There are a number of things I love about the end of the year.
Among them are various new year lists that people use to capture or summarize the past year. (And, especially this year, I am not sure anything captures it completely.) Sometimes it’s books, movies, a top shows, sports moment, songs, fails, and just about whatever else you can think.
The other reflection is on grateful areas of life, especially in a year that has taken much. That leads me to a BIG THANK YOU TO YOU for your support in these early stages. I am very grateful for the time you take and am always interested in your thoughts or questions.
So, in that spirit, I’d like to pull together some of the thoughts I’ve found interesting in the past year. This isn’t a list of the greatest or the best—just ideas that I have found interesting and have affected my life in some way in 2020..
And, in the spirit of a Nothing Wasted Life, I pray that they may be of help in your 2021.
So here are some ideas or thoughts that have come across my path that I have benefited. While leaning heavily into integrating across disciplines/domains/fields, these categories below are the four big picture themes you will see regularly.
Theology & Spiritual Life
- Culture of Christiformity — The main goal of pastors, leaders, and churches is to create a space to follow Jesus where one can become like him (Christiformity=formed in Christ). (For more info, check out Scot McKnight’s deep but excellent book, Pastor Paul: Nurturing a Culture of Christoformity in the Church.)
- Importance of Culture and History in Biblical Study — Engaging the Bible does not require fancy training. But it is important in our study, whether a humble professor or humble student, to be aware of the impact of the first century and culture(s) of that time. (Or at least know what we do NOT know.) Our shaping by our own times and culture can make this hard. This is key to interpreting Scripture and the whole story of Jesus well.
- Coram Deo — This is church history expressed idea of living in the presence of God or living our lives before God. This has challenged me to live with renewed intimacy of God’s presence in the “everyday” (and to start this website).
- God’s Place in Suffering — This originally came when my father unexpectedly passed a couple years ago, but it stays with me in 2020’s sufferings. While God may not remove suffering or death in this world, He often grants us gifts of grace to let us know He is with us in the midst of the valleys of darkness. So…watch for these. I’ve seen this around me and others this year.
- Sharing Weaknesses Builds All of Us Up — A friend shared some of his challenges in following Jesus and it prompted consideration for me. When we share our difficulties and struggles it seems God often helps another sister or brother to think about their own areas that are not under Jesus. There is something very “Jesus” about one person’s trials and struggles resulting in another’s drawing near Jesus. (Check out 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 for more.)
Wise Living/Productivity
- Chronotypes — This is the idea that we all have particular rhythms to our sleep, rest, and activity that it is good to be aware. (Source: While not his alone, I found in Dan Pink’s interesting book “When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing”)
- “Restorative Niche” — These are small, even short, oasises one can create throughout a day that keep you from getting exhausted. A closed office door between meetings. A prayer time. An encouraging song. It can look like various things. The questions are: What’s yours? Do you practice it proactively (BEFORE you have issues)? (Source: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a WorldThat Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain, p. 219)
- Time Blocking — Plan ahead in your schedule. Actually mark off the amount of time it may take to complete a project. Benefit: Your “todo” list is not scheduled so heavy that you can’t get things done or you will feel disappointed at the end of the day with what you didn’t do. (Sources: This was found in various places so I am not sure who to attribute this one.)
Relationships
- Bids — The idea that people consciously, and many times unconsciously, put relational “bids” out to connect with others. Do we respond? And it’s not just about romantic relationships. It can look like an invite to the movies. A prayer request. A request to talk. But someone puts themselves “out there” to connect. As I’ve watched for them more, you realize you do not want to miss them whether wife, children, friends, family, stranger, or church. (This idea was discovered by a researcher and marriage and family therapist, Dr. John Gottman.)
- Time Outs — Whether in everyday life or premarital counseling or other relational teaching times, I like to pass this one along especially to engaged couples. (But it has great use for longtime couples too!) 1) Know when you are getting to a “bad place” and ask to talk later, setting up a time. 2) Person 2: Accept this and follow up at the agreed on moment. Simple idea. Hard to practice.
- A Mission Together Carries Relationships Forward — Over a number of situations I realized that some “bids” are invites to do a task or be part of something. But the real goal is to connect and do something together. (For me, this became most apparent in asking some of our kids to help with Christmas lights. As we worked I realized I had actually asked them so we could do something together; it wasn’t about the project. This is also the unconsciousness of bids I referred to earlier.) And it offers great ways to connect with some who may not find sitting down to talk easy.
Leadership
- Nudges — These are smaller actions that make the workplace or life fulfilling. Sometimes it’s a prompt. Sometimes it’s a practice. And some are a very simple idea but the difficulty is in the practice. This is from research by a group called Humu and you can check out their Top 10 Nudges of 2020.
- Leaders as “Lead Repeater/Chief Reminder” — I ran across this in a couple places but I mainly remember it from Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft. The idea is that it is easy to fall off mission or focus. And I’ll propose we live in very distracting times so the role of a leader (whether a supervisor, spouse, parent, ministry leader, etc.) to remind is all the MORE important in our days.
- Rest/Renewal/Sabbath/Unhurry — In our distracted times, the pace of life can often outrun the peace of our souls. So leading ourselves is important. There is a lot of ink (or at least pixels) being spilled on these the last few years. Many GOOD conversations in books, blog posts, podcasts, and talks. We’ll probably explore this more in 2021. (If you are looking for a place to start, one book I found very helpful in thinking about this in 2020 was An Unhurried Life: Following Jesus’ Rhythms of Work and Rest by Alan Fadling.)
- Meeting Time — I am intrigued by effective meetings. One idea is how long do you NEED to meet? We can fall into an assumed on time but be open up to the idea of meetings being 15 min., 30 min. 45 min., 53 min. (that might be too far—maybe). In our general humanity, our brains develop patterns so be aware of your “meeting brain pattern”. (And this applies to many types of meetings whether marriage, family, board, or others.)
And Just for Fun…
While not necessarily the funniest, it is one that added some fun to my closing days of 2020.
As a gift, a guy gives his parents a picture. It is a picture of Obi-Wan Kenobi of Star Wars fame. This seems like a great gift to a Star Wars fan—but they aren’t fans. They open it up and decide to hang it up thinking it’s a picture of Jesus!! Although I enjoy Star Wars, it is good to hear that Jesus was not overshadowed by it. 😉 You can read it here.
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I have already seen this post get longer than I planned so I’ll *try* to stop here. With 2021 coming, I look forward to thinking, praying, and exploring things with you in the new year!
I would really love to hear what idea or thought or Bible verse has stayed with you this year in a meaningful way. Please feel free to share below!
You may just be the blessing someone else needs.
