A year unfurling...

Been away from the blog a bit these past few days.  Sorry 'bout that.

I've been spending my time with the angels...

Sort of.

A new dramatic television series we've been gestating for some time (almost a year) is going to start being pitched around town tomorrow.  Feels like I haven't stopped since last Thursday because I haven't.

Thursday I was writing and prepping.  Friday I was in the edit suite all day re-cutting our mock trailer for the series.  Since we've started development the name's changed, the concept has morphed, the characters are new, etc.  The mock trailer needed to reflect those changes.

I'm grateful to say the 'underlying story world' is the same but--note to all emerging writers out there--it's been made very clear to me by our development partners (who've got a track record in dramatic series production) that the execs they're meeting with don't CARE about 'story world', in fact, the simpler the pitch the better.

Which is frustrating 'cause, for me, the WHOLE deal is about the story world.

Anyway, it's been really good to work in collaboration with people who have such a different perspective and gift mix.  I've been learning a lot.

Saturday I sermonized.

Sunday we ran church at THE WELL.  Had our biggest Sunday ever.  So far this month the church's website is out ranking my three other sites (two TV shows and this here blog) traffic-wise.  It really seems like things are about to explode at our wee church.  If you're the type, please pray for us as we begin to negotiate what looks like the beginnings of an intense and exciting season of growth.

Sunday afternoon was my eldest son's 10th birthday.  In very Canadian fashion we spent it outside in -18 windchill tobogganing and skating before retiring to our house (18 kids in tow) for hot chocolate and ice cream cake.  The four families there have been friends of ours for almost 15 years.  We appear in each other's photo albums that far back--looking a little younger in them, I might add.

I felt 'wealthy' surrounded by that kind of depth of relationship.

C.S Lewis said, in one of his letters, that if he was to give any advice to a young man starting out his life and career it would be to do almost whatever it took to live near his friends.  As I age I come to see the wisdom in that 'wisdom' more and more.

Monday I sat at my desk all day writing (I usually take half the day off).  Tuesday I sat at my desk all day writing then went skating (again, I know, it's my wife's fault...) with THE WELL and that event--sadly if you're Israeli and 'cold-phobic' like me--is also growing exponentially which means I'm going to have to keep going ALL winter.

Sigh...

Today I finish the presentation templates for the series pitch, take a deep breath, and start prepping this Sunday's sermon, the third in our 'Genesis' series.

Oh, and did I mention my business partner had a HUGE network-level meeting Monday that will go a long way to determining what our 2010 looks like?  It went well, really well.  Of course nothing's 'for sure' but it's looking like this year might be our busiest ever.

Funny that.

AND, we've got a 'live offer' on the table for distribution (from a 'for real' Hollywood distributor) for one of our feature films.  So, THAT might make for a very busy fall--which is the projected release date.

So I'm working very hard to plan ahead.  I've got this growing church to steward which will practically mean continuing to try and preach well while doing my best to find, equip, encourage and release talented people to work in their areas of gifting in support of the growth of THE WELL while doing whatever it takes to make sure the production momentum we're experiencing finds traction.

Sitting on the couch last night my wife said to me, "So, if everything that's happening actually 'happens' how, exactly, are we going to keep up?"

And I told her what one of my most outstandingly-gifted entrepreneur friends told me.

"You just show up every day and do your best to put in an honest day's work and let the rest take care of itself."

So we're starting to go to sleep earlier (10:00pm) and get up earlier (6:00am) so that we can be good stewards of our days and work hard.

Bring it on 2010, bring it on...

T