What's New?

"What's new?" is a question that I get asked on a regular basis. Most of the time it is just a conversation starter, but sometimes people are genuinely interested in what is happening fresh in your life, what is new and exciting, or what has changed since the last time they saw you. I got a little reflective today and thought I would write a bit so here it goes: "Change" is a regular part of my vocabulary. I live for the new and fresh. Like many people I prefer to shower every morning, put on fresh clothes, deodorant, and cologne. I like fresh sheets on my bed once a week or so, and I love the windows open at our house in the spring and fall, but closed with cool air going when it is hot outside. I try to clean out my garage and closet with each season change so that I have what I need and put away what I don't. I like to drive different ways to and from home, work, and school. I get bored easily I guess and I never did like the connotation of being bored. Even as a kid, being bored meant I lacked the creativity or energy or motivation to do something productive. So as an adult I try to avoid boredom at all costs. I have found life to be much more fun that way! So I like new fresh things. Interestingly, in the last 11 years that Amie and I have been married, we have lived in one apartment, two townhouses, both of our parents houses, 3 ranch houses, one two story house, and an old farmhouse-don't ask! We have remodeled, refurbished, repainted, and redone more than our share and loved every minute of it. I love the expression "Constant change is here to stay"! However, there are some things in my life that have stayed the same. I have loved Jesus for the last 25 years of my life. I have since I can remember believed the Bible is the Word of God and that has not changed. Since high school I have had an unquenchable desire to read and study God's Word and though I have missed many different days and at times allowed other things to distract my attention, I have maintained an intense desire to know and understand God's Word and experience It's power in my life. As a young man I received a definite and undeniable call from God to seek Him, live for Him, and invest my life to encourage other people to seek Him and live for Him too. So now for the last 15 years through all the change and transition, the constant thing in my life has been God's faithfulness and consequently my desire to please Him and follow Him with everything that I am and everything I have. One of the main reasons that I have enjoyed the constant faithfulness of God is because of the constant faithfulness of my parents to God. For the 20 years before the last 15 years my parents had one constant thread of stability woven through their life of change and transition-the goodness and faithfulness of God. They have loved God and loved me through thick and thin, through good times and through the most challenging of times. For their love, encouragement, influence, and example I am forever grateful and thankful. And with the foundation of their example, there is another relationship that has been constant in my life for the last 14 years: my wife Amie. As much as I like change and enjoy transition, there is nothing more fun than experiencing all the different seasons of life with the same beautiful and amazing woman. At every turn she keeps me grounded, focused, encouraged, and well taken care of in every sense of the phrase. Outside of Jesus, Amie has been the most constant and unwavering person in my life and she only gets better with age and time. There are some other constants that I value and they are friendships with people that I have been blessed to be a part of their lives, some for more than 10 years and a few for 15 or more years. Some friendships are for seasons, but the ones that last throughout the different seasons of life are so precious and priceless. So with all the things that are so rapidly changing around me, may God help us keep the right things consistent and constant! May we have the courage and commitment to keep Jesus the Lord of our lives. May we fight for our marriages and learn to love and enjoy each passing year and may we cherish and honor the individuals and families in our lives that we are blessed to call friends!