state of my union:

for better or worse, the hopes and aspirations i have for the coming year are very similar to what i outlined for myself last year.

this fact is not to discount the happenings and developments since the last state of my union. with each year that passes- i feel more and more myself. i am increasingly aware and somehow more comfortable with those things that i am not good at- and the things in which i excel.

the labors that i have undertaken through the script that life has given- change me. although the change is much slower than i would like- it is change nonetheless.

one thing that has been recurring as i pray through this new season in my life is the correlation between being self-forgetful and distraction. in the coming year, i am praying that God would work into me a concrete self-forgetfulness. my hope and hunch is that this discipline will lead to less distraction and more focus on what is truly important in my life. as i allow the Lord to master distraction and crowdedness in my life- i will be freed to forget about myself.

there are plenty of factors that contribute to some of the distraction. some are external, most of mine- are internal. i am coming to the realization that the external distraction will not cease- but only increase as you add people to your life and as you grow up. mortgages, money, jobs, kids... all of these things have the potential to make me insular and self-absorbed. i realize that there are seasons in life and i also realize that these things mentioned above are not inherently wrong. but when they become an end to themselves- or a means by which i excuse my inactivity towards what god is asking of me and our family; they become distractions.

as for my internal factors that contribute to distraction in my life- i will to prayerfully commit them to the Lord and actively deflate their power in my life. therefore- i?m outlining this course of action over the coming year. towards the goal of self forgetfulness i will:

+ repent of worry over finances and continue to walk out my financial plan.

+ integrate the credo that it is none of my business what others think of me. i will do what i say i believe is important. the importance of prayer for the sick, weather they be coworkers or others i meet along life?s road, and talking about my faith to those around me this will outweigh the importance of being cool in other people?s mind.

+ i will quiet distraction and noise with increased service and regular spiritual disciplines- particularly fasting.

+ i will work all twelve steps.

+ we will lay the ground work for our work to care for widows and orphans in west africa.

this is the state of my union.