Kaine: My Greatest Mentor

My mentor chilling in the snow.  He probably just peed

I have had several mentors in my life.  Great men and women who have come alongside me and driven me to think deeper and work harder.  While their tireless effort has shaped me in powerful ways one being has outstripped them all in lasting impact and constant relationship.  His name is Kaine.  He is my dog.

Merging our Bubbles

I have been thinking about bubbles lately.  Sometimes they hit each other and pop, other times they collide and make something bigger and better.  We all grew up in some kind of bubble.  You did not choose it because all of us grow up living in the culture our parents created. Exposure to the outside world increases with time but for a good chunk of our lives their bubble is our reality.  This bubble probably included a host of things both good and bad. Because we all have bubbles and it is our nature to press beyond them I want think on what we do when we realize there is more to this world than our bubble. 

Beauty in puddles

Recently my wife Lindsay and I moved from Colorado to Indiana.  On the one hand this was an easy move.  We are now closer to our fantastic family and are able to work with friends we love.  On the other hand we left a place and culture that we had come to call home.  We love the people here but we miss the beauty there.  At times a “home sickness” bubbles up in my heart and I echo the words of Bilbo Baggins, “I want to see mountains again, Gandalf, mountains!”  (yes I actually said that and yes I am a nerd).

52 weeks and 52 articles

Edit August 8, 2012:  This project kinda fell on its face.  I am going to keep writing but my life got a little crazy for a while and I let it slide.  Hopefully I will be getting back into it soon.    

For many years now I have wanted to start writing for reasons beyond school and work.  Now that I am finally finished with seminary and running out of excuses I am deciding to make it happen.  This year I am going to write something substantive at least once a week.  52 articles in 52 weeks.  For those of you that write professionally this may not seem like much but for a humble beginner like myself with more than one day job this challenge is more than a little daunting.  I hope I am up to the task!