Another year closer...

...to the end. Sad to say that today is my birthday. Even sadder to admit that I'm 37. Tempus fugit. I wish I had something really witty to say, but I don't.

Spent the day at the local public library continuing my research for the next book on the worldview of Islamic terrorists. Reading some fascinating material right now. The bombshell of my thesis is that the thinkers who developed the groundwork for Islamic fundamentalism were Western-educated Marxists and socialists who synthesized the revolutionary worldview with Islam (Mawdudi, Qutb, Shariati, et al.). Yet the worldview of Islam lends itself to being synthesized in this way. Osama bin Laden even studied under Qutb's brother at King Azziz University in Jeddah. I would like to float a book proposal around sometime next month to a couple of publishers to see if any of them bite.

Ramblin on

Just like the Led Zeppelin song, I'm rambling on yet again. Looking at options in Washington D.C., Arizona, and Illinois. Working on a project I've waited my whole life for, and praying that it comes together this time. Life is too short to do anything else but swing for the fences. I have to say that recent events in my life have confirmed that most people settle for mediocrity and compromise. I'm convinced that is what I've done the past 3 1/2 years. During a conversation recently with someone very close to me, they admonished me for trying to swing for the fences and that I should set my sights much lower (much lower to my station, I think they were saying). I replied: "Why would I want to devote myself to anything less than changing the world? I only have to hit it over the fence once to make a difference in this life. Even if I'm not successful, isn't the effort itself worth the risk?" I was thinking of men like William Carey, who went to India and never saw much ministry "success", but started the whole missions movement that has the gospel raging across the globe.

So let me ask you, gentle reader: why are you settling for less than changing the world? Are the trappings of this world really worth it? Do they deliver on their promises?

Sorry to be a little preachy. I'm preaching as much to myself as anyone else, but it is a message I think we all need to be reminded of.