I've been thinking...

Okay it's been ages since I last blogged... this feels like an entirely new experience to be doing this again. I had long forgotten my password to log in to blogger because it's been so long since I looked at this thing. Thankfully the blogger people made the process of resetting the password simple yet secure. Thanks blogger!

So anyway, why am I doing this again? Well for starters, I'm still getting the odd hate mail trickling in from my last post about Global Warming over a year ago, so I figured it shouldn't be the first title that pops up in my blog anymore. Secondly, I've missed the way my thoughts seemed so much more... sorted out... while I was blogging. Somehow the process of putting my thoughts down in writing seems to unravel some of the confusion in my brain.

Now the question is... what to write about? Maybe it's time for a little follow up on my previous posts, and my life this last year.

Anger Towards the Institution. An Update.
Well it's no secret that I have had a lot of bitterness towards Prairie from growing up under a legalistic religious system. I'm happy to say that God has been softening my heart towards the institution and I have let go a lot of bitterness in the last year. I'm not entirely over it though, as I discovered upon a recent visit to said institution. I couldn't seem to reconcile in my mind why if they've shortened the list of rules the students and staff must abide by, then why do they suddenly require a myriad of surveillance cameras? To keep an eye on everyone? Who watches the cameras? What are they looking for? Maybe they are taking a literal approach to that verse they made me learn as a kid... "The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good." Hmmmmm. I'm probably just oversensitive.

Anyway, I don't hate the place anymore. I still wouldn't want to go back, but at least I find myself wanting to reach out to people there instead of avoiding them. I'm more at home in my freedom in Christ now. I'm not afraid of religious leaders and institutions taking away my newfound freedom. They can't take it away, which is a fear I held on to for quite a while.

Family
Our family is growing in leaps and bounds with the addition of our fourth child, my dear Azaelea Katie Rae. Last time I blogged she was not even a twinkle in her moms eye yet! Having 4 kids has kept us hopping to say the least, so happily we chanced upon Rachel who has moved in with us just recently as a nanny for the kids. She's already pretty much become family which is great!

Burnout
This last year was my burnout year. I could probably dedicate a whole blog entry to this, but for now, the long and short is, I overworked myself, ignored all the warnings my body was giving me and had a meltdown. I took 3 months off of work and church and focused on resting and spending time with my family. Burnout has a way of creeping up on you. It comes on the heels of anxiety, depression and sleeplessness and plots your doom while you stare blankly out the window contemplating your inability to care about what's going on around you. In 3 months I recovered years of my life... from feeling like a 72 year old man, to being 30(ish) again. We work ourselves too hard you know. All of us. If you ever feel guilty about NEEDING a break, you work too hard. I'm just saying.

Global Warming
Well, nothing's changed here. The planet is still warming up, but it's not my fault. Not your's either, but hey, no one's listening.

Spirituality
Well, I've learned a lot this year, and grown a lot and I'm thinking that if I manage to keep up on the blog, this is the area I might spend a bit more time sorting through. So I won't go into anything deep right now, but hopefully soon.


So there it is. My first blog entry in forever.





It's strangely good to be back.