Let's Try This Again

So, Today I'm Thinking...

...that everybody I talk to lately has a story regarding hospice care.
...that MySpace is nothing special. The teens I serve love it, but the whole reason I like blogging is it tends to be more about ideas than about pictures, quizzes and quick comments.
...that teenagers view e-mail and even mobile phone messages as too slow. Text-messaging is about the only way to get through to them quickly.
...that I didn't know there was a lady who got arrested for failure to give up her seat on a bus about two weeks before Rosa Parks did, but Rosa would've been more likely to win a court case so the leadership used her case. When my cynicism level is already peaking I don't need to hear stuff like that.
...the more I read Tocqueville's work on democracy, the more I come to realize the importance of the philosopher and the ability to impact society.
...the Dallas Morning News (Dallasnews.Com) had an article this morning about the lack of theologians in our culture's public discourse (like Neibuhr once was) by William MacKenzie which is excellent and here were two quotes that might entice you to read it:

"They need the tools of the social scientist, as well as the theologian, to become a liason between the church and the world. If they don't understand what drives modern culture as well as Christian theology, they won't be heard."

[on some reasons why we don't have public theologians anymore]
"Theology is a diversion. Some charismatic Christians, for example, have no time for theology because they're obsessed with the experiential. And serious theology is the last thing sought by a culture thirsty for populizers like Houston's mega-author/minister Joel Osteen."

...that Joshua and Kristen are right. My next personal computer purchase will be a Mac.
...the first day of spring in Texas brought temperatures in the 30's, and it'll be even colder tonight. I've actually enjoyed the last four days of weather in this state.
...I'm not eating right, sleeping well, or exercising enough. It's shaping up to be the perfect storm.
...I'm not reading as much as I'd like, either.
...I'm excited about former teenagers in my ministry who are showing tendencies towards becoming full-time missionaries. Now if I could only get a few more long-term youth ministers into the fold. For some reason, those two areas in particular excite me more than those that are looking for pastorates, although it shouldn't.
...that my higher-order life-liver sister Jilly, despite OCD leanings, might be the coolest person I know.
...that there are few things as fun on a boring night at home than going through old photo albums with your daughter. I see why people would risk a lot to save their photos from a fire or flood.
...that I went to work yesterday pretty much just to shuffle papers and return e-mails and phone calls. It was good to do that, even on my day off, as it more or less got my brain unglued.
...that my pastor's new book seems to be affecting people, but in a very low-key way. This, I like.
...it's time to get moving for the day.