October Review

I've committed to sharing out my progress on three major goals for the 2013 calendar year at the end of every month. Below is my progress for October.

Goal 1: Read 25 books.
I finished two this month, though one I had been working on for awhile. Reading E.B. White with my daughter continues to be a rewarding experience. White's The Trumpet of the Swan and C.S. Lewis' The Magician's Nephew were the "children's" books I completed. Twenty-one down, four more to go.

Goal 2: Write 75 blog posts.
This is post number 6 for the month, keeping me on pace with 64 for the year. I really liked "The Hypocrites in My Church." Six a month for the next two months will seal this one.

Goal 3: Write 25 letters.
Abysmal, epic failure this month. I was shooting for 3. I got done with 1/2 a letter. I need 7 more plus the one I'm in the middle of. I'm hoping that a few more weekends home in the next couple of weeks will help. Failure is not an option.

October Successes:
1. I presented a session at the 2013 Iowa Council of Teachers of English Conference in Des Moines. I was pleased with how the session with, as it's always good to get in front of a room full of peers and talk about what I do. Seeing good people helped as well. My maiden voyage to Zombie Burger the night before the performance may have been the real victory.

2. Chewing up my time in chunks every week is the new course on Biblical Exposition I've begun with a small group of men from the church. It's demanding and difficult, often leaving me frustrated in the midst of struggling with some Old Testament narratives. But it's good. I'm experiencing major growth. The cost in time will produce fruit.

Quotes to Note:

• "Love is not maximum emotion. Love is maximum commitment." - Sinclair Ferguson
• "The church is a school for sinners, not a museum for saints. - Anthony Thiselton
• The Christian life is all about wakefulness. Theology describes what we see when we are awake, and discipleship is about staying awake. The sad truth is many of us are at best only half awake. We think we're engaged with the real world - the world of stock markets, stock car racing, stockpiles of weapons - but in fact, we're living in what Lewis calls the Shadowlands. We're really daydreaming and sleepwalking our way through life, asleep at the wheel of existence." - Kevin Vanhoozer

Some articles of interest from the month:

• Nine Ways to Become a More Boring Writer
• The Origin of "Dude
• What Our Students Need to Hear

Two months left in 2013. Basketball season approaches. Finish strong, finish by producing, and produce with an eye on The Ultimate.