My "One Sentence" Journal

I started an experiment of sorts this past May.

I had read somewhere on the web (where else?) about an idea for a journal that intrigued me. There are many of us who like the concept of keeping a record of our lives, something to look back on and see what was happening at a certain point. But the execution of this task, though well-intentioned, is too much to keep up with. Life is busy, and when two or three days sneak by without a word written, our momentum vanishes and the endeavor is abandoned all-together.

So when I stumbled across the idea for a one-sentence-per-day journal, it sparked my interest. Every day, you write one (and only one) thought. Something that captures an event, a memory, or just the routines of life. Since this only takes a minute or two, there's no excuse not to do it. That doesn't mean you never forget, but when you do, catchup is easy. Needless to say, I'm still doing this. There's something addictive about it, and I like the idea that five years from now, I can see what I was doing on October 25, 2007. It's a way to "number our days" and realize that God is doing something every day.

I use Google Notebook, which is a widget on my personalized Google homepage. A real notebook works fine too. The key is having something that is close-at-hand and in a place where you won't forget to do it. It needs to be a part of your daily routine.

Here are a few examples from the past few months:

June 1, 2007. An uneventful Friday evening.

July 17, 2007. We made a trip to the library for baby-name books, then we got serious and picked one out...we think.

August 25, 2007. After a futile trip to the hospital in the morning, we did yardwork and planted mums before we were called back to Mercy to be induced.

September 2, 2007. The annual fantasy football draft at Kyle's house: I brought smoked pork loin, and drafted Joseph Addai with the #6 pick.

If you like the idea, give it a try. You might be surprised at how attainable a daily journal can be, and I think you'll be rewarded by the results over time.

Three Years Ago

"The man who finds a wife finds a treasure, and he receives favor from the Lord." (Proverbs 18:22)

I'm posting the above verse to commemorate the third anniversary of the day I asked Lauren to be my wife. Solomon knew what he was talking about.

For those who haven't heard the story, here it is. My sister Marcie and cousin Abby had agreed to be my accomplices. So as Lauren and I strolled the mall, they busied themselves stringing lights and placing candles around my house. My plan was to eat somewhere nice, like P.F. Changs. But we were too hungry to wait for an hour plus, so we chose the next best thing: Wendy's.

As our meal of bacon cheeseburgers and frosties wound down, I made a strategic phone call from the bathroom to alert the girls we were on our way. They made their exit, Lauren was surprised, and everything else went according to plan. Except for one detail.

As I knelt down to place the ring on my new fiance's finger, I rested my elbow on the table. And as she said "Yes" and moved to give me a kiss, I noticed a strangely warm sensation. I dismissed it for a moment, not wanting to interrupt the romantic mood. But as we kissed, I detected the faint smell of smoke and realized that my sweater had caught fire from a tea-candle next to my arm. I jumped to my feet and doused the flame, but not before it had a left a hole two inches across.

There was an awkward pause, and we both laughed about it. I've never caught fire before, so it's hard to believe it would happen at that particular moment. Oh well. I guess when you find a treasure, a burnt sweater is no big deal.

Blogging: My Top Three Words of Advice

I've noticed an uptick in the number of people I know who are trying out blogging for the first time. Here are my top three words of advice for you.

1. You don't have to post every day.
At first, this is a hard compulsion to fight off. You're all giddy with excitement and want to make everyone happy by writing something as often as possible. But posting too much will just make you burn out quicker and drop your blog like a bad habit. Better to post something interesting every once in a while than to write stuff that you don't like.

2. Learn to link like a pro.
You just found something really neat on someone else's blog that you want to share. Resist the urge to copy-and-paste the website address into a blog post like this:

http://smokedmeat.blogspot.com/

Instead, make your link an official first-class citizen of the web. Here's the template:

<a href="http://smokedmeat.blogspot.com">make your link an official first-class citizen</a>

3. Customize your layout.
Google is your friend here. Do a search for "blogger templates". Read through the Blogger tutorial. Don't be afraid to ask questions.

OK, that's it. Anyone else have good words of advice for the beginners?