Accountability time. How go the goals, Mike?
Make a list - I did. Sweet.
Read -This is the goal I've made the most progress on. I haven't kept up with the Bible reading as much (which I should), but I have a list of books I've read.
For starters, I wanted to read works from the Inklings (admittedly mainly C.S. Lewis and Tolkien). I want to read some different devotionals and Christian authors such as Tozer, Brother Lawrence, and Strobel, but I haven't gotten to all of them yet.
I've read:
The Screwtape Letters - Highly recommended. It really made me stop and think. The story behind the writing of the tale is interesting unto itself, too.
Mere Christianity - I've always admired how C.S. Lewis can voice things I've thought, but have been unable to say. His "Looney, Liar, or Lord" argument always comes to my mind when I think of this book.
The Hobbit - I loved the cartoon as a kid, but I never read the book. That's been rectified. Some of the writing made it feel like J.R.R. was reading it out to his kids. Which is how the story was first told, so go figure! There were times when you knew what would happen because the narrator would give away scenes before they happened, but overall it fit with my vision of the book and how the story was originally told. A pretty good read. I'll try to read it Shane one day when he's older.
The Silmarilion - A 5/5 if you adore all things Tolkien, a 3/5 for the average reader, and a 2/5 if you don't like very dense, mythology with included genealogy charts. Personally, I rounded it up to a 4/5. I could only read it a chapter a night before bed. This served the dual purpose of settling me in for sleep and preventing the density of the material from turning me off of it. I was amazed at the level of thought and detail Tolkien put into his world. There were a couple of good stories in it, too. I think I saw some insight into Tolkien's theology as well. All of his characters made mistakes and eventually met their Doom. Even the greatest heroes like Isildur, or the king of the Sinder, Thingol. Don't ask me to repeat names or family trees.
The Fellowship of the Ring - Never read it before. Honestly, I have more appreciation for the movies. It's a grand tale, but the actual writing sometimes feels oddly paced to me. Paragraphs can be spent on descriptions and then an actual encounter (such as where Frodo is assualted by the Ringwraiths and stabbed on top of Lookout Hill) can be one quick paragraph that feels more like a description than an action scene. I am glad I real the Silmarilion beforehand. I've picked up on many references to the Tolkien mythos. I can complain about the pacing, but J.R.R. was gifted to be able to imagine, create, and build the universe he did.
The Two Towers (in progress!) - I've enjoyed The Two Towers much more than The Fellowship of the Ring, so far. The pacing is better and then the longer exposition parts were on topics I didn't already know from the movies, different from the movie or something I found interesting. I'm halfway done and the next parts I expect are going to reintroduce Sam, Frodo, and Gollum, so we'll see if that continues. Honestly, The LOTR was perfect for making a movie. Tolkien supplied an amazing/epic story, a meticulously built world with a history, and then the movie writers were able to zoom in on moments where the books spent a few sentences and bring them to a different kind of life. I think this is the only time I've felt it was more beneficial to watch the movie and then read the books.
A Purpose Driven Life - I picked this up for Lent. It's another book I recommend to anyone. There is plenty of meaningful material and it acts as a tool to get the reading thinking. Reflection is incredibly important to the learning process. Sometimes it's hard to structure reflection on your own and book like this can be enlightening and promote the reader to do some grade A reflecting.
Four Pillars of a Man's Heart - This book was a good example of an author being very genuine. He said a lot of things that I agree with, some I didn't, but regardless he made me stop and think. I believe the reflective piece paired with prayer is very important in trying to learn and grow into whoever you're meant to become.
A Mind for God - A quick read I picked up from Matt. It was an interesting one, though. I recommend it. It talks about pursuing knowledge and developing intellectual discipline as something more Christians to do. Your copy won't have the little notes scribbled throughout! I found some of those interesting, as well!
Red Shirt - A pure pleasure read. It's been recommended to me by numerous sources. It's by John Scalzi. It was a fun, witty, and creative romp with some minor naughtiness. It would make a good flick or tongue-in-cheek TV series. My next goal is to get Carrie to read it since she's the Trekkie!
Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary: One of the greatest comic strips ever. Period. Enough said.
Misc: There have been some other random readings, but nothing comes to mind right now. I don't have that much spare time! I try to have a book on hand, so I can fit it in where I can.
Write - Partial fail on this one. My blog does not suffer from neglect. My attempts at anything outside the blog have been severely limited. I did do a quick write-up for a Star Wars rule-set mixed with GURPs, but nothing has come of that since. My brother, Matt, and I have talked about putting our heads together and coming up with a story or adventure of some kind. It would be a lot of fun, but we're both really busy. We've traded an email and chatted for a few minutes here and there. If we do go forward, we'll probably collaborate more during the summer.
Exercise - Big fail here. There's been no concentrated progress. I did a little bit of lifting in January. I spent the rest of the winter shoveling a tremendous amount of snow, so I know I'm not a total wimp. Exercise has been low on the 'to-do' totem pole. Sometimes I still think about signing a contract somewhere to do Judo or BJJ again, but then I quickly come to my senses. 1) It's expensive in $, and 2) it's expensive in time. I plan on signing Shane up for something like Taekwondo when he's older, so maybe I can get a deal and do it with him.
Family First - Shane and I spend a lot of time together. I am (happily) not a distanced dad. On the proactive side, Shane and I have started swim lessons together! Shane went to Sunday school instead of the nursery for the first time in April, too. I'm not sitting in class with him, but that may be a sign he's ready to do something structured like a toddler soccer team or what have you. I think I'd enjoy being an assistant coach one day. I rate this goal a pass for now. Shane and I need to keep having adventures to pass for the year.
Serve - I have not found a ministry to join on a regular basis. They're out there, but I am not. Daniel's Dad was saying he may join the production crew for our church, so maybe I'll end up following suit. I used to make slides and run the sound board at my parent's church.
The unspoken goals of being a good husband, father, teacher, son, friend, and follower are all still there and constantly in progress. Life is an eternal learning process.
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