Best Resolution Ever! 2014

I won't lie.  I typically have pretty lame success with my New Year's Resolutions.  Not only do I struggle with following through with them, but even in coming up with a resolution I do pretty poorly.

Sound familiar?

My resolution usually ends up looking more like a shopping list for a scarcely-stocked pantry:  For 2014, I'd like to do everything better that I didn't do so well last year, or ever, for that fact...  Here we go New Year!

Yet this year feels different.  I'm not entirely sure why, with a fairly mediocre track record, I suddenly feel qualified to share my 2014 resolution so resolutely, in addition to sharing some recommendations for others on setting good resolutions, which follows below.  But this is what I'm being led to share, so here's to 2014!

Setting Your New-Year Resolution:

• Limit yourself to only 1 (and no sub-parts!)
• Consider attitude-related or qualitatively measured goals rather than numeric goals
• Consider resolutions that will have more positive affects on others more than just yourself
• Consider resolutions not so private you can't share with anyone.  Share-able goals easily become goals a whole group of people can set together, and they also lend themselves to friendly accountability much more easily.
• Consider a goal that is faith related.  God loves to help you grow for His glory!
• Set your resolution and map out some steps you'll take to help you get there!
• FINALLY:  spending thousands of dollars on your resolution rarely has a direct relation to how likely you are to accomplish your goal.  Instead, consider routinely using the display treadmill model at the store rather than bringing it home to hold your laundry and unfinished craft items.  

What's MY 2014 New Year's Resolution?  It's simple:  to share with more people outside of my vocational setting my story of who Jesus is.  

Want to join me and have the same resolution?  Post on my Facebook page that you're joining me.  We'll do this together!  

More to come!  See you in 2014.

Jason <><

The Lighter Side

Sarah and I have a handmade felt Christmas calendar on our wall that my mom made for my family.  I loved being the first to the calendar when I was a kid, earning the chance to take the felt figure out of its numbered pocket and stick it to a Velcro patch on the tree.  It was exciting to see the tree fill up as we got closer to Christmas.

I have to laugh about how I approach the tree now.  I'm usually up a little earlier than Sarah, and so it is typically my privileged to place another felt figure on the tree.  But I've noticed my enthusiasm doesn't quite match that I had as a kid.  Although I am still thrilled to get closer and closer to our birth celebration, with every new figure on the tree I often wish we could slow down the days and that it would take longer for that tree too fill up.  Additionally, the tree serves as a sort of time clock, ticking down to the largest worship service of the year.  This morning our tree reminded me there's only one day standing between us and one of the best moments of the year!

And so, we approach Christmas.  And as I personally prepare for the day, I cling to John's gospel, where in the very opening lines, we are reminded about what this all means:

Love has come to earth.  Love that heals, grows, corrects, directs, redeems, hastens, interrupts, and embraces.  And that love, when given birth in our lives and actions, becomes the light that shines into the darkness, the light that shines a pathway from God to us, a light that shines real, pure, and brilliant life into our world.  (selections from John 1:1-18)

Let each day be full of light, even when the darkness feels twice as strong.  Merry Christmas!


More to come!

Jason <><

A Party of the Heart

Last Friday Sarah and I hosted our annual staff party at our place.  I love getting together, if for no other reason, just to eat great food and get swept up in laughter, conversations, and games.

But I am even more thankful when the party becomes more than just a fun evening, especially when it involves company unrelated.

It's my firm belief that when planning a party, the host should plan easy outs for guests along the way in case the evening would go best for a shorter length.  Not every get-together needs to last for hours in order to be a success.  Sarah and I were sure to plan some of those outs in our evening.  After dinner and the gift exchange, I handed out our small tokens of appreciation to everyone and said my sincere thanks to a beautiful team.  After the thanks followed that moment when anyone wishing to leave could have easily done so without any hint of discomfort or abandon.

But on Friday, no one made a move, and the evening continued with laughter and sharing, until it actually got a little late.  As Sarah and I said our goodbyes and shared with each other about how great the evening was, we reflected on the beauty of the family we have in the staff and their families.  It's an honor to be a part of such a great team.

I imagine the disciples and Jesus were familiar with what this felt like, and most likely, to even greater extents.  The value of their time together went far beyond having a good time or a good laugh.  I imagine they too saw how God called them together, bound them tightly, and shaped them as one body with an unbelievable, life-giving task.  I imagine over time they too felt a tremendous care and compassion for each other that assured them that no matter where Jesus was, that God would always be present in their midst.

Here's to a great staff!


More to come!

Jason <><

Best Part of Christmas

Although Monday mornings are my preferred writing time, with Christmas in the air, anything goes!  Plus writing this evening has given me some good material!

I dined out with one of the Disciple Study groups this evening as they wrapped another year of studying.  Reclining in our seats after feasting on some of the city's best Mexican food, I asked my nearest table companion what he enjoyed most about Christmas, or what was most meaningful to him.  

His reply was that when he was younger, it was capturing the excitement his children exuded--watching their joy and their antics in pageants or unwrapping packages.  Now that he's older, the best part is getting together with his family.  

"How about you?" he asked.  I should be more prepared to answer the questions I so casually ask others.  Slightly stumped and unsure, in my deep-thinking, philosophical tendency, I paused, then replied:  "You know?  I think one of the most meaningful parts of Christmas is the gift of anticipation."  

Although many choose not to, I personally prefer to spend the entire time from Thanksgiving to Christmas Eve preparing, looking forward, and imagining the moments I know are soon to come.  The gift of anticipation leaks into every routine, every conversation, and most activities.  Because I'm anticipating that brief moment when all is still and calm (although not necessarily perfect and full peace) and the gift of love and redemption is at its fullest, I find that I begin living what I am looking forward to in advance.  

Ultimately, anticipation is what leads us to the practice of finding and knowing hope.  And so as we live into and beyond this current holiday season, I invite us to anticipate the things that are next, the things that God gives us to celebrate, so that they can begin to shape the living of all of our lives.  

More to come!

Jason <><

Fooled Me!

There are some delightful and somewhat quirky things Paul wrote about to the churches he cared about and shepherded.

I specifically have to laugh as I read through Paul's second letter to the church in Corinth, because although Paul left an incomparable, un-matched legacy, he too had his moments of pastoral quirks!  In this second letter, we get a view into just how much Paul cared about this church, just how sensitive he was to the little things, and just how intimately involved he was in their daily lives and attitudes.

All the way through the letter, Paul responds to the pains and grief the church has caused him, in addition to the complaints they have made against him.  Particularly, in chapters 10-12, Paul defends himself and works to validate his ministry--eventually to the point that he lays out an entire history of his sufferings, sacrifices, and woes.  As I read, I'm reminded that there are few times for pastors and others when this is actually appropriate.  But, I'm thankful he had a lapse in better judgement, because of the lesson it teaches us:

Not everything is going to go well just because we have devoted ourselves to a life with and serving Jesus.  Paul acknowledges this and even refers to himself as a fool, willing to play to fool's part for the life he has chosen to live.  

If we truly desire to follow God and live into the ministry He has called us to, we can't expect it to be entirely successful.  So many times, we see the results of our work as the desired outcome God has called us to.  But more than anything else, God desires that each of us join Him in our heart and soul over the course of our lives.  In the meantime, we will fail and make mistakes, and not everyone will be pleased with what we do.

But if we have our eyes and hearts set on the goal of Jesus, many other things simply won't matter.


More to come!

Jason <><