Crawling Before Walking

I've been thinking for a while now about getting back into blogging. It's been nearly eight months since my last post and I miss it.

I've been trying to decipher my reasons and develop a strategy for my re-entry in the the world of writing. I don't want to do it as a discipline. I don't want to do it to get attention. I don't want to use it as a platform to spread my opinions. And I really don't want it to become an outlet for my passive aggressive side!

I want to use this blog as an outlet for my own need to put thoughts in writing. I've long felt I'm much better at expressing my thoughts through writing than speaking. I haven't spent much time writing - other than briefly in a journal from time to time - in the last eight months. So, hopefully, the blog will get me back into the rhythm of writing!

Since I'm not in the rhythm of writing yet, I'm going to start slow and easy. The easiest thing I can think of is to share some of what is inspiring me, interesting me and challenging me right now.

Reading:
I'm almost done with Craig Groeschel's book WEIRD: Because Normal Isn't Working. I've often found myself wanting to rebel against what most people think is normal or trendy. In this book, Groeschel gives a strong case for why, as followers of Jesus, we should strive to go against the flow in many areas of our lives.

A few books I'm planning to read in the near future are Jon Acuff's Quitter, Multiply by Francis Chan & David Platt and a re-read of Sticky Faith by Dr. Kara E. Powell and Dr. Chap Clark.

While online I've been regularly reading articles at Relevant and ChurchMag.

Listening:
Ever since this past summer, Josh Garrels has been my go-to musician. This guy has a lot of music available and he's so unique. His voice is like none I've heard before and he blends folk with rock and roll and even a little hip hop and soul. His songwriting is fantastic. I've been listening to him pretty exclusively for about 5 months and I still love it!

Watching:
I don't watch TV unless it's sports, and even then I pretty much only watch football. Football season is almost over so pretty soon my television consumption will be no more than the occasional college basketball game and the NCAA Tournament in March.

I don't see a lot of movies either, but I have recently seen The Dark Knight Rises and The Hobbit - two fantasy-type movies that were entertaining. Nothing about either really inspired me a great deal, but they were definitely enjoyable.

I recently watched a DVD series from Andy Stanley at North Point Community Church. The series is called Christian and it has made me re-think how I use that word. I am a Christian but would rather be identified as a disciple of Jesus - a true follower who seeks to be more like Jesus every day of my life.