No, really...I DO still have a blog?

Blogs fall somewhere between the realms of "cool tool" and "vanity wanna-be writers". 

One of the reasons I haven't been able to sustain any kind of momentum on this blog is trying to realistically move from the latter to the former. 

Blogs are kind of a 2000's thing, as in the first decade of the 2000's. I remember when all of the cool kids had a well written blog, or maybe I should say just a blog. Social media took over, and kind of made the blog a rather arduous task if all you were seeking was simply an online forum to speak your mind. Now if you are going to spend precious time and creative energy, you better have something good to write and you better write it well. 

I think I at least now have a direction and theory in order to come back to blogging. 

Most of the content up to this point was largely comprised of religious articles I did for a now-defunct Piedmont newspaper. (I guess that means I can include myself among the many who helped drive a newspaper into the ground.) While my intentions (read:vanity) was to keep writing compelling material, I never really had the focus nor the purpose to do it much until now. 

I'm going to use this space to primarily be a "spillover" for my sermons and classes. My first thought is that I'm going to use this spot to put in leftover thoughts, facts, ideas and reflections from Sunday sermons and Wednesday night Bible classes. Trust me, every single sermon and class has something in my notes or brain that just somehow doesn't make it out of my mouth. This happens due to time constraints, an idea that simply didn't explode into relevance or I was distracted by a kid picking his nose. Sometimes I will mention a resource, web page or something that I recommend during a sermon...this is where I will post links or elaborate on those things.

Another use of this blog is what I mentioned in my last post over...a...year...ago. I will talk about congregational life, happenings and in's-and-out's. Think of it as a running commentary of all things Solider Creek. This might get interesting. I might get a little testy, or perhaps display my slants and opinions for everyone to see. We'll see how risky I get with these posts. That said - it is important to issue the little disclaimer that sometimes gets preachers fired.

All opinions on this blog are mine alone, and not necessarily reflective of the leadership or official positions of the Soldier Creek church of Christ.

Finally, I will reserve the right to also treat this blog as my social-media-on-steroids spot. Expanded thoughts on anything and everything...such as the following quick shots:

• ANDY'S FROZEN CUSTARD IS COMING TO OKC!!!!  And even more exciting, its first OKC location is being built at NW Expressway and Macarthur. Andy's is a Springfield, Missouri institution. Probably most of you who go to Branson even semi-regularly know about Andy's on the strip. It is one of the best frozen custard places I've ever known. I've loved frozen custard from my childhood of going to Ted Drewes, the St. Louis institution for frozen custard. Andy's is awfully good, with quality custard and more ways to make a concrete/sundae/shake than you can imagine! Particularly exciting to me is how close it is to my favorite bike trails connecting Lakes Hefner and Overholser. (Go HERE for more about frozen custard,) And yes, I'm aware that Freddy's has frozen custard. Mediocre at best - Freddy's makes much better burgers and hotdogs than any of their frozen offerings. 
• This is the year, THIS IS THE YEAR that I achieve my long sought after goal of a 100 mile ride. Kim and I are working out and in the best shape of our adult lives, and that is going to help me get 'er done. That "Richter Gran Fondo" can be planned to go right by Andy's!
• This also might be the year, sadly, that the road to the World Series doesn't run through St. Louis. Give up on the STL at your own risk, but my beloved Cardinals might have some holes.

That's all for now. My next post will contain some suggested books for having Bible study/devotionals with your family, as suggested in one of my sermons a few weeks back.