Dimly Lit

I am feeling impatient. I am feeling like I need to make immediate changes. I am scared of making the changes.

I know that I cannot spend the rest of my life doing what I am doing. I cannot spend the remainder of my working years in  a business setting, I will shrivel up and die. I believe with all my heart that I am called to minister in some form or another. I am beginning to believe that I have been running from my calling for some reason. I’m not entirely sure what it is that I think I am called to do, but I know that I love the church, I love the idea of redeeming the culture by fully engaging the culture.

So many things that I see and hear about happening in the broadly reformed world today are things that I vaguely, or in some cases very specifically, dreamed of and longed for in the early 90s. I want to believe that I am not too old to make the kind of changes that I believe are necessary for me to begin this sort of ministry.

The internet is certainly a boon for someone in my place. I can begin by writing and publishing on line. I can engage in discussion and hopefully begin the process of teaching from my home while still in my current occupation.  What I need is the serious discipline to write on a regular basis.

So what will Dimly Lit become? What is my vision for this site? I think it will be a place for bible study and cultural engagement. I would like to write movie, music and book reviews. Eventually I would like for this to be a group blog that would engage other writers doing the same thing.

So what is the plan?

1. Exercise. Seems like a  strange place to start, but I think unless I concentrate on my health, I will not have the energy to spend the time and effort this is going to require.
2. Focus more narrowly. In the past I was using Dimly Lit as a place to just randomly post - now I want to think through what I am writing and make it more edifying to others. Think more of a magazine format instead of a personal journal format.
3. Give to Ransom Fellowship so that I can receive Critique.
4. Watch movies, listen to music, study the bible. Not necessarily in that order.
5. Learn to critically write about those things.
6. Learn the art of discernment.
7. Pray (note to self - move this to #1)
8. Question - what does it mean to redeem the culture?
9. Throw self into the city. Join neighborhood association. Invite neighbors for dinner/games/movies.
10. Work with kids, especially Hannah to be discerning and engaged.

I think that I am going to start using this as sort of a true journal or vomit page. Since it isn’t public, I don’t need to worry about anyone reading it and thinking I’m an idiot. Some of the posts here could end up on another site, or at least musing here might be fleshed out further on Dimly Lit.

My goal is to begin writing again on a regular basis. I would like to get Dimly Lit back up and running in a more focused way. I don’t think I want it to be a personal blog as much as a place for bible study, cultural study, etc. Essentially, I would like to begin to develop Dimly Lit into the ministry page that can then develop into something more extensive as time goes on.

Anyway, I want a place to vomit thoughts without worrying about the editing. Eventually I’ll set up my data plan for my phone again and be able to post from the phone. That way I will always be able get my thoughts up here for further review. I’m more likely to look back at this than I am to open up a paper journal. Much as I like the idea of a moleskine, I am a gadget loving online kind of guy.

Writing, writing, writing. I must work on my writing even if it is absolute junk, but I certainly don’t want to broadcast the junk to the rest of the world.