Hello. It's me. Jeff.
Introductions are fun.
They come in different flavors. They range from the Vanilla Introduction of “Hi. I’m Jeff,” to which you’d responded similarly (but with your own name… unless your name also happens to be “Jeff” which means I’m doubly happy to meet you). There’s also the Rocky Road Introduction, which for whatever reason, are a bit awkward. Maybe you’ve forgotten their name, and you’re with someone else, and you know it’s polite and appropriate to introduce them, but… what the heck is their name? There’s also the Mellow Yellow Introduction that occurs smoothly and flawlessly and after a few moments of visiting with them, you feel energized.
How would you name a flavor of Introduction?
After moving my blog to Substack, it occurred to me the other day - and from taking a few tips from other Stack-ers (is that we call ourselves?) that some introductions are in order.
Previously with my Wordpress blog, a visitor could lurk, read, and peruse without an introduction at all. People can still do that here, but the whole point is to subscribe and become part of a community in which you’re (hopefully) enjoying my content and participating in conversation along the way.
With a subscription model, my posts get magically delivered to your inbox, eliminating the need for you to have to stop what you’re doing, click a link, visit my website, etc. You can even participate in conversation (comment) from your email itself.
That ratchets up the community aspect.
In other words, we should get to know each other!
Hi, I’m Jeff.
For those of you new to the blog, I wanted to simply introduce myself. You can read my brief bio on the About Page, but I wanted to peel back a couple of onion layers of myself. I hope you’ll reciprocate a bit in the comments - let us know:
who you are
how long you’ve been a reader
where our hometown is
coffee or tea
Marvel or DC
Mac or PC
Etc
Not that you have to respond with anything other than a “Hi. I’m ______. I like cats.” I just hope you play along (and that you like more than cats).
My me-ness
For starters, I’m one of the most unpopular demographics in our culture today. I’m a married white male. I also like candy corn and peanuts as a snack. And zombie movies (any other Walking Dead fans out there?). While I don’t enjoy “long walks on the beach,” I have been a runner since 2014. Yep, I started running when I was 44. It’s a story that involves Montenegro but not James Bond.
I grew up in Arkansas - Little Rock. I did what it seemed everyone did there - became a Razorback fan. Yes, I can call the Hogs. Heck, I even helped produce a music video that “kind of” went viral back when Brett Bielema was the football coach.
Vocationally, I’m a pastor. I didn’t start out that way. I went to college1 intent on being a doctor, and along the way, I shifted to communications and never looked back. Who knew that working on yearbook staff and writing a column for the school newspaper would lead to starting a graphic design business with my best friend (and becoming a Mac Daddy2)? Ministry was not on my horizon then.
One year after graduating college, my girlfriend (now wife of 30 years!), my business partner/friend, family, parents and those in my local church all chimed in and processed with me what I understood then as my “call to ministry.” I sold my share of the business and moved to Texas for seminary.
That began an adventure in serving Jesus vocationally that has lasted to this day. It’s hard to tell that story without also telling a story about cancer, kids, college students, a church start from scratch and a move from Arkansas to Virginia. If you’re really into introductions and are fascinated/bored, you can read some of that journey here.3
These days
We are empty nesters. Both our kids have done the college thing and are now married. Carolyn works at the local high school and also started a shaved ice food truck with her sister.4 Sam is an area director for Young Life, and Adelyn will begin teaching this fall after completing her MAT this past spring.
I do love me some coffee, but I can’t tell the difference between gas station coffee and fru-fru fancy coffee. I love reading - usually 2-3 at a time in the genres of good fiction, Christian theology, leadership, and history.5
I’m quirky. I know that. Donald Duck is my favorite cartoon character. And yes, I know he doesn’t wear pants, but I don’t emulate him.6
I am not on OSM these (old social media),7 but you can usually find me @journeyguy - which was my Twitter name since the church I started in Arkansas was Journey Church. I’ve kept the “brand” ever since.
Bragging rights? I’m a fantasy football champion. I started playing back in 1992 when you had to add the points yourself and actually do math.
And if you couldn’t tell… I like to write.
I’ve been blogging for a long time. I wrote a book that I self-published in 2012 called Super Center Savior, and I’m currently working on another book about the life of Peter the Apostle.
But enough about me
Tell me about you. And… it was really nice to meet you! I hope you’ll pull up a chair and enjoy the conversations that we have here.
Ouachita Baptist University - the link is a post, Ode to OBU, written in September 2010.
This is my Ode to Steve post - written in 2011, before Steve Jobs died.
This is on my old blog at journeyguy.com. One thing Substack doesn’t yet offer is the ability to write a series of posts and have links to all of them at the end of the post, like a table of contents. Wordpress allowed that through a plug-in, so it’s easier to follow along on the old blog.
Highly recommend the root beer flavor with cream in it. Tastes like a root beer float!
Follow me on Goodreads! And let me any book recommendations. My 2021 Top Books post is here.
I’m also frustrated/disgusted with Disney these days, but that’s another post for another day.
I bailed on OSM after growing concern about censorship of conservatives on some of the main platforms. You can read my Goodbye OSM post here.
Hello my name is Jamie Hansen,, and lets start with the most important fact of all... I am Jeffs cousin!!!!!! Now I could just end my whole story there, nuff said, as Jeff would say... but here goes. Ive grew up in Minnesota, my whole life have wanted to live in Arizona, where I was born. Was an athlete all through high school, and a few years in college,, my sophomore in college I was hit with what felt like 3 freight trains, with horrific chronic pain and fatigue,,, spent my 20s and 30s arguing with doctors as to the fact that I have fibromyalgia,,, married in 1986, to my hubby I met in college. Moved to Boston with him for a summer while he did his intership,, the east coast in NOT FOR ME!!! Nice to visit, wouldnt want to live there... Moved to Chicago ILL, for his first job in down town chicago,, lived on the north side of Chicago for about 10 years, in the center of an orthodox Jewish neighborhood,, that in itself was quite the education,, had our first child in 1990,, a wonderful sweet, 2 and a half month old premie,,, who was, is a miricle of life,, had our daughter in 1992, we moved out to a suburb of Chicago and lived there about 12 years, attended Bible believing preaching teaching reformed churches all this time.. I was, am a stay at home mama, worked very part time in my area of expertise, teaching sports classes to preschool and primary age children, taking my children to work with me,, and loved it, I have a passion for teaching, sports and activities to little ones, I love that age group, little ones are hilarious,, so uninhibited, and honest, and fun fun fun... we moved to Minnesota in 2003, and have been in Cambridge MN since. I worked in education for nearly 30 years, all the while living with chronic pain, fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis, reynauds, chronic fatigue, osteoporosis, degenerative disc disease, now stage three kidney disease, scoliosis, sacroilliitis, all the while running my home, raising our kids, working, until about 8 years ago, when rheumatoid arthritis came to the surface, which I have had for decades undiagnosed, and brought everything to a screeching halt as far as work, everything,,, I also created , wrote the curriculum for and ran my own preschool, primary age soccer program. Fast forward,, I am now 61, and had to totally stop working 7 years ago,, and am a grandmother now of a beautiful, spunky, precious 3 month old grandson... There is nothing like being a grandparent,, its indescribable. wonderful, such an increadible blessing from the Lord. I serve in church in the card ministry, prayer ministry, do prep work for VBS every year, . Love gardening, which is much less than it used to be,,, love reading and studying the Word of God, have a passion for interceeding prayer,, for pastors, missionaries, the persecuted, my brothers and sisters in Christ, and of course my own family. Love reading biblically sound theological books, and the refomers. And look forward to speaking the gospel and the Word into my grandchildren's hearts and minds... and just found out we are going to be grandparents again... praise the Lord... Doing my best to live for the glory of God.
Hello my name Kevin Wieser. I am a very white male, retired, recent widower, and looking to God for my next great adventure. I have been a student minister, a Dean, a adjunct teacher, a principal and my favorite was mowing grass at various stages! Oh how I would have loved zero turn mowers!
I taught Jeff everything he knows about fantasy football, I possessed nine championship trophies but threw them away to focus on my trophies in heaven. You know my mansion thing?
I was Carolyn’s youth minister in NM. She was near perfect! We would sit in my office and just cuss and cuss! Preparing for a lifetime of ministry and living with BiG LIPS. That is how she introduced Jeff to me!
Jeff called from Arkansas and asked me if it would be ok for him to invade our Youth Wednesday night Bible study in order to fall down on one knee to propose to Carolyn who was to be present. I said yes and he came and Carolyn’s hesitantly caught me a bit off guard but who cared?
We worked together at FBC Garland for a cumulative total of 45 minutes through several years! The rest was spent in laughing and freezing other peoples underwear! Oh, stop it, great ministry was performed!
I love those two!
Kevin Wieser