#200

This is post #200 on my blog.

Wow.

I'm on my third name (the first was "Remembering Titus" and the second was "The Straw Man's Favorite Blog"). I've written about a ton of topics. I've encouraged some good discussion, pissed some people off, and shared a lot of my life and what goes on in my head.

I thoroughly appreciate you reading along and commenting occasionally.

Anyway... I haven't written because I've been debating what to write about. I lost a good friend last weekend. Lee Elias was the first person to ever take me under their wing to mentor me. He made sure I was concerned about two things: loving people and studying Christian Scripture.

He also taught me something else: it was okay to be yourself. Lee was who he was, and that's what made him him. (If that makes sense.) He was a distinct personality, and reveled in that to some degree. I had a friend say last week that Lee "wasn't like the rest of us." I can second that. Its what made me appreciate him. We didn't always see eye to eye, but I always knew he cared about the choices I was making and the things I had to say. His daughter was one of the best friends I had growing up. His life impacted my life a lot in those earlier years of trying to figure out what it meant to follow Jesus.

So here's to Dr Elias. You'll be greatly missed. The best thing I can do to honor your life is to commend the impact you had on countless lives. Thanks for being you.