The Year of Something...

Hello, friends!

Greetings from beautiful CoMO! The weather out here is actually so nice that I was able to bike today! Of course, I waited until the rain stopped. No sense in being unsafe. =0).

Thanks again to everyone who wished me well on my birthday. I had a pretty spectacular day. I got to hang out with Ezra and Meg, Meg and I went to go see a movie, and I ate a lot of free birthday goodies that were really terrible for me. There was supposed to be a major ice storm coming through but it stayed mostly south of us, so that was a huge blessing too. Meg and Ezra got me a new Cardinals cap (to be revealed once the season starts) and my sister got me a shirt. All in all, I'd say it was good birthday.

I don't remember how long ago it was, but a few years back a co-worker of mine introduced me to the concept of making each year the Year of Something. It was her way of saying of asking how folk wanted to spend the year in terms of focus and/or hopes. It could be the Year of Risk Taking or the Year of Running or something like that. I liked the idea so much that I decided that each year, on my birthday, I would make it the Year of Something. Past years have included the Year of Faithfulness and the Year of "Go Big or Go Home" among others. I like to use my birthday instead of the New Year because my birthday is so close to the New Year and it gives me some time to finish out the old year well without thinking too much about the year to come.

Friends, I'm in a little bit of trouble. I really don't know what this year is going to be the "year of"! I've had a few thoughts:

- The year of "yes!", which would be me saying yes to more and more things
- The year of prayer, focusing on intercession and going to God more intentionally and more frequently
- The year of activism, not just talking about the change that I want to see in the world but actually doing something to change it
- The year of implicit bias, focusing explicitly on the idea that implicit bias is a real thing and that if we are going to actually see change in the way that we relate to one another, we're going to have to recognize that

We're almost a week into my new "year" and I'm still not sure how this is going to go. My hope is that as I "try on" each of these ideas, something will just feel right. Your prayers would be much appreciated as I figure this out. Maybe you could send me your ideas, or let me know what your year is going to be. I can't say that I'll go with your suggestions, but it's nice to know you care.

Of course, if you don't have a "year of" for this year, I encourage you to get one! It's sort of like a New Year's resolution but better because it actually changes the way you think. Who knows, maybe this year will be the Year of Group Revolutions. =0).

Have an excellent day!

~Adam