Each week (give or take one or two here and there) I share three things I like – It could be a book, a movie, a podcast, an album, a photo, an article, a restaurant, a food item, a beverage, or anything else I simply enjoy and think you might too. You can find a whole pile of things, especially books, I like and recommend HERE.
1) Start of Training Camp
As July goes softly into that good night, we can see that the end of summer is nigh (especially for those southern states which insist on starting school a mere week into August). For baseball fans this means the trade deadline looms and for even fewer baseball fans it portends a potential playoff run. But despite that baseball is America’s sport, we all know that football is America’s SPORT. And for this reason, the end of July is particularly thrilling as it brings with it the beginning of NFL training camp. It is the time of year when wonks and amnesiacs are filled with hope and anticipation about the possibilities of a sixth round pick bursting into the starting lineup and last year’s bust becoming this year-s pro-bowler. If your team was good last year they will be better this year. If last year left you saying, “well, there’s always next year” now is next year. Video highlights will go viral of players making spectacular catches against air or leaving a blocking dummy grasping for air. In all, this late summer air is indeed rarified as we begin the countown to the football season.
2) Screened in Porch
We moved into our house just over four years ago. At the time, it simply had a concrete slab patio which was entirely useful as a place to put a grill and a blackstone. But it was largely useless as a place to enjoy being outside. Between bugs, heat, and precipitation there were about 5 days per year we could actually enjoy sitting out there. But last year we were able to have a screened in porch built over that same concrete patio. It is neither large nor luxurious, but it has been a game changer for our enjoyment of outside. The screen keeps the bugs away, the roof keeps the rain off, and the ceiling fan mitigates all but the most extreme heat. It is basically like we added another living room to our house, a whole area to relax and read and converse and hang out. I knew I would appreciate it before we built it, but I never could have guessed how much it actually expanded and increased our enjoyment of home.
3) Seeing the Lord
This video of acclaimed mathematician and apologist John Lennox is profoundly moving to me. It is the realest hop of us all, but to see the anticipation and eagerness in the face of man who is finishing his race well is powerful and encouraging.
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