Happy MLK Day! In today’s episode I talk about how we all have personal non-negotiables, things we choose to hang on to no matter what the cost. I’ve found that I often choose my non-negotiables without careful consideration. That lack of intentional decision-making can lead to trouble.

Links from this episode:

• You should eat at the Crepevine too.
• I’m teaching this week and next for the FSU Navigators campus ministry.
• In a podcast episode last summer I detailed all I had to do for my property management gig.
• Here’s Psalm 15. Also, here’s the passage my pastor taught on this past Sunday which brought up that verse in Psalm 15.

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Man, it’s cold in Connecticut. In this week’s episode I share the topic of my two-week message series I’m scheduled to teach for the FSU Navigators early on in the spring 2012 semester.

I think I ought to clarify the final spoiler. Each December I begin to evaluate whether I should stay on staff with the Navs in the upcoming fall semester and, if the answer is yes, how I can best serve the ministry. I’ve started that process for fall 2012. There’s a good chance I won’t make a decision until after I’ve given these talks.

Links from this episode:

• The campus ministry in question is The Navigators at Florida State University.
• If you want you can learn about what I do with the ministry.

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If you’re wondering why you haven’t seen any of my writing from my time in Kentucky, this will hopefully shed some light on the situation. Blogging is a writing medium all its own.

Links from this episode:

• The first long blog post I mentioned is about the FSU Navigators Chicago spring break trip from back in 2008.
• The second such post is Kyle’s and Nicki’s love story. This is still one of my all-time favorite blog posts.
• Here’s the guest post by Patrick Gines on creative spaces.
• And just for the heck of it, here’s the other three guest posts from the past month: Zack Latham’s short story, Brittney Harlacher’s essay about God’s creativity displayed through her kids, and Bryan Zhang’s essay on God as our Father.

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It’s so good to be back together. Let’s never fight again, okay? (Wait, no, that’s not right…) Today I talk about loneliness and how it comes at you at odd times. This is something I noticed during my time away from Tallahassee. I’ve shared it with a few people but would like to get more thoughts on the subject. I can think of at least two listeners who probably have a lot to say on the subject, unfortunately.

I think toward the end I babbled even more than usual. Just when I thought I was getting good at this.

Links from this episode: 

• Here’s the website for the Navigators National Conference.

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The podcast is back after an unplanned hiatus. Today I talk about planning my upcoming trip to Kentucky, both for the Navigators National Conference and my writing retreat.

I still haven’t been able to fix the Facebook audio player integration. Maybe I’ll find time this week to tackle that project.

Links from this episode:

• My old roommate Scott has a blog and is on Twitter. My old roommate Joe has neither, nor has he ever had a cell phone. He’s very 19th century.
• Here’s some more information on the Navigators National Conference.
• Shameless self-promotion: Here’s a link to my Navigators National Conference Geek Survival Guide.
• I’m attempting to order letterpress calling cards from Hoban Cards (template number six). Shawn Blanc recommended them.
• Joe recommended I read The Death of Ivan Ilych, Franny and Zooey, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Bagombo Snuff Box (which I mispronounced terribly because Joe misspelled the title in his message to me).

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In this week’s episode I talk about what has been called by people wiser than me “the tyranny of the urgent.” Essentially it refers to when deadlines crowd out the things that are really important to you. I have a plan to combat the problem.

Wouldn’t you know it. As soon as I brag about my fancy Facebook audio player I find out that Facebook changed the Open Graph protocol such that my code no longer produce the player. Ugh.

Links from this episode:

• Here’s the Wheel Illustration. This Thursday I’m teaching on fellowship, one of the four spokes.
• I’m pretty certain the first guy to coin the phrase “the tyranny of the urgent” was Charles E. Hummel in a booklet by the same name.
• Michael Hyatt, one of my favorite bloggers, recently wrote on this subject.
• Shawn Blanc has talked about the tyranny of the urgent several times in his podcast.

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