Happy (Lunar) New Year!

Hello, friends! 

If you're reading this on Wednesday, happy Lunar New Year to you! It's the year of the Snake, which means that if you were born 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, etc. years ago, this is your year! According to the Chinese Zodiac, the snake symbolizes intelligence, mystery, and renewal. =0). 

Lunar New Year has honestly become one of my favorite holidays. When I was younger, I don't think that I thought about it much. The only time I remember really thinking about it was in 1997, when it was the year of the Ox and I convinced my dad that I didn't need to go to school because it was "my year." The legend goes that the year after that, they did away with the "perfect attendance" award at school. Coincidence? I'll let you decide. 

Despite that memory, Lunar New Year wasn't that big of a deal for me growing up. In college, the LNYF Performance was one of the biggest things that a lot of my friends did but I was very much more a spectator than a participant. I enjoyed the eating and the red envelopes but it wasn't something I thought about a ton. 

The reason why I've had so much fun recently with the Lunar New Year has actually been because of the Cub Scouts. I'm leading Thaliea's den and the past few years, I've really enjoyed being able to teach the den about the different traditions. 

Our meeting last night was no different. It actually was one of my favorite lessons to lead of all the ones I've done over the past few years. We started by going over the wheel and the story of how the animals came in the order that they did. We also had the scouts name people in their families and identify which animal they were. I followed that up with a story about fireworks and each student got a red envelope. We finished the day by making tang yuan, which is just rice balls in a ginger brown sugar soup. I have no problem saying that it's still my favorite part of the day. 

As I was thinking about it today, I think there are three reasons why Lunar New Year with the scouts so much fun for me. The first is that I love to teach. Any chance I have to teach folk, I'm going to take it. The second is that I get to teach something that students find interesting. Honestly, when I'm teaching about MPD, it isn't the most stimulating for folk. They do it because they have to. With the scouts, they're eager to learn and that makes it fun. The third reason is that it's a chance for Thaliea to be an expert in the den. Since we talk about this stuff all the time, she's the one who gets to help lead, which she loves doing. 

Happy Year of the Snake! 

~Adam

AMBITION!!!

Hello, friends! 

First of all, thanks so much to everyone for the birthday wishes! It was a great day and I definitely felt the love and appreciation. 

Honestly, I was really tired on my birthday and not just because I got up at 5 so I could make it to my 6:15 systematic theology small group. I was still recovering from an AMAZING week in Denver at Ambition. 

As is my tradition, let me give you a rundown of the weekend:

THURSDAY:
- 7:30am: Leave the house to get to the car rental place
- 8:30am: Get to the church where all the students are meeting to load up cars and pray
- 8:45am: Hit the road! 
- 11am: Pit stop number one at the Fat Dog
- 11:15am: Hit the road again!
- 1:30pm: Pit stop number two for lunch
- 2pm: Back on the road! 
- 5pm: Arrive in Denver
- 6pm: Buy pizzas for all the students so they have dinner
- 7pm: Session 1 starts
- 9pm: After party in the staff suite
- 11pm: Finally in bed

FRIDAY:
- 6:30am: Up early to run a few miles in downtown Denver
- 8:30am: Back up to the staff suite to make sure students got breakfast
- 9am: Session 1
- 11am: Into the coaching lab to help students who want to start Asian American Ministries on their campuses
- 12:30pm: Lunch Break
- 2pm: Back to the lab
- 3pm: Meetup with Asian American students who are attending Ambition
- 4pm: Back to the lab
- 5:30pm: Hosting dinner for all the Nebraska students, staff, volunteers, and alumni who came to Ambition
- 7pm: Session 3
- 9pm: After party
- 11pm: Finally in bed

SATURDAY:
- 6:30am: Up early to run a few more miles in downtown Denver
- 7:30am: Breakfast with my old pastor from St. Louis who was also attending the conference as a part of Vineyard USA
- 9:30am: Found some ministry partners in the hotel lobby and connected with them for a bit
- 11am: Back to the coaching lab!
- 12:15pm: Lunch with my old supervisor who is now working in the National Office
- 2pm: More coaching! 
- 5:30pm: Dinner 
- 7pm: Session 5
- 9pm: Central Region After Party!
- 11pm: Sweet, sweet, sleep

SUNDAY:
- 7:30am: No run today since I knew I was going to be on the road and needed to stay alert
- 8:30am: Putting gas in the car and getting all the cars loaded 
- 11am: Picking up lunch for the road
- 11:30am: Time to go home! 
- 2pm: Pit stop!
- 5:30: Dinner in Kearney, NE
- 9pm: Finally back home

Friends, that was the rundown, but honestly, it doesn't capture all the wonderful things that happened at Ambition. Here are a few highlights: 
- Connecting with my old pastor and former supervisor were such blessings. It's nice when people who used to speak into your life still can. 
- The students who I brought had such a great time connecting with one another. The drives were long but the level of connection that I saw was so great. 
- Students were inspired to start new things on their campuses. I don't know what will come of these ideas but I'm so glad that I get to help students take risks for the Gospel.
- Coaching was tons of fun! It was great to do be able to do what I do best, which is take in data, analyze it, and act as a consultant for paths forward. 
- We had a student receive physical healing and another student give her life to Jesus! 
- I had a moment with the Holy Spirit and received some prayer ministry. I even cried, which hasn't happened in a while. It's nice when these conferences bless the staff even as they are ministering to students. 

Ambition happens every 3 years, so we'll see what's up in 2028. I just know that I had a really amazing experience in 2025 and it was well worth the fatigue. 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam 

A Year of Joy...

Hello, friends! 

Happy New Year to you! Here's hoping that 2025 kicks 2024's butt in every possible way. 

One of my annual traditions is to pick a word out theme for the year. This idea was first brought to my attention when co-worker asked me what my word for the year was going to be when I told her that I had a birthday coming up. Since my birthday is so close to the New Year, I combined my birthday word of the year and my New Year's Resolution into one th

Last year, my phrase for the year was Depth and Intimacy. I wanted to not just do things but to actually do them well. This included my work but also my relationships and my life with Jesus. Overall, I think I did an ok job of pursuing more depth and intimacy. There were definitely times when efficiency and distraction won out and there's still more work to be done in this area. But, it felt like the right word for the year. 

This year, my word is JOY. If I'm honest, there were a lot of areas where things were really hard last year (as I'm sure was the case for a lot of people). I survived the year and some good things happened but it really felt more like a struggle and a fight than anything. There was a lot of frustration in a lot of areas of life and by the end of the year, I was tired on a number of different levels. 

So, the hope for 2025 is for me to focus more on JOY. I'm defining JOY as "contentedness in the midst of all circumstances." The reason why JOY is possible regardless of the circumstance is because I know the end of the story. When you know that things work out in the end, it's easier to enJOY the ride. 

An example that has helped me has been thinking about has been roller coasters. For the record, I hate roller coasters, but that's a motion sickness thing. Megan and the kids LOVE roller coasters. The question has to be asked though: what is enJOYable about roller coasters though? Why would anyone enJOY spinning around, steep drops, and things like that? I think it has something to do with the fact that the rider knows the end of the story. They know that the coaster is safe and that they'll end up back on solid ground. If you were in a plane that was doing the same motions, it would probably be terrifying because you didn't know how the story was going to end. But, with a roller coaster, you know that you'll be safe, so you can enJOY the feeling of being out of control. 

My hope for the year is to focus on God's goodness, his abundance, and his provision as a way for me to enJOY all the different parts of life as they come. I know that God loves my kids, so I can parent with JOY, even when things feel out of control. I know that God has called me to this work with InterVarsity, so I can do my work with JOY, even when things aren't going as I hoped they would go. The theory is that by focusing on the end of the story, I'll be able to bring more JOY into my life and bless others with that JOY. 

I'd love you to join me in a journey of a Word of the Year for 2025. Maybe you'd like to join me in JOY. But it could be something else too. Whatever it is, I hope that God blesses you in 2025 with everything that he has for you and that you'll experience more of Him. 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam