The new arrival

Some folks have pointed out that I have a tendancy toward obsessive compulsive disorder, especially lately. As someone prone to ADD, I can be completely scattered and laser-focused at the same time. Sometimes this is a plus, and sometimes this is definitely a minus.

The bulk of my time over the past two years has been spent thinking, praying, dreaming and strategizing about how to revitalize our congregation. This past month Jen said to me, "come on now Ann, either get a hobby or get a life, but you can't just focus on church all the time."

I used to love taking photographs, but that faded when my beloved Nikon 6006 body lost its back. Even though it was gerryrigged pretty well, it wasn't always reliable. There's nothing worse than taking what you think is going to be the greatest roll of film only to have it come back completely black.

But, Jen is right; I need a hobby. So, for Christmas I asked for a new camera. My point-and-shoot digital one also found an untimely death - this time at the hands of the TSA while checked for a flight between Newark and Atlanta. Not having any camera around posed some serious challenges for updating the church website. Plus, there are plenty of exciting things to photograph in our neighborhood.

My new Nikon D50 arrived today. It's georgeous and can use the 6006 lenses. I took it out for a spin today at lunch. Jen indulged my new photo habit by posing for this shot. You can kind of tell she's already growing tired of having her picture taken, but she assured me she'd let me take her photo every once in awhile.

I'm really excited about the potential of a new hobby. Jen's right - all church and no play makes a pastor burned out and boring.