200 mindless Hoosier dribbles later....

I was scrolling down the side of my blog last week and noticed I posted over a hundred entries in 2007, holy crap! Then I scrolled back up and saw that I was racking them up pretty quickly for 2008...that in fact I would be at 200 entries soon. And so, this is #200.

My wife thinks I may be addicted to blogging. I don't think it is that severe yet, but I do have a half dozen others I check frequently; I also find myself thinking in any random circumstance, hmm...that would make a great post! And from time to time I say to her "I can't disappoint my readers". OK, maybe I do have a problem.

I started Hoosier Happenings in July, 2007 and have tried to remain anonymous because of a lot of political statements I make. Anyone who reads this in river city, though, can figure out pretty quickly who Hoosier Reborn is. How did it start? A good friend of mine preached one Sunday and asked if I would get up and reflect on a huge turning point in my life.....I agreed and it was probably one of the toughest things I've done. Leading up to that Sunday, I sent him several written thoughts on politics, christians in politics, and a christ centered witness. His reply was "man, you should start a blog". And with the encouragement from my wife, I did.

I think I offer a unique perspective on culture, faith and politics in Indiana. I love this state, and despite how backward I believe we can be, I love Hoosiers. My roots are deep here, pre-statehood deep, and I can't imagine being anywhere else. But it takes a lot of character to stay here, dig your feet in, and hope to make this a better place to live and raise your kids.

My goal is threefold:

1. Celebrate Hoosier culture.

This may come as a shock, but yes, we have culture. We have some fantastic destinations, traditions, natural beauty, wonderful people-famous and ordinary, and we also have to be big enough to laugh at ourselves.......hey, why not? everyone else does!

2. Challenge folks politically.

No one party has all the right answers. I didn't believe that at one time, but I wholly do now. I want to challenge people to think about doing what is right for people first and foremost and let party tags fall by the wayside. It may seem that I take more shots at R's vs. D's, but the R culture is what I grew up in......there's a verse somewhere about removing the plank in your own eye first. If we are constantly looking through party glasses-we'll never be all that we can be. I've been told I'm an idealist on this front. Better than no idea at all.

3. Be open about my Faith.

The importance of Christ in my life by no means is subtle or given to gray undertones in my entries. Christ performed an incredible work in me that continues to grow exponentially after my "political assassination" and I love to tell people about it. I'm not out to proselytize, I just wish others could grasp what Christ can do in their lives by seeing Him in me. And I am truly convinced we are witnessing an emerging christianity that is lived by honest and real people centered on Christ as their model and our reality is being Christ to everyone we know.

Thanks for reading & commenting.......pass it on.