Posting daily at 1pm central about all kinds of things. One day it's dating, the next it's TV commercials. I hope you're entertained. Professional photos on SmugMug – https://benwilder.smugmug.com
Most of the time, my dreams are about one of these 3 things: alligators, Taylor Swift, or Hawaii. The only one I like is the alligator dream because at least when I wake up, I’m happy it wasn’t real! What do you dream about? Confess below in the comments!
I knew there was going to be a moment of silence today at 1:50pm (Central time) and I very much wanted to be a part of it. So during my lunch break I left the office to jog through downtown Nashville. I love afternoon jogs in the spring because I don’t have to wear layers of clothing, there are lots of people outdoors enjoying the elements, and I have time to think. Most of my thoughts today were consumed by a pretty girl in Franklin, Tennessee, but a couple of other thoughts stood out as well. One: I relate more to Taylor Swift than Carrie Underwood. At least, their songs. Whatever, that’s neither here nor there. The second thought occurred at the worst time, right when I was most exhausted. The cinnamon challenge. The teenage fad is this; trying to eat a spoonful of cinnamon as fast as possible. Evidently, it’s very difficult due to the nature of cinnamon. So as I was gasping for air near the end of my run, I thought about a spoonful of cinnamon which didn’t help me at all.
But then at 1:50pm all that was history. I stopped in my tracks and for 1 minute, I stood in place and prayed for all the people affected by the Boston bombing, especially the ones that lost someone they love. So because the three that died can no longer run, and quite a few others are probably in that same boat now, I didn’t run. For a whole minute. Then at 1:51pm I took off. Call it my little way of pausing to honor those who’ve suffered followed up by running hard to honor those who’ve suffered.
My brother and sister-in-law are not writers by profession, but they are both published and soon-to-be published authors. You can find my brother’s book on Amazon: EQUIP: Building Student Leaders. Multiplying Disciples
That’s how the world will know my family is amazing. What the world hasn’t seen is what I present to you today; the email chain including the first one that revealed my sister-in-law (a teacher) was about to publish her first book. Read on!
Email 1:
Years ago, I wrote a children’s book for a class. I was so proud of that sucker, and it even made it in the glass display case in the TE building! Anyway, a couple of years ago, I wrote another children’s book. Well, after much pushing from my sweet, hyper, driven, glass is half full husband, I secretly turned in the manuscript/application to Liberty University Press. Surprisingly, I guess they liked it b/c I received the letter of acceptance for my book! Yea! God is good!!!
Reactions:
Sounds like you’re doing the write thing! Get it?
Write on!!!
Write to Life!!!
Write back at ya!
I will be with you “write” away!
Amber proves again that God’s mission for our lives is “write” around the corner!!
You got that “write”!
Writeous!
I think Jeff Gordon will win on Sunday at 12:30.
Go Jeff Gordon!
Jeff Gordon never makes a write turn…
Jeff is the write winner!
Oh yeah, if that’s not enough proof, there’s also these clips:
I’m a pretty consistent American Idol watcher, but this is the first season I’m more interested in the judges than the contestants! #NickiMinajHasGrownOnMe #KeithUrbanIsBloodyCool #WhenDidMariahCareyGetOld #RandyJacksonDawg #CandiceShouldWin #yawning
Recently caught a Ben Rector show in Nashville and was looking forward to it, moreso than I have looked forward to any show lately. I first came to know Ben through a friend’s video post on Facebook.
So the more I discovered, the more I liked. I even had the opportunity to use one of his songs in a wedding video.
This was one of my favorite videos to make because the song lent itself to nice editing and imagery. I love how it turned out, but anyway, back to the concert.
The opener started about 830pm and Ben came on stage around 930pm. Very good show. He’s good at milking the audience’s enthusiasm. I noticed every 15 minutes or so, he’d simply say, “Nashville,” and the crowd went wild. I’m assuming bands do this at every city, and every city goes wild. He was funny, too. His lyrics have some depth but at the same time, they’re playful and catchy. So imagine my surprise when my thoughts wandered to what I would have done had I found myself in either World Trade Center building on September 11th, 2001. More specifically, would I have jumped like some people did? Was it really so bad that the better choice was to fall a hundred stories to certain death? If I reached the point where I accepted that life was over, I would hope to say, “To heck with it, I’m going up!” and try climbing stairs to the roof. Anything that gives me better odds than jumping. Ben was still playing and then I thought, “Everyone should have wings at their desk.” That way, if you were in a situation where you had to jump from a building, you could glide safely to the ground. Portable wings. Fold-out wings. Blow-up wings. Wings for the American people. Could be the next big thing, right? My mind wandered.
I’m also a loud clapper so I practiced clapping less loud.
So in summary, it was a good concert. I was hoping to be more connected to the music, to really feel it. But part of my disappointment was a guy standing 6’6” tall directly in front of me who was unwilling to move a little bit, and a date that was less than spectacular. Ah well, life is still good!
-Out of the Wilderness
Out of the Wilderness 