Five things friday

It's that day. I don't know if my head or my desk is more frazzled in disarray as I try to pull together a sermon for next week. As usual, it's not that I don't know what to say; it's that there is too much and I don't know how to package only what's necessary. Ugh. How did I used to do this every week? Anyway, here's five things that have been keeping me distracted...

1. James Clear dropped this yesterday and I'm not sure what to think about it: "Greed is wanting the benefits of community without contributing to it." Gulp. Perhaps I am greedy... because I feel so needy. Or am I so needy because I am greedy? Although, honestly, I want to be a contributing member of a community. Maybe I am and I just don't feel like I'm doing enough. Maybe my expectations are out of whack. Oof. Sometimes it's hard.
2. Yesterday I signed up for a two-day seminar/conference/conversation with David Fitch on 'Reckoning With Power' (May 22-23 in Fort Wayne). There are three sessions, it is free, and I couldn't be more excited. I used to LOVE things like this, and have followed Fitch for years (decades?). We've conversed a few times, but I'm also looking forward just to being around some other pastors/church-leaders again. I've missed that.
3. According to this piece, of the 58,000 new books published last year, 90% sold less than 2,000 copies, and 50% sold less than a dozen copies (h/t TFU).Geezaroo. I know I've talked of someday writing a book, and there are a handful of people who would like me to... but I'm not really in any hurry anymore. It could be I don't want the pressure, or maybe I'm feeling more content simply being who I am (although I believe the statistic/article is really more of an indictment on the publishing industry!).
4. I ran across this idea (TFU) and without reading any more about it I'm thinking of using it to close my sermon on friendship: "We need to replace FOMO with JOMO — i.e., move from the Fear of Missing Out to the Joy of Missing Out."
5. "We live in a perpetually burning building, and what we must save from it, all the time, is love." -Tennessee Williams 

 p.s. - I was going to include an article stating almost 70% of divorces are initiated by women... but I didn't want to give anyone any ideas. =/ Yet, it's left me wondering... does that make women look bad, men look bad, or the whole dang lot of us??

Have a nice weekend!