CRACKIN' THE BOOKS: Well, my sociolinguistics and sociometrics/ ESL courses at Ole Miss are off and running; I have reading and more reading to do. And, of course, my annotations for the MFA program at SPU need to be turned in soon -- but I haven't finished the Dillard and Hopkins reading assignments yet.  My whole life seems to be about reading and writing right now, with some eating, sleeping, and driving back and forth in between.



Meanwhile, at work, the powers that be in charge have pulled the old comfortable rug from under my feet. Our cute little Internet-based news organ, IMHO, has been absorbed by the parent organization's new Web-driven, all-encompassing news network that incorporates the work-product of our online and syndicated news service, the ministry's radio news department, to some degree the ministry's monthly print journal, and a whole lot of other stuff into one very big and busy site called "One News Now." In service of this new entity, my hours have been changed -- I'm now in from mid-morning until mid-evening, which is not terrible. It is nice to go in to the office a little later instead of at the crack of dawn, and I always stayed late before anyway. Only, now,  I actually have the chance to see a bit of sunlight before work, which is great for the old seasonal-affective disorder; and then after 5:00, when most of the staff leave, everything gets quiet and peaceful, and it is generally easier to concentrate on writing and editing projects. Which latter is great for the old curmudgeonly porcupinish personality that I always had to take great pains to hide from 8 to 5.

Nevertheless, the news is, of course, still what it was -- a lot of political debate, a lot of Republican showboating, a lot of conservative Christian comment on what's wrong with this, that, and whomever and how everybody ought to think and vote like insert name here. Who's protesting what and who got arrested or censored for speaking out against this or that, or who's trying to get this or that material taken out of stores or off the air or out of the classroom, and who's trying to get their material put into stores, onto the air, or into the classroom. Thankfully, there is the occasional substantive report on issues, international events, media and technology trends, or legal matters. And then there is a bit, just a few breadcrumbs, of the sort of thing I like: positive, human interest stories; ministry profiles or reports on outreach initiatives; insightful analysis of books, TV shows,  or films (a la Marc Newman's "movieministry.com," not a la Ted Baehr's "movieguide.com"), and the like.

I thank God for my vocation, and for a job that lets me nearly approximate living it out. But I pray for his provision and guidance as I seek inroads to a nearer approximation of the life to which I have been called.  I have been editing and writing for Christian periodical publications for a while now; but I think I am supposed to be a creative writer (fiction, poetry, drama, etc.) and a teacher of same, primarily;  and that I am supposed to be a facilitator of relationship and communication and deeper reflection, generally. I feel a little restless and stifled in my current job. But I am grateful to God for the means to make a living and to pay, at least partially, for the education that I think of as key to my ... ascension to the next phase of life. Yeah, "escape" has such negative connotations.

I'll write about my readings in February.  But before then I have several deadlines. I'm working on two reviews for work, one being of a book called "The Singlehood Phenomenon" (how apt!), and the other being a piece on a feature-length Christion film called "Hidden Secrets." When they are both posted, I'll include the links.  Also, this weekend I have to work on a couple of grant applications for school, and I'll be putting the finishing touches on a new feature and review of Kelly Monroe Kullberg's "Finding God Beyond Harvard" (InterVarsity Press). I can't say enough about how wonderful this book is, so I won't get started here. More on that next time.  Best regards.  -- Jp