Children Are The Future, Today Belongs To Me!

I made a shocking discovery a few weeks ago. After spending eight years under the delusion that I was an ESTJ (in the Myers Briggs personality type test), I learned that I am in fact an ENFP! Apparently every major life decision I’ve made over nearly a decade was based on faulty information. Maybe I should drive a Jetta instead of an Accord. Perhaps I should wear flats instead of heels. Could it be that I actually like vegetables more than fruit? Clearly, I have a lot of soul searching to do.

In reading about my personality type, I discovered that ENFPs are energized by new ideas and love to start things. So it should come as no surprise that I have quite a few projects on the back burner. Unfortunately ENFPs also have a difficult time finishing things, thus the odds of me actually accomplishing any these ideas aren't great. But I thought that sharing them with you might be a catalyst for action. Here are four projects I would like to finish in the future:

Write a Series of Children’s Books: I’m a huge fan of children’s literature. The “Betsy-Tacy” series, the “Shoe” books, “Half Magic”, “Magic By The Lake”, and every other book by Edward Eager, “Mrs. Piggle Wiggle” and the “Series of Unfortunate Events” all line the top of my bookshelf. For about four years I’ve played around with the idea of writing a series of children’s books that would combat various heresies in a child friendly way. I’d call it “The Adventures of Theo Logian” and it would feature a plucky little boy named Theo Logian who is constantly using his keen intellect and expansive knowledge of the Bible and church history to correct the misinformed ideas of his buddy Harry C. Oh, and he has a time machine too. The first book in the series would be a treatise against polytheism called “THEO LOGIAN AND TOO MANY GODS” with more books to follow. (The next book might be a study of the emergent church called “THEO LOGIAN AND TOO MANY CANDLES.”) Anyone interested in illustrating?

Compete On “The Amazing Race” With My Dad: Ok, so competing on a reality show with my father isn’t too likely considering it would take both of us away from our jobs for more than a month, but it would be so awesome. We'd make a great team - he could do all the physical challenges and figure out the puzzles and I could stand by and be super encouraging. America would love us (or hate us, depending on the editing) and I’m sure we’d get at least third place.

Write a Sociological Study: When I was in college, my first taste of a great sociological study was Christina Hoff Sommer’s “The War Against Boys”. It was well researched, well written, well argued and has definitely influenced how I treat the boys in my Sunday school classes. I've been in love with sociological studies ever since. Some of my favorites include, "The Second Family" by Ron Taffel and Melinda Blau, "Snobbery: The American Version" by Joseph Epstein and "Queen Bees and Wannabees" by Rosalind Wiseman. I'm currently reading, "One Perfect Day: The Selling of the American Wedding" by Rebecca Mead and it's a fascinating look at the wedding industry. When I read a good sociological study, I'm often inspired to go out into the world, do lots of research, draw conclusions and write a book. Given that my college papers consisted almost entirely of quotes and footnotes, I think this type of writing would suit me. Right now I'm interested in studying women's ministries in various churches and drawing some brilliant conclusion about the state of women's ministry in the 21st century.

Write, Direct, and Edit a Short Film: I'd call it "Meet Cute" (except that the title would look like "meet cute") and it would be a series of vingettes in which a girl (played by me in an assortment of darling Anthropologie outfits) falls in love with various guys through trite plot devices often used in bad romantic comedies. For instance, they might accidentally run into each other in the hall at work and have to bend down and pick up their papers, only to suddenly lock eyes and fall instantly in love. Or she might be picketing the gigantic small business killing bookstore his family owns, only to suddenly lock eyes with him and fall instantly in love. Or they might be walking their dogs at the dog park and get their dog leashes tangled up, only to suddenly lock eyes and fall instantly in love. You get the idea. Then in the last scene, she'd meet a guy at a party, they would make really boring small talk about their jobs and she would excuse herself. Then the screen would read, "Bobby and Susie were married three months later." Cute, right? Hey, at least it would give me a chance to wear adorable clothes. And that's half the reason I want to make the film.

Those are my four future projects. Hopefully I'll finish at least one some day. Or perhaps someone with a personality type that's good at finishing things could finish it for me.

What projects do you have on the back burner?