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?
Song: "All You Wanted" Artist: Michelle Branch Album: The Spirit Room
I was actually surprised to find that I haven't included any Michelle Branch songs in any of Soundtrackers playlists so far. Except for that time ("Do you want to run away together?" ) when I wrote about a song she released when she was part of The Wreckers duo. But considering how much I listened (and still listen) to her solo albums, it's a little crazy to think that I haven't used anything from her yet. I was really tempted to use "Breathe" from her follow up album Hotel Paper, but I ultimately opted for this song because it was the one that first caught my attention when he debut album The Spirit Room was released in 2001. I practically wore this CD out listening to it as I drove back and forth between home, community college, and my job at Borders Books.
That was kind of a crazy time in my life in terms of the number of hours I was logging. I figured out that I wanted to go to film school after it was too late to apply, and I ended up needing to attend community college for two years in order to build up enough transfer credits to get into film school as a junior. I was also trying to save money at the time, so my days were a blur of work, school, hanging out with friends, and intermittently coming home to sleep. I took a really heavy course load to make sure I got all my transfer requirements done, which meant I was usually in school from about 7AM to 2PM or so... and then I went right from there to Borders, where I worked the closing shift from 3PM to 12AM. Friends on the closing crew would usually hang out for a while after work, so we'd spend a couple hours at a bowling alley or bar or wherever else we could find that was open and hang out until I grudgingly had to take myself home and get some sleep. I'd crash around 3AM and then wake up at 6AM to do it all over again. Man, I'm getting tired just remembering this schedule! It's a good thing I had a young metabolism back then and could operate on only a couple hours of sleep a night!
Anyway, my parents' house was in a suburb and the community college was a 30-minute drive away. It was another 30 minutes to get from school to the bookstore, and then 15 minutes to get back home. While that commute is a dream by my standards today, it meant a lot of time in the car and this was the album that most frequently played during the first semester of my sophomore year. If CDs could wear out, I would have done it with this one! It got to the point where I had almost all of the lyrics for all of the songs memorized and I could sing along (albeit poorly) with the entire album.
I still listen to Michelle Branch's albums fairly regularly, which is unusual for me. In an iTunes playlist world, I almost always mash up songs, taking a few from this album, a few from that other album, a few singles I downloaded, etc. to make the playlist I jam to in my car when I'm not listening to audiobooks or podcasts. Michelle Branch's albums seem mix-proof though, as I often find myself listening to her albums straight through without interspersing it with any other music.
It's a good thing I had a young metabolism back then and could operate on only a couple hours of sleep a night! 
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