weeks that potentially changes your life.

1. I was very sick. I had a stomach virus, and spent most of the night/early morning Sunday - Monday in the bathroom. I was violently ill.

2. My younger sister, who is a missionary/English teacher in China, came to visit, and she and I got to sit and really talk. I'm forty years old: this past week was possibly the first time I've had a real conversation with any members of my immediate family.

We just weren't a connecting family--we never really talked about ANYTHING. Our conversations were superficial, forced.

And I didn't know how dysfunctional that was until just the past year or so.

3. I bought a book that's already changing my life: John Eldridge's Wild at Heart. It's an INCREDIBLY powerful analysis of what it should mean to be a Christian man, and what it so seldom means.

More on the last two points later.

I have been avoiding this place.

For the last couple of weeks, I have been avoiding this place, this blank page. I haven't wanted to write here. I've been WAY too busy.

It's the time of year (I guess) when they have faculty play for worship in chapel. So I have played guitar or bass in each of the last three chapel services. Which has added four practices to my already crowded schedule.

Let's see. What else is going on?

I'm writing an article for the journal that my school (the School of Bible and Ministry) is going to publish this spring. I have the article about half-written, but I need to take the material--which was originally academically oriented--and turn it into something that your average pastor could read and make use of.

Anyway. Consider this an entry in progress, I'll finish whining about how busy I am at some future date. WHEN I HAVE THE TIME!!!!!