What's So Funny? Everything, If You Let It

 Been talking with writer Matt Mikalatos about possibly posting as a guest-blogger on his website THE BURNING HEARTS REVOLUTION soon - OK, well, he asked me last September, via email, and like everything else these past couple of years I said, "Sure" only to be distracted by something shiny across the room. In cleaning up my inbox yesterday I found the email chain. Jumping to the end of this off-topic intro, I'll be posting something over there soon. Now, back on topic: Matt's first book is called IMAGINARY JESUS which sometimes has a "MY" preceding it... I read the opening chapter- brilliant, and Funny! I laughed. Then I went to his website to get a feel for his entries. I laughed some more. His second book is NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD CHRISTIAN with a subtitle that takes up the first couple of chapters - another book I'm also going to snap up.

Matt is funny. Actually, Matt is funny, and it shows. Important clarification. He's happy, too... Well, I assume he is - he actually might be a psycho with a great public persona to get people to like him... regardless, it shows. The happiness, I mean. Of course, in the brief glimpse of his bio he seems to be doing work he loves and doing some great stuff for the kingdom.

I've been going through a bit of a crisis - not so much of faith. That's been getting a good work out lately and I feel I've improved enough to be considered a sucky Christian - a vast improvement from yesteryear. No, I mean a Crisis of Life.

I have been metaphorically sitting in the middle of a deep pit in my backyard (to steal an image from a story written by a friend of mine - the identity of the friend and story is eluding me at the moment) moping about life. Granted, over the past decade Life has been dark, what with a divorce and everything leading up to it and all the chaos around and after it, worrying about the kids and how they're adjusting - meeting the wonderfully quirky and spiritual Linda Busby, falling in love and now planning a future together, worrying again about how the kids are adjusting to it all.

My day job (computer programmer) is like a conversation that's gone on just a little too long and although you want to sneak away to go to the bathroom then get some punch you keep nodding your head - afraid to stop because the conversation is paying the mortgage and your son's college tuition.

And there's the rub. Worry. Fear. I've been sitting in the friend's story's pit letting Worry and Fear spill into it from all sides like demons peeing into.. ok, that's the third bathroom reference... hang on....

...there, that's better. Once upon a time I used to be a happy guy. I used to be kind of funny... a friggin' riot, in fact.... well, most of the time I'm just weird with a skewed worldview but I LIKED THAT - I made myself laugh. That's all that really matters. God loves laughter, too - not at the expense of others, of course, but laughter in general. (also, hopefully, He likes ellipses...).

Enough, then, of Worry and Fear. Love is Joy. Christ is Joy. God is Joy. Time to be more Joyful, eh?

Kids: relax, life is good. Your Dad is happy - so be happy for him. World: I'm going to be happy and not worry about you anymore. Readers: I'm going to try and be a little lighter in tone and am climbing out of this stinky hole now. Maybe I'm going to start writing again. At the very least, I'm going to smile. Lord: You are my identity. Not my job, not my kids, not my fiancée Linda, not my writing. You. Time to toss the bushel into the hole and shine a little more.

Wow... CONTENT on Dan's blog... cool....