Last year was a strange year. Actually, it was a hard year. Because of the economy, our church had to make some painful decisions and let some of our staff go. We had tried salary cuts, but it just wasn’t enough to resolve the challenges. The buildup to the layoffs was stressful to say the least, and it was doubly hard when it happened – one of those let go was probably the guy I was closest to on staff. Meanwhile, there were some really painful things going on in my extended family. And on top of that, Noah’s struggles with localized scleroderma took a turn for the worse for a while. He’s in a better place now, but for a while there it was scarier than it had been before. Thankfully, we have a lot of caring friends who really prayed hard for him.

To say the least, it all took the wind out of my sails.

Looking back, I don’t think I realized at the time just how much it was all impacting me. It should have been obvious, but apparently I’m clueless when it comes to self evaluation! But it does explain the lack of blogging … I just wasn’t in a place to write about any of it.

So that’s the year that was. But now I’m in the year that is.

It’s amazing how much can change from one year to the next. Noah’s disease is stabilized for the time being. Things are moving in a healthy direction in our church now that the budget fears have been dealt with. I’m genuinely excited about the direction our student ministry and church as a whole is headed.

On a personal note, I finally saw one of my dream goals come to be … my book was published and released just a few weeks ago (it’s actually on sale this weekend – you can get it and ton of other great books for just $1.99 each)! And I’m tackling something I’ve been wanting to do for more than a decade – and terrified to take on; I’ve gone back to school. Finally going for that Master of Divinity. If I really hit it hard, I could be finished when Micah is a freshman in highschool (three and a half years). It feels good to see goals being achieved in ministry and in life.

So all that to say … I feel like writing again. I’ve been quiet on this blog for too long!