It’s about 20 minutes past midnight and I can’t seem to fall asleep. Now, I know that for some of you, 12:20 AM is actually still pretty early; not for me. I’m an “early-to-bed, early-to-rise” kind of guy.

Tonight, I’m having trouble sleeping. Believe it or not, it has nothing to do with any of my children keeping me awake. Truth be told, I can’t really complain because I rarely have trouble getting rest. And with three kids ages three and under that’s a pretty big accomplishment!

For some reason tonight, I just had the overwhelming urge to get out of bed, read my Bible and pray. At the risk of sounding “unspiritual,” this doesn’t happen to me a lot. I like to read my Bible, pray, memorize Scripture and read other books during the normal hours of the day. But tonight, God has just burdened me.

I’m burdened for my family. Not because anything is bad or wrong, but because if I don’t pray for my wife and my kids, who will? If I’m not the priest of my home that God calls me to be then I’ve failed at my most important job in life!

I’m burdened for my church. Again, not because anything is bad or out of place, but simply because God has given me a huge responsibility to “shepherd the flock of God.” This is a privilege that I absolutely love and enjoy, but it comes with great responsibilities and duties.

I’m burdened for me. I don’t want to settle in my life; in any part of my life. I don’t want to settle for a mediocre marriage. I thank God for my relationship with my wife and treasure her as a precious gift from God. I don’t want to settle for a casual, cursory relationship with my kids. I want to be a huge influence in their lives for the cause of Christ. I don’t want to settle in my ministry. Being a pastor is one of the highest honors of my life and I will never be satisfied with the status quo. I love my church and thank God for the opportunity to serve Him at Crosspointe.

Simply put, I want everything that God has for me in every area of my life. I want to do everything I can to accomplish all that I can for God with the time that He has given me upon this earth. Life is too short, the stakes are too high and eternity is too long to let one more moment slip by.