2024 IN PREVIEW?

Turkey Run State Park, Marshall, IN

 You ready for 2024? 

No?

1. I don't blame you, and 
2. Tough. It will be here Monday.

Allow me to give several thoughts on this next year.

• We're facing a Presidential election. Some are talking about a rematch. When was the last one? Not in my lifetime. I'm guessing the most recent was McKinley defeating William Jennings Bryan in both 1896 and 1900. (The time before that was when Cleveland ran against Benjamin Harrison in 1888 and 1892, with the incumbent being on the losing end both times.) Me? I'm not going to predict. I will say the candidate I'm rooting for on the GOP side is Haley. Should it be Biden vs. Trump? I'd prefer one to the other, but if that happens, we should pray the country prove the theory a third party (e.g. Libertarian Party) cannot win the electoral college wrong. But odds are that most 
• Americans will be voting against one of the candidates, as we've had the past several years.
• Any areas coming up in my life? Well, I'll be hitting 65, meaning I'll get all sorts of calls for Medicare plans. Retirement? Good question. Please pray.
• Activities I plan on taking part of? Of course, NCFCA. The season has already started with a debate only on-line contest just over two weeks ago. I'm thinking of doing a pair more on-line contests and maybe the regional in early April in Louisville (not as close as last year's in Indy). I also will be wanting to do volunteer work at the Always 1 Ministries festivals (Kingdom Come and The Pit) and at the Southern Baptist Convention. By the way, this is the third national SBC even in Indy since I moved here: '04, '08, and '24. Yep, all Presidential election years!
• Movies I want to see? Well, actually I do all my movie viewing on the small screen at home. Definitely on my list is "Singing In The Rain." There was a time I wanted to see every James Bond movie; I've slipped since then, with GoldenEye being the last one I saw. (Octopussy is the only one before that I haven't seen.) I'm debating on catching up as far as Brosnan's; I'm not interested in the Craig ones. I also debate if I want to catch up with the final two of the Jurassic World trilogy. Plus, there are some older Marvel movies I might want to see (Captain America 1 & 2, Guardians of the Galaxy 1 & 2, and maybe the Black Panther movies).
• Reading? I'm going to do what I did last year and aim for 12 each of fiction and non-fiction. I might think about doubling the fiction should I re-enter my old habits.
• Music? Yes, there are groups I want to hear that I haven't yet: TheoTerran, Theody, Samuel Day, and Undefeated being on the top of my list (unless Daniel Band or Idle Cure decides to make the rounds). 
• Art? I would love to do more drawings. However, I'd love to get back on the keyboard and maybe guitar (I'll have to wait till I retire to learn the instruments that interest me: mandolin, oboe, French horn, and Timpani). I'm also feeling the novel writing bug coming back to life. Pray that I focus on what God wants me to do.
• This blog? Last year, I hardly wrote any interviews. I want to change that, so if anybody wants to be an interviewee (or someone they want me to interview), let me know. I have a few series in mind, but I'm not sure if I'll have a long Sunday series as I did the last two years.

Any questions? Any comments? Please?

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.