I miss the snow

 What a bizarre "winter" we're having here in Minnesota. We had barely two weeks that could be called cold. In the last few days almost all the snow has melted, and the forecasted high for tomorrow is almost fifty above zero. My snowshoeing has gone right out the window. We went horseback riding on Sunday.

Minnesotans being what they are, you want to know the most common comment I've heard about this from the locals? "We're going to end up paying for this, one way or the other." Most people I know are expecting blizzards in March. One can only hope. I'm supposed to be going winter camping in March in the Boundary Waters in honor of the publication of Death on Disappointment Mountain. If that's going to happen, the weather will have to turn a little more winter-like in the last half of February to firm up the ice. We'll see. 

Fortunately there are other things a person can do in the winter besides snowshoeing and winter camping. 

Lisa and I spent some time last night preparing for the Kickstarter we're launching in March. This will be a new way to launch Wait for the Lightning, hopefully with significant crowd-funding support. If people step up to cover the costs of publishing, that frees our resources to focus on launching the book and getting it out widely.

I'm excited about this book. All my life, Genesis has been divisive territory. Seems like some people want to use it to bolster their position about how exactly God created the universe. Others dismiss it as fairy tale and focus on the Big Bang, carbon dating, and fossil records. We've been so conditioned to see Genesis as part of this argument it's hard to even think about it in a different way. 

That's why Wait for the Lightning is such a timely book. The subtitle is, "A fresh look at Genesis 1-12." It provides a different way to read these chapters that focuses not on the past, but the present. I believe with all my heart that we have been asking the wrong questions of Genesis. Instead of asking what happened in the past, I believe a faithful way to read these texts is to ask what the ancient Hebrews might have asked: Who are we? Why are we here? Who is God? What is he up to?

I'll admit, I also have a little fun in the book. It's written with some intentional humor. I know some people may find it a tad irreverent in a book about the Bible, but it's not intended to be disrespectful. I am hoping to keep the attention of people who are deeply conditioned to dismiss Genesis out of hand. 

If you've never been on Kickstarter, it's a fascinating place to look around. Tons of creative people are sharing their projects and hoping for your support. It's a chance to be a part of some fascinating things. In the next couple weeks we'll be opening up a pre-launch page that allows people to sign up for updates on this Kickstarter campaign. When that happens, you'll read about it here for sure. 

So if you're in Minnesota, pack the snowshoes away for the moment. Go for a walk without needing to wear your winter boots. Enjoy walking around in a sweatshirt. Sigh. I miss the snow.