Matt and I were friends throughout college. We were part of a small group of guys that would meet our freshman year to pray together at night, and those were some of the most memorable experiences in Christian brotherhood and fellowship. In fact, one night, we decided to share communion right there in the dorm room floor with white grape juice and pretzels (it was the closest thing I had). When I left the following summer to join in a summer missionary project in Ohio, Matt knew that I had been having a pretty serious bout with depression, and he sent me a letter and a tape of a guy teaching about Job because he hoped it would encourage me, and it did.  During my Junior year, I remember getting together with him in my RA room to talk about the difference in doubt and disbelief with regards to our faith.

We have remained in contact since we graduated. In college, Matt asked my advice about switching his major to join us in the Mass Communications department, and after graduating, he worked for a few years as a deejay for a Christian music radio station in Virginia. We caught up some years later when he was down my way and in-between careers. He was in town to share about a missions opportunity he was taking for which he needed to raise support for training. We went out in a snow storm to get a Little Caesars pizza and hung out just long enough to talk about his own struggle with depression (the subject of his first manuscript, now being prepared for publishing), and not unrelated, the subject of Calvinist doctrine. I gave him my copy of Bob George's book Faith That Pleases God, and off he went.

My college buddy, Matt Rogers (foreground, clearly praying)

The missions training and support-raising was for an opportunity he had to join an on-campus ministry at Virginia Tech. He was at the campus about a year when the massacre took place. I did order my copy of his book from Amazon and received it today. I just wanted to say how very happy I am for Matt to be published, and wish him all the best. I hope to put down my thoughts here once I've read the book, and look forward to reading his book about depression as well. Now what do you think: Matt's a published writer -- should I press on toward my own goal of becoming a rock legend?

Well, on another note, here is RedGooseShoes.com reincarnted. It's far from finished, but I intend for it to always be in sandbox mode anyway, where I can experiment with the layout and content whenever I get the notion. Hopefully, it'll soon take shape and become an inspiring place to stretch out. After all, the description statement I've put on the blog section says it best: