September 4th is an important date for me. It's the halfway point in my year. Six months from my last birthday; six months 'til my next birthday. My next birthday is another milestone year. Forty. Wow... forty. I like to take the fourth of September and look at how my life has gone in the past six months, and consider how it looks to be going for the next six months. Some September 4th's are better than others. Today is a little more intense than in years past. On the surface, some may think since the so-called big Four-Oh is up next, that today may ring in an existential crisis or something else ridiculous. I'm not worried so much about turning forty, but I am worried about the way some endeavors in the past six months have gone. For almost six months, I have been serving at church in a new calling. It's a rather demanding calling, even more demanding than when I was a Primary president. There are components and complexities on which--today especial
