My One Word for 2016

Resolutions don't work. Rather than focusing on a list of specific ways we want to live differently each year, I've written the last two years?about a better alternative: focusing and living into a one word theme for the new year.

My One Word for 2016

If it ain't broke.... For 2016 I'm keeping the same word I've had the previous two years.My one word for 2016 is?early.I want to:

• wake up early
• pray early
• workout early
• finish tasks early
• get to appointments early
• finish my sermon early
• get to bed early

What about you? What's your one word for 2016? Why? 

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This Is Why I Love My Job

On Sunday, I was reminded how grateful I am that I get to do what I do. The congregation I serve in East Dallas celebrated our 5th birthday on Sunday, and I'll be the first to tell you that the sermon wasn't the best part of the service. No, it was what happened afterwards that everyone is talking about.

Who Knew Cardboard Could Make You Cry?

We had asked some folks from our congregation to share their "cardboard testimonies" immediately following my sermon. Nothing I could ever say could be as powerful as what those folks wrote on their cardboard signs:[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjpUm6ROR-0[/embed]I feel so grateful to get to be a part of a place like Munger and to see the saving power of God up close.Amen.  

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Happy Birthday Munger!

Five?years! The congregation I serve in East Dallas celebrated our 5th anniversary today, and my friend Lin Thomas--a great Mungarian!--blessed us with a birthday poem. Check out the 90 second video, below.

Lin's Birthday Poem

Lin, who is blind, is a faithful and generous member of our congregation. (You might remember that he shared a Thanksgiving prayer with us last November.) This morning, this is what he had to say to a packed house of Mungarians:[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rs9-XMdy1jk[/embed]We are so blessed. 

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What I Read

What do you read on a regular basis? We are what we eat, and that includes the words we consume. Today's post (part 3 of a 3 part series) is about the magazine, journals, and books that make up my media diet.

Print Subscriptions

In addition to?The Dallas Morning News (mentioned in part 1),?I subscribe to the print editions of the following periodicals:

• First Things,?a magazine founded by the late Father Richard John Neuhaus that, while including Protestant writers as well, tends to come at things from a conservative Roman Catholic perspective. First Things is hit or miss for me: some of the long essays are just first-rate, while others are either over my head or boring.
• The Atlantic, a magazine that I've been reading since I was in middle school and that used to be much better than it is. (I guess I subscribe out of loyalty.) In the 90s and early 2000s when Cullen Murphy and then Michael Kelly (who was killed in Iraq in 2003) were editors and William Langesweiche and James Fallows were writing frequent longform pieces for the magazine and Benjamin Schwartz (especially Benjamin Schwartz!) was editing the Books section,?The Atlantic was one of my favorite magazines. I'd receive a copy in the mail and read the whole thing, almost in one sitting. In recent years, though, The Atlantic (founded in 1857!)??has seemed to me to foolishly chasing "relevance" and adopting the perspective of the sort of 25 year-old secular graduate student in the humanities who gets his wisdom from?The Daily Show. (This is not a perspective I share, if you couldn't figure that out.) Although The Atlantic published‘some great longform pieces from time to time, I get each new copy of the magazine out of the mailbox with much less enthusiasm than I did 20 years ago.
• Outside,?a glossy adventure magazine. I wish?Outside devoted more space to book reviews, as I've ready some really excellent novels the past couple of years that I first read about in?Outside, e.g.,?The Dog Stars and?The Abominable.
• Texas Monthly, which has enough ads to fill JerryWorld?, but also includes in each issue something I find worth reading about my adopted home state.
• Plough,?a small Christian journal that, while ecumenical, draws on the Anabaptist tradition.
• Books and Culture,?a newspaperish magazine that covers, from an evangelical perspective, exactly what the title suggests. Like?First Things,?Books and Culture?is hit or miss for me, but I recently resubscribed because I really believe in its mission.
• The American Conservative, a magazine that I discovered from reading Rod Dreher's blog. I don't know of any other place online or in print that is similar to?TAC: small c conservative, isolationist, contrarian, and realist. (I was pleased when Benjamin Schwartz, whose work at?The Atlantic I referenced above, joined?TAC last year as national editor.) For a good example of the kind of stuff?TAC covers that no one else does, see this piece from April on suburban sprawl and walkable cities called?"Cities for People--or Cars?".

The Dallas Public Library

Where would I be without a good public library? Well, I'd have a lot more shelf space, that's for sure. Here is my current library shelf in my home office:Don't be impressed--I have a habit of hearing about a book, placing it on hold at the library, and then stockpiling a bunch of great books I haven't yet and probably won't ever read.

And Most Importantly, Real Books!

I love reading, and I love reading physical books. I have aKindle and I use the Kindle app for iPhone; I like the way I can quickly annotate an ebook. But, despite the convenience of the ebook, I still think the regular old book is a pretty great form of technology, and reading a good book can quiet my mind better than just about anything else.I read books on theology and leadership for my job, but what I really like reading are books on history and especially long novels. I try to vary up the books I read: something on one topic, and then something completely different. (As an example of something really different, I read a very long novel this summer, completely unlike anything else I've read in years:?Kristin Lavransdatter, Sigrid Undset's 1100 page masterpiece about a woman living in 14th century Norway, and one of the best books I've ever read.)

In Conclusion: I Need to Make Some Changes

As I've been thinking about my media diet these past few weeks, I've once again been confronted with the fact that I fritter away too much of my time on unimportant online content that cuts into my time and ability to read books that matter.My goal is to read 40 books this year, which would be more than I've managed in the previous 2 years. My current total: 29.Maybe I need to stop watching so much?Arrested Development.  

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My Daily Media Diet

What are the books, podcasts, websites, blogs, and newsletters that make up your media diet? You are what you eat, and that includes the information you consume. Today's post is about what I read daily as part of my media diet (part 1 of a 3 part series).

What Is a "Media Diet?"

"Media diet" is a phrase I came across several years ago in a web series by?The Atlantic. A reporter would interview public figures about how they stayed informed and what they regularly read and watched and make a simple post out of it. (I still remember Malcolm Gladwell's comment about his daily reading habits:?"Since my brain really only works in the morning, I try to keep that time free for writing and thinking and don't read any media at all until lunchtime." I totally identify....)In part 1 of this series (parts 2 and 3 coming on the next two Mondays) about my media diet, I'll focus on what I read daily (or at least regularly).

What I Do First Thing in the Morning

I've written before about the importance of the First 15, i,e., spending?at least the first 15 minutes of your day in prayer, scripture, and silence. So, I've been getting up really early recently in order to have an unhurried time of prayer first thing, before I workout.Currently this is what I use in my prayer time:

• the NRSV Thinline Bible I was given by the bishop at my ordination;
• the scripture reading calendar my church gives out through our?Eat This Book program;
• Seedbed's Field Guide to Daily?Prayer (I really like the 30 day- reading plan for the Psalms);
• and a small journal that I write in about once a week or so.

 

Breakfast:?The Dallas Morning News and NPR

After working out and while eating breakfast and getting ready:

• I get the print version of?The Dallas?Morning News delivered at home, and read it every morning (except Sundays, when I don't get to it until late afternoon, if at all). I have come to really like?The DMN and get more locally-focused and sports news from it than anywhere else.
• I listen to NPR's?Morning Edition radio program most mornings.

Blogs: Rod Dreher (and Not Much Else)

I used to read Andrew Sullivan's blog almost every day. Now that he has stopped blogging, almost the only blogger I read regularly is Rod Dreher. Rod Dreher is a fascinating and unique writer: a convert to Eastern Orthodoxy living in his native rural South Louisiana who writes about culture from a social conservative point of view.One of the topics Rod Dreher writes about that I find most intriguing and persuasive is the so-called "Benedict Option": the idea that Christians in the West today may need to follow the 5th century example of St. Benedict and spend less time participating in politics and the culture wars and more time deliberately cultivating the practices that will "thicken" our faith and deepen our witness. Here is a post from Rod's blog in July that summarizes his thoughts on the Benedict Option.

Websites I Read Almost Daily

• I read?The New Yorker almost every day. I like the short form pieces from folks like John Cassidy and Amy Davidson, but I really prefer The New Yorker for its?long-form essays like this one about Northern Ireland that I wrote about in April.
• I also browse?The Atlantic's website regularly, though I believe that?The Atlantic?is a much worse magazine since it expanded its online footprint. Many of the online articles seem to be merely a slightly (sometimes?very slightly) more serious version of the kind of thing that I suppose you find on Buzzfeed or The Huffington Post, and I do not mean that as a compliment. The Atlantic these days seems to feature quick-reaction pieces on hot-button topics that lack nuance and wisdom. (I'll say more about my complaints with?The Atlantic in part 3 of this series.)
• I browse the?Yahoo! main site and scroll through the headlines, particularly about sports and politics.
• I check out the?BBC Sport's soccer page almost daily.

Online Newsletters and Other Sites

• I read movie reviews on?Plugged In every few weeks or so. I'm interested in movies, but I like reading reviews from a conservative Christian perspective (a perspective you don't get from mainstream reviewers). I rarely have time to see movies in the theater anymore, so I find myself reading many more reviews of movies than actually seeing movies.
• I've recently discovered?Book Notes,?a free newsletter from Byron Borger, owner of Hearts and Minds bookstore in central Pennsylvania. Through Book Notes, I've stumbled across books that I would never have heard of elsewhere--it's a great resources.
• I read articles and watch videos the videos on the CrossFit main site several times a week.

Coming in Parts 2 and 3....

Parts 2 and 3 will be about what I regularly listen to and watch and read in print. The above is what I read online on a regular basis. What about you? What makes up your daily media diet?  

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5 Reasons to Love the State Fair of Texas

The 2015 State Fair of Texas opens today and I am fired up! I look forward to seeing Big Tex each fall and each year he doesn't disappoint. Here are 5 reasons to love the State Fair of Texas.

Everybody's There and Everybody's Happy

The State Fair is one of the few places in Dallas where everybody comes together: rich folks, poor folks, city slickers, small town farmers; black folks, white folks, hispanic folks; folks from Highland Park and folks from Fair Park: everybody is at the State Fair. And, everybody is happy to be there.If there is a better place to people watch, I haven't found it. 

The Food is all Fried

Fletcher's corny dogs, fried Thanksgiving dinner, even fried beer.At the State Fair, all the food groups are covered...in batter. 

The Car Show is Texas-Sized

I love browsing the 2 huge car pavilions. It's fun to sit in the drivers seats and pop the trunks of dozens of cars that I would never ever consider buying. (Although, be warned: I've actually bought?two cars over the years after first sitting in them at the Fair's Auto Show.) 

The Demonstrations are Mesmerizing

In several of the exhibit halls, informercial pros demonstrate knives and blenders and shower heads and mops and vacuums and ladders. These guys are good. I mean, can your blender make a soup? 

The Farm Children are Inspiring

It does my heart good to see the little boys from Texas farms tend their donkeys and cows and pigs and goats and sheep. Little boys with blue jeans and flannel shirts and cowboy hats who look exactly like their tall fathers beside them. I'm glad that world still exists and seeing those farm families makes me proud to be an American. Really. 

What About You?

If you've been thinking about visiting Dallas, you should plan a visit during the Texas State Fair, which runs for 3 weeks every September and October. The weather will be gorgeous and the whole experience is can't miss.If you do visit, Big Tex and I will be waiting for you.

3 Reasons to Delete Facebook

It had been coming for a while, but this summer I finally decided I needed to delete social media from my iPhone to maintain my sanity. Here's why I deleted Facebook and Twitter, and here are 3 reasons why you should, too. 

Why I Deleted Social Media from my iPhone

Over the past several years, I'd found that being connected online increased the worry and stress in my life. It's now been 3 months since I made my smart phone dumber by deleting the Facebook and Twitter apps, and here are 3 reasons I'm glad I did.

Reason?#1: I?Have Less Anger and Anxiety

Facebook and Twitter are overrun?with keyboard cops and their self-righteous indignation, and the sad thing is that the self-righteous indignation of other people produced self-righteous indignation in me, directed at them. Anger and self-righteousness come naturally to me: I don't need social media's help to feel superior to the people who feel superior. Without a constant stream of social media outrage at my fingertips, I have less anger and more peace.Facebook in particular also produces comparison in its users: you are constantly thinking, "I wish I had that or looked like that." Facebook too often caused me to break the 10th commandment (that's the one about coveting, for all you biblical illiterates), and without Facebook on my phone I have less of the anxiety that materialism and jealousy and lust produce in my heart.I'm not withdrawn from the world, nor am I naive: I read the paper and catch the news every day. But, there is something about the way social media delivers information that caused me to feel a constant low level of anxiety. Since deleting Facebook and Twitter from my phone, I experience much less anxiety and worry.

Reason?#2: I Have More Focus

When Facebook and Twitter were a fingertip away, I found myself constantly checking and looking at those apps. The irresistible allure of seeing what was happening made it very difficult for me to focus 0n the things that matter. Since deleting social media from my iPhone, I find that I'm less distracted and more focused.And when it comes to prayer there is no question: social media is the enemy. Distracted and unfocused prayer is no prayer at all.

Reason?#3: I?Have More Time

Everybody's busy, but few people are productive. I found that the constant scrolling and checking and commenting and retweeting that social media encourages meant that I was becoming more and more unproductive. Since deleting Facebook and Twitter from my phone, I've found that I have more time to get things done. (For example, I've read more books since deleting social media, and reading is an activity that gives me peace and helps me become a better leader and preacher.)

What Now?

I still have Facebook and Twitter accounts, but to access them I have to use my laptop, which means, because it takes more effort to login, I'm much less likely to mindlessly scroll through them. Will I keep my phone social-media-free forever? I don't know. But, I can honestly say making my smart phone dumber has probably made me smarter.What about you? Are you willing to try it?

Exactly One Year Ago

Exactly one year ago the bishop put his hands on my head and said:?David Andrew Forrest, take authority as an elderto preach the Word of God,to administer the Holy Sacraments,and to order the life of the Churchin the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.I was ordained on June 2, 2014. (I wrote about my ordination day here.) What follows are some quick thoughts on what's changed in the past year. 

It's Like Getting Married....

I've heard Hollywood couples‘say "We don't need a piece of paper to prove our love for each other; we love each other now, even though we're not legally 'married.'" At first, that statement makes sense--if you are already living together, sleeping together, and sharing finances, what difference would getting married make?Anyone who has ever been married, however, can attest: something does?change after you say "I Do." It's hard to explain, but you are different when you walk out of that church than you were when you walked in.It's the same with ordination. I was already serving as a pastor at Munger, but when I walked out of the service that humid June evening one year ago, I was different. It's hard to explain, but it's true.

The One Thing I Never Question

I feel secure in my calling. There are lots of things I question, but I?never wonder if the Lord has called me to be a pastor: I?know that I'm doing what I was created to do.

And One Thing I Was Wondering This Past Sunday

This past Sunday at my church was Confirmation Sunday, when our 6th graders step up and claim the Faith as their own. It was my great privilege as their pastor to baptize and confirm 45?of them. During my confirmation sermon at our 11 AM service, I gave an aside in which I spoke to the students and told them that if any one of them was feeling called by God to do what I do--be a pastor, i.e., a shepherd of people--that they should do it. I mentioned what an absolute privilege it is to be with people cradle to grave, to share their greatest joys and sorrows, to preach the Word in season and out.Later on, it was time for me to go along the line of kneeling 6th graders and place my hands on them and say:

[Name], the Holy Spirit work within you, that being born through water and the Spirit you may be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ."

As I moved down the line, the thought occurred to me that about 25 years ago (turns out it was 23 years ago--see below), a pastor put his hands on my head during my confirmation service at little Providence United Methodist Church in Dare, Virginia. I remember my confirmation as being a powerful moment--a "red letter day"--in my life.What if one of the 45‘students that I confirmed on Sunday were to find himself or herself in my place a quarter century from now? That would be too beautiful for words.May God make it so.

My Grandfather's Grandfather

The Civil War ended exactly 150 years ago today, April 9 1865, and my grandfather's grandfather was there.

In the Living Room of Wilmer McLean

After an early morning skirmish revealed that the Confederate army had no options but to surrender, General Robert E. Lee, the commanding general of the Army of Northern Virginia, said this to one of his officers: "There is nothing left for me to do but to go and see General Grant, and I would rather die a thousand deaths."Lee and Grant met in the brick house of one Wilmer McLean, who, having lived in Manassas Junction during the first battle of the Civil War, the First Battle of Bull Run, had retired to Appomattox, only for the war to end in his parlor.In his memoirs, Grant records what happened next:

When news of the surrender first reached our lines our men commenced firing a salute of a hundred guns in honor of the victory. I at once sent word, however, to have it stopped. The Confederates were now our prisoners, and we did not want to exult over their downfall."

Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant,?Chapter LXVII

The Terms of Surrender

The terms of the surrender were very generous and allowed the Confederate soldiers, their officers having sworn that they would not take up arms again against the Union, to leave for home almost immediately. In his memoirs, Grant explains what he was thinking when he was drawing up the terms of surrender with General Lee:

I then said to [General Lee] that I thought this would be about the last battle of the war--I sincerely hoped so; and I said further I took it that most of the men in the ranks were small farmers. The whole country had been so raided by the two armies that it was doubtful whether they would be able to put in a crop to carry themselves and their families through the next winter without the aid of the horses they were riding. The United States did not want them and I would, therefore, instruct the officers I left behind to receive the paroles of his troops to let every man of the Confederate army who claimed to own a horse or mule to take the animal to his home. Lee remarked again that this would have a happy effect."

The Young Man Who Walked Home from Appomattox

My grandfather's grandfather, a Confederate private in Lee's army, was there in Appomattox when the war came to an end, and being in the infantry and so having no horse or mule, walked home from Appomattox. He lived to be a very old man, and when I was a small boy I loved to hear my grandfather tell us stories about the young man who walked home from Appomattox.

"The Kind of Woman You Should Marry"

It's one of those things my dad said that I'll never forget: "That, boys, is the kind of woman you should marry."

My Dad's Life Lesson About Marriage

My dad isn't the kind of guy who sits his sons down and says, "I'm going to share with you a life lesson, so be sure to pay attention." But, from time to time over the years, he would say something about life in an offhand way,and because it didn't happen very often and never seemed forced or planned, I'd remember what he said. This is what he had to say about marriage.

The Run on the Savings and Loan

We were watching?It's a Wonderful Life;?I was probably in my early twenties and home for Christmas. In the movie, George Bailey wants to travel and see the world, and he and his new bride Mary have scraped and saved to make it possible. It's their wedding day, and George and Mary are about to leave Bedford Falls for their honeymoon when George gets word that there has been a run on the bank his family?owns, Bailey Bros.Building and Loan. (It's during the Great Depression.) Banks are?closing right and left, but if the Savings and Loan closes it will be a social disaster, because Bailey Bros. Building?and Loan is the only bank in town not run by greedy Mr. Potter. Mr. Potter wants to keep the poor and the immigrants in debt; Bailey Building?and Loan offers the poor and the immigrant a way out of poverty and into home ownership. If the old Building?and Loan goes under, Bedford Falls will be a worse place to live

Here's the Scene

Watch the whole 6:44 clip--it's worth it.[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbwjS9iJ2Sw[/embed] 

"That's the Kind of Woman You Should Marry"

Mary Bailey spontaneously offers their honeymoon funds for the purposes of keeping the Savings and Loan open. She displays a beautiful, simple, great-hearted generosity.After that scene, my dad said to us, in an off-hand way, "Boys, that's the kind of woman you should marry."And I did.

What I Did on My Summer Vacation (And You Can, Too!) [#EatThisBook - Exodus 12-13]

Even though I only work one (half) day a week, it's still good for me to get away on vacation from time to time. My family was blessed to do a fair among of traveling this summer, including a European Grand Tour. In the last few months we've been through several European countries and a few different states, but wherever we went, we made sure to do one thing, no matter what. The one thing we did is easy for you to do, too, dear reader, and the best part is, you have my money-back guarantee? that this one thing will change your life....We went to church.I know it sounds crazy, but it's really true: we actually went to church?while we were on vacation!This summer we visited:

• a charismatic non-denominational church in Oxford, England;
• an African Methodist church in Munich, Germany;
• a Roman Catholic mass--in Flemish!--in the beautiful Church of Our Lady in Bruges, Belgium (I was lost during the sermon but was able to follow the communion liturgy pretty well);
• an American Baptist church on Cape Cod, MA;
• and a small Methodist church in my wife's small Virginia hometown.

The experiences I had while worshipping in other churches are among my favorite memories from what was a great summer.

Moses Creates a New Holiday

In my church, we are in the midst of a 90 scripture reading campaign called Eat This Book. We're currently reading through the book of Exodus, and today read the passage in which Passover is instituted as an annual ritual of remembrance for the Israelites. (I'm supposedly blogging each day about that day's assigned chapter, but today's post is a combined post of Exodus 12 and 13.)One idea struck me in the instructions Moses gives the people regarding the Passover: the Passover is to help the Israelites?remember.

²⁴You shall observe this rite as a perpetual ordinance for you and your children.²⁵When you come to the land that the?Lord?will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this observance.²⁶And when your children ask you, What do you mean by this observance???²⁷you shall say, It is the passover sacrifice to the?Lord, for he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt, when he struck down the Egyptians but spared our houses.?? And the people bowed down and worshipped.... (Exodus 12:24-17)⁸You shall tell your child on that day, It is because of what the?Lord?did for me when I came out of Egypt.?⁹It shall serve for you as a sign on your hand and as a reminder on your forehead, so that the teaching of the?Lord?may be on your lips; for with a strong hand the?Lord?brought you out of Egypt.... (Exodus 13:8-9)¹⁴When in the future your child asks you, What does this mean?? you shall answer, By strength of hand the?Lord?brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery.¹⁵When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, theLord?killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from human firstborn to the firstborn of animals. Therefore I sacrifice to the?Lord?every male that first opens the womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem.?¹⁶It shall serve as a sign on your hand and as an emblem?on your forehead that by strength of hand the?Lord?brought us out of Egypt." (Exodus 13:14-16)

The Passover is to be observed yearly, so that every generation will learn and remember that the children of Israel were slaves in Egypt, but the Lord brought them out with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. They are to remember who they are and whose they are.

Some Things Don't Change

If you know anything about the Old Testament, you'll know that the Israelites are in constant danger of forgetting their unique heritage and instead returning to the slavery of false gods.I'm not an ancient Israelite, but I am just as prone to forgetting my identity as they were, perhaps more so. Our culture is a culture obsessed with getting and spending, and it's a culture that is doing everything possible to make me believe that I am nothing but a consumer. Worship, then, becomes a way of remembering that we are more than just consumers. I appreciate how Walter Brueggemann puts it:

The biblical community of faith is a community of memory, working at its precious identity in a culture devoted to amnesia. The market forces that encourage a consumer consciousness are largely controlled by ideology that wants to abandon the past and forsake the future in order to live in the absolute "now." Those who neither remember nor hope are profoundly vulnerable to consumerism, busy filling the void left be eradication of that extra dimension of historical awareness that belongs to healthy humanness. Thus when the community says, "This do in remembrance," it is not engaged in a mere history lesson or a simple act of piety. It is, rather, engaged in an act of resistance against an ideology that will destroy any Passover-driven humanness."

Weekly worship is a necessary reminder that you and are I not merely consumers. More than that, weekly worship reminds us, that contrary to how things often seem, God is in control and fear is always a lie. Those are messages I need to hear at least once a week.So, you need to be in church every week. Otherwise, how will you remember the truth?

Three Things I Remember Every Time I Go to Church

The following lessons are available to me every week in my home church, but for some reason they were made more clear to me as my family visited other churches this summer, thousands of miles away.When I go to church:

• I remember that it's not about me. Most of my life I think mostly about me. (May God heal me from self-obsession.) But on Sunday morning, in church, I'm reminded otherwise as I sing, pray, and think about the Lord. I'm not at the center of reality. It's good to remember that.
• I remember that I'm not the only one. When I worship with other Christians with whom I have nothing in common except faith in the Lord, I am always encouraged: there are people all over the world, in all kinds of languages, who are walking this journey with me.
• I remember that Christ is risen from the grave. It's been a summer of evil headlines, and it's easy to lose hope and become world-weary. But on Sundays I'm reminded that the same Lord who heard the cry of the Israelites and brought them out of slavery in Egypt is the same Lord who was crucified and raised from the dead and the same Lord who promises that he has overcome the world and that ultimately we have nothing to fear.

So, that's what I did on vacation this summer: I went to church. (At least on Sundays, not the other days of the week. I mean, I'm not?religious about it.)You should try it. It will change your life. I guarantee it?.