What I Learned in 2010

Happy 2011! I figured it would be fitting for me to look back on the year 2010 and briefly mention some things I learned.

Some People Can Get By Without Time Management. I'm Not One of Those People.
I can be a very impulsive guy. Whatever I seem to be "digging" that day, I'll spend alot of time on it, when in reality, there might be other things that are more important. This year, I've made a spread sheet which blocks out every 30 minutes I spend in the office. It even includes reading and writing blogs!! This approach is very freeing to me.

LMNOP. Remember what you'd do when you were a kid and you'd get to the middle of the alphabet? If you were like me, you wouldn't literally say, "L-M-N-O-P." You'd bleed it all together to say, "elemenopee." While having lunch with another worship leader back in November, he encouraged me to find ways to keep St. Andrews' worship service from becoming routine, ho-hum, or lazy - "elemenopee." Good stuff.

There's Always a Reason to Justify an Addiction. Two months ago I wrote a post about college football and how it became so prevalent in my life that I began to neglect more important things - like God...like my wife. God broke through to me and brought me to a place where I was able to admit that I needed to change. He's helping me change, but there's also an enemy who likes to whispher in my ear. Alot of times, he wins. Thank God for grace and for promising not to give up on me.

Buying a House is a Long, Hard Process. Stacy and I set out to become homeowners in August of 2009. We didn't sign our closing papers until February 23, 2010. The months in-between were brutal. Some days I felt like I spent more time faxing bank statements and affidavits than actually doing ministry with St. Andrews. Oh, and our bank representative spoke broken English...

Staying Connected.
When Stacy and I were traveling north 2 weeks ago, we stopped at one of the turnpike plazas to get coffee. As I was about to order, I looked down and noticed a newspaper which said that over 94% of American couples are connected - but not necessarily with each other. I've noticed that with every electronic, internet-surfing, app-playing gadget I acquire, it's just one more thing that competes for my attention. My high calling from God isn't to come home every night and worship my laptop or pay alms to my iPod. It's to be a husband to my wife, to give myself up for her, to set my interests on hers. Not saying that laptops are wrong. We both like to use it for entertainment. Only difference is my wife knows how to shut it down after a while...

Dates Are Worth Fighting For.
Stacy and I have had some great marital advice since being married. Last year, I was reminded again (as I was the year before) that continuing to date your wife keeps your marriage fresh. In Colossians, Paul says that "in the same way you received Christ Jesus, so walk in Him." I think the same thing can be said for marriage: in the same way you dated, so be married.