Apologies, Africa, and Alfred Hitchcock

So obviously it has been a long time since I have posted on here. And really I don't have a good excuse. My life seems to be pretty busy and interesting for the most part, so it seems that there would be some good things to post about. But for some reason, I have been drawing a blank lately.

For a while, I considered giving the old blog up permanently and resigning myself to stalk...um...I mean "read" other people's blogs. However, I have decided to get back on the proverbial horse and give it another shot. I will go ahead and issue the disclaimer that my posts are likely to be few and far between, but that is an improvement over nothing, I suppose.

So as for what is going on in life right now, Zach and I leave for Uganda in two days. People keep asking if we are nervous and I can honestly say we are not...for now at least. I think a big part of it is that we don't exactly know what to expect. Our team has had a decent amount of training, but I don't think anything can really prepare us for what we will experience when we are there.

We will be away for almost two weeks but about 40 hours of that time will be spent on a plane in between Houston and Amsterdam or Amsterdam and Entebbe or the reverse. We will be working with a church in Mbale, Uganda and traveling to several church plants in the surrounding area. We will also be going into the schools, prisons, and a children's home and doing "hut-to-hut" evangelism. This is definitely the first trip like this for both of us.

We are really excited about the trip and feel very blessed to even be able to go on it. It doesn't actually feel real that we are going to AFRICA in two days. But I have about 200 lbs. of luggage sitting in my guest room to prove it, I guess.

Well I look forward to the work that is going to be done there and I am excited about the stories with which we will return. Our team has a blog where we will be posting updates as internet access allows. You can follow it at http://tbcuganda2008.blogspot.com/.

And now, I will get back to watching Wipeout, which I will admit, despite the risk of being incredibly judged, is one of my new favorites. Who doesn't love to watch people ricochet between giant rubber balls while their limbs flail about in all directions? Not me, that is for sure.

Until the next post, good night.*

*I have recently begun a kick of watching the old Alfred Hitchcock Presents series. If you haven't seen them, I highly recommend. The relevance of this asterisk is that this is how Mr. Hitchcock signs off each week and as he is quickly becoming my new favorite, I feel that this is an appropriate tribute.

(Wo)man's Best Friend

I really think we have the greatest dog in the world. I know a lot of people think that theirs is the best, but sadly they have not met our dog, and thus they don't even know that they are mistaken. However, I am wondering at what point your love for your dog goes beyond the normal limitations of pet-loving and actually becomes unhealthy.

I know you have all seen the crazy-obsessed dog owners out there today. The ones who take their dogs everywhere, dress them up in cutesy outfits, buy them super expensive dog food, or better yet feed them super expensive people food. So where do you draw the line as to your own love for your pet? Would you even know it if you did cross this line?

I pose this question because Marley has pretty much become like a son to us. We often find ourselves coming home from a long day's work and having conversations with Marley. He usually tells us about chasing birds and watching people walk down the street. He sits and watches TV with us some nights. And by that I mean that he actually watches (and responds to) the action on the TV; not that he just sits with us like most "ordinary dogs" would. Marley has always shown intelligence beyond his dog-years, if you will, and there are many times when he actually tries to use his smarts to trick us. It is almost like you can see the reels spinning in his head...

"If I just drop this thing I am not supposed to be chewing and then fold my paws and lay my head down, they will just think I was resting here and they wont even see that ________ (hanging plant, rubber hair tie, piece of firewood) laying 2 inches in front of my nose.."

Yes, we enjoy dance parties in the kitchen, family snuggle time, and long walks through the neighborhood together. All in all, I would say he is an integral part of our family. We even received an invitation to a birthday party that was addressed to "Mr. & Mrs. Florence & Marley." (oh no, the news is spreading!)

But would you say that our love for him has become unhealthy? Where do you draw the line?
I guess if he starts appearing in any more blog entries, I will have the answer to my question.

What makes blogging so intimidating?

So ever since making this website and including a page for blogging, I have faced a huge dilemma. It mays sound silly and insignificant, but to be honest, I am absolutely terrified of blogging. There. I said it. At least it is out there now and I can't hide behind excuses anymore.
I don't know why this seems so scary and believe me, I have really tried to figure it out. So I thought maybe if I took the time to explore the possible causes of my seemingly irrational fear, then I would be able to take the appropriate steps to cure myself of this problem. Sounds logical, right?

So the obvious go-to is that maybe I am terribly shy and afraid of people getting to know the "real" me. Well, I'm not really that shy, except when it comes to singing in public, so I don't think that's it. I have extreme doubts of whether anyone will ever read this, which seems like it should alleviate any fear of mass humiliation or judgement from the public. Plus for the most part, I have really nice friends, so if anyone does read this, hopefully all mockery and virtual-tomato-throwing should be kept at bay anyway. So why the dilemma?

Maybe a look back at my experience with blogs will shed some light. My earliest memories of blogging started in the high school Xanga-craze when you could get on a friend's page and read about everything from what they ate for lunch that day to what so-and-so said about what's-her-name during 2nd period today. I think that initially turned me off to blogging because I really didn't care all that much. When we went to college, blogging became more of a forum for discussing newfound thoughts, beliefs, theorems, and conjectures about life, love, the world around us, etc. -a place where the deep-thinking and the not-so-deep could finally swim together. Now, in my post-college days, I have been exposed to a vast array of blogs of all shapes and sizes. Recent grads blog about first jobs and newly-marrieds blog about first homes, while new moms blog about first words and the cycle goes on and on. And all the while, the thoughts that they pour out over the internet, unsure of who will read and who will connect, are shaped by their lives, their experiences, by where they are and who they have become.

I have a friend who has the funniest blog I have ever read. I don't remember exactly how I first came across his website, but ever since then I have been hooked. He is witty and clever and and his blog entries become reminiscent of Seinfeld episodes. He typically gets between 10 and 20 responses to each blog entry he writes, with all of his friends raving about how funny and well-spoken he is. I myself have come to expect this of him, and yet I wonder how he feels about being characterized solely as the "funny blogger." What if he wants to write something serious one day? Does he feel guilty or like he is letting his friends down? I hope not, and yet this whole thing makes me wonder...are we quick to stereotype people based on what they write rather than who they are?

Maybe that is my disconnect. It is not that I am afraid that I have nothing meaningful, thought-provoking, or even just plain funny to say. It is instead that I am still trying to figure out who this "I" even refers to now. I think I have been afraid that once I start to blog, then "I" will become shaped by this blog rather than the other way around. In other words, that I am defined by my blog, instead of realizing that blogging is just a small representation of who I am as a whole. Interesting.

I guess for now, I will do my best to blog without worrying about whether I am insightful, thought-provoking, or clever enough for anyone who happens to be reading. And who knows, maybe I will have a Seinfeld moment or two of my own someday.

And in case you are interested, check out www.whyjustinwhy.blogspot.com/.

My first entry. Ever.

I have never had a blog before. I don't know if I will use this any more. We shall see.