I have no idea why David’s blog entry hit me the way it did several weeks ago. In it, he listed a series of character flaws that he had observed about himself. Such raw honesty and authenticity has continued to haunt me. I’ve had this nagging sense of need for self-disclosure. I have no idea why.

But here goes…

Things that are wrong with Jeff… by Jeff

• Overly critical
• Frequently forgetful

I can’t believe Texas got beat by LSU, can you? That’s just crazy! … Oh wait. Sorry… Where was I?

• Passion projector -I simply mean that many times I want people to feel as passionately as I do about things, about Christ, etc. and I tend to “project” that expectation of passionate living onto them. When they don’t live passionately, the first quality on the list begins to emerge.
• Gadget addict – this drastically affects my spending habits…
• Compulsive
• Detail hater – I am actually a great administrator and planner when I stop everything else I’m doing and focus. But that is rare. Usually, I have 13 brain projects going on at a time, leading to…
• Scatter-brained
• Hyper-focused – I have no idea how I can be both this and scatter-brained. All I know is that when I get going on something, whether a project or overall vision, I’m like a pitbull. It’s hard for me to see or pay attention to anything else. The crazy thing is that any interruption can pretty much sideline me from productivity if I’m not careful. (That’s one reason I don’t answer my cell phone a lot. See here.)
• Naive
• Anti-institutional to a fault – borrowed this and the next two from DB
• Awfully self-critical
• No off-switch for my brain
• Occasional delusions of grandeur
• Ambivalent planner – I think a lot of this comes from my deep belief that God has His own agenda and as a disciple of Christ, I am to discover and contribute to God’s agenda and His kingdom rather than my own. However, it often feels like I’m “flying by the seat of my pants.” 2 Corinthians 5.7 says, “We walk by faith, not by sight.” So much of my life is profoundly directed by faith that many times, I have no idea what I really want. Does that make sense?
• Awkwardly ambitious – I do want my life to count. But I struggle, obviously, with how to do that in the most Christ-honoring way. It’s the whole “first shall be last, last shall be first” conflict.
• Emotionally needy – Dangit. I thrive on encouragement. Who knew?
• Priority confuser

OK… enough’s enough. I think I could go on, but you get the picture. After posting my personality tests and all, I guess I have to be open now to your comments about my weaknesses. Feel free to add to the list; just be sweet about it.

And if for some strange reason, you find this exercise hauntingly compelling, I encourage you to do your own self-examination.

Oh, and Dave… try to post something next time that will lead me to self-exaltation, OK?

On this day...

• You're invited! - 2010
• Volcano Fund started - 2009
• Time says the Bible should be taught in schools... - 2007
• Cartoon for Mac switchers - 2007