A "BEATLES BIRTHDAY"/BLOG INTROSPECTION

 

Yours truly at Southwestern College, '80 on Clash Day. Photo courtesy of Steve Courteol.

 I have switched to Philosopher font as I'm getting this blog ready to post the day before my "Beatles" birthday ("When I'm 64"). Don't worry, though - my introspection will be basically on this year. 

Do I have the right to feel a little down? Key word is "little." God has blessed this year. I've had some good events this year, and allow me to start with them:

• Becky and I celebrated our 40th year of marriage!!!  Definitely worthy to start the list!
  
• I not only got to judge some speeches/debates for NCFCA this year on on-line competitions, I also was able to attend my first live competition since COVID struck. I also had the honor of meeting Evan McMahon, chair of the Libertarian Party of Indiana during the competition. (Not the first "celebrity I met at these events - several years ago I met then Indy Star political cartoonist Gary Varvel.)
• I have the honor of co-teaching a men's Sunday School class at Northside Baptist Church with Dale Greenly, as well as serving on two committees (missions and prayer) and being on the rotation for operating the video camera. Add to that being part of a Zoom Tuesday night Bible study, where the members take turns leading it. If that's not enough, I'm on a 3 time a week men's phone prayer group founded by Mark Mirza and including Lewis Turner.
  
• I got to attend my first Kingdom Come Festival, and hang out with Chris Bousum, Chad Fenner, Divine Martyr, Undefeated, I Am The Pendragon, BRVVE, Eyes Aflame, and Rusty Shipp! Plus, The Pit is coming up in a couple of weeks, where I might get to hear (finally!) True Revival and Crimson Overtone, as well as New Day Rising (which features several of the Eyes Aflame band members).
  
• I have the honor of seeing Becky flourish in being on the board for the Central Indiana Chapter of Child Evangelism Fellowship.
• Last but absolutely not least, I have spent 24 years with Mid-America Clinical Lab/Quest Diagnostics (6 months as a temp), and have wonderful people to work with (as I have for 24 years).

So with all that, why am I depressed? Actually, I didn't use the word "depressed;" I said "down." And "melancholy" or "philosophical" would be an accurate term. Why?

• I'll start with the biggest one - the others are minor. Last December, I came down with what a pulminologist termed chronic bronchitus.  I've had three CT scans this year, and I have some infection in my lungs; the spots on the earlier scan disappear on the next one, but are replaced by others. On Sept. 26th, I've had a biopsy on my lungs and am waiting on the results, and I'm expected to be put on antibiotics for a year. The doctor said it's not life threatening, but it may have affect on the quality of life.
• Okay, second one is also a major one. I'm at the point of considering retirement. Question is when. No, I don't want to retire too early, but I also want time to enjoy with Becky. But I mention that just because it's on my mind.
  
• Let's look at my artwork. Enjoy that look? You remember my Christmas drawing and my "All My Rowdy Friends Happen To Be Preachers?" Those are the most recent, and they're about a year old now. Songwriting? Haven't done that in years; the only instrument I currently have is a cordless keyboard. Novel writing? That's been dormant for years.
• You may or may not know - the last few years my goal was to read 24 fiction books and 12 non-fiction, and I've been making it. I was getting to the point that I didn't want to push it on the fiction, so I dropped my fiction goal to 12. I have made those goals - so far, I've read 14 non-fiction books and 16 fiction.  But I also realize I'm not taking as much time with fiction as I have been. Nothing to get depressed about, but still it does seem a little sad.
  
• My title mentioned my blog. Regular readers may realize it varies between essays, reviews of books and albums, and interviews. And you may notice that the interviews are, putting it nicely, not as frequent. Here's the number of interviews I've done on this blog: 

2020 - 7

2021 - 14

2022 - 36

2023 - 3 

YIKES! Notice how each year doubled or more, until this year! To tie last year's, I need to average 11 interviews a month! By the way, two of those three were in January, the third in April! 😱 And the interviews are usually my most popular blogs, basically because the interviewee invites their friends.

Again, let me say I'm just a little down. I'm keeping busy with a lot of things. But I do miss drawing, songwriting, story creating, and interviews. (Should I interview my characters? Would that help me get started?)

But I do have a lot to look forward to. Next year's NCFCA champions! Maybe getting to hear some bands/singers I want to hear like Undefeated, TheoTerran, Zahna, Worhol, Daniel Band,  Steve Camp, etc. Maybe a mission trip or two. Maybe developing a chaplaincy for Christian musicians (which may be something brand new). Possibly a trip to see friends out west? Who knows.

Thanks for reading this. If you have a comment? I'd love to hear it!

 

 

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.

LOOKING AHEAD TO 2022

Courtesy of Enclave Publishing

 

Okay, I've spent a few days looking back at 2021. What am I looking forward to the next year?

First off, since I'm a writer and do a lot of writing, I'll start off with what I'm looking forward to reading. As I did last year, I'll set the goal of reading one non-fiction and two fiction books a month.  

As far as non-fiction, I have a few on deck. Last year, I read three 9-Marks: Building A Healthy Church books, and I'm considering reading four more. I also discovered "New Studies in Biblical Theology," and I'm planning on reading more (though I'm not planning on reading all in the series, which is at 52 last time I checked). Plus, I might reread some books such as Discipled Warriors by Chuck Lawless and Superheroes Can't Save You by Todd Miles.

On the fiction end - am I through with my reading a lot of Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense? Probably not next year. I read 9 in '19 (only 3 before that), 11 in '20, and 18 in '21; I've got 21 on my docket for next year. Nancy Mehl and Donna Fletcher Crow are tied for second on my most-read-novelist list with 16 each, and the competition will occur next year, and there's an Agatha Christie book I plan to read, slightly increasing her lead at 23. Kerry Nietz has a couple of books I'm planning to read as well, and the long awaited third installment of Janet Sketchley's Green Dory Inn is due out. Of course, I'm hoping for something new by favorite authors like Randy Singer, John Otte, Julianna Deering, J.P. Leck, J.M. Hackman, and Allistair MacLean. (Okay, I don't expect a new MacLean book.)

Three of my favorite interviews this year were with Angie Leyda of Always 1 Ministries, which hosts the Kingdom Come and Pitt Fest music festivals Becca Sugg of the band Reclaim The Day, and Devin Cunningham.  Hopefully, I can get to one of those two festivals this year and be blessed with a RTD concert either at the festival or elsewhere. There's also the Indiana Gospel Music Festival which is different stylistically, where I can hear Cunningham again. Finally, I'm looking forward to judging NCFCA speech/debate contests, and hopefully live this year.

Finally, Becky and I are talking about various ministry opportunities we can get involved with, and I'm planning on taking the next step with what seems like the never ending road to publication. 

The one thing I haven't talked about are this blog. This will be the topic for New Year's Eve, which is also known as tomorrow. 

How about you? What do you plan to read this year? Is there anything on your to do list?

A LOOK BACK AT 2021

 

End of June, 2020:

• Preparing to move from our home where we lived for 12 years which we sold.
• Attending Arlington Avenue Baptist Church, where we had been members for 16 years (and had previously been members for another 2 years before that).
• Working at MACL (Mid-America Clinical Labratories) in the Processing department, having celebrated my 20th anniversary there that March, but knowing that one of the co-owners of MACL (Quest Diagnostics) bought the others out.
• Starting to adjust to a COVID world where everything was closed.
• Working again to get my novel published.

A year and a half later:

• Finishing our fifth month in a Senior apartment after leaving another apartment complex where we stayed one year (Aug. 1, 2020 to Aug. 1, 2021).
• After moving further away from Arlington Avenue, we joined Northside Baptist Church this May, where I help in the streaming booth with the videos of the church service. I'm also in a small men's group that meets Tuesdays, and I just finished leading them through three months in Getting To Know The Church Fathers: An Evangelical Introduction by Bryan Litfin.
• Finishing a year being an official Quest Diagnostics employee and six months working in the Purchasing department. Different employer, but still the same building, same co-workers, same supervisor while I was still in Processing. 
• Still adjusting to a COVID world (I'll be glad to get off any second now). Voluntarily got my vaccines (not required to at work where I'm at). Voluntarily wear a mask in grocery stores and as required at work and the library. Mourning the frequency of restaurant dining rooms (and in one case a gas station 7pm on a Saturday evening) being closed to staffing problems and some of our favorite items vanishing like McDonalds' Steak and Egg Bagel and Grilled Chicken sandwiches.
• No progress on novel, except for having Beta readers read it; praying about trying to publish it as is or completely rework it or wave the white flag (having been working on the novel since 2007, this is familiar territory).

This year, I set a goal of reading 12 non-fiction books (1 a month) and 24 novels (2 a month). Final count - 23 non-fiction (including 3 previously read) and 28 fiction (including one previously read - first time I've reread a novel for 20 years or more - and not including the one I just started and will probably be half way through by year's end).

The next two days, I'll do my annual tradition of giving lists of favorite fiction and non-fiction. The day after that, I'll let you know what I'm looking forward to in '22. Then, New Year's Eve, I'll mention what's coming up in this blog next year.