LOOKING NO LONGER BACK AT '22 BUT FORWARD TO '23 (PART 5 OF 6)

 

Cumberland Mountain State Park, Crossville, TN

So what am I looking forward to in '23? 

Well, for one thing Becky and I will be celebrating our 40th Anniversary. I'm also looking forward to judging at the NCFCA (National Christian Forensics and Communication Association) Regional touRnament in May. And you could say in October I'm celebrating my Sgt. Pepper Birthday. 

What about music? Can I dream here? My dream concert would be to hear a festival including Divine Martyr, Worhol, True Revival, Reclaim the Day, Daniel Band, Undefeated, and Theody. Now, some (or all) of them might be at the Kingdom Come Festival. Or should I form my own festival? Though at the Senior apartments I'm in, my taste might be a little too high decibel. But I am watching to see who will be at Kingdom Come this year! Or maybe the cooler Pitt Fest (cooler because it's in October rather than June). 

How about books? I'm at the point where I'll still keep my non-fiction goal I had the last two years: one book a month. Currently, I've not been spending as much time with fiction, so I'll go conservative and also set it at 12. Can I have permission to re-evaluate and possible increase it in June?

One other thing I'm considering is strengthening some Facebook groups I've started but are mostly dormant. These are, in alphabetic order (you expect something different?) with links to the group included:

1. Colossians 3:16 Musicians Exhorting And Teaching Through Song. I started this to discuss music and encourage, especially artists that wanted to use their musical talents to not just reach the lost but also build up the believers. 33 members. But I haven't posted, and the only activity is one artist promoting his program on occasion. 
2. Holding Up The Song Leader's Arms - Prayer For Christian Musicians. Started so we can regularly  pray for musicians. It has 11 members. Haven't taken the time to keep it up - the most recent post was May, 2020.  
3. Jeff's Christian Book Reading Challenge. 29 members in this one, but the most active, thanks to yours truly. I post my reviews and my fiction and non-fiction lists there. I also do post on occassion. One author also sometimes posts deals on her books. The purpose was to be an encouragement to read and maybe to get discussion going on certain books.
   

This past year I've been considering the future of this blog. The main issue was wondering if God has called me to keep this up or if I'm wasting too much time I should be doing other things. Conclusion? I do not have indication to not continue this blog. So I will keep up my normal schedule of trying to post each Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday, and occasionally more. I'll also keep up with book reviews, interviews, and other topical blogs (sometimes a series, sometimes a stand alone). I am going to try something new for some of my interviews that I hope would be easier on the interviewees. Additionally, I'll be setting the time to post the blogs from 6AM to 9AM starting Jan. 1. Why? Because I think when I set it for 6AM it posts at 3AM. (If you prefer me keeping it the way it is, could you let me know?)

May I make the following requests?

• PLEASE pray for me this blog, and the above Facebook groups.  I need God's guidance. Sometimes, I'll need His encouragement. No, God doesn't need this blog. But there are times I could be discouraged and wonder if I should continue.
  
• If anybody is at all interested in doing guest blogs, please let me know. I have a couple of times suggested it. So far, there's only been one guest blog, and that's because I posted something Becky wrote. I'd love to have guest blogs.
• Going back up to the Facebook groups, I would welcome other administrators/moderators. On the prayer group, I'd love for someone to volunteer to post weekly and suggest artists they know for prayer.

Thanks for reading. I have one more blog left for tomorrow.