The MidYear Review

Hello, friends!

First of all, happy December to you all! Here's hoping that you all finish the year falling more in love with Jesus.

As a supervisor of staff, December is when I do MidYear reviews for all the staff who I supervise. It's a way for us to look back on the semester and look forward to the next semester. I usually do it in the form of a letter to the staff I am supervising so it seems less like a report and more like a conversation.

It's also a good time to not just review the work of the staff I supervise (my supervisor also does one for me) but to also do some self reflection and look back on the semester that was. So, as I've been reflecting, I wanted to share with you a few themes that I've noticed from the past few months.

1) Fatherhood is the best: I suppose I should lead with the most obvious one. These past 5 months with Ezra have been the absolute best. There have been the sleepless nights, the inconsolable crying fits, the diapers that you didn't know could get so full, and all the other things that come from being a parent. There have also been the smiles, the times where he falls asleep in my arms, the new things he learns everyday, and pretty much being in love with the little guy. I have loved being a father in all of its facets and I'm pretty stoked that I get to be Ezra's dad for the rest of my life.

2) Hats need to be broken in: I've posted before about all the new and different hats that I've been wearing this year. There's the fatherhood had but also the different ministry roles that I've taken on this year, doing some things that I've done before but a lot of new things too. The big question going into the year was how I was going to manage wearing so many hats. Looking back on the semester, I can't say that I nailed it with every role. What I can say is that I learned how to manage and how to do the best that I could with the resources I had available to me.

3) Justice is a thing: This goes beyond the Mizzou protests. I've been learning a lot about justice and the many different forms that it takes. There's the pursuit of justice that we're seeing on college campuses across the country but there are also issues of justice in terms of how we do our fundraising, how we enter into community, and how to follow Jesus. I've been more and more convinced this semester that to follow Jesus means to "do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with my God." (Micah 6:8).

4) There's always work to be done: There is a part of me that wants to get down on myself for all the things that didn't get done. And here's the truth, a lot of things didn't get done. But here's another truth: there's always going to be more to do so I can't get down on myself for it. Just like how hats need to be broken in, I've had to learn to be ok with some hats not being worn as well as I would like. It just comes with the territory.

Friends, thank you so much for all of your love and support this semester. I'm thankful for each one of you who reads this blog and who prays for the work that we're doing here in MidMissouri. Here's to a great month and many more to follow!

Have an excellent day!

~Adam