i have been officially listed as one of the walking wounded. yesterday, after we helped the DeFranzas 'demo' their bedroom down to the studs, i felt great. there is nothing like the adrenaline rush and the sense of accomplishment that comes from a job well done. however, later last night, after we finished watching the new Harry Potter (which was about a thousand times better than the first one, by the way...Christopher Columus is a good fit for Home Alone 4, but not for the Potter franchise), I could barely walk. of course, i had to get up at six this morning to finish prepping a sermon i was to give in the city. not good times...

concerning my sermon, a sense of accomplishment is completely lacking. i had planned to preach on I Pet. 1:1-2, but had to 'punt' the text for the second month in a row (I preach at Hill Memorial Baptist on the 1st Sunday of every month). last month i merely extended a talk i had given the night before on the ends of solitude, but this month i had to pull one from the 'ole file. to my dismay, there wasn't a single sermon in my file, except for one that dated back to 1997 and was produced for basic homiletics at LCC, that they hadn't heard. so i did what was formerly unthinkable, i preached a sermon they had heard before. since the text was a parable, Lk. 18:9-14, i was able to reshape the narrative a bit, but the final blow was exactly the same. needless to say, i felt like a shit for receiving $100 for that effort. this month i'm give myself two weeks prep time instead of just one (or so i tell myself). clearly, my pride has also been deeply wounded.

setting self-pity aside, i am really enjoying douglas coupland's Hey Nostradamus. if, you are intrigued by 'non-religious thoughts on christian spirituality,' this is a work for you. Coupland's Life After God, his narrative survey of post-christian america, and Girlfriend in a Coma, his take on all things apocalyptic, are excellent as well.