never been here before

I have been so busy and pressed for time these last few weeks, that I have literally been building a list of topics I want to write about, think about and explore. (And this is nothing compared to me "to do" list, both at home and at work. Seriously, I just took my Christmas decorations down last night). Anyway, here's my list: 1.) Types of Growth - Jesus. 2.) Faith, politics and the new conservative. 3.) Growth: Being challenged in a healthy, wonderful ways by friends who believe differently than you. 4.) The movie Waitress 5.) Barack Obama on faith (I'm reading his book The Audacity of Hope right now.) 6.) This sentence I read in a book a couple of weeks ago Proximity is not equal to intimacy . 7.) The beauty of connection (which goes along with #3). I just got home for the night right now and am too tired to start writing, but I want to so badly. They say creativity is as close to insanity as anything else. I think I'm beginning to understand what that means.

"Sell crazy some place else, we're all stocked up here."

This makes me laugh. I used to know a guy who could recite all the words of this song (not this version) in less than 60 seconds. It was a sight to behold, watching someone's lips move that fast. I wonder whatever happened to him?

For temptation to exist, there must be an inner craving for what tempts you. Not everyone is tempted to hit the snooze button every morning, but you put a snooze button in front of me and I'll hit it until the cows come home. One day I simply told myself I wasn't going to hit that snooze button anymore, and I stopped. My heart still wants to stay in bed most mornings, but my head reminds me to get up and my nose tells me the coffee is made, so I do. Did I just get smarter about this aspect of my life, or am I really growing? I'm not betting on the latter. Erwin McManus is the senior pastor at M osaic Church near Los Angeles. I received his book Soul Cravings for Christmas (it rocked my world), and I've been a podcast listener of his for about a year now. This is a man who understand the human heart. And even more than that, he understands the human condition. So I feel a little "kindred spirit" connection with him. In October he started a preaching series

I'm back to pondering spiritual growth , more specifically how we know it's growth and not just becoming more intelligent about spiritual things. And I've discovered an interesting, yet very simple thing about this issue: my heart. Oh, my heart. I've had a contentious relationship with the thing since 1994. (And probably before then, but I remember that year in particular was when it became especially difficult.) I think because knowledge - the stuff in my head - was honored in my family. Making the honor roll and the Dean's list was a proud moment (one where when I made the dean's list in college, my dad made a point to tell my high school superintendent. Huh?) But matters of heart weren't considered practical or worthwhile - they were just a way to distract us from the real goal in life. As an adult I get to set my own goals in life, and they are quite different from the goals my family set for me. But when I chose to go a different way, they supported me.

Could I be wearing anymore clothes?

On the Republican side: 1.) Huckabee comes across as very, very sincere. There is something about him that makes me want to believe him, to trust him. This frightens me a little, because I don't know what that "something" is. Maybe I've underestimated mannerisms compared to words spoken, because he didn't say much of substance tonight. But that desire in me to trust him still came across. 2.) Romney reeks of wealth and I don't like it. He's just not someone with which I can relate. He is, however, a very well-spoken and charismatic man. His negative campaign strategy and the money he threw at it clearly didn't help him in Iowa. Us mid-westerners are down-to-earth people. I doubt he'll win if he stays on that path. But if you are following him at all, he hasn't been the best at staying on one path anyway. I'm tempted to start calling him Mitt Flip-Flop. 3.) Thompson's 3rd place showing was a bit of a surprise for me, because I expected

I've never been much for New Year's resolutions, and this year I decided to have a theme song. A song to keep in my heart, a song that reminds of what the business of living is all about, a song that is my resolve for the year. So I made a video for it. Enjoy.