Some Personal Thoughts and a 2025 Invitation

2024 is almost in the books.

The year started off on a painful note, with seemingly one death after another. You can read about some of them in this May post, but losing friends you've known and loved sure puts life in perspective.

For years, my personal mission statement has been, "I want to do those things in life that matter by running with others who want to make a difference." And I believe this more strongly today.

I don't want to waste my life on petty projects, petty goals, and petty thinking. I want to get to know God in a way I hadn't known him before, work on things that matter, and build great relationships.

My top relational priority is my family. Speaking of which...

Life Update

Our four kids are growing fast. Zoey remains full of life and still hasn't met a stranger. Zeke has become one of the kindest kids I've known and loves helping others. Azellie is mischievous like her dad, and always likes to snuggle. Zayden is having fun adding new words to his vocabulary. The latest, as of last night, being "Stop!" It seemed to pair well with his already mastered words "no" and "mine."

Janan is a busy mom, and the last few months have been a challenge. After five knee surgeries and four kids, she was ready to have some "normal." What better way to do this than to join a rec league volleyball team? Unfortunately, 15 minutes into her first game, she tore her Achilles. Although she has written about her struggle with chronic pain in the past, this was a fresh challenge.

Watching her deal with pain has taught me a lot about her character. When some people get knocked down, they become self-absorbed, bitter, and generally miserable to be around. Not Janan.

Two weeks after her injury, she was exercising again and working hard on physical therapy. I can't stress how difficult this is to do after all she has been through. But she did it, and I often use her as an example of persistence for others.

Personally, aside from the sting of unexpected losses, it's been a great year. If you've followed my daily devotional series, you know we just wrapped the final chapter of going through the Bible in a year today. Yes, it was a lot of work, but so personally rewarding.

I've also continued my work with Forbes Books, ghostwritten several books with authors, and edited dozens of manuscripts. Most are with business CEOs, politicians, or educators. Online teaching never appealed to me, but sitting with someone for several months to help them bring their words to life on a page is very rewarding. I still have an itch to preach and teach again, but that's on hold for the moment.

This last year, I've been blessed with some wonderful new friendships, many of which have been at Crossroads Church. On Sundays and Tuesday nights, we have young families and young adults in our home, and several of them have quickly become close friends.

Also, as I write this, I'm coming off a great week spent with my family in Cincinnati. Because we're Canadian, we naturally did the Canadian thing and went ice skating.

My Greatest 2024 Lesson

I never thought I'd live just outside Boise, Idaho. And while the first few years were a major transition from life in Toronto, Canada, I can honestly say it's been a good one. Will we be here forever? I'm not sure because I still have that pastor itch.

But I can say I'm content, and I'm learning to enjoy each phase of life. By nature, I'm a go-getter, and my mind is always active. But if there was one key moment this past year, I say it occurred several months ago.

I'd just been chatting with some pastor friends and they were talking about how God was doing this and how they were excited about doing that. And as they talked, I noticed my mind ramped up again and I had all these thoughts: Man, I'd like to be doing this. If I could only do that.

But just as these thoughts started to enter my mind, I sensed (I use that word with caution) God say to me, "Ezra, the reason I brought you to Idaho was so that I could slow you down."

When Janan and I lived in Toronto, Canada, as church planters I was always thinking about "doing ministry" and "reaching our community for Christ." This wasn't always a bad thing, but I can see how it consumed my thinking in unhealthy ways, caused me to at times "other people," and probably made me not the most likeable person to be around. Some of what I thought was "holy discontent" was actually just plain old "discontent." I always wanted more.

But as Ecclesiastes teaches, for everything there is a season. A season to run hard and accomplish. A season to take a step back and just be. 2024 was the being phase for me. It's made me think about these words from the Apostle Paul in Philippians 4:12:

I know how to make do with little, and I know how to make do with a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content—whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. 

An Invitation

As for TMC, after writing through the Bible this past year, I’m taking a different approach for 2025. Starting January 1st, I’ll be launching a new Monday-Friday series that is aimed at helping everyday Christians form sustainable and transformative spiritual disciplines.

It'll be practical and conversational and hopefully provide some thoughts that spur you to "Turn your Sunday belief into Monday action."

Over the next few months, I’ll cover a wide range of topics such as: "Hearing from God amid a busy lifestyle," "How to build disciplines that last," and "Tips for forming strong Christ-centered relationships."

If you're busy, tired, and battling distractions, this is for you.

Believe me, I hate subscriptions as much as the next guy, but your $9 a month support makes it possible to dedicate the time it requires to make this a meaningful jumpstart to your day!

If this sounds like you, click this link. (Bonus: If you sign up, you will also receive access to all 365 daily devotionals I wrote through Scripture this last year)

Also, if you haven't done so in while, send me a response email and give me an update about how things are going in your life. I'd love to hear from you!