Thursday, October 09, 2008

I'm Back

Hello, friends. Sorry for the long absence. The main reason for my silence was a problem caused by WindStream. Fortunately (after about 3 weeks and much hoop jumping and much frustration) they finally got someone involved who could and did fix the problem. I didn't have internet connectivity from September 9 through September 27.

I could have posted from my parents' house, but blogging - to me - is something that I need to be in familiar surroundings to do. I need to feel like I have the luxury of time to be able to write well. Usually when I am at their house, I am busy with outside chores and computer work is pushed to the back burner. By the time I am done with outside work, I am generally ready to get a bath and go to bed, not sit and type on the computer!

Of course I am sure that many of you are perhaps wondering about the gap since I got my service back. Well, there are some reasons for that too. I have been busy transitioning things in the garden from the summer crops to the fall crops. That has taken a good bit of work. I have felt like I have been behind the 8 ball trying to keep up with everything here at the end. However, things seem to be settling down nicely. I have only 3 tomato plants left and have picked the last of the purplehull peas that I plan to pick. The okra has slowed down considerably and I only expect to get a couple more pickings from the lima beans.

My green patch is doing very nicely. I picked three nice messes of greens yesterday and there is plenty more where they came from. The collards finally seem to be taking off and my cabbage is looking good. I have rutabagas coming up and will be thinning and transplanting them when they are big enough. Hopefully, I'll be able to get some pumpkins on before the season ends. God has truly blessed my efforts this year. What a good God! It has been a great opportunity to learn and to see His hand in operation. I never dreamed when I started the garden that I would get to witness so many miracles first hand. It has been awesome.

Another reason for the delay in getting back to writing on this blog is that I have started a new private blog that is a personal prayer journal. I had hoped to write in it daily, but unfortunately, that hasn't been the case so far. It has been a very good endeavor, though. The only problem is that it takes time and we all know that time is in pretty short supply. Writing in one will often mean neglecting another.

Yet a third reason that I haven't written is that I have been avoiding politics lately like the plague. I am so sick of this unending campaigning. I am tired of the bias. I am tired of everything about it. I have already made up my mind and am sure that nothing that any of the candidates is likely to say will sway me to go in another direction. So, I have been insulating myself against that too, and as you know, much of my material is a reaction to the headlines.

God seems to be doing some interesting things in me lately. Some of it is very unconventional. I often wonder where it will lead me. I don't know if I could put a finger on anything specifically - I doubt that I would write about it even if I could - I just feel that something is going on. Something good.

I guess that the final reason is that I have just gotten out of the habit of writing. I have a goal to do 365 posts on this blog this year. I may have a little catching up to do to make up for the pitiful showing last month, but I think I can still make it. Thank you all for the inquiries and concerns about my whereabouts. I haven't been kidnapped (at least not physically) and I haven't joined the Foreign Legion. I've just been restrained, distracted, and busy. God bless you all and thank you for reading.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Was hoping all was well with you. Glad to see you back in cyberspace! Did you find time to read the latest C. Paolini book - fnished that this week and thought of you.

Jonathan said...

No, I haven't taken a swing at Brisingr yet. Dad bought it and is reading it now. I hope to read it when he is finished. I'm currently reading The Shack. It is interesting, but very rough reading - especially through the first 5 chapters. I'm not sure what to think of it yet, but most of the folks that I know that have finished it said that it was very good. I am trying to maintain a fair but critical attitude towards it, but must say that it is very engaging.

Anonymous said...

Be sure to post what you think about 'The Shack' when you finish reading the book. It's a best seller right now on Amazon Kindle and I've been debating about downloading it or not. The reviews there are good, but not sure if I can deal with the subject matter. But with my eclectic reading tastes, if it's well written I'm bound to enjoy it at some level either way.

This week, I've finally given in to all the recommendations from others and am working my way through the Twilight series. I am pleasantly surprised that although the books are pure entertainment, there is a lot to be said in them about love, loss and loyalty and friendship. I've identified more with the characters and their relationships than I thought I would - there is a lot there that mirrors my own life. And, while they aren't 'spiritual' works in the classic sense, who can resist the concept of the being who denies the basest nature of him or her-self to do what is right and moral??

Jonathan said...

I'll be sure to post about it when I finish. So far I feel like I should really have a copy that I can mark up so that I can come back and ponder some of the statements it makes more deeply. (I am reading a borrowed copy.)

There is no denying that the crisis that sets up the remainder of the book is tough. I found it quite easy to imagine cruel and unusual punishments for someone who could do something like that. It is especially easy since I have dear ones about that age.

I have friends that I will probably caution against reading it for that very reason. I had to steel myself to manage it - much like I did to watch Saving Private Ryan, The Passion, and Schindler's List.

I have been tempted to pick up Twilight just to see what all the fuss is about. I'll admit that all the hype has me quite skeptical.

Still it would be hard to beat a good Terry Pratchett novel!