Feb Fest

     There are 28 days in the month of February. There are 28 chapters in the book of Acts. My challenge to myself this coming February is to write a song for each day of the month of February about each chapter of the book of Acts.
     This idea actually originated a few years ago when a musician friend of mine in Santa Cruz, California said to me, "Hey, a bunch of us are writing a song for each week of the month of October. We're calling it 'Rocktober.' You should do it too!" I went a step further and decided to write and record a new song for every day of Rocktober. Seeing what I came up with was fun! I didn't write the most amazing songs, but it was all about the experience and the challenge. And I think I did come out with a few gems.
     Lately, I have just been craving such a challenge again. I haven't written or recorded very many songs for awhile, and I think it's about time to see what else I can come up with!
     I'm not expecting anyone else to join me in exactly what I am doing, but how do you think you might challenge yourself artistically this next month? Maybe you can make a goal of writing a song, painting a portrait, snapping a few pictures, writing a poem, or doing some type of craft project once a week for the month of February. I just want to pass on the same type of challenge that was originally posed to me!
     If you do decide to challenge yourself this next month, leave me a comment to let me know what you are doing! My masterpiece of a wife was born in February, so February is a good month to be creative!

Social

Recently Melissa and I quit Facebook. I really didn't want to at first. How would people know what I was doing? How would I know what everyone else was doing? And what about all of the witty/clever things I needed to post on my wall!? I still want to post random comments out of the blue sometimes. Part of the appeal for taking a step back from Facebook, though, is that I feel I am stepping toward something our culture is losing. Remember the days of calling your friends and family or sending personal emails? We live right now more and more in a culture of convenience. We live busy lives, and it's a lot easier to throw some food in the microwave when we get home. But for the sake of convenience and simplifying our lives, we are leaving home-cooked meals and deeper personal connections. So, for the sake of being intentional and thoughtful about relationships and wanting to be more truly social, I am taking a break from Facebook to get together with people, have meaningful conversations over the phone, and take time to write out personal emails.