Sunday, October 18, 2009

How Did This All Start?

I have this good friend, Dave Carr, that has his own blog, which I follow. OK, he's more than a good friend, he is who I want to be when I grow up. I'm not the only one, there are several of us who want to be Dave when we grow up. Dave has followed his dreams, he is doing the job he wants to do, he gets up early and reads and meditates, he thinks, he contemplates, he doesn't rush through life like the rest of us, or many of us.



A few months ago, I expressed my desire to write and my writing background to Lisa Dugan, who is my Vistage chair (that would probably take much too long to explain), but she is a person whose opinion I value immensely. She suggested I start a blog. Well, like most things, I didn't. I really intended to, but I really didn't believe anyone would want to read what I had to say, which may still be the case.



Today at church, we had three lay leaders deliver the sermon. It was really good, as these three people poured out some great messages about their lives and what God has meant and done for them. I thought how much I would like to do something like this. I've done "Minutes for Mission" before and other speaking engagements, but never something as involved as this. I thought how much I'd love to share my experiences, my journey, my life with God, my family, etc.



There is one major problem. I'm a crier. I hate to admit it, but when I hit those emotional moments, I have the hardest time not crying. I cry at weddings, I cry at funerals. I cry at Field of Dreams, but really, what guy doesn't? When I have to deliver a really emotional message, I essentially have two choices. I "stone" my emotions, so I come across like a robot, or I cry. Neither is effective. So, maybe this is my best solution. If I can't deal with the emotions effectively in a public setting, maybe I can do it behind the keyboard.



So there it is. A combination of inspiration from various sources has led me to this. If you are expecting anything earth-shattering, you may be severely disappointed. Check out Dave Carr's blog if you want that. I hope that once in a while you will laugh, once in a while you will cry, but most of all, I hope that you will see why I believe that it wasn't George Bailey who is the luckiest man alive, but it is me.