Believe it or not, there is a reason I have not posted anything new since January 10th...and it is not just because I am a recovering Presbyterian (the three P's of Presbyterianism are Predestination, Procreation, and Procrastination). I have wanted that link to Jill Austin's article about the Master Potter to stay available.

One year ago this week, William Bronner Burgess, the 2 year old son of Rick and Sherry Burgess, died. If you happen to have missed the story and the follow-up I would suggest you check out rickandbubba.com where there are links to Bronner's story and the message Rick preached at Bronner's funeral.

Rick's message had a huge impact on a lot of people. The unexpected death of such a young child forced a lot of people to realize that we are not immortal. There was a lot of re-examining of priorities and consideration of what really matters in this life. God used this situation to draw many people to Himself. Many others realized that their walk with Jesus was not what it needed to be and recommitted themselves to Him.

I am curious how we are doing? Has this impact continued? Are we closer to Jesus now than we were one year ago? This is something that should be regularly considered by God's people whether walking through troubled and difficult times or not. Am I living life today any differently than I was last week, last month, last year or am I simply floating along marking time? When I pose such questions (whether it is on a blog or through a conversation) I must examine myself first and I must be confessional before I ask anyone else to be honest with me.

This year has been spiritually one of the hardest I have had in a while. I have allowed circumstances to overwhelm me too often and have been more concerned about how these circumstances have affected me than about how these circumstances can be used by God for His glory. I have plenty of people in my life (loving, Godly friends) who are quick to remind me that I am only human and tell me that my expectations of myself are too high. I am only human. I am only able to accomplish so much....in my own strength. But I am not called to rely on MY strength and when I do I am setting myself up for failure. I am called to rely on the Spirit of God for strength that flows from Him. This strength is only acquired through a close walk with God ~ spending time reading the love letter He has given me and conversing with Him. One of my mottoes is that the only way to know God's will is to know God, and the only way to know God is by daily immersing myself in His word.

I have a few goals this year. I want to be a better steward of the money, the time and the energy God has given me. In order to do this I must regularly consider what my priorities are. If my priority of being a better money steward is just so that we can purchase a home this year, I may or may not succeed. If my goal of being a better steward of my time is so that I can feel better about how I am spending my time, I may or may not succeed. But if my goal in these matters is to de-emphasize ME and re-emphasize JESUS in my life and if I am relying on His strength to enable me to do this FOR HIS GLORY, I am on the right track.