r is for resolution

can you feel that? the pressure? the inevitable weight bearing down as we approach a new year and we all take inventory of the previous 12 months? i feel it. and i like it. i love New Years! the weight of it is in my year-end acknowledgment of failures and unfinished projects, the endless list of didn't-get-to's and the longer list of i-planned-to's. but there is a lightness too, in the hope that a new year means a new chance. another go. a clean slate.

in John Piper's 'solid joys' devotional app, he compares New Year's Eve to a rehearsal for death. the reason for any rehearsal is to identify weaknesses and mistakes and take that opportunity to remedy them and make them right. a time to readjust and repair, to fix and prepare. if you are reading this, you are still alive and able to take advantage of this knowledge, this gift of more time. don't waste it.

this season of Christmas has been a somber one for us. we have sensed the true presence of Emmanuel, God truly right here with us, more than ever before. the death of a friend, my former manager Norman Miller, came at the beginning of the month. and then came the horrific shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, which affected us all. as parents, of course, our hearts hurt with the mom's and dad's that lost little ones. but also as a nation, we ached for all of the families and began to ask new questions and assess our future.

following this tragedy, our church body said goodbye to the 5 year-old daughter of our pastor's family, as she was taken home to be with Jesus just 4 days before Christmas due to a severe asthma attack. she died in her daddy's arms. now, we know, beyond any shadow of doubt, that little Lenya went immediately to her Heavenly Fathers arms! the scriptures are clear, and we believe they are true. and that knowledge does bring comfort and hope. but it still hurts. we still grieve. we still mourn. this was not a rehearsal, it was the real thing.

tomorrow isn't promised to any of us. how can we make the most of today?

my M.O. for the rest of my life is this:
in your name, by your strength, for your glory

i want my life, decisions, goals and dreams to reflect Jesus in my life

our church, FreshLifeChurch, has a code that we as a body seek to live by and as a staff, strive to lead by. inspired by our FreshLifeCode, i have been working on a personal code of sorts (you can read about it's beginning here)... i hope it inspires and encourages you to seek The Lord for his wisdom in your own life.

happy new year...