How I Started the Year Successfully
I’m not working the first week of the new year.
Well, actually I am working. I’m writing a message for Sunday, I’m replying to dozens of emails, texts and phone calls, I’m thinking, processing, and dreaming about the new year.
I’m not in the office. Normally on this week there would be dozens of meetings. I’d begin implementing the plans I dreamed of over the month of December. I am a “hit the ground running” kind of guy.
But, instead, I’m on a “retreat” with my youngest son Nate. And, I’ll admit, it’s fun!
I’m at Passion Conference, a gathering of 44,000 mostly 18 to 25 year olds whose primary purpose is worshipping Jesus!
And, I’m not disappointed. I actually hope this is representative of my year.
I realize some would need no encouragement to do something like this to start the year, but you see, I don’t sit still very well. I’m more of a doer than a be…er. (Couldn’t find a way to write that word without you thinking it was an alcoholic beverage.) I struggle to rest in Christ. I’m more like Martha than I am like Mary. (Luke 10:38-42) I’d rather be doing something for Christ. Worship, as much as I want my life defined by it, is often pushed to the side for other, more “tangible” projects. (Sorry, just being honest.)
This year:
- I want my life defined more by devotion than by duty.
- I want to meditate on God’s Word as much as I study or even teach God’s Word.
- I want to praise more than I produce.
So, while this may seem like an unproductive start to the new year, I hope it’s the beginning of my most productive year ever. Hopefully, the older I get, the better I’m defining productivity.
How about you? Are you more like Martha or Mary?
