I must admit that it felt great to be back at Kairos on Tuesday. It had been just shy of a month since the last Kairos service way back in the year of our Lord 2018.

I think that if tonight was any indication, 2019 is going to be spectacular. Chris Brooks spoke on how to spend less time trying harder to win God’s approval and more time training in the everyday disciplines to live out of the overflow of God’s love and approval that we already have in Jesus.

I confess that my default setting is works-based. I still feel in some way that I need to earn God’s favor, even though I know deep down that’s impossible. The more you try to be good enough to work your way to God, you realize just how lacking you are.

But the more you confess your own brokenness and reach out for God’s mercy and love in Jesus, you know how deep that God’s grace goes. You find that the joy of the Lord truly is your strength.

That grace and mercy are available to all who ask, seek, and knock. If you but cry out to Jesus, He will hear you and come find you, not waiting for you to get yourself cleaned up or straightened up or anything else. All He asks is for a willing and surrendered heart.

I can’t wait to see what next week’s Kairos brings.

“‘They say Aslan is on the move—perhaps has already landed.’

And now a very curious thing happened. None of the children knew who Aslan was any more than you do; but the moment the Beaver had spoken these words everyone felt quite different. Perhaps it has sometimes happened to you in a dream that someone says something which you don’t understand but in the dream it feels as if it had some enormous meaning— either a terrifying one which turns the whole dream into a nightmare or else a lovely meaning too lovely to put into words, which makes the dream so beautiful that you remember it all your life and are always wishing you could get into that dream again. It was like that now. At the name of Aslan each one of the children felt something jump in its inside. Edmund felt a sensation of mysterious horror. Peter felt suddenly brave and adventurous. Susan felt as if some delicious smell or some delightful strain of music had just floated by her. And Lucy got the feeling you have when you wake up in the morning and realize that it is the beginning of the holidays or the beginning of summer” (C. S. Lewis, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe).

It’s that dreaded time of the week, and the week hasn’t even started.

That’s right, folks. It’s Monday Eve.

Monday doesn’t get any love. Monday is the least popular day of the week, mostly because it signals the end of the beloved weekend and the start to getting up at an ungodly hour to trudge off to work again.

But maybe Monday gets a bad rap. Maybe it’s all in your perspective.

Maybe Monday can be the start to something great.

Perhaps this Monday can be the beginning of a new dream or a new goal. This Monday, January 7, 2019, can be the restart after those New Year’s resolutions have already fizzled out.

Whatever the case, choose to make Monday great again. Choose to do whatever you do with everything you have as if you’re doing it for God and God alone.

Choose to live in gratitude, focusing on the positives in your life.

Then wait and see what happens.

Maybe you’ll start looking forward to Mondays instead of dreading them.

I had quite the productive day. On a Saturday. For me, anyways.

I started off by taking my Jeep through vehicle emissions testing. That was me being proactive and not waiting until the very end of the month like just about everyone else in the tri-state area. Good news– the old Jeep passed.

I proceeded to go to the interwebs and pay for my renewal fee for that Jeep, which is not due until the end of the month. Look at me being all ahead of time and stuff.

I then went and cleaned out my closet, donating a carload of clothing to Goodwill. It was very therapeutic, not only getting things where I could actually find them but also helping out others in the process.

I still say that being an adult is highly overrated. Had I known about all the having to wake up early, paying bills, working for a living part, I might not have been so anxious to grow up when I was a kid.

Still, despite all that, I’m choosing to celebrate those little victories, no matter how small. They may seem like small steps, but every single journey of significance always begins with one small step.

“There is a great difference between successfulness and fruitfulness. Success comes from strength, control, and respectability. A successful person has the energy to create something, to keep control over its development, and to make it available in large quantities. Success brings many rewards and often fame. Fruits, however, come from weakness and vulnerability. And fruits are unique. A child is the fruit conceived in vulnerability, community is the fruit born through shared brokenness, and intimacy is the fruit that grows through touching one another’s wounds. Let’s remind one another that what brings us true joy is not successfulness but fruitfulness” (Henri Nouwen).

If I look at my Bible right, I believe Jesus called us to bear fruit more than He called us to promote our brand or make loads of money. I see the difference as one in focus– do you want to make this life all about you or do you want to make others better? Do you want to earn a living or create a legacy?

I think it all depends on your definition of success. The key is what you do with what you’re given, i.e. the parable of the talents.

In the end, you can’t take your bank account with you. You can’t take the big house or the flashy cars or the expensive toys. All you can take with you are the lives of those you’ve impacted by patiently bearing fruits that lead to repentance and salvation. After all, you can’t tax a legacy.

It’s still that awkward time just after Christmas and New Year’s when everyone is confused about what day of the week it is. Well, most people. Ok, just me.

I had to look up the date so I could get the title right. I almost wrote “Happy January 4th,” which is not true for another 1 hour and 42 minutes.

I’m still seeing a few leftover Christmas decorations here and there, which only serves to add to my mental haze. Is it really January or is December still lingering?

Part of me honestly wants to start the whole Thanksgiving-Advent-Christmas season over from the beginning. It flew by the last time before I could really wrap my brain around it all.

I still have some Christmas movies I intend to watch before I pack them all up again. I might occasionally break out into a Christmas carol or two when I’m in the shower. You never know with me.

But I’m thankful for 2019. I’m anxious to see where God leads me this year and what He teaches me. It’s gonna be a good year.

For those Whovians out there reading this, you can probably guess that I’m up to the 11th incarnation of the doctor, played superbly by one Matt Smith and with the lovely Karen Gillan as his companion Amy Pond.

I see shades of Patrick Troughton in this doctor, who can be extremely goofy one moment and steely serious the next. Plus, I confess that I am a bit of a sucker for a red-head with a Scottish accent. I’m shallow that way.

I still love the whole concept of regeneration of the doctors to keep you from getting overly comfortable and familiar with The Doctor. It’s not different actors trying to portray one character one way but each bringing his (or her) unique personality and take on the role.

So my nerdy little heart is quite happy. I’ll keep you updated on my continuing quest to see all the episodes of Doctor Who.

“Our Father and our God, as we stand at the beginning of this new year we confess our need of Your presence and Your guidance as we face the future.

We each have our hopes and expectations for the year that is ahead of us—but You alone know what it holds for us, and only You can give us the strength and the wisdom we will need to meet its challenges. So help us to humbly put our hands into Your hand, and to trust You and to seek Your will for our lives during this coming year.

In the midst of life’s uncertainties in the days ahead, assure us of the certainty of Your unchanging love.

In the midst of life’s inevitable disappointments and heartaches, help us to turn to You for the stability and comfort we will need.

In the midst of life’s temptations and the pull of our stubborn self-will, help us not to lose our way but to have the courage to do what is right in Your sight, regardless of the cost.

And in the midst of our daily preoccupations and pursuits, open our eyes to the sorrows and injustices of our hurting world, and help us to respond with compassion and sacrifice to those who are friendless and in need. May our constant prayer be that of the ancient Psalmist: ‘Teach me, O Lord, to follow your decrees; then I will keep them to the end’ (Psalm 119:33).

We pray for our nation and its leaders during these difficult times, and for all those who are seeking to bring peace and justice to our dangerous and troubled world. We pray especially for Your protection on all those who serve in our armed forces, and we thank You for their commitment to defend our freedoms, even at the cost of their own lives. Be with their families also, and assure them of Your love and concern for them.

Bring our divided nation together, and give us a greater vision of what You would have us to be. Your Word reminds us that ‘Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord’ (Psalm 33:12).

As we look back over this past year we thank You for Your goodness to us—far beyond what we have deserved. May we never presume on Your past goodness or forget all Your mercies to us, but may they instead lead us to repentance, and to a new commitment to make You the foundation and center of our lives this year.

And so, our Father, we thank You for the promise and hope of this new year, and we look forward to it with expectancy and faith. This I ask in the name of our Lord and Savior, who by His death and resurrection has given us hope both for this world and the world to come.

Amen” (Billy Graham, 2008).