İskiltal

Does that title look a little strange? What’s that dot doing atop a capital ‘I’? Well, it’s Turkish. We recently took a Rick Steves walking tour of Istanbul (which I should write “İstanbul”), where our tour guide told us there are 29 letters in the Turkish alphabet. Here’s the deal: from the 26 in the American alphabet, subtract three letters:

• Q
• W (except in signs pointing the way to “W.C.”)
• X

Then add:

• Ç/ç (sounds like our ‘ch’)
• Ğ/ğ (lengthens previous vowel sound)
• “İ” vs “I” / “ı” vs “i” (without the dot, like the ‘e’ in ‘the’; with it, like the ‘ee’ in ‘bee’)
• Ö/ö (like German)
• Ş/ş (like our ‘sh’)
• Ü/ü (like German)

The result is something more phonetic than we have in English with our ‘ph’ (except in shepherd) and ‘ough’ (as in cough, rough, though, through), etc.

An old Wikipedia article adds more detail.

I wish I were this guy, sorta

Which guy do I mean? The best-selling author? The Nobel laureate?

Nope, the guy I'm thinking of is basically just me with one change. An old friend talked about getting up in the morning and wanting one thing more than anything else: a word from the Lord. Another friend talks about how he'll skip brushing his teeth before he'll skip reading the Bible in the morning.

I am not like those guys. Sure, when I do open the Bible I usually find something that makes me really glad I did. But to me it's kinda like eating a healthy diet—like having oatmeal for breakfast 5-6 days a week. I know it's good for me, I know I should, I usually do (at this stage in my life anyway), but it's not the thing I'm simply dying to do each morning—or necessarily any other time of the day. That's right, I can go a whole day without wanting a word from the Lord.

The guy I want to be is a guy who wants, more than anything else, to hear or read something from God every day, every hour—and to desire his will with a pure intention.