Jesus is the Subject; I am a Verb

Maybe you've heard this one:  A husband and wife woke up on Sunday morning, and their conversation went like this:

Him: I'm not going to church today.
Her: Yes you are.
Him: No.  I'm going to enjoy staying in bed for a change.
Her: You most certainly are not.  Get up and start getting ready.
Him: What's the point? I'm not sure it's doing any good.
Her: The point is, get up, we're going to church!
Him: But those people don't even like me, and I'm not sure I like them very much either.
Her: Look, you're the Pastor and you're going to church!

It's funny (or at least amusing in a cheesy sort of way), but life can be like that, can't it?  I have a confession to make... I had a moment like that today.  Well, not exactly.  It wasn't about church.  It was about the gym.

Over the past 4+ years I have been consistently working out, usually 6 days a week.  Actually, for the past 2 1/2 years, I've been a certified fitness instructor, so …

Growing up, I lost count the number of times that one of my parents (and the occasional teacher) said these words to me, "Don't you get smart with me, young man!"  Maybe you've heard those words, and you know exactly what they mean (if that's not the case, they mean "don't talk back" and/or "don't be a smart alec {we didn't use the other a-word}").

There does come a time for us, though,when we do need to get smart.  No, not sarcastic and smarmy, but actually intellectually engaged in making decisions based on prayer, thoughtful reflection, and quite often, the informed input of mentors, coaches, or friends we trust.

Over the past year and a half, I have become very engaged in continually setting goals for every area of life.  So much so, that I hardly had anything new related to "new years resolutions" to set.  My resolutions pertain to setting and reaching goals.  Resolve to set goals, then resolve to stick to the strate…

I've been anticipating that 2016 will be a year of big changes.  But, isn't every year?  When you think about, change happens every day and every year.  Sure some changes feel bigger than others, and without a doubt some changes are more difficult than others to experience.  There is so much to learn when you see changes as opportunities to grow as a person.  Here are a few such experiences for my family and me over the past year. For me, each of these was a pretty big deal.

-Shelly & I celebrated 25 years of marriage (just shortly after my parents celebrated 50)! It is a beautiful thing to me to grow older together with someone who chooses to love me, even in my unlovely moments.

-Christian (boy #1) turned 18, graduated high school, started college, learned to drive, got his first car... and totaled his first car. My head is spinning.  It makes my heart excited to see the potential in this young man!  Christian towers over the rest of us, at over 6 feet tall, and his hea…