10 things that might surprise you about me…

I’m not exactly sure what to do with this blog space. It is important for me to have space apart from Jesus Manifesto to share stuff…since Jesus Manifesto isn’t mine anymore (it is now a shared project). But I find that it is hard to find time to blog meaningfully here. And so, I’m doing what comes the most naturally…talking about myself.

I thought I’d take some time to share with you 10 things that might surprise you about myself. I encourage you to do the same on your blog.

1. I have a low-level phobia about talking on the phone. Seriously. For some reason I can’t stand talking on the phone and I get anxious when I have to make a phone call. It takes a lot of focus and willpower to make a phonecall. I am able to talk to my wife and a couple other people, but even with them, I find talking on the phone very taxing. This “phobia” doesn’t extend into real world conversations or email. I’m a social guy, so most folks are surprised that I have an issue like this.
2. I listen to conservative talk radio. In particular, I really enjoy listening to Denis Prager. I’m hardly a conservative, but folks like Denis Prager and Michael Medved are much more enjoyable to me than any left-wing talk show host.
3. When I was in high school, my goal was to go to law school and then run for public office. My long-range goal was to run for president in 2024.
4. In my senior picture, I am wearing a cowboy hat, a red-white-and-blue rodeo-style shirt, a “bolo” tie and cowboy boots. I had a rattle snake hat band with a silver buckle on it.
5. Because of #4, my nickname for parts of high school was “Garth.”
6. I am a twin. My fraternal twin (Matthew) lives in Juneau Alaska. I am technically younger, making me the youngest (but largest) of 6 children.
7. When I was around 5 years old, I referred to myself as “Marky Jackson” and wore a glove on my left hand. The glove was a sparkly gardening glove with “friendship beads” glued onto it.
8. There was a period of about a year that I was very enamored with the thinking of John Piper. I actually made a couple people cry trying to convince them of the truthfulness of TULIP. If I have any humility at all now it is because I can remember what it is to be so absolutely certain of something, only later to completely change my mind.
9. On a less-than-light note, part of the reason I was so into strong Calvinist thinking was that it helped me cope with my mother’s death. I spent my late teens taking care of my dying mother by myself. She died when I was 19.
10. Ok, to end on a lighter note…even though I’ve never been much of an athlete, when I was in 9th grade, I could beat all of the other 9th and 10th graders in arm wrestling. There was only one exception: Kenny Covey, but he was held back a year, so I don’t think he counts.