On my mind lately....

Taken from Publishing Executive, "9 Things I've Learned About Magazines by Blogging" by Rex Hammock)

No one will ever collect NationalGeographic.com. OK, here is my suggestion to those in the magazine industry who haven’t figured out how to compare magazines with the Web (see point #2). The magazines we love are not merely things we read and enjoy; they are expressions of who we are. We display them on coffee tables and desks the way people wear designer labels on clothes or purchase one model of car over another. People collect magazines, trade them and display them on decorative racks or in frames hung on the wall. Magazines provide us with mementos of our life’s journey. They allow us to savor our passions and save special moments. The magazines we love are so important to us, they make us feel guilty to consider throwing them away. The Web is a wonderful thing when you want to drink information from a fire hose. But the magazines people love are like bottles of fine wine: Even if you have to wait a little before opening it, there’s something a bit exciting about the anticipation.

I've been thinking a lot about the magazine industry and what potential there may be for new publications. Last night--perhaps because of Garrett's bad mood or his incredibly stark sense of logic--I was feeling rather discouraged about the prospects. But sometimes, you stumble upon bits of wisdom that reinvest your passions with life and hope. I don't mean to sound dramatic, but magazine is what I love and what I want to do. Sometimes, though, I forget why I love it and why I am on the course I am on.

In other news--although not completely unrelated--I've been learning a lot lately about what it means to trust God--what it looks like specifically in my own life. He has taught me that when He does something is just as (if not more) significant as what He does. I cannot presume to know the mind of God, but--as Job learned (thanks Tony)--I must turn to Him as my only answer. I am learning how small my view of God is, and how much greater He wants to be in my eyes.

At the beginning, it was hard; I felt like I was watching Him answer prayers for those around me. I was excited when Elizabeth got the Americorp job, thrilled when Ariel got accepted for grad school, full of joy when Janelle told me how she found her sense of direction up in Redding. But (the jealous, untrusting, impatient, faithless) part of me said, "When is it my turn?" And of course, I had to eat my words, because God has done for me immesaurably beyond what I could ever have asked for or imagined. It's still new and big and scary and overwhelming, but I believe that God will give me the grace, wisdom, and inspiration I need to accomplish what He has given me to do. So for now, I rejoice in His faithfulness and sovereignty.