Happy New Year! I know…it’s a few days late but that’s par for the course for me. So, what’s your New Year’s resolution for 2006?

Of course the most popular losing weight, quitting smoking or something like that. Well, I could stand to lose a pound or two but I quit smoking before I started.

So, my resolution for 2006? No resolutions! Yep, that’s my New Year’s resolution for 2006. I’m not going to make any resolutions this year. I’m thinking that will be one resolution that I will keep.

How about you? Do you usually commit to New Year’s resolutions? If so, what do you have down for this year?

I’m new at this whole “pastor” thing. I love it; I definitely enjoy what I do and I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. But being a pastor brings a lot of challenges. You’ve got to be really good at a lot of different stuff. A “jack of all trades” if you will. But you know what they say about the “jack of all trades” don’t you? He’s the master of none!

So, I try to be good at counseling, speaking, leading, visiting and reaching people. But this is a chalenging prospect for me. I’ve spent lots of hours in school trying to learn what it means to do all these things and honestly it doesn’t seem to help. The only way to learn is to do it. Of course, I read, study, pray, plan and try to do everything to grow in every area I can, but I’ve found that the most challenging area for me is leadership.

Now the leadership issues stretch into multiple aspects of ministry. It’s leading a staff, casting vision for the congregation, establishing effective systems, administrating and strategizing. This has proven to be the toughest part of ministry to me.

How about you? What have you found to be the most challenging in your ministry?

We took a group from our church to see Chronicles of Narnia this past Sunday. What a great movie! I never read the books when I was a kid. I hated reading then…and still do sometimes now. So, it was a brand new experience for me and I think it was just incredible. What a powerful message that also serves as an awesome children’s story. I had no idea how powerful the imagery would be…not to mention the incredible special effects, graphics, computer generation, etc. I told Steph that we would be seeing all the ones they decided to make and we’d be buying this one as soon as it came out on DVD. Good stuff!

I have recently determined my favorite time of the year. I know what you might be thinking; “Everyone’s favorite time of the year is Christmas.” Well, it’s not mine. Don’t get me wrong, I love the “why” of Christmas: God coming to earth in the form of a human being…Jesus Christ being born in Bethlehem. That’s awesome! But lately I’ve not been a big fan of the “what” of Christmas. It’s been so commercialized and contorted over the years that it doesn’t even resemble what it’s supposed to be about. And these days you can’t even say “Christmas” anymore. It has to be “Season’s Greetings” or “Happy Holidays” or anything that doesn’t include the name of Christ.

So, Thanksgiving is now officially my favorite time of the year. For one thing, you can still call it “Thanksgiving” on network television and in department stores. For another thing, you still get to see your family and friends and eat all kinds of good food and you don’t have to worry if you bought Uncle Rufus the perfect present (especially since you haven’t seen him since last Christmas).

This year at North Cross we did a series the entire month of November on being thankful. It was called “Hey, Thanks: a thankful life that others are thankful for…” We talked about “taking God for granted,” “being thankful for what you have” and that Thanksgiving is “more than a holiday,” it’s a lifestyle. This was one of the most meaningful series in my personal life as well as in the life of our church. It caused me to take a step back and really appreciate how good God really is.

So, it’s official. I love the Thanksgiving season. It’s my favorite! The weather is turning colder, the leaves are turning colors and we get to spend quality time with familiy where we can eat until our heart’s content. And for all you Christmas lovers out there…Happy Holidays! I mean, Merry Christmas!

I’ve never really understood the huge deal most people make about their birthday. I mean, sure, it’s a special day; one day out of the year you can celebrate your birth. But do you realize you share your birthday with 6 million other people? I guess that makes it a special day for a lot of people. So, if it’s special for a lot of people how special is it really?

Don’t get me wrong. If your birthday is a huge deal for you that’s fine. My wife’s birthday celebration lasts the entire month of March. I think it’s cute!

But seriously, shouldn’t we celebrate our moms on our birthdays? After all, they’re the ones who did the hard work so that we could be here. I’m going to make sure Jake tells his mom “thanks” every year on his birthday. Well, as soon as he can talk!

Today, on my birthday, I say, Happy Birthday to my mom! Thanks a ton for enduring the pain of birth on November 29, 1977. And thanks for putting up with all the mess I handed you as a child. You’ve put up with me through a lot of birthdays and for that I’m grateful. There’s no doubt I’m blessed to have survived my first few birthdays, and here I am now…28 years old. Wonders never cease!