Photo Op: A Boy and His Dog

Not much to say. I just love these pictures.

Book Review: Wild At Heart by John Eldredge

It’s not often I start a book and don’t finish it. Wild at Heart by John Eldredge is an exception in that way. As it is, I got 30 pages into Wild at Heart and had to stop. Seriously, I had to stop. There is something to be said for reading challenging texts and I strongly encourage the seeking of challenges. But Wild at Heart isn’t challenging…at least not a positive way.

Interesting, though, how timing sometimes works. I had starting writing a scathing review of Eldredge and Wild At Heart last week and I was all set to polish it up and post it today. Then we went to church (Northview Christian Life) and the sermon touched on the topic of criticism and some of its consequences. It made me rethink just how harsh I wanted to be. Particularly within the venue of an almost wholly one-sided blog.

There are plenty of other online reviews of Wild At Heart and I doubt mine would have had all that much to add. Note: if you search for reviews on Wild At Heart do not stop with the reader reviews on Amazon. Dig for more thorough, scripture-based reviews. There is a huge difference.

Would I recommend the book to others? Not likely. Especially in light of all the other terrific, more complete, and less flawed books available. I, for one, picked up John Piper’s Don’t Waste Your Life and, so far, so good.

RetroBrett: In Like Flint

If there's ever a RetroBrett movie, I think the part of Brett should be played by a young James Coburn.

I can't think of anyone more suited to the role than Our Man Flint.

2 New Goals

I have a number goals and I think I may have touched on them in the past. Many of them deal with family, work, time management, health, my ability to do (or not do) a handstand, etc. You know, the standard New Year's Resolution type of things. Recently, I've added a couple new goals:

1. Read more.
And I don't mean just staring at a page. I really want to dig into the text. Specifically, I want to devote more effort to reading the Bible but it applies to other things as well. I think this will also force me to be more discriminating in what I read. This side effect will come up more in my upcoming review of John Eldredge's book, Wild At Heart.

2. Pray constantly.
I have a horrible habit of hearing a prayer need, noting it for future reference, and failing to ever actually pray on the need. Anyway, I'm working on praying immediately when a need is recognized. This one is actually reasonably easy as the prayer often takes the same time and effort as making the mental note.

The Bronze/Pottery Anniversary

My lovely wife and I celebrated our 8th Anniversary yesterday. From what I've read, it's supposed to be the bronze/pottery anniversary. We celebrated with neither. Actually, we enjoyed a terrific night out last weekend while my parents watched Jesse for us (Thanks, Mom and Dad).

With the few extra years of dating at Ball State, we've been together nearly 11 years. It's been amazing. It really doesn't seem like it's been that long. As my wife said, it seems like we were just going to Fazoli's on our first date, using the dorm room desks for a dining room table, and making an evening of going to the Muncie Wal-Mart.

A lot has changed. Sure, I miss the simplicity of college life. And I certainly miss having the flexibility of the college schedule. Let's face it, homework can always be done in the middle of the night...planning a fun date needs to happen now. On the other hand, I think we've really grown with all the changes. Maybe when things like free time grow scarce, we realize their true value. It didn't hurt that I was younger and sleep seemed a lot less important (and necessary).

I'm excited about our future. Really excited. Even in the last year or two, we've really grown closer to each other. We've grown closer to God. And we're really working on growing closer to God as a couple. I see that trend continuing.

Thanks you for 8 + 3 awesome years.

Canned Ham: We should all contest this

I usually limit my collection of funny email subjects to only those that I receive as spam. This subject line represents one of the exceptions as it came from an apartment search/rating website that I used during our recent series of relocations.

Last Chance to Enter the Possession Obsession Contest

On the one hand, it's semi-funny. It's no Reportduckling or pain tolerance test but it's somewhat humorous to think of the possible meanings. I mean, do I win by being the most obsessed? Or, if the obsession the prize? Maybe the prize is an exorcism.

On the other hand, I actually find the subject line a tad offensive. Seriously, is this a contest glorifying possessions? Even glorifying obsession? Merriam-Webster defines obsession as "a persistent disturbing preoccupation with an often unreasonable idea or feeling". Is this something to praise? Maybe part of what disturbs me is that there are people actually playing this contest...though, I guess, many of us play the "possession obsession" game every day. I know I certainly do. After all, my previous most was about a collector car auction and a $650k Cobra.

Anyway, thanks, but no thanks.

Auburn 2007: Sale-A-Bration

For me, Labor Day translates to my annual trip to the Kruse Auction Park in Auburn, IN for what's grown into one of the largest collector car auctions in the country. My Dad and I have been going each year since I was a little kid...back when the auction filled a high school football field. Now they have 480 acres and they expect to have 5,000 cars for sale. For a car-guy like me--especially one that loves old cars--it's incredible.

This year was no different. A few of the highlights:

1. $650k Cobra (the black one with the red, white, and blue stripes in the slideshow).

2. A metallic green Mercury Cougar (I think a 1968 or so).

3. 1970 Hemi Superbird. It's the bright orange car with the massive spoiler on the back. What I really liked was that the car had been used as the getaway car for a casino robbery in Reno. They robbers didn't exactly go inconspicuous, did they?

All that being said, the real highlight was spending the day with family and friends. My mom even enjoyed it...she got to babysit and have Jesse to herself for an entire day.