Every Day is New Year's Day!

Happy New Year's Eve, everyone! I pray that 2015 will be a blessing for each and every one of you. New Year's Day is such an interesting time. So many hopes, so many dreams, so many things we hope to accomplish. Most of us know the frustration of making a resolution, only to fall short of our goal. We plan to lose weight, to exercise more, to quit smoking or to forgive a friend. Some of our resolutions don't even last a day. You know why? Because we are humans, and without heavenly help we are weak. The problem is not that we fail- the problem is that we fail ONCE and then give up! You know the drill-I ate a doughnut and blew my diet, so there is no need to diet anymore. We only give ourselves one chance at success.

Aren't we glad God doesn't hold us to the same standard? Scripture tells us that our sins are washed away if we bow a knee to Jesus Christ. We are forgiven 70 x 7 times (and no, God doesn't stop at 490!). Romans tell us that nothing can separate us from the love of God that is Jesus. No matter how often we slip and fall, Jesus will still be there to pick us up and love us.


So today I would like to suggest to you a new kind of resolution. One that doesn't end as soon as your resolve gives way, but rather that offers you grace. A second chance. Under this system (to quote the great songwriter Carolyn Arends) "everyday is New Year's Day!"  Check out the lyric:

I buy a lot of diaries, fill them full of good intentions

Each and every new years eve, I make myself a list

All the things I'm gonna change, until January Second

So this time I'm making one promise

Yeah, This will be my resolution, Every day is New Year's Day

Oh, this will be my resolution, Every day is New Year's Day.

Well I believe it's possible, I believe in new beginnings

I believe in Christmas Day, and Easter Morning too

On the list it's doable, cuz I believe in second chances

Just the way that I, believe in You

Yeah, this will be my resolution, every day is New Year's Day

Oh, this could start a revolution, 

every day is...

One more chance to start all over

One more chance to change and grow, 

one more chance to grab a hold of grace and never let it go

This will be my resolution, every day is New Year's Day, 

Oh this could start a revolution, every day is--New Year's Day.

Carolyn Arends, 1997  

Wouldn't it be amazing if we could offer that kind of grace to ourselves? And to each other?  That could start a revolution! That could change the world! And isn't that what Jesus called us to do? So make every day a new beginning and remember- if Jesus is your Lord and Savior, then there is nothing you can do to make God love you more, and there is nothing you can do to make God love you less! Let us resolve to be a people of grace. And let us resolve to give all the glory, honor and praise to the One who is worthy of our worship- Christ Jesus, the King! So have another doughnut for now...then start your diet again tomorrow! God bless and Happy New Year!

Because of Jesus,

2012- A Kidney Stone of a Year

It is New Year's Eve, and time to take a look back at the year that was.  As I take a glance back at 2012, I am left with a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.  This was not a good year.  First of all, it was an election year, which brings out the worst in people and commercials.  It was a year that brought us terrible tragedies in places like Newtown and Aurora- and reminded me again of our desperate need for the Prince of the Peace. Hurricane Sandy ravaged the northeast and left thousands seeking ways and means to recover.  Closer to home, my best friend's parents both passed away.  Another dear friend lost her husband far too young in a tragic way.  Dear friends lost jobs, homes and even unborn children.  To wrap up the year, I spent 2 weeks in a hospital, was diagnosed with diabetes and had my left big toe amputated.  And to top it all off the world didn't even have the decency to end on December 21st!  It was a real kidney stone of a year.  Very painful...

But you know they great thing about kidney stones?  No matter how excruciatingly painful they may be, they do pass.  And 2012 has now passed as well.  And despite all of the trials and tribulations of the year, I look back and also remember how incredibly blessed I am.  I have a family and friends who love me.  I have a house to live in and food to eat.  And most importantly, God is still in control, and I have a Savior who loves me in spite of my failures.  It has been a year full of disappointments and challenges.  But it is time to move on and see what God has in store for us in 2013.  My prayer is that 2013 will be year of peace, a year of blessings, and a year of hope for this hurting world.  May God bless each of you!

Because of Jesus,

New Year's Day

Happy New Year, everyone!  I pray that 2012 will be a blessing for each and every one of you.  New Year's Day is such an interesting time.  So many hopes, so many dreams, so many things we hope to accomplish.  Most of us know the frustration of making a resolution, only to fall short of our goal.  We plan to lose weight, to exercise more, to quit smoking or to forgive a friend.  Some of our resolutions don't even last a day.  You know why?  Because we are humans, and without heavenly help we are weak.  The problem is not that we fail- the problem is that we fail ONCE and then give up!  You know the drill-I ate a doughnut and blew my diet, so there is no need to diet anymore.  We only give ourselves one chance at success.

Aren't we glad God doesn't hold us to the same standard?  Scripture tells us that our sins are washed away if we bow a knee to Jesus Christ.  We are forgiven 70 x 7 times (and no, God doesn't stop at 490!).  Romans tell us that nothing can separate us from the love of God that is Jesus.  No matter how often we slip and fall, Jesus will still be there to pick us up and love us.

So today I would like to suggest to you a new kind of resolution.  One that doesn't end as soon as your resolve gives way, but rather that offers you grace.  A second chance.  Under this system (to quote the great songwriter Carolyn Arends) "everyday is New Year's Day!"  Check out the lyric:

I buy a lot of diaries, fill them full of good intentions

Each and every new years eve, I make myself a list

All the things I'm gonna change, until January Second

So this time I'm making one promise

Yeah, This will be my resolution, Every day is New Year's Day

Oh, this will be my resolution, Every day is New Year's Day.

Well I believe it's possible, I believe in new beginnings

I believe in Christmas Day, and Easter Morning too

On the list it's doable, cuz I believe in second chances

Just the way that I, believe in You

Yeah, this will be my resolution, every day is New Year's Day

Oh, this could start a revolution, 

every day is...

One more chance to start all over

One more chance to change and grow, 

one more chance to grab a hold of grace and never let it go

This will be my resolution, every day is New Year's Day, 

Oh this could start a revolution, every day is--New Year's Day.

Carolyn Arends, 1997  

Wouldn't it be amazing if we could offer that kind of grace to ourselves?  And to each other?  That could start a revolution! That could change the world!  And isn't that what Jesus called us to do? So make every day a new beginning and remember- if Jesus is your Lord and Savior, then there is nothing you can do to make God love you more, and there is nothing you can do to make God love you less!  Let us resolve to be a people of grace.  And let us resolve to give all the glory, honor and praise to the One who is worthy of our worship- Christ Jesus, the King! So have another doughnut for now...then start your diet again tomorrow!  God bless and Happy New Year!

Because of Jesus,

Reboot

I hope that all of you had a great Christmas and a wonderful celebration of the birth of our Savior.  The Jones family certainly did, and I am glad to report that Marilyn and Will returned safely from NC and a visit with all of her family and 2011 is off to a good start.  It seems like that the holiday season always throws our routines and day-to-day operations out of wack, and that has certainly been true here on the blog.  The good news is I have picked up many new readers in the past month.  The bad news is they may have no idea who I am (that picture may say more than 10,000 words...).  So today I want to take a minute and REBOOT so we can all get back on track! I even have a new design- how do you like it?

I began this blog on August 26, 2009, with the intention of blogging every day for 1 year (to learn more check out my first post by clicking here).  The focus of the writing would be to tell the story (and the stories) of my 28 years as a youth pastor in a variety of churches.  I have been doing that for well over a year now, and we have still only reached 2001 and my short stint at the Union Church of Hinsdale in Illinois.  Along the way I have covered a lot of years and a lot of relationships.  It's been a remarkable journey.  The focus of the posts have changed some in the last few months, as I find myself writing more about faith and grace and less about myself.  I will continue to combine the two as well as a variety of other topics.

For the first year of this blog almost all of my readers were former youth, and the posts focused on them.  They knew me.  They knew my heart.  They knew the passion for youth ministry that drove my life for so many years.  And many of them knew that I had thrown it all away through my own sinful actions.  Fortunately, the grace of God as found in Jesus Christ is what defines my life today, not my past actions.  The list of "who's who" of biblical heroes includes a lot of screw ups, so I am in good company.  The writing I do here I do to express my love for Christ.  It has been such an act of redemption.

So as we REBOOT in 2011, I am going to change my writing schedule around a bit.  Mondays and Wednesdays I will write about my past experiences and ministries.  Tuesdays I will update you all on how things are going with my own Jesus Revolution.  Thursdays will continue to focus on music, as they have since the end of 2009. Fridays will be a wild-card day.  Saturdays will focus on Shout Outs and Random Ramblings.  And Sunday I will continue delivering my own "mini-sermons."  I suppose I am trying to mirror Paul and be "all things to all people." 

I look forward to spending this year as part of your lives.  Please feel free to leave comments, send me tweets or e-mail me at Youthguy07@aol.com May the grace of God and peace of Christ accompany you each and every day.

Because of Jesus,