We set resolutions and goals; we do all the planning, but it seems like we quickly run out of steam. What happened to all the magic? I know at this point you are thinking, “Thanks a lot Jon for being such a downer!” My hope is not to bring you down but encourage you to really be proactive and intentional with your new year. – Newness does not just happen, but we can create it. Making the year new is not as hard as you might think.

Go Small

Don’t go big and don’t go home either. Going big is overrated. The reason we lose the newness so quickly is we try to do too much. If you have more than 3 or 5 goals, you have too many.  It is more effective to create new habits / systems that you do consistently over time. Small habits done consistently will reap huge harvests. Some great books are Atomic Habits by James Clear (you can read my review here Atomic Habits Review) and All It Takes is a Goal by Jon Acuff.

Create Margin

Leave space in your calendar for the unexpected. Unforeseen events will always happen. Leave room for them.  Don’t time block out every waking hour. Leave time to rest, to spend time with family and time to do something just for you.

Keep the Faith

As part of my faith, I know that time in God’s word (Bible) and payer are crucial. I try to read through the Bible every year, but it is not really about quantity. It is more about being consistent. (there is that word again) It is also important to join with other Christians as often as possible. Life really is designed to live in community.

Stay the Course

Know upfront there will be days, weeks, maybe even months where you slack off. That is OK. Right now, at this moment, give yourself permission to occasionally be a slacker. Again, think margin. If you fail, get up and go again. Don’t try to catch up, just pick up where you left off. Remember the real goal is to be more consistent.

Make the New Year Magical

2024 is your year. Own it, and make it happen. Don’t wait for the magic to just happen. You will be waiting for a long time. Every January 1, first day of the month, every Monday, is a day to getup and make the new happen. You’ve got this; 2024 is your year. I hope you have a wonderful New Year!! Let’s make it happen!!

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In my previous blog post titled, “Transitions,” I shared how I was processing the sudden loss of my job of 16 years. In this post I want to share how years ago God made the provision for this transition. As of the date of this post, I recently finished my second month on the new job. Praise God!!

God always working it out

It was over ten years ago when I met my now current manager. (Will call her M). M and I worked for the same company as project managers. Yes, it was the same company that laid me off after 16 years. Also like my wife and I, M and her husband pastored a church. After a few years, M left the company and moved out of state. We stayed connected via Facebook and LinkedIn and interacted on occasion. The years passed one by one until the day came and I was looking for a new job. M reached out to me after learning I was out of work. I was looking for a new Project Management role and it just so happened she was hiring for one.  Long story short, she is my new manager.

I know there are many who would see these events as coincidence or just luck. However, I am confident that God does not do random nor does he let our lives play out by luck. Yes I believe we have some measure of free will, but ultimately he guides our path and his purpose will be accomplished. Just look at all the detail of creation found in Genesis and look at the great details that went into the Tabernacle. It is pretty clear God is intentional with how he operates. The Bible is full of many more examples. 

Mystery of the walk of faith

My layoff did not catch God by surprise. He knew those ten plus years ago that day would come. A decade ago God was making a provision for me in 2023.

How God operates is a great mystery.  I know many who have lost their jobs who have been out of work for months and even years. I am not more special nor am I loved more by God. Our walk of faith is just different. Faith is just that, trusting in the unknown. The reality is we rarely know why we journey through hard circumstances. That is part of faith though; It is the reality of trusting what we don’t see.

Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen. For by this our ancestors were approved. – Hebrews 11:1-2 (CSB)

 We have to trust God when we don’t know what is going on. We have to trust God with our ultimate care when our days grow dark. No matter what your current circumstances look like right now, God has taken care for your daily provision. I know that is easy for me to write these words. It is difficult, and at times seemingly impossible, to walk it out.

The Lord is the one who will go before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or abandon you. Do not be afraid or discouraged. – Deuteronomy 31:8 (CSB)

You are not alone

If you are walking through a dark time, I would be honored to pray for you. Just click on the link below and send me a request. Don’t worry; I won’t add you to any list, and I promise to respond. You see I also remember decades ago I was out of work for 11 months. It took years for my income to recover. There are many stories in my own life when I walked what seemed a lonely and dark path. It might not mean much but I will be glad to walk with you. I promise you, he will never leave you nor forsake you. To God be the glory!

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Seems like all of life is one transition that leads to another. Some transitions we choose and others are thrust upon us. So it is with my current reality. About a week after I was no longer employed, the box in the photo arrived. Mostly it contained the personal items I used to make my humble cube a little more like home. It also contained a few awards and recognitions that sadly don’t hold the meaning they once did. After 16 and half years, that box is the only tangible/physical item left over. Just one cardboard box.

What Now?

One purpose of writing this post is to help me process well this transition. I also hope what I write will encourage others who find themselves in a similar transition. Here are some thoughts I hope will help us move forward.

 Look forward

It took me a day or two to get through the initial shock, but I knew I could not spend mental capital dwelling on what might have been nor what I think should have been. It is time to move on to new opportunities and adventures of life. Yes we can learn from our past but our real impact will be in how we handle this present moment and how we position ourselves for the future.

Clarify what is important

Now is the perfect time to take stock of what is truly important in life.  What really matters? Things such as family, work life balance, what work do you really want to do to make an impact? Take the time to actually write these out. It is amazing how writing helps bring clarity.

Core values

Take time to drill down even further and clarify your core values. Your honesty, integrity, and your work ethic are just a few examples. No matter what unexpected transition you have experienced, it does not change who you are. Now is a good time to re-evaluate your goals and shore up you own personal growth plan.

Stay busy

I am doing my best to keep my normal work hours. A large portion of that time is spent with the job search. If you haven’t already, submit that first application. I can’t tell you how mentally freeing I felt when I got the first application submitted. Be sure and take time to work on some side projects or hobbies. I am working on a few personal writing projects, doing some IT training (ServiceNow and Project Management) and I am keeping up with reading good books.

Don’t go it alone

I took the first couple days reaching out to my co-workers who were also laid off. I was then blessed to have several of my friends who were not laid off reach out to me. That meant a lot. I always hoped my impact was more than just my assigned duties.

This the perfect time to spend time with family and friends. Be sure and let your most trusted friends know what is going on. I am blessed beyond measure with a wonderful family. My Christian faith and community have been a huge support.

I am also grateful that in just one week from when this post goes live I will be starting a new job. Quickly I am transitioning again from unemployed to a new job. It has been a while since I was the new guy at work. I am grateful for God’s provision and looking forward to this new adventure in life.

What about you? Is there anything else you are doing, or something you have done in the past that has helped you through an unexpected transition?

Transitions come and we must be proactive and intentional to handle them well. If we do, success with something new is just around the corner.

This post was originally shared on LinkedIn

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Years ago BHAG or Big Hairy Audacious Goals was all the rage. Don’t get me wrong we should have big goals. But the problem is we tend to set big goals without the systems in place to accomplish them. I discovered the hard way that small, daily actions mattered more. I found I can actually get more stuff done when I create and focus on small habits done consistently every day. This is why I was attracted to James Clear’s book. He focuses on creating systems that better facilitate completing goals. The thought is, instead of focusing only on your goals, you focus on creating systems (small atomic habits) that will keep moving in the right direction.

Clear describes the backbone of his book as a four-step model of habits – cue, cravings, response, and reward – and the four laws of behavior change that evolve out of these steps.

“It is so easy to overestimate the importance of one defining moment and underestimate the value of making small improvements daily” – James Clear

Quitting Bad Habits

Clear also focuses on getting rid of bad habits If you don’t’ stop bad habits they will constantly consume the energy you need to have good ones. 

“Sometimes success is less about making good habits easy and more about making bad habits hard…The best way to break a bad habit is to make it impractical to do. Increase the friction until you don’t even have the option to act.” – James Clear

For each of his four laws of making good habits Clear details the inversion of each law in order to break your bad ones

A System of Atomic Habits

Clear presents a very detailed and doable system to limit the repeating of bad habits and repeating good habits. With Clear’s ideas you can create a system of atomic habits

“The secret to getting results that last is to never stop making improvements. It is remarkable what you can build if you just don’t stop…. Small habit’s don’t’ add up. They compound.” James Clear

Good habits done consistently will lead to a greater success in completing big goals. Clear encourages the reader to have big goals but put more energy into creating the daily systems /and actions that will lead to your goal. It is less likely to get overwhelmed and discouraged when you focus on atomic habits. It is also easier to get back on track whenever you stumble.

Whenever I need to work on my goals I will keep Atomic Habits close by.

Let me know in the comments how you are doing on your goals. What is your biggest struggle achieving your goals?

Also, if you would like for me to review your goals to help you create good systems, I would be glad to help. I make no claims on being an expert and I have nothing to sell. It can be good to get another person to take an outside look to bring focus to the things we want to achieve. I would be glad to help if I can. You use my contact form or click here to send me an email

“Goals are about the results you want to achieve. Systems are about the process that leads to those results.” – James Clear

Click here to Get a copy of Atomic Habits

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I lost my dad when I was in the 6th grade. This was a major blow to my skinny introverted self, and this only made my dreams of adulthood all the more grand and important. I just knew adulting was going to make all my dreams come true. Don’t get me wrong, my life has been pretty epic. Married to the love of my life for over 30 years, three wonderful kids, and so far, three beautiful grandkids. Yes, I wish I had more time with my dad, but I have no desire to think back over my life and wish I had done something differently other than learning to enjoy life in the mundane.

The Swings of Life

I have been passionately involved in ministry for decades; I have seen countless lives changed as they grew in their faith in Jesus. There are tons of beautiful memories, family vacations, finally getting my college degree, watching the birth of my kids, and several days each week the house is still noisy with family. Yes, there have been hard times. Helping my mom, and my wife’s parents negotiate their final days in this world. Then there were times out of work and jobs I loathed. And just this week, I learned of the passing of not one, but two childhood friends.

Between the epic swings of life there are a lot of days that are just, well – mundane. Nothing remarkable to see here. Just days of grocery shopping, bill paying, lawn mowing (ok, ok, with my allergies I pay someone to mow the lawn), and the occasional day with absolutely nothing to do. Granted, those days are super rare.

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. – Psalm 118:24

Go Big but Aim Small

I have always enjoyed studying leadership and personal growth.  What I discovered while I was always chasing that big change in my life, I was doing my best to cover up and hide the mundane. I thought the mundane was something to be fixed. I wanted to do all I could to push the mundane out; to cease its existence. It took a long time to learn, but I finally discovered chasing the impossible is exhausting, and I missed the joy of life in the midst of the mundane.

We do need big goals and big visions. As Christians we should live a life that brings God glory in all we do, and to do our best to make a difference in this fallen world. As we do big things, let us not miss the little things. Every moment matters, every moment is important. Often it is the little things that matter more; over time they often have the greater impact. Some of the greatest memories with my dad was him letting me tag along as he ran errands or letting me hold the flashlight while he worked on the car.

I Love Mondays

Several years ago I made the decision to love Mondays. (I wrote about it here > Why I Love Mondays) I have long since forgotten where I was, when I moaned, “I wish it was Friday,” while at work. One of my co-workers responded, “You should not wish your life away.” That simple statement in a mundane moment really shook me. My co-worker at the time has no way of knowing how their response transformed my mindset of how I approach each day. Monday’s are great days. They are often full of mundane goodness.

“Make each day your masterpiece” – John Wooden

Each morning brings a fresh day. It may be full of adventure or might be full of struggle. However, it might be full of nondescript mundane moments. Be the person who brings life to the mundane. Make those moments count. Live each mundane moment full of joy, and infuse each one with life. And over time perhaps, you will look back see that your mundane moments were the greatest.

“Seize the day, as little as possible trusting the future.” – Horace

You may want to check out my post on Cultivating Faithfulness in the Ordinary

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So Aaron took his firepan as Moses had ordered, ran into the middle of the assembly, and saw that the plague had begun among the people. After he added incense, he made atonement for the people. He stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was halted. Numbers 16:47-48 (CSB)

We were, and many still are, stuck in a world so dark we think it is full of light. Chasing after all the things of this world, trying to be our own god, and blaming the one true God for all our pain only drives us deeper into the darkness. We search for life by chasing our own happiness, making us the center of our world.

Deeper and deeper we go. Looking for life, we experience only death, death, death.

Such is sin

We think, we hope, we wish, and long for all these things to bring us life. For a while it even seems sweet. We catch a glimpse of life, but it is always fleeting, always passing through our fingers like sand. Satisfaction and contentment is just out of reach.

Satan promised to never leave us nor forsake us. He promised we would find life, but he is fine to leave us lonely and abandoned. This was his plan all along. Perhaps he really does not care if we worship him; he just wants us to abandon the one true God. Satan promised the sin would bring us life and now he tries to tell us God could never forgive us.

Deeper and deeper into the darkness we go.

Then there in the middle of the darkness, there is glimpse of something. A shadow? Not quite sure what it is but it seems different. If I listen carefully, I hear a faint call. The call of my name. A drawing, a wooing to come closer. As I grow closer, I finally recognize my darkness, for the one who is calling me is light. He is actually walking towards me as he calls. How can this be?

I see now; Jesus is standing here. Here in the middle of the darkness. For he died and rose again. Here he is standing between the dead and the living. As I trust in him, and confess the darkness of my own heart, the dark world begins to fade away; it rushes away like an outgoing tide.

Here Jesus stands in the middle of your dark world between the dead and the living. He calls you to himself. He is the only one who will never leave you nor forsake you. While you walked deeper into darkness he longed for you. He looked for you to turn to him. And even though you were in a great and deep darkness, when you turned he was right there. Right there, close by.

You were never as alone as you thought.

For Jesus comes and stands between the dead and the living. Experiencing both the cross and the resurrection he is the only one that can bring us real life. We just have to confess our sins, have faith in him, and as he promised, he will forgive us. Your sin is not too great.

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; a light has dawned on those living in the land of darkness. – Isaiah 9:2

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 1 Peter 2:9-10

For here stands Jesus, between the dead and the living!!!!

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Scripture References

• Romans 1:20-21 (CSB)
• Psalm 19:1-2 (CSB)
• James 1:17 (CSB)
• Romans 1:22-23 (CSB)
• Genesis 3:1-7 (CSB)
• Romans 11:33-36 (CSB)
• Romans 12:1-2 (CSB)

God’s Invisible Attributes

• His divine nature
• His eternal power

When we give God glory (worship) we recognize his divine nature. When we show God gratitude (praise) we are thankful for HIs eternal powers. – A life of worship and praise lead to our renewed mind. We move from worthless thinking to a renewed mind.

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I just started the Full Potential course by John Acuff.  It will run over the last 90 days of 2021. Seems crazy for me to start a course over the busiest part of the year. The upcoming holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas can, unfortunately, be maddening.  But I signed up and made the commitment.

Small Actions

The core of Acuff’s course is to do 3 small actions every day for 90 days. On any given day the actions are small but over ninety days the payoff will be huge. One of my three daily actions, is to write one hundred words. One hundred x ninety = 9,000 words.  If you have been a frequent reader of my blog, you know I am not skilled at grammar and my prose is not always riveting. Yet, I feel I have something to say and the practice of writing is beneficial for personal growth. Writing is a great way help organize and think through your thoughts.

What do you have to say?

Let me encourage you to take up the challenge to write 100 words each day through the rest of the year. No one has to see it but I also encourage you to share it in a blog or perhaps a Facebook post.

But the thing you never try, always fails – Jon Acuff

I believe you have something to say and the world needs to hear it. With all the strife, chaos and hateful words being spoken in our world, we need more great words.

The world needs to hear what you have to say

Who knows, your words just might bring about change.  You might encourage or inspire someone. There are a lot of people who need your inspiration. If you go over one hundred words, that is just fine.

So what will you write? Let me know in the comments. Keep in touch and let me know how your ninety days goes.

Let’s finish 2021 strong!

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I recently won a copy of Authorized the Use and Misuse of the King James Bible by Mark Ward from a fellow Christian YouTuber Dwayne Green If you are looking for great Christian Content on YouTube, then be sure and check out his channel.

If you have followed any Bible translations on Social Media, it does not take long for the topic of KJV Onlyism to come up. KJV Onlyist are those who believe that the King James Version (KJV) is the one and only true translation of the Bible. They often refer to it as the “Authorized Version” which originated from King James’ authorizing the Bible for the use in the Church of England. Some even believe the translation is superior to the original Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic texts. I have seen more than one post on Social Media referring to the modern translations as demonic or New Age

One of the keys that I like about Ward’s book is he does not take on a frontal assault against KJV Onlyism. He presents a balanced approach to the goodness of the KJV, and covers areas one should handle with care when reading the translation

The book is only 154 pages so it makes for a quick and easy read but still covers a lot of ground. It is recommended by D.A. Carson, John MacArthur and others.

What if we lose the KJV?

In the first chapter Ward discuses the important things we lose as fewer people pickup the KJV. One of those is the ease of memorizing scripture when the entire church reads and studies the same translation. Today, even when a Pastor teaches from a single modern translation many in the congregation may be reading something different.

“Given all the things we’ll lose if we, the English-speaking church continue to give up the KJV we’d better have a very good reasons for giving it up. Weighty Reasons.” – Mark Ward

Dead Words and False Friends

Mark then moves onto some cautions one should consider when reading the King James Version. The first are, “dead words.” Dead words are words that are no longer used in modern English. A couple examples are trow and collop.

Another type of word to be aware of are, “false friends.” These are words that may still find use today but there meaning is vastly different than their use in the KJV in the year 1611. Examples are unicorn, which did not refer to a mythical horse with one horn. Another is spoil which did not mean to go bad, but meant to rob or plunder. The problem with false friends is the reader thinks they know the correct meaning so find no need to check their definition.

“Objections to the readability of the KJV are not beside the point. They are the point. We need to examine the KJV English to discover whether its difficulties outweigh all the values of retaining it.” – Mark Ward

Let me state again that KJV onlyism is not the only form of Bible Tribalism. Fans of other translations can fall into this same trap.

I grew up hearing the Bible preached from the King James Version, and it was taught to me in Sunday School. I still hear it in my head when reading a more modern translation, and often turn to it to compare text as I prepare my sermons. Like Mark Ward, I think our modern translations are easier to understand the proper meaning of the text, but we must still hold the KJV in high regard and it deserves a solid place in our Bible Study toolbox.

We need God’s word in our language, not in someone else’s – Mark Ward

“But I believe that tribalism – the belief that a group’s chosen translation is one of many marks of its superiority over other groups – needs to stop. All Bible-loving-and reading Christians need to lean to see the value of all good Bible translations…. People who are KJV-Only need to stop seeing the translation work of godly, careful brothers and sisters in Christ such as Doug Moo of the NIV, Wayne Grudem of the ESV, and Bill Mounce of both – as threats, and instead as gifts.” – Mark Ward

In addition to Mark Ward’s YouTube Chanel he also has a Blog

As I mentioned before be sure and take a look at Dwayne Green’s YouTube Channel – he has a couple videos where he interviewed Mark Ward

To get your own copy of Authorized: The Use and Misuse of the King James Bible click here (affiliate link)

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What do you do?

As he was walking along the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter), and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. “Follow me,” he told them, “and I will make you fish for people.”  Immediately they left their nets and followed him. – Matthew 4:18-20 (CSB)

I used to always think the end of verse 18 was strange. Isn’t it obvious by the fact they were casting nets that they were fishermen? Who else would be casting nets? But just like now, back then they found identity based on their career / job. When you meet someone new how long is it before someone asks, “What do you do?” Just think about all the people in the Bible where we know what their job was. Some were shepherds, a carpenter, fisherman, doctor, tax collector, tent maker, maker of purple fabric, King, judge, prophet etc.

And for the males the job was so important they were often handed down within the family. That was even fairly common for us up until the mid-20^th century.

Work and the Curse

Work has always been important (Genesis 2:15). It was part of how God created us. But after Adam and Eve sinned part of the curse was we would work by the sweat of our brow. So now work consumes our energy and time. It can cause fear, “What if I lose my job?” Or cause stress and frustration with the tensions with our manager or fellow workers. In a way, when we identify ourselves with work we identify with the curse.

Other People try to Identify Us

When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished. “Where did this man get these things?” they said. “What is this wisdom that has been given to him, and how are these miracles performed by his hands? Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And aren’t his sisters here with us?” So they were offended by him. – Mark 6:2-3 (CSB)

Even Jesus had the problem where others try to force an identity on him. They watched him grow up so they could not see that he was the promised Messiah, son of God. We have people who knew us before we came to faith. They remember what we used to be like so they just can’t wrap there head around our new life. When I first became a pastor I had a friend flat out told me, “Jon, I just can’t see you doing this.”

The Jesus Shows up

Jesus turns everything upside down. Turn the other cheek, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Not only does he make us new creations but he calls us to see ourselves differently – a new identity – and to act differently.

Take time to read Colossians 3:1-11

No longer are we supposed to view our life as we did before. We are called to put away our old identity.  Even put it to death. If we are not careful, we can easily fall into the trap to still see ourselves as we were before Jesus came into our life.

Paul even deals with the issue of race – Greek vs. Jew. He says that in Jesus these definitions no longer exist. But how often do we wrongfully put too much emphasis on our race / culture and how big a problem that is in our world today. And many today try to define themselves by their sexuality but that will always fall short in providing the true life that can only be found in Jesus.

Any other way we try to identify ourselves outside of Jesus will always fall short.

• I have been crucified to my old sin nature
• It is not I who lives, but it is Christ who lives in me. We are God’s temple his dwelling place
• Jesus gave his self for us so we take on his identity

We are not identified by what we do but by what Christ did!

One of the greatest things to know is Christ just does not call us to leave our old identity but calls us to a new one. He called the fishermen to become fisher of people. He call us to a new identity not based on what we do (or did) but to one that is found in what he did. He died and rose again so we might find life. A life full of purpose and meaning.

Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible Copyright 2020 by Holman Bible Publishers, Used by permission, Christian Standard Bible and CSB are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers

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