I have discovered podcasts, and I am all aflutter. I used to lament because I never got the chance to listen to NPR and I felt like people smirked at me behind my back because I am so ill-informed and unaware of what makes the world tick right now. Now I can listen whenever I want to, thanks to the NPR podcasts! I'm only a bit more informed, since I only subscribe to Books, Movies, Religion, and All Songs Considered. I don't really care for the news. By "news" I mean the world news, like politics and suchlike. There's too much of it to digest and it feels terribly depressing and overwhelming. Even the commercials for the news are too much for me.
But I do know that Isobel Campbell from Belle & Sebastian just did an album with Mark Lanegan from Screaming Trees and there is a free download on her website, and it is an amazing song! I also know that Anne Rice became a Christian and has written a book about the life of Jesus that NPR thought was really terrible. I also learned that Tupperware was created and marketed by two people, and one of them was a woman who actually was the first woman to appear on the cover of a business news magazine. Not too bad for the Fifties! So I am learning stuff and it may come in handy someday, like when someone needs to know who kidnapped Patty Hearst or why the Dust Bowl became the Dust Bowl. I like random knowledge.
I've also been trying to listen to more Christian talk podcasts and more "sermons." I started to listen to alan creech who presents podcasts on the emerging church and community. I found the Buffy Buffcast, which is two guys going through all 7 seasons of Buffy and talking about each episode. I discovered that Lint Hatcher has a podcast. He was involved with the lovely Wonder magazine--dedicated to fantasy, sci-fi, horror movies and literature from a Christian worldview. I still have some of those old issues. It is now defunct.
I have also been listening to Revive Our Hearts with Nancy Leigh Demoss. I wanted to hear some teaching from a woman's perspective. I like her a lot. She just started going through 2 Peter. A very good book for a new year. The phrase that struck me was from Chapter 1, verse 5, ". . . make every effort . . ." I stand convicted. I know I haven't been "making every effort" to add anything to my faith. I've been making every effort to make sure I record Bleak House off PBS since I'm watching #1 Single on another station at the same time. I make a lot of effort for other things and I know I should be putting forth more effort for things of a spiritual nature.
It's a new year. And I want this to be a good one. There are changes in the wind and I am anxiously awaiting them. So I accepted the challenge. I will read the Word and I will pray and I will make every effort to add to my faith all those things I should. Lately I've been adding a lot of other things to my faith; like laziness and whining and apathy, and cynicism and reluctance and resistance and the list could go on and on. I want this year to be marked by a spiritual growth spurt instead of being marked by trials and tribulations and unfulfilled wishes and broken dreams. In December I want to be able to look back on 2006 and be amazed at what God has done in me, instead of being ashamed at how lazy I've been.
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