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).

My new cat Peanut is quite the mellow gal. At least she was today.

I’m pretty sure she did little more than loaf around all day, which in my estimation is not a bad plan at all.

I captured her maybe looking a trifle annoyed at me for putting this cat-shaped neck massager (turned off) around her sleepy little form. I’m not sure she appreciates the fact that the fake cat looks a little like the real thing.

Still, that didn’t stop her from napping. Nothing gets in the way of a feline and a good snooze. Well, almost nothing. Me taking all these pictures might cut into her beauty regimen.

She gets more lovable every day. I still think she’s a keeper. Now you go and find a furry cat or dog (or some other animal) to pet before you call it a night.

Newsflash: there are only two days left in 2018. It’s probably time to think about what you want to do in 2019, or better yet, who you want to be in 2019. Time to get cracking on those resolutions.

What kind of a difference do you want to make?

Will it be all about how you present yourself on social media so that everyone sees an idealized, glorified version of you?

Will it be about obtaining that better car, that better house, that perfect job, that ideal spouse, etc.?

Perhaps a different take to the question– what kind of difference for the kingdom of God will you make?

I think once you and I realize that our lives aren’t about us (and don’t really belong to us anyway), then we can begin to see our story in view of God’s greater story?

In God’s grand play of life, what will your verse be? Who will be better because of you? Whose story will be changed because of you faithfully living out your story in the grand scheme of God’s divine plan?

Tomorrow’s a good day to start over again.

I’m thankful for some unanswered prayers. Ok, in a sense, there are no unanswered prayers but those where God chooses not to give what we ask or not to give when we ask. There are God’s silences when the answer is much too big for us to handle at that moment.

But I’m thankful that God didn’t give me most of what I asked Him for.

I see just a tiny bit of the future, but God sees the entire thing. When I get a “no,” I can trust that God sees something I don’t. Or maybe God knows that the very request I’m desiring would also be the instrument of my destruction if I got it.

Elisabeth Elliott once said that God gives the very best to those who leave the choice with Him. Not to say that prayers aren’t important or that voicing petitions doesn’t matter. God specifically tells us to ask, seek, and knock continually for those things we need.

But still I have a puny, finite mind. I pray for stupid, selfish stuff quite often. We all do. But sometimes God gives us what lies at the heart of that silly request. Above all, God gives no gifts apart from Himself, the greatest Gift.

I think it was the fictional character Tim Kavanaugh in Jan Karon’s series of Mitford novels who came up with the phrase “praying the prayer that never fails.” That prayer is “Your will be done.” When in doubt, go with that.

My sister recently asked me what my favorite gift was from the most recent Christmas. It took me a minute. I had to dust out a few cobwebs from the old noggin, but I finally figured it out.

My favorite gift wasn’t the most expensive gift. It wasn’t on my wish list. In fact, it was totally and completely unexpected. It was a custom made ornament from Pigeon Forge featuring my late beloved cat Lucy. It gave me all the feels.

If I go back even further in time, way back to the Fox Meadows days, I can tell you that the gift that I remember most that gave me the most lasting joy was my trusty old Commodore 64.

It was state of the art way back in 1983. That Commodore 64 was my very first personal computer and served me well for 10 years. I know you can’t imagine, but it had a whopping 64 kilobytes of memory. Not 64 gigabytes or even 64 megabytes. 64 kilobytes.

To put that into perspective, the space bar on today’s computers probably have more memory than my entire computer. But I loved that thing.

I found out you can go back– sort of– I got a Mini C64 gaming system, which is a miniature replica of the old Commodore keyboard pre-loaded with 64 of their best games. Hopefully, I can avoid that infamous crick in the neck that plagued me one afternoon as a result of sitting too long playing Lode Runner or Impossible Mission.

I think 2019 is going to be a good year.