Here I Go...

This is where I, being devoid of any creative juices, list off random things about what's going on with me.

1. The realization has begun to sink in that in just two weeks from this Thursday, I will have completed three decades on this earth. The decades have been good, for the most part. Only a few scratches and bruises. The last one was much better than the first two. Perhaps a foreshadowing of better decades to come? We'll see. I'll be grateful for them all.

2. I've been reading George Marsden's biography of Jason and Blake's great great, etc., etc., grandfather Jonathan. It's very interesting. Particularly interesting are the religious and social undertones going on in the Puritanical churches of New England. I think that understanding Edwards will, in some small ways, help me understand myself.

3. Still working on the sitcom pilot. I've got some good stories, just working on characters.

4. This fall looks to be fun. I'm ready for September and October to be over. Ready for cool breezes. November is the best month because of Thanksgiving and football and the first hint of cold. (Texas cold, anyway.) I'll be leading a Sunday School class with Harris and Valerie called "Messy Spirituality," where we'll be exploring what Part 2 of "deconstruction" might look like. In other words, now that we have been Christians who drink and cuss, what now? We'll be visiting spiritual disciplines. I'm excited about it.

Pizza Politics and Prayer (formerly Coffee and Culture) promises to be very lively this year as well, with the election and everything. That'll be Wednesday nights.

5. Speaking of football, I'm participating in my first fantasy league. Knowing I wouldn't be able to make the live draft, I set up a preference sheet which dictated who I got. Not being at the draft, I still landed some pretty good players. I snagged Jamal Lewis which, barring any flirtations with the woundrous white powder, should be my best pick. Other great catches were Donavan McNabb, Keyshawn Johnson (who should have a good year underParcells,) and the Raven's defense.

6. After adding a few pounds in celebration of Blake and Karla's wedding, I'm back on the losing train. Hoping to lose about 20 more pounds by the end of the year.

7. I've followed the Olympics more this year than I did in '00. As I write this I'm hearing the National Anthem play in the background. Call me crazy and a simpleton, but I get tears in my eyes every time I see an American on the podium.

8. That's it for now.