Logocentric (adj).Regarding words and language as a fundamental expression of an external reality (especially applied as a negative term to traditional Western thought by postmodernist critics).
Sometimes I just write whatever I feel like. Other times I respond to prompts, many taken from the following places:
I have always enjoyed the longer distance running and skiing. The Marathon in Summer Olympics and the 50km Mass Start in the Winter. My wife can't understand how I can watch the same race for several hours. But they are fascinating to me. I like the Downhill Slalom, Bobsled and Luge sports. Attending a Winter Olympics remains on my bucket list.
My favorite sporting events in the Winter Olympics are the Luge, Bobsled, Figure Skating and curling. Initially, I thought I would be bored with curling but I'm not. It's fascinating how they determine each glide's angle and potential score.
When my children were younger we built them a luge course, they loved it. We were lucky that winter to have lots of snow to build up the walls and with some help with pallets that we covered with snow, it kept them and the neighborhood kids busy until it warmed up and melted. I was a lot more at ease with the luge course than I was when they decided to try arial jumps off our house roof. Never a dull moment when you live in Maine.
I am reading ESV through the Bible this time. Like you, I've explored a bunch of translations. My church uses NIV but my women's Bible study group (part of the same church) varies based on what Bible study we're doing.
Hope you enjoy the Olympics! I agree that the every four year thing makes them feel more special.
I read the New American Bible, which is a Catholic Bible. (NABRE) They include Tobit, Judith, 1 & 2 Maccabees, which generally aren't included in other versions of the Bible. I would be curious to read an orthodox bible or the Ethiopian Bible as I hear they have differences as well.
As for the Olympics, I love the Winter Olympics. I'm just crossing my fingers I have time to watch!
In terms of the original texts the NASB has the best reputation among conservative scholars. It looks at more translations, has a sensible hierarchy of text selection and the best principles for approaching the translation task. It favors original texts when possible. The ESV and NKJV are on a similar level. The Net Bible gives the best overview of the discussions in its commentary. The NIV renders the original text to make it more readable. It is a more functional text which is why many churches use it but it is also less precise. Greek or Russian orthodox are more Septuagint orientated and there is a considerable amount of ethical or emotional rendering to the text.The disadvantage of the NASB is that it loses much of the Hebrew poetical style in its effort to be precise as this does not translate into the English
I'm very fortunate to have met some practicing and humble Christians. Truly humble people seek to serve, not attain power and influence. The actions of many Christians make me run the opposite way... as fast as I can.
In his book, Sit, Walk, Stand, Watchman Nee states: "Nothing has done greater damage to our Christian testimony than our trying to be right and demanding right of others. We become preoccupied with what is and what is not right. We ask ourselves,' Have we been justly or unjustly treated?' and we think thus to vindicate our actions. But that is not our standard. The whole question for us is one of crossbearing".
Jeff, this is an excellent book. Perhaps one for your reading list?
Even though I'm a little older than 28, this song really resonates with me. I actually kind of wish that she would have named it something else, because the themes of the song aren't just the purview of twenty-somethings; I think it's equally appropriate for people who are 38, 48, or even older.
I don't often break down lyrics for songs in my playlist, but I think it's worth doing for this one.
Sometimes, I think about the old days
I don't know where they went
'Cause these days when I look in the mirror
Don't really know who I am
As I get older, "thinking about the old days" becomes more and more prominent a feature in my internal life, and I definitely don't know where some of the weeks, months, and years went because all of a sudden I'm a mid-career, middle-aged dad with a family and a career to think about.
Thought maybe I would have a family or a house by now
28, I never thought I'd be the one who let me down
Oh man, "I never thought I'd be the one who let me down" is such a devastating line. It's so true, though. While I generally consider myself a fairly optimistic "no regrets" kind of person, there are inevitably times where I think back on how my life would have been different if I had made different choices. And, as much as I hate to admit it, when I think about all the missed opportunities in my life and ways things have failed to live up to expectations, it's most often been my own choices and my own shortcomings that have led to it, rather than someone else's fault.
But I miss my mom, miss my old friends
I'm missing everything I always thought I wouldn't, man
I miss the way I'd drive through my old town
And think about how life would be better if I just got out
I miss the hope that I used to have
And if I could, I would give anything to get it back
I fell so far and I don't know how
But I think I miss it, God, I miss it, oh, I miss it, really miss it now
I definitely miss my mom, but this is probably where the artist's experience and my own deviate a bit. I don't really miss many of my old childhood friends (the ones I have now are just fine, lol), and I don't really miss my hometown. I distinctly remember driving through my hometown dreaming about getting out and - now that I have - I can't say that I spend a lot of time missing it. I was right to want to get out, and I definitely don't miss it. Although I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that my mom isn't with us anymore. If both my parents were alive and living in my childhood home, there might be something more substantive to going home again, but right now going home is often a reminder of how much has changed.
Most nights, I lie awake in bed to the light of a silent TV
And even if I said how hard life was right now
I don't think anyone would believe me
You move to the city to write songs
You must be living the dream
I guess what they say is true, that nothing really is what it seems
Oh man, I feel this one viscerally. I moved to the city to make movies instead of write songs, but I've had the same experience of no one really knowing what that's been like, particularly how hard of a life it's been, to move to a big city, away from everything and everyone you know, and then struggle to work your way up in a very competitive profession. And over the years I've learned that the entertainment industry definitely isn't what it seems.
'Cause I miss my mom, miss my old friends
I'm missing everything I always thought I wouldn't, man
I miss the way I'd drive through my old town
And think about how life would be better if I just got out
I miss the hope that I used to have
And if I could, I would give anything to get it back
I fell so far and I don't know how
But I think I miss it, God, I miss it, oh, I miss it, really miss it now
Same as above.
And everything has changed
Yet, every day's the same
And I'm wondering how I got here
Another breakdown, just another year
And if I knew back then, what I'll do now
Maybe it would all be different
But I'm thinking that I miss it
Yeah, I miss it
I miss my mom
Miss my old friends
I'm missing everything
Yeah, I'm missing everything
One of my most popular "food for thought" ruminations is the question of what I would do differently earlier in my life if I had known the things I know now. It's a bit of a Catch-22 because you can't know the things you know without having gone through the experiences that have formed you into who you are, but it is fun to imagine being able to go back to your teenage self, or recent college graduate self and go, "Hey, here's some advice that will change everything for you."
Overall, this is just one of those songs that I listen to a lot because the lyrics really resonate with me. Maybe not perfectly, but enough to really hit home.
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