I have not blogged in some time…..I feel like there has been so much that has taken place over the last weeks or months that I don’t know where to start! I find myself this time of year trying to reflect on the last 11 months wondering, thinking, dissecting to see if I could have done better, made less mistakes or in some way made more of impact on those around me. I answer my own question with a resounding YES! I preach, teach, and do what I say is my very best to model what authentic Christianity is and yet I know way down that I could have given more, prayer more, acted more…….Christ like. I think if we all took a moment to reflect on the past year that we would all say the same thing, at least I hope that I’m not alone!
This year has been, well its been tough. I know that those who read this probably feel the same way, but it is in these times that I learn what I am really made of…..and the reality is that I am a man. A man formed in the image of one who is in a word magnificent! My mom used to tell my that I had a lot of what it takes to get along. I have come to the place where I am aware that in all actuality I have a lot less than what it takes to get along, but there is one who is in a word magnificent!
I had a friend that some time ago he said ” at Christmas time I turn into an 8 year old kid.” I have used this over the years to describe how much I love any holiday involving presents, especially when they were for me, but this year I am incredibly grateful to have been able to buy presents for my boys who like their father love opening presents.
When the Bible says that he who finds a wife finds a good thing, I think that I have the best! I have two sons who love me and a group of students who are hungry for more of God. My prayer as this year ends is that my wife would see in me the man of God that I so desperately want to be, that my boys would know that I love them more than any words could possibly express, and that the students at Thrive would know beyond a shadow of doubt that they have captured the heart of this youth pastor and that the best is just ahead of us!
Merry Christmas to all.
