What a gorgeous day it is today here in Franklin, Tennessee! It's really cold, but I can't remember a sunnier or clearer day since we've lived up here. I wish I was sitting on top of a mountain someplace. You could see forever on a day like this...
Top books I read in 2001 (continued):
3) F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby - Considered by many to truly be the "great American novel", this book is a quick read, but it can be taken on so many different levels. I read Gatsby after a recent trip to New York. I think all of us have a little Nick Gatsby in us when you get down to it.
4) J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - you may have already seen this one a couple of weeks ago under my list of favorite movies from 2001 as well. I included this one simply because it's fun. It's a well written novel and, unlike the previous entry, it doesn't work on a whole lot of levels. I know a lot of people try to make more out of it than there really is, but when you get down to it, it's just a good book for kids. Would I recommend it for a youngster to read? Put it this way, the sheer length and reading level of it will filter out those who probably aren't mature enough for Harry. For those of you who have a problem with my inclusion of this book, I would encourage you to read...
5) Madeleine L'Engle, The Rock that is Higher - of all the books I've listed here, this is the one that people need to be reading. God loves stories. Looking at the Scriptures, that's quite obvious. But it seems that many of us have forgotten that in these days of book bans and protests and whatnot. While I don't know that I agree with everything that L'Engle has to say here, I was definitely challenged. And that, as they say, is a good thing.
- posted by Mark @ 3:01 PM

 
Back to the grind. Well, in my case, that means back to the prospect of trying to get about 3 months worth of things done in about a month - wait, check that - two weeks. I'll be out of the country for a week in the middle of January and then this week is basically shot. Not to complain, though. I'm really excited about the prospects for the coming year. And, I know I was joking about it yesterday, but it would be pretty cool to see this thing step up a few notches.
OK, back to my top lists for 2001 (I'm almost done!) This one may take a little bit longer because it's my favorite category. My top books for 2001. This one is big for me because it really influences the way you look at things in a given year. So, without further ado, here they are:
1) Thomas Merton, The Seven Storey Mountain - all I have to say is "Wow" on this one. This is perhaps the most influential autobiographical type book I've ever read. There are a few passages that are alone worth reading the book for (I'll try to put some quotes from this one on this page in the future). Plus the fact that Merton and I both dealt with the loss of a parent during our formative years (in his case it was both of his parents), I think I really related to this book.
2) Richard J. Foster, The Celebration of Discipline - this one was so profound for me that I'm going to try to read it again this year, along with some of Foster's other works. I think if people only read two books in their life, the Bible and Celebration of Discipline would not be a bad choice by any stretch.
- posted by Mark @ 1:42 PM

 
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! yeah, yeah, I know. It's not New Year's anymore and I'm supposed to post on other days besides holidays anyhow. I've been out of town - give a guy a little slack! Steph and I went to the ATL for the holidays. We hung out with her brother who was in town from San Francisco, as well as my brother, who was in town from Louisiana, as well as all the rest of our respective families. It came before I was ready, it was gone before I was ready, and now we're in another year that I'm gonna catch on to just in time for it to be gone. In my mind I'm just starting to get used to 1999.
Let's see... I've been doing some top 5 lists of 2001, and soon, I'm sure I'll start in with some ridiculous astrological predictions for 2002, but in the meantime, let me go on for a little bit about New Year's resolutions.
For a guy like me who loves making lists and whatnot, New Year's is a heyday. Now, do I actually follow through and accomplish the goals that I set for myself every year? Well... Here are of my New Year's resolutions from the past.
1) Design a website. (Not yet - maybe this year!)
2) Learn Spanish, something I still want to do one of these days.
3) Write 50 songs. I hadn't realized at that point in time just how hard it was. However, I still think that one of these years I'm gonna do it.
4) Get married. That was from 1997. OK, there's one I actually completed!
5) Stop wetting the bed. Wait. Don't go away. I was just kidding. But I'm sure if I could've written when I was, like 3, and I knew what New Year's Resoulutions were, that would've been a goal for that year. And one that I accompished.
So my New Year's resolution for this year is to take care of some of those old New Year's resolutions before I move on to anything else. Check back with me this time next year. Or better yet, go to www.marklee.net.org.whatever the heck I call it and check it out. Good luck, though, because I'm SURE it will be in Spanish.

- posted by Mark @ 11:59 AM