Hey friends, just checking in. Hope you’re well. Sorry for putting that song in your head. (Not really.)
Things are going well, on the whole. God is good. I’m grateful for what God is doing in my life right now.
Random updates/observations:
- The Fox News GOP Debate: I listened to the debate on the radio. Going into the debate, I found myself lining up with Cruz and Rubio on a lot of issues, but I didn’t think either of them had a good showing in this one. Cruz sounded too much like Trump, and Rubio sounded shrill and reactive when contradicted. By the end of the night, the three people whom I thought acquitted themselves the best were Christie, Bush, and Rand Paul (believe it or not). Kasich and Carson were meandering and distracted, and while each of them has some good qualities, they wouldn’t make good presidents. In the end, this debate muddied my view of the race. While the key candidates in the primary season seem to already be locked in, I find myself curious about some of the also-rans. I will say this, though: I didn’t miss Trump. At all. It felt like the candidates could talk about issues because he wasn’t sucking all the air out of the room. Just my take.
- Hamilton: If you haven’t heard the Hamilton musical, and you are interested at all in musical theater and/or American colonial history, it may be worth your time. (Content warning: there is some vulgar language scattered throughout, and some lewd references, so please be advised.) It’s a compelling and frenetic tour-de-force. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s lyrics are top-notch, like the best of Sondheim, and the use of hip-hop as a musical language for story-telling is genius. (Congressional debates as rap-battles. Enough said.) Fascinating picture of a compelling and little-known individual.
- Reading: I am slowly but surely working through my reading list. I’m having to balance the books I want to read from the reading challenge with books I’ve committed to reviewing on this site. My hope is to have at least 1-2 book reviews a week for the next few weeks (typically on Mondays). Once I get through the backlog of books I need to review, I’ll probably hold off on those for a while and focus on the book challenge list (unless new books become available that I can slide into those slots). Speaking of the reading challenge, I’ll have a post up on Monday, giving you an update of which books I was able to complete from that list in January, along with some capsule reviews/reactions. That will be a monthly feature for the rest of the year.
- Goals: Month 1 of the new year has seen half-hearted adherence to the stated 2016 goals. One of the benefits of using Todoist is that I can see exactly how long it’s been since I’ve completed one of my daily goals. That gives some level of accountability. But I can tell you that, while I haven’t been consistent in the daily routines, I am performing these tasks more than I would have otherwise. So that is progress. Looking forward to hitting them on a daily basis by the time the year is up.
- Marriage: My wife is an absolute gift to me. She challenges me, encourages me, cares for my day-to-day needs, and ministers to me on a daily basis. She is a living, breathing gift of grace. I’m deeply thankful for her, and love her immensely. God is good. My wife is proof.
I think that’s about it for me. Gonna go walk around in a circle for a bit. Have a great weekend, friends.
The4thDave Blog 