Previous announcements from me warning about pending interruptions of blog posts from The Lutheran Zephyr (here and here) proved to be hollow warnings, for I kept on blogging even when I told you (and myself) that I wouldn’t have time to blog. Well . . . far be it from me to tell you that I will not be blogging in the next week or two, but let me say this: my wonderful new blogging routine – a routine that has me blogging offline (reading downloaded blog posts offline using BottomFeeder, writing posts and comments in Notepad, uploading my comments and posts when I get to an internet connection) while riding the train on my daily 70-minute commute to work – will necessarily give way to another important endeavor in the coming weeks – preparing to be Martin Luther.
Yes, that’s right, I’m preparing to be Martin Luther. This is not some weird vocation/formation activity, and neither is it a neurotic episode (at least, I’m not willing to admit so). Rather, I’m preparing to be Martin Luther for a local youth event next month. I have about 45 minutes to engage a large group of junior-highers with the life, faith and legacy of Martin Luther. I figure that a monologue is out of the question – I don’t want to write a 45 minute lecture that will bore the hell out of a bunch of 12 year olds. And since I don’t have a good German accent or a decent costume, I’m wondering/worrying about what I will do. (Spanish is my second language, and I tend to pronounce any non-English language with a Spanish accent).
Mind you, I’m not freaking out yet, but I simply need to take time to do some serious reading and writing and creative thinking – you think a daily commuter train can foster creative thought? Well, it will have to, since my commute is the pretty much the only time I have each day to dedicate to non-family, non-chaplaincy efforts.
And so, as much as I may post occasional responses to or reflections on world events, Pennsylvania politics (this will be a juicy November), the Phillies playoff chances (which are surprisingly good), chaplaincy, or parenthood, you can bet that for the coming weeks I will not be a social blogger (ie, I’m not reading your blog). As the Queen in A Bug’s Life says, "It’s our lot in life. It’s not a lot, but it’s our life." Yup. And these days my lot, my life gets in the way of blogging. Bummer.
But just like those bugs, my lot in life will change. I just hope that I don’t have to take on a menacing hoard of grasshoppers . . .
The Lutheran Zephyr 
I’m glad to hear that you are helping youth learn about good ol’ ML.
One of the most memorable parts of my confirmation classes (7-8th grade) was the requirement that we read extensively about ML and write a paper about his life. I’m glad I know more about him than I would have otherwise. I loved seeing the movie as well. I Hadn’t realized how many lives were lost in the war due to the division in the country.