If there’s one great thing about Florida, it’s the weather this time of year. Do I wish that the drop in temperature continued and it got colder through the winter? Yes. But this time of the year it’s 40′s in the morning and night and mid-60′s in the daytime. It’s nice.

Biggest perk of all? Our air conditioning/heat has been off four three days and the temperature in our house has ranged from 70 to 74. Nice.

Republican presidential candidate John McCain made a campaign stop in Sarasota today.  Sarasota county is a huge republican stronghold in Florida and has not elected a democratic president since F.D.R in 1944.  This year, however, it is considered as being “up for grabs”.  There were about 3,000 people in Robarts Arena (which was awkwardly sectioned off due to a concert scheduled for tomorrow night). Kristin and I made it in and were able to stand about midway back on the main floor. Thousands who didn’t make it in had to listen to the speech outside through a loudspeaker.

McCain delivered the typical “stump speech”, but it was  definitely cool to catch a Presidential Candidate live.

NBC Article

Sarasota Herald-Tribune Article

Source

Here are a few things I’ve read over the last several weeks:

Go Put Your Strengths to Work by Marcus Buckingham

• I highly recommend this book.  It challenges the age-old idea that the way we will succeed in life is to thrust our energies into our weaknesses in order to improve them.  Buckingham’s research shows that in fact, people get better when they focus with a higher level of intensity on making their strengths stronger.  It’s a great read for anyone interested in maximizing their influence, productivity, and effectiveness.

Wide Awake by Erwin Raphael McManus

• Full disclosure: I am an Erwin junkie.  That said, this is a fantastic book.  It explores what it means to truly live out your dreams.  One of my favorite quotes from this book is, “There are things that you are not supposed to learn from experience because the experience will kill you.”

Community 101 by Gilbert Bilezikian

• I decided to do some reading on what Biblically functioning community should look like.  At the request of Dr. Waddell, I started with Community 101.  Wow.  Any Christian should have to read this book.  Community is central not only to relational growth, but also to Spiritual growth.  Bilezikian begins by exploring the Triune Godhead and then launches into a fantastic overview of what “the church” should look like.

Eternal Echoes by John O’Donohue

• This book is community from the perspective of a quaker.  O’Donohue uses multiple essays to explore our longing to belong.  Why were created with this longing?  What happens when it is not met?  When it is pursued?  When it is rejected?  When it is found?  It’s a fantastic reflection on human relationship and the need to belong to one another.

     

I vividly remember one year on pastor appreciation my dad’s staff set up our fellowship hall with various booths about him.  Not like a Mike Museum or anything like that.  These booths were really more about enhancing or exaggerating certain quirks he had.  One of them was a giant board with an all too familiar multi-colored, vertically striped, short sleeved button down shirt.  Above it in large, cut-out letters it said, “DAY OFF SHIRT”.  I remember looking up at the board and realizing that it was true.  My father wore that very shirt pretty much every Thursday.  Thursday was his day off.

This past week was pastor appreciation.  It was my first as a pastor.  This morning I woke up, got dressed, and realized that this is the third Monday in a row that I have worn this shirt. Monday is my day off.