A fun thing that most of us like to do when a new year begins is to look back at the course of events that took place during the previous year. I'd like to take a minute to record my thoughts on 2007.
2007 got off to a rough start for me. I had recently announced to my church that I would be stepping down as pastor at the end of my contract. This decision didn't sit well with many people. Most people have a difficult time adjusting to change. This seems to be especially true in the context of the church. There are many jobs in this world that only require a 2-week notice before stepping down and most people tend to give you the benefit of the doubt that you know what you're doing when you make that decision. That is not the case when you are a pastor. I gave a 9-month notice which resulted in creating a very difficult and awkward stretch of time in my life. Most of my family, friends and church members did not agree with my decision and many people either tried to talk me out of it or began resenting my decision. I knew the process was going to be difficult, but I firmly believed that I was following the Lord's leading.
My family began the process of moving to our new home at PMBC. Moving is always stressful. Once we moved, we placed our home in Plymouth on the market and waited and prayed for it to sell.
For the past few years, I have lived an extremely busy life. I have taken very little time to focus exclusively on my family or myself. In the midst of being constantly busy, I gained a lot of weight and was also becoming a little depressed. I have rarely struggled with feelings of anxiety in my life, but early in 2007, those feelings were truly beginning to surface. I decided that it was time to do something for the benefit of my family... something that I hadn't bothered to do up to that point. I arranged a nice Florida vacation for us. In late January, we drove to sunny Florida and had a WONDERFUL time together. That vacation was just the right thing at just the right time. I was so thankful for it. It was the perfect therapy for a stressed and exhausted family. In addition to spending time in the nice weather and a fun day at Magic Kingdom, I especially loved the fact that every day was spent with my wife and kids - without interruption. I decided part-way through the trip that this would be a tradition that we would try to uphold every year.
February through May continued to be a very stressful time at church. The process of finding a new pastor seems to alter even the most pleasant personalities. The church found a pastor two weeks before I left and I think we all breathed a sigh of relief. God is in control and I knew that He would work things out for the best of the church. It's just a little difficult to remain patient and wait on Him for His answers.
Almost immediately after I finished at the church, the Summer program began at PMBC. The Summer is a wonderful period of time in a camping ministry, but it is thoroughly draining. For several months in a row, we operate almost 24/7 with no substantial break. I'm thankful that I have scheduled a small break during the middle of our camping season, but it isn't truly enough to recuperate. I still love that time of year. Even though I look and act like a zombie by the end of August, I'm so thankful for the privilege of being a part of a ministry that produces so much lasting change in the lives of so many young people.
During this past Summer, I made a few realizations about myself. I decided to correct some issues that I had let slip for too many years. The first issue I tackled was my weight. I was approximately 55 lbs. overweight and I decided on July 8th, after praying for motivation, that I would begin eating healthier and getting more exercise. By the end of 2007, I had lost 40 lbs. As I write this, I'm getting very close to my goal weight. I expect that within a few more months, I should be there.
I also made plans to spend more time with my family once the camping season was over. I arranged with my mother to have her watch my kids one night a week so I could take Andrea out on a date. This was such a good decision. I feel like Andrea and I have a much better relationship now that we get to spend some time alone. Every week, we look forward to catching a movie or getting dinner and coffee. I know my mother enjoys getting to spend time with my kids as well. And the kids enjoy getting to see her.
In September, I kept the pledge I had made to myself during our Florida vacation and booked another trip for this Winter. Now that the weather is cold, I find myself looking forward to that trip nearly every day.
In addition to my decisions to lose weight and begin devoting more time to my family, I gave my finances a serious look as well. My decision to step down from the church meant that I was effectively cutting my yearly salary in half. I knew that God wanted me to do this, but I also knew I would have to make some changes.
Like most middle-class families, I found myself living from paycheck to paycheck. All of my money was being spent on one thing or another without anything left over. I had some savings and by October, I was dipping into those savings every month just to pay our bills. You can only do that so long before the money runs out so I began praying that God would show me better financial strategies so I didn't continue this negative process. God answered that prayer by leading me to read the book Rich Dad / Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. After reading that book (and further books in the series), I had learned a much healthier way to manage my money. I immediately went to work on improving my financial picture (
read through my November and December 2007 posts for more details). I reduced my monthly expenses and began preparing to use the added funds to invest in financial assets that would produce passive income (namely, real estate).
In late December, I placed an offer on a nice home that I plan to rent out as a vacation rental property. I believe the Lord directed me to this home and this strategy. The bank told me that they would lend me the money if my home in Plymouth had a buyer. I placed my offer on the new home in faith, believing that God was going to take care of the details that were outside of my control. Literally, within a few days (after the home was on the market for 8 months), I received a full price offer on the home I needed to sell. I have learned that God rewards our steps of faith.
I have been more content and have felt more purposeful over the past few months than I have felt in years. 2007 got off to a rough start, but the second half of the year has been one of the best seasons in my life.
In 2007, God has taught me:1. Walk by faith and follow His leading (even when no one else understands).
2. Invest in your health. You'll feel better and you'll look better.
3. Invest in your family. Nothing in this world is more important than your wife and kids.
4. Make good financial decisions. Don't set yourself up for financial failure by buying into the most common misconceptions about money. Most people in your life and my life have no idea how to make money work for them.
5. Look forward to the future. God has good things in store for those who trust Him.
