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It has become tradition on January 1^st to spend some time thinking and praying about life themes I want to mark the coming year (see my words for 2010 and 2011). These themes might be things I sense will inevitably be a big part of the next twelve months or areas in which I (somewhat reluctantly) feel like God is going to be challenging me.

My three words for 2012 are:

1). Holiness – I’m not 100% sure what this means or will look like in my life in 2012. But I know it has everything to do with becoming more like Jesus. And not just sounding like Him, or knowing more about Him…but actually resembling Him more from my inner being.

2). Family – this one is pretty straightforward. In the midst of the busyness of life (work, exercise, church activities, friendships, sports, other entertainment) I know that my family is to be top priority next to God Himself. During the last quarter of 2011 I sadly heard story after story of marriages falling apart and friends’ kids drifting down dark paths due in part to strained relationships with their parents. My marriage is 10 years old and my kids 11 months to 8 years. When is the best time to play cards with them, toss football, give eye contact…really be present when I’m home? This year. This month. Now.

3). Leadership – this is the word I most struggled to write down. Over the past couple of decades I have grown weary of the hype and buzz centered around “leadership”. You know, the people whose sole example of leadership is leading others to be passionate about being a leader (and usually about being a leader of other people stoked about “leadership”). But this year I feel that growing in my ability to lead others is not an option. For success and proper stewardship of what He’s entrusted, it is a must. And there’s a level of love, concern, and servanthood wrapped up in this that I need to mature in and embrace.

I can’t predict all the things that will happen around me in 2012 or I’ll be blessed enough to see happen through me. But my prayer is that by the end of December at least tremendous progress will have taken place in me!

(Also, maybe this year I will blog at least two times)

Last New Year’s was the first time I thought about three words that I wanted to see define my upcoming year.  I enjoyed the process so much that I’ve decided to make it an annual ritual.  So here are my words for the next twelve months.

#1 Stretch.  I have a sense going into 2011 that it is going to be a year of new challenges and sharp learning curves.  A completely new job and a baby girl are sure to make coasting an impossibility.  And I want to lean into that.  I want to embrace the growth (and even the pain associated with it) that inevitably awaits me in this upcoming season of new birth.

#2 Gentleness.  Not a very exciting (nor manly) sounding word I know.  Yet, over the past weeks I’ve been challenged by Scriptures such as Galatians 5:23 and 1 Timothy 6:11 to pursue gentleness.  When I’m under stress…or being stretched…I have a tendency to become short-tempered and irritable, particularly with my boys.  Yet, my prayer is that during this year, even in the midst of stressful situations and projects, I can succeed at being a man of gentleness, especially with my family.

#3 Love.  To be honest, until January 1 I still hadn’t decided on my third word.  It so happened that my Scripture reading for the day took me to 1 Corinthians 13.  Verses 1-3 reminded me that all of my strivings, efforts, and achievements during the next 365 days will be rather meaningless if not executed in love.  Those words jumped off the screen and I knew immediately that this is to be my third pursuit for 2011.

What about you?  What words best describe your hopes and goals for this new year?

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When last I wrote you, we had just learned the exciting news of your impending arrival.  We still weren’t sure whether to refer to you as “he” or “she” or even “you” or “you guys”.   You were very cooperative on the day of your sonogram, however, and we were informed that a splash of pink was about to color our lives.  I can’t tell you how eager I am to meet you and hold you for the first time!  As with other great new blessings from God, I’m a little nervous about your coming in February (that is if you behave yourself in there and stop causing Mom to have so many contractions), but mostly I’m elated.

In preparation for your delivery date, and in the spirit of the wonderful holiday season we’re in right now, I wanted to explain your name.  I admit that part of my motivation is also a proactive defense against questions like, “how do you pronounce it…aren’t her parents both American…what were they thinking?”

So, little Belén (which I imagine you already know is pronounced “bay-LEN” from the many times we and the boys have talked to you in the womb) there is an explanation for why we have chosen to make your life difficult.  First of all, let me just point out that if you ever live in Argentina or Spain or take high-school Spanish, you will thank us.  In fact, it was while your Mom and I were living in Andalucía eight years ago that we first decided to name you this…you just took a long time to show up.

Now, besides thinking your name sounds beautiful, if not a bit exotic and mysterious, its significance in connection with another baby born over 2,000 years ago is the reason we chose it.  When God blessed the world with His greatest Gift, He didn’t pick the obvious location to make a grand entrance.  He didn’t even choose Mary and Joseph’s hometown of Nazareth, but divinely led them to a small, rather insignificant town hiding in the shadows of mighty Jerusalem just six miles to the north.

For being the ultimate story of royalty, there are quite a few ironies of modesty…a newborn, a stable, a manger, shepherds.  Yet, it is in this context God brought hope to the world.  Hope to the common man, to the poor, to the seemingly insignificant.  He is not just God over the earth, He is our God.  Your elegant name, a version of that simple town which witnessed the most majestic of miracles, serves as a reminder of the depths of His affection for and commitment to us.  My prayer for you is that throughout your entire life your name will grant you occasion to speak of that great love!

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Life often transitions slowly, or else catches us off guard with an unexpected event which serves as a significant pivot.  Every once in a while, however, a new chapter is coming at a specific time and we’re completely aware.  And though we can’t know exactly how things will change, we know that they will.  Our family has already felt that we’re in a season of newness and transition with the soon arrival of our little girl (scheduled for February 8th).  But the theme of new beginnings continues this New Year with a very different job focus for me.

As of January 1st, I will be working full-time with YouVersion, a division of LifeChurch.tv.  You may know of this cool “technology meets faith” tool simply as “The Bible App”.  I first became impressed by the usefulness and professional quality of the application when I obtained my 1G iPhone while living in North Africa.  All of a sudden I had multiple versions of the Bible at my fingertips anytime I wanted to read…for free!  And it seemed that each update of the app brought more practical tools, as well as translations and languages of Scripture.  What was even more surprising was that my friends on their laptops, Blackberry or Palm mobile devices (and now iPad, Android and Win7) had access to the same app!

Not too long after this discovery a couple years ago, Maureen and I began to feel drawn to leave North Africa.  At that point the entire world was a potential landing pad.  Yet, much to our surprise we sensed that we were to return to the States.  What was even crazier (at least to us at the time, having lived most of our married life on the coasts of the Mediterranean and Red Sea), was that we felt God calling us to Oklahoma City (which I think is about as far from a coast as you can get on planet earth).  Neither of us had ever even flown or driven through the State of Oklahoma and we didn’t know anyone living here.  Specifically, God was using our exposure to the heart and innovative way of thinking of LifeChurch to woo us.

Our past year and a half has been rewarding, painful, wonderful, humbling, educational, inspiring.  Even now we don’t claim to understand the full breadth of His purposes in and for us through this beautiful community He’s allowed us to become a part of.  But we sense that this new role with YouVersion is part of that plan of His and, thus, it’s with much anticipation and gratitude that we embrace this new challenge!

The specific nature of my responsibilities has me most excited about this position.  Having recently reached the 10 million user mark, YouVersion is looking to truly go ‘global’ over the next months/years.  I will be coordinating the launch of the platform as it expands into new languages/regions of the world.  Those of you who know us well recognize, I’m sure, that a burden for the nations is something which courses through our veins.  The chance to be part of something which can positively impact so many lives in so many places is thrilling.

Thanks for being a part of our journey and allowing us to be part of yours.  We believe this chapter still falls pretty close to the top of the table of contents and we look forward to seeing how you and your story intertwine with the pages that follow.

[To check out the Bible App further, just click the Free Gift tab at the top of this page.]

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