We moved….again.

In a matter of months, all the girls will have moved out of the house and it will be just Helen, Kaleb, and me. We wanted to downsize.

As we have worked on getting the house ready to move, it is astonishing to me how much junk we have.

Junk.

We have:

• nice junk,
• expensive junk,
• junky junk,
• cheap junk,
• junk no one would ever want,
• junk we donated,
• junk we gave away,
• junk we haven’t used in years,
• junk we only use once every couple of years
• really nice junk

There are some treasures in the house. But the treasures are only treasures for me and my family.

Treasures:

• Pictures of my family, drawings and small knick-knacks kids made when they were little
• T-shirts from different vacations, trips, and events that have special meaning for me and my family
• The heart pillow I got after my open heart by-pass surgery
• My high school football jersey. It’s tattered, numbers are falling off. No one would ever want it, but I treasure it

But, here’s the thing about all the junk and the treasures: all of it will one day end up in the junk yard with all the other junk and “treasures”.

Every junk yard contains junk and treasures that people have fought over, divorced over, stolen, spent overtime working to pay for over. There is some junk that people have even killed over.

But it’s all there.

All of it.

All of it ends up in the junk yard.

Life is more than the accumulation of junk.

The sooner we learn that the sooner we will start truly living.

God’s plan for my life…

What is God’s plan and purpose for my life?

When most of us ask this question, we’re wondering things like:

• Who am I to marry?
• What am I being called to do (career)?
• Where am I supposed to live?
• Shall I stay? Shall I move?

I don’t know what God’s plan for your life is. That’s between you and God. However, I can tell you with absolute certainty that God’s plan for your life is always greater than your life.

Whatever you think God is telling you only impacts you, that’s rarely God. These things are most likely things we desire. It reveals more of what we want for ourselves than really seeking God and his will.

God’s will for your life will always include you, but the impact and the blessing will always be so much greater than you. God plans to use you and me to be a blessing to his kingdom.

God’s will for your life is always bigger than you and me!

And that’s a great thing!

Strange…it’s been a strange year.

The third heart procedure was a tremendous success. I feel better than I have in years. I had forgotten what it felt to feel good again. It’s amazing to wake up rested. I love that my head is clear and I am able to concentrate.

Because I had three heart procedures this year, and since each of them required a hospital stay and at least a week of rest at home, I have missed about 4 to 6 weeks of work. And it wasn’t as if I had 4 to 6 consecutive weeks. It’s been a sputtering of surgery, hospital stay, recovery, and get back to work for a couple of weeks and then another surgery, hospital stay, recovery. And we did that three times this year! So it’s felt like a constant getting back to work and trying to get caught up with stuff I’ve missed.

And now that the third procedure was a success, and now that I am feeling better than I have in years, and now that I am fully back at work….I am preparing to leave for my Sabbatical!

It’s been a strange, funky year.

Having said all that, I am so thankful!

• I am alive! And I am feeling better than I have in years! I love waking up and not feeling tired. I had forgotten what that was like. I have so much more energy
• Even with all the time I have missed work, the church and the ministry hasn’t missed a beat! The ministry at the Little Church and Lakewood Grace is going strong. We are reaching more people, serving more people, impacting more people than before. It’s never been about James and this year is the clearest example of that
• I am surrounded by a phenomenal staff and church people. We would not be where we are today if it weren’t for the amazing staff and leaders at the Little Church and Lakewood Grace.
• I get to go on a Sabbatical! How awesome is that? I have been given space, time, and the resources to rest, recreate, read, and reflect. I am so blessed!
• My amazing family! I am blessed with a loving wife, awesome kids.

What more can a guy ask for?!?! I am so blessed.

What a strange, awesome year 2018 has been thus far.