Every year, my church puts on a speaking event called "Ignite." Similar to TEDD talks (but limited to 5 minutes instead of 20), it is a great time. This year, I presented on books, blogs, and bicycles. A transcript is below.
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Good morning everyone. I’d like to share three of my hobbies with you today, the odd way they came to be, and what I learned from it. First up, books.
BOOKS: In 2011, we moved to England. Small children and consistently poor weather limited my options to quiet, indoor activities. I decided to begin reading in earnest. A few months in hooked me . . . ever since I’ve read 40-80 books a year. I’ve created reading lists to learn about topics and read books I would otherwise avoid. I’ve grown so much from the wisdom, knowledge, experience, and skill of others. But even as I enjoyed this new hobby, it exposed a weakness . . . I have a terrible memory. Wanting to have lasting benefit, I thought on ways to retain what I had read, so I started a blog.
BLOGS: In 2012, I started blogging about the books I read to help me remember them. I quickly came to love this, too, and it soon expanded- I started doing summaries of important Christians works. I posted about movies, travels, board games, and reflections- posts where I wrestled with various topics, to include my own fallenness (hence the blog name). I came to enjoy it so much that I started a second blog in 2020, to explain, explore, and enjoy my favorite card game. Ten years later, I’ve posted about 1500 times- 700 of which are book reviews.
Blogging has helped me in several ways. Einstein said “if you cannot explain something simply, you do not understand it well enough.” And Scott Berkun said “good public speaking is the result of good private thinking.” I try to make my blog posts concise, correct, complete, and compelling. That is hard to do- I am not a natural writer. It forces me to think, process, and engage the subject in ways I wouldn’t otherwise. This helps me understand, explain it simply, and speak. So blogging has turned out to improve my writing, thinking, and speaking ability.
BICYCLES: In 2020, the pandemic descended on Germany. I didn’t mind being locked down and indoors- I had my books and blog- but I needed physical activity, too. Gyms were closed and running was out due to injury. I was exasperated and had nowhere else to turn . . . and then I remembered my bicycle. Basically unused for nearly 10 years, I pulled it out of the shed and picked a direction. As I cycled up my first big hill . . . I had to get off and walk, as I was in no shape for the sport. But I persisted, and a few weeks in, I had a new love.
Bicycling gave me the exercise I needed, but opened other doors, too. It helped me learn the local community- we are called to serve in a time and place, and we so should know that time and place- but most importantly, it justified trips to the bakery. (Ich möchte ein Strudel!) I got to take in 2,000 years of history on routes that took me by Medieval castles, renaissance towns, and the ancient border of the Roman Empire, quieting my pandemic-weary soul as I reflected upon a sovereign and everlasting God.
BOOKS: In 2011, we moved to England. Small children and consistently poor weather limited my options to quiet, indoor activities. I decided to begin reading in earnest. A few months in hooked me . . . ever since I’ve read 40-80 books a year. I’ve created reading lists to learn about topics and read books I would otherwise avoid. I’ve grown so much from the wisdom, knowledge, experience, and skill of others. But even as I enjoyed this new hobby, it exposed a weakness . . . I have a terrible memory. Wanting to have lasting benefit, I thought on ways to retain what I had read, so I started a blog.
BLOGS: In 2012, I started blogging about the books I read to help me remember them. I quickly came to love this, too, and it soon expanded- I started doing summaries of important Christians works. I posted about movies, travels, board games, and reflections- posts where I wrestled with various topics, to include my own fallenness (hence the blog name). I came to enjoy it so much that I started a second blog in 2020, to explain, explore, and enjoy my favorite card game. Ten years later, I’ve posted about 1500 times- 700 of which are book reviews.
Blogging has helped me in several ways. Einstein said “if you cannot explain something simply, you do not understand it well enough.” And Scott Berkun said “good public speaking is the result of good private thinking.” I try to make my blog posts concise, correct, complete, and compelling. That is hard to do- I am not a natural writer. It forces me to think, process, and engage the subject in ways I wouldn’t otherwise. This helps me understand, explain it simply, and speak. So blogging has turned out to improve my writing, thinking, and speaking ability.
BICYCLES: In 2020, the pandemic descended on Germany. I didn’t mind being locked down and indoors- I had my books and blog- but I needed physical activity, too. Gyms were closed and running was out due to injury. I was exasperated and had nowhere else to turn . . . and then I remembered my bicycle. Basically unused for nearly 10 years, I pulled it out of the shed and picked a direction. As I cycled up my first big hill . . . I had to get off and walk, as I was in no shape for the sport. But I persisted, and a few weeks in, I had a new love.
Bicycling gave me the exercise I needed, but opened other doors, too. It helped me learn the local community- we are called to serve in a time and place, and we so should know that time and place- but most importantly, it justified trips to the bakery. (Ich möchte ein Strudel!) I got to take in 2,000 years of history on routes that took me by Medieval castles, renaissance towns, and the ancient border of the Roman Empire, quieting my pandemic-weary soul as I reflected upon a sovereign and everlasting God.
Reflecting on it all: As I look back on the past ten years, I see that three of my favorite hobbies were born out of environmental limitation, personal weakness, and psychological exasperation. And the Lord has used these things to grow me in ways I never expected. Stepping back, these experiences have helped me see that the uncertainty in our present age- in both our church and culture at large- can be approached with confidence. Not that things will turn out the way we want or expect: “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” . . . “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good.” (2 Cor. 12:10 and Rom. 8:28a)
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