I'm not sure where but within the season of not blogging I re-developed a passion for both reading and writing. I am surrounded by this library of incredible books on life, leadership, prayer, encouragement/inspiration and various fiction novels as well, and many of them had one or two chapters read and then were put away, dog-eared and collecting dust, nothing like the smell of undeveloped potential behind the covers of those books. My joy of reading turned into a monotonous task that I dreaded, I started to despise the thought of study and learning, even turning away from the fiction novels that I could generally read through in 3-4 days. Everything seemed so frustrating and meaningless, like I was never going to accomplish my goals with these books. And every time someone gave me a new book or I bought a new one myself I had the mind numbing thought of why would you do this. The answer of course, because people know I had once loved to pick up a book and steal from it bits of knowledge and good, flavorful insights from other peoples perspectives on life, sometimes going to the extent of writing out entire paragraphs and posting them on my bulletin board when the author took my imagination and/or spirit in their grasp with witty commentary or a pressing thought that will remain relevant for many decades to come. Today I set my heart to a desire to read once again, yet even as I write those words my desk is littered with partially read books and others that I have the good intention to eventually crack open, knowing they will change my life, even if just pertaining to one area of my thought process or sermon preparation or my personal theology on any given paradigm or sub culture in this world. So as you read this, I have the hope that you find a good book, sit down, open to the first page and commit to reading at least 2 chapters, you never know how much those first few will altar your own perception of reading and learning. That's where I am at with this adventure called reading, a struggle that I can find victory in, and will prosper from.
I also mentioned writing actually thats where this all started, if you'll suffer along with me I'll walk through my dilemma and desire for the next few minutes.
About 9 years ago I expressed to a few select people that I would love to write a book, that thought has never left my mind, I have even started into about 10 different ones not getting much past the introduction or first paragraph many times. I remember a time that I could sit down with a good CD playing in the background and write for hours; poetry, stories, even essays, it always came really easy to me. What seemed to occur was a writers block every time the word book was mentioned. My words would all seem so cliche and the writing would appear to me to be filled with troubles and misinterpreted ramblings, nothing that had the slight resemblance of one day being a book or self help manual or novel that anyone other then my family would read just to support me in my journey. Of those 10 or so books that had been started only one has any remnants on paper and one other is locked away in a rusty box in my head. I suppose these maybe the ones I settle on and eventually rattle them out of my jumbled brain for others to ponder on, maybe.
Over the nearly 8 years of a wonderful marriage my wife has many times encouraged me to start writing again, and every so often I would pick up a pen or type away on the keyboard and do something meaningful, generally after something life changing like the birth of one of my children or the death of a friend or relative. Really the only writing I have committed to in the last 5 years has been ministry related; sermons, curriculum, annual meeting reports so on. Not that I am complaining as this has progressed my ability and functionality as a pastor, but I confess it has also lowered my tolerance for writing, and many well meaning initiatives quickly became unmaintained goals and unreachable plateaus of creativity. One example would be this blog that I have now jumped into again. It began as a weekly update and challenge/encouragement piece for our youth and others that may have stumbled upon it, then weekly became monthly and soon it became an after thought, a grouping of nice thoughts that had been read by a few, and left to die like many other complicated musings others have started in the past. And soon, as I mentioned earlier, it was deleted, the address changed and not restarted here or on other blog sites.
So now I start this blog, not to update the youth ministry and what is happening, but to use it as a place to ramble, vent, discuss and even dream. Yes the name is still the same, Rev. Life is that of our local church youth ministry, but it much more then that as well. It has taken identity in my heart and I am quickly discovering that Rev. Life is a moniker for who I am as a person. I have vowed to live what the term means to me, my life will be; REVerent, REVolving, REVved up and REVolutionary. This blog is me and all that my sometimes scrambled and highly agitated existence represents. I can't promise the updates will happen everyday, and maybe not weekly, but as I am driven to write I will update as often as possible, and some day when the book dribbles from my mind and spirit down through my fingers, those who read here will be among the first to know.
If you have stumbled into this world that is my messy faith and incomplete thought pattern, I hope you enjoy what you read and that you will be challenged to live a fuller, better designed life because of it. I hope you will set out to dream very very large dreams, and that those dreams will be made into reality. And maybe you'll encourage others along the way to live the same way. This is the beginning of one of my dreams, and I thank my wife for reminding me of one of my early passions, writing. This blog and all that may come from it, is because you believe in me and have once again set my mind and heart ablaze with a need to type a few words and make a difference in this world.
Blessings and greatness on each of you, thanks for joining in the discussions of life.
