Looking Back on 2024

Happy New Year to you all. I mean that even if we don't all feel it at the moment.

Things are getting ugly since the presidental transition has taken place. Anxieties are up among a lot of my people and I'm not quite sure what to say about it all at the moment. But I'm here with you. I'm processing, praying, and paying attention.

For now, I want to finish up a post I had from the end of December just celebrating some of the things I was excited about. I'm an annual review kind of guy and I like to look back over some of the bigger things that happened last year.

Here are some of the more noteworthy things I enjoyed that are worth sharing:

• Building my writing studio - the "sstudio" if you will.
• Wrote the autobiographical ebook: Testaments: Theological Explorations as Self-Portrait
• The ebook above was written in preparation for becoming recorded by my local Quaker meeting.
• Working on PH Pamphlet - Liturgies of Empire, Liturgies of Resistance. Submitted at the end of December. Will keep you up to date on that.
• Finished a chapter for a forthcoming book looking at the process a Quaker meeting used to close its doors called, "Laying Down Church: The Lasting Impact of Freedom Friends Church."
• In the process of building the studio, I spent some time learning how to do woodworking from friend Jim Hood. The desk and bookshelves we made togeher are something I'm very proud of.
• Spent more time biking.
• Overnight biking in the Pisgah National Forest with my friend Aleks.
• Enjoyed a lovely beach wedding with good friends of ours over a getaway weekend right before Thanksgiving. Emily and I don't get away just the two of us all that often and it was a real gift!
• Took my son up to Cleveland for the weekend. We visited with family, went on a college visit to my alma mater with my niece, and got to see a Cavs and Browns game.
• Led our meeting through an Appreciative Inquiry process this past year that was very fruitful.
• Started playing basketball again and joined one of the oldest running basketball leagues in North Carolina. They have been meeting at Guilford College since the 70s. Got my first pair of basketball shoes since I was in high school. D.O.N Issue #6 for anyone who knows.
• Favorite books: The Silo Series by Hugh Howey.
• Favorite Music: End - Explosions in the Sky. Honorable mentions: Tycho, The Smile, Pedro the Lion, and Starflyer 59.
• Favorite Shows: Sunny on Apple TV.
• Favorite Apps: Two apps for you: Storygraph - a great app to help you keep track of what you're reading. Obsidian - an app I use heavily for writing and research and used it a ton over my sabbatical.
• Big life events: Emily and I celebrated 23 years of marriage this year in August. L turned 17, M turned 15, and C turned 12. L is in her Jr year of high school and beginning to look at colleges.
• Emily gone for 6 weeks in June to finish up her Montessori Certificate through Hershey Montessori School in Ohio. She finished up this two year program and we're all proud!
• Daughter L turned 17 and got her license. She has also starting looking at college.
• Daughter M turned 15 and go her permit. She was in the play Spam-a-lot and Hadestown this past year.
• Son C (12) and I went camping. Rode bikes and enjoyed fishing just the two of us.
• Went to DC for Bowen conference, Philly for FWCC, stayed with a good friends there
• Very active on campus help organize students to vote and leading a number of conversations (including a QLSP module - mini-Class) on Christian Nationalism.
• Live draft in Charlottee for Scott Fish Bowl - a Fantasy Football league. Nerdy, I know but I love it.
• Went to a Kamala Harris rally
• Started hanging out at Revolution Cycles on Friday afternoons and making friends who ride bikes regularly.
• Emily and I went to the Haw River Ballroom and saw one of our favorites, M. Ward play.

These were some of the memorable things that happened over the past year. And you know what? When I feel frustrated, anxious, or scared, it helps me to remember the good things too. The things I did because I love them. The people I spent time with. The things we made and more.

What was something memorable from the past year you'd like to share?

You all are on my mind and I'll be in touch again soon.