Well, 2009 is coming to a close, on we go into the futuristic sounding 2010 (I remember in 2000 thinking that 2010 would never come). I thought I would close out the year by posting a few random thoughts.
First of all, if you didn’t know, I’m in Zambia again. I only have about 10 days left, and I’m loving every second of it. It’s been good to see some old friends and to work with Navice again (a Pastor here). The main reason I’m here is to get Brookside’s Back to School Program for the orphans up and running since they start a new school year in January. Anyways, I’m sharing this with you to ask for your prayers that I’ll accomplish everything I set out to, that I’ll use my time wisely, and that I won’t skip my flight and stay here for ever (jk…kind of). Anyways, you can keep up with what I’m doing here at Brooksideinzambia.blogspot.com.
I think we had a great first semester at Oasis this year. Obviously, the greatest part of this last semester was the several people who chose to put their faith in Christ. That’s awesome…souls being saved never gets any less amazing. I think we can all agree that the Fall Retreat was ridiculously good and also at the top of the list. As far as fun goes, I don’t think you can ever go wrong with Kajabe and a Luau, but obviously more important was the spiritual impact. I can still hardly believe that we get to have Ed and The Salt Co. guys lead us in connecting with and worshipping God. I think the “worship God” cry is still echoing throughout Oasis too, so let’s hope it keeps going. The only bad part about the semester was when the weather cancelled Oasis events (yay for no school…boo for no Oasis). Anyways, I hope you all had a good semester too. Hopefully you’ve been able to connect with your Life Group as you learn and do life together.
So it’s New Year’s Resolution time, eh? I kind of like doing a resolution cause it’s like a fresh start or a new challenge. I guess my question for you is: what do you want 2010 to be? Dallas Willard talks about the idea that the first step to change is to have a vision for yourself. Once you envision who you want to be or what you want to do, then you can actually do it. So what do you see in your vision of yourself in 2010? Ask God what he has planned for you. Maybe for you it’s spending a little more time with Him every day (throughout the day). Maybe it’s a change in the way you live your life. Maybe it’s being a little bolder with who you’ve been reaching out to. Take a few minutes and think about or write down what you envision for 2010 (but don’t forget the action part, that’s kind of important).
Jack
