This Desert Life

It's noon on Wednesday. I'm still wearing my pajama pants and the sweatshirt that I put on immediately after getting out of bed at 6:45am. I'm unshaven, my hair is disheveled, and I'm sure that my breath isn't great either after drinking almost an entire pot of coffee this morning by myself. Jennifer and the boys are gone, and it's just me in my house. And it's quiet.

We call it a desert day.

One of the perks of Northwoods is that we get one day a month to get out of the office, pray, read, think, slow down a little. (Other churches give Sabbaticals once every five-seven years...I think this way is better...just my opinion, although if there were Sabbaticals to take, I take one!)

Here's some of what I did today...I was a bit abbreviated because I had a meeting tonight at church that I needed to prep for and attend...but anyway.

• I completed my January Bible readings in Genesis, Acts, Psalms & Matthew. So far, so good this year.

• I started reading Chazown by Craig Groeschel. I'm really excited to take this book slowly -- doing the journalling excercises and sucking the marrow out of this book.
• I listened to a Rob Bell message.
• I prayed.

• I read Flashbang: How I Got Over Myself. I read the whole book. It took just over four hours or so. We're basing our Nexus teaching and the house group discussions for February on this book so I wanted to get it into my head again. I read it in 2005, and it cracked me up, but at the same time challenged me...it was probably better the second time, because I've gotten older, more mature, and I think I have a greater awareness of my infatuation with myself.
• I moved slowly...drank a lot of coffee...paused when I read something good...listened to Charlie Hall...then Counting Crows.

yes, this Desert Life was an album title for the Counting Crows...I'm apparently lacking in blog title originality these days.