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Book Review NEEDED!

Hey guys,

Some of you have noticed I haven't been blogging much lately.  The truth is I have been working on a massive project with my company and I can't wait to share it with you guys.

You have helped with the logo design and I am grateful, but now I need someone who reads a lot and would like to write a review or two (or ten) of the latest books they have read.

If thats you please email me at soulsun@gmail.com or leave a comment below and I will get up with you.

Thank you,
Dustin Bryson

The MAD Church Disease!

I have been a youth pastor for about 14 years.  I have had great lead pastors, great youth, great youth parents, great church families.  I have also had demanding parents, hurtful youth and a load of unattainable requests. 

There have been times when I sat in my office and weeped because I simply could not keep up with the demands of the ministry.  At times I felt like I was simply sitting around waiting for the "real" pastor to show up ... sometimes I still feel that way.

Then my friend writes a book called Mad Church Disease and I start to get excited.   The authors name is Anne Jackson and if you haven't heard that name you might just live under a rock.  Anne writes for Relevant Magazine, as well as a few other publications and has one of the most popular blogs on the net called Flowerdust.  She is also an all around honest and awesome chick. 

So .. go, and check out the new site for her new book and take some time to dig in a bit.  You will not be disappointed and if you work in church, attend church, or hate church buy the book and see if this "Mad Church Disease" is contagious.

Read On My Good Man.

A quick link for all you readers out there.  DailyLit.com is a website that provides your favorite books in snippets via email.  You simply type in the title of the book and your email address and voila, one chunk of the book in your inbox every morning.  At first I thought this had to be a pay service, but I was wrong, it is absolutely free!  If you want to get on Dusty's Daily Lit Book of the month club start reading Sherlock Holmes ... I love that Watson!

I don't know how many of you love to write, but I absolutely love to write.  I find it very romantic to see pencil on paper.  This whole blog thing is cool, but my innermost thoughts, the stuff I can only share with my God and my wife, goes into a hand written journal that nobody sees.  It is a wonderful place I can vent, worship, write down prayer requests, and if need be explode.

I choose to use a brand called Moleskine.  You may have heard of it, I believe the Apostle Paul wrote in one ... er wait I mean Hemingway (I always get those two confused), and Van Gough and Picasso also scribbled out drawings in them.  This particular style has been used for generations and many fantastic thoughts that have changed man kind have been jotted within her pages.

I am writing all this only to say that my journey back home to Seattle, while short on high speed internet access, was not short on journaling.  I logged page after page of wonderful tidbits from the trip.  Stories my grandmother told that brought back floods of memories and laughter, interesting thoughts my mom's pastor had on giving to the church, and a list about what I would like my wife and I to work on as a small family before we make it grow.

Over the next few weeks I hope to pull a story or two from the pages of this well used little book and share them with you.  I also hope you will explore the joy of writing, actually writing down your thoughts and feelings, and don't worry the internet won't out of business while you are gone.