Read This First / About

Have you ever been forced into one of those awkward "get to know you" games? You know, where the group leader gets everyone to share something like their name, favorite ice cream flavor, or a random fact? I love that game. If there was an app for that game I'd buy it three times so I could play it in a group of myself. 

Why? Because the malicious third-born inside me thrives on reaction, competition, and tension. "My name's Josh, I like to run, go for long walks on the beach, and I'm an outlaw in Haiti" or "Hey I'm Josh, I like Moose Tracks ice cream,  and in one night I almost tore my family apart, brought my brother to the point of death, and left my dad's car stuck in a ravine". Beat that, next person in the circle. You thought "I'm Alice, I like vanilla ice cream and kittens" would suffice, didn't you? Now writhe in the vice of social pressure and unmet expectations.

You're probably scared now, and I apologize. Here's what you should know:

I do a lot. The kid on facebook with pictures of himself jumping headfirst off a cliff next to a "Danger: Keep Out" sign? That's me. 

I think a lot. That guy you passed on the sidewalk today, gesturing and muttering to himself about economical implications of the color red? That was me.

I pray a lot. To God. But not how you think - the priest kneeling in a dank church, rattling off someone else's words? That's not me. No, prayer is something so much more intimate - like that moment just before I ask the girl out, where I'm nervously shaking and am like "God please, help me and...OK STOP LAUGHING AND HELP ME OUT HERE." Or the moment when my brother is laying on a hospital bed and all I can do collapse against a wall, unable to formulate words but in silent confidence that I'm being heard more deeply than ever before. This isn't a religion. It's a relationship. And at times that relationship opens my mind to something awesome and motivates me to write it on paper. My hope is for those writings to be used to shed light in the lives of others. May that desire and inspiration be reflected in this blog.

Life then is everything but boring. Awhile ago a good friend gave me a quote "live for the sake of anecdotal value". Thus the title of this blog. Yet a life unshared is worthless - a sundae just doesn't taste the same without another there to enjoy it, and brilliant thoughts are forgotten unless you get to talk someone's ear off about them. But there is a beautiful way to both remember and share everything with others - writing. 

This is the place where you can share in the epiphanies, adventures, and somewhat inane musings. Enjoy the ride.

Ps. 40:10