I confess that this summer has surprised me. Not only is my grass still green, but it seems like almost every crazy-hot day is followed by a day that is rainy and relatively cool. Not that I’m ready to profess my love for summer – still too many down-sides for me to get on board yet (humidity, mosquitoes, wasps, poison ivy, hot steering wheels…). However, I don’t remember any triple digit days in July or August so far. I’m feeling grateful today for a mild summer so far… hoping August will cooperate.
I confess that I am sometimes insecure, and that my typical response to insecurity is perfectionism. I confess that both of these cause unnecessary anxiety in my life. I confess that last week a friend emailed me a grammatical error in a post and I did not go fix it. This felt like real progress for me. If you find the post I’ll mail you a free copy of An Evangelical Social Gospel?. (rules: not just any grammatical error will due – it has to be the one I’m thinking of. I’m sure there are more than just the one).
I confess that the Royals made a pretty impressive move by grabbing Jamie Carroll in a trade with the Twins. When was the last time moving from the Twins to the Royals was a step up?
I confess that I’m getting closer on my writing deadline on Shrink. Three weeks left – just a few more chapters to go. My gremlins say to me, “This book sucks. Everything you are saying has already been said. It’s a good idea but you are not executing it very well. You haven’t spent enough time on it. Nobody will like it.” I’m trying to tell my gremlins that they can bite me. My objective is not to get people to like the book, or me for that matter. My objective is to try to say what I think, and make a good argument for what I believe in, without worry about how it will be received. I know that once I get the 1st draft done, I will have some serious work to do in order to get this thing ready for public consumption, so I’ll let that be the 2nd goal… right now the goal is a passionate and reasonably coherent 65k. I confess that this is by far the most ambitious writing project I’ve ever taken on, and I usually don’t feel up to the task. Still, I’m excited and scared to start letting other people see what I’ve been doing. So far my wife is the only one who has read much of the current version.
I confess that Toothbrush technology has changed considerably since I was a kid. My sons have these toothbrushes that play the intro to Queen’s song “We are the Champions,” – the “we will, we will, rock you,” stuff, all the way through the guitar solo. Killer guitar solo, btw. The music is supposed to tell them how long they have to brush their teeth. I have to say, however, it’s also not a bad way to start the day for our family in the bathroom… a little “we will rock you.” I’m seriously considering investing in some sort of good stereo in order to enhance the morning/evening routines. I’m imagining a playlist of 3 minute tooth-brushing songs.
I confess that I have scheduled a Dr.’s appointment for the first time in 16 years. (To be honest, my wife scheduled it for me). I’m a relatively healthy person, but that number even seems a little off to me… no better time than the present, right?
I confess that I’m up and running on my own Audible account. After I turn in this manuscript to Zondervan, I’m planning on going on a serious reading binge. I’m hoping to carve out a niche for myself in History and Biography. Any suggestions? Right now I’m thinking about: Team of Rivals (Kearns-Goodwin), Truman (David McCullough), Jack (Geoffrey Perret), American Lion (Meacham), and a few others. I’m seriously looking for suggestions, so fire away.
I confess that the dog days of summer can be tough on a church. Everybody goes on vacation, and there can seem to be a lack of energy and even unity with everyone running in different directions. I will be glad when everyone gets back into the school-year schedule and we can start to have some consistency in our rhythm of life together.
Okay friends, I made my confession. Now it’s time for you to make yours…
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