What's Ahead (?)

Tonight is the last night of 2022. 

College Football bowls and playoff games are being played. Parties are being held. Winter breaks are being enjoyed (except for those who flew with Southwest). 

The rest of my family is currently asleep, though my wife will probably want to wake up to see the NYE ball drop. 

Like many often do at this time of year, I've been reminiscing about the past. Not just this year though, the last 10. January 1 marks 10 years at Milford. It has been a rewarding and eventful journey. It felt like the first five years went long, while the last five went fast. Some of that is due to COVID interrupting a good portion of a year plus. Some of it was my own learning curve in ministry those first few years. 

The first seven plus years saw a lot of rewarding things happen. Yet it has also felt like the last 3-4 years have had a lot of difficulties - illnesses, deaths, COVID complications, a congregation changing and aging. 

Tomorrow is Sunday and I will be preaching my last sermon for a bit. It's nothing serious but I am taking sabbatical from my pastorate. Only for a month - a longer one likely awaits in 2024 and I feel more worn down than burned out. But it's a break I can tell my soul needs. It's needed to reconnect with God, stay connected with my family, and find refreshment without the week-to-week grind that being a pastor can often entail. 

I will be taking a break from social media and blogging. But I look forward to returning with some fresh perspective and fresh energy to continue to serve my Lord with all I have.

Music Mondays

The New Year holiday brings two specific words to my mind:

Optimism.
Commitment.

Optimism seems prevalent because we as people are eager to move beyond our past - with it's failures and disappointments - towards a hopeful future filled with endless possibilities. 

Commitment is a natural theme for many at the beginning of a new calendar year as well. We resolutely determine to make changes to our routines, our diets, our relationships, our goals. We hope to start over and really see improvement in these areas as we flex our will power.

As I mulled over those concepts and thought about giving them a soundtrack, one song stood out.

There is plenty of music out there, both 'sacred' and 'secular' that could exemplify the start of a new year. This one gets my vote because it underscores the ultimate reason I believe we have to embrace optimism and the challenges of commitment.

And with the uncertainties of this world, it is spiritually healthy to remember - "Who can stop the Lord Almighty?"

Music Mondays

Well, we made it to 2016. And this being the first Monday of the new year, I thought I'd share a fairly new song aptly titled "First" by Lauren Daigle. 

More than having a relevant title, this song speaks to the heart all followers of Christ ought to consistently embrace - especially when we celebrate the New Year. Instead of making resolutions that get quickly discarded a few weeks in, maybe we can make this our heart's cry and our life's commitment for 2016.

"Before I bring my need, I will bring my heart"

That's not our natural bent when we approach God. But it's the order we ought to take to properly honor Him.