The Year of More...

Hello, friends!

First of all, thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes! I'm not one who really enjoys celebrating too much but it was still great to feel the love from folk, via phone call, text, and Facebook message. My birthday was on a Monday, which is our normal Sabbath day, so things weren't too different. I played some video games in the morning. I did get a free burger for lunch and a free drink from Starbucks. Then I spent the afternoon with the kids and Megan cooked a DELICIOUS spicy beef noodle soup along with baking an ice cream cake (a Case family tradition) for dessert. It was a great day.

Every year, since my birthday is so close to the new year, instead of doing New Year's Resolutions, I try to make my year the year of "something." I was looking back on last year's birthday blog and I realized that while I had a few ideas for what 2018 was going to be the year of, I never actually decided on anything. Well, friends, that will not be the case this year.

2019 will be the year of more and not less.

Allow me to explain. I'm not a negative person but I am one who believes that more improvement is always possible. I suppose I have a bit of a critical eye, especially when it comes to myself. I spend a lot of time thinking about how I can do things better. That isn't a bad thing but I noticed that in 2018, a lot of my quests for self-improvement centered around "negative" or "less" statements. I want to yell at the kids less. I want to lose weight. I want to stop doing this or doing that. This year, I want to pursue life in a more "positive" light, focusing on the things I can do more of, as opposed to less of.

So, instead of yelling at the kids less, it'll be being more calm and loving with the kids. Instead of spending less time at work, it'll be spending more time with my family and friends. Instead of losing weight, it'll be pursuing a more healthy lifestyle. These may seem like semantics but already I've seen a change in how I see things. I'm doing a lot less avoidance of the bad and a lot more pursuance of the good. That seems like a much more fun way to live life.

My hope is that my year of more will actually lead to more. More health. More time with the kids. More funding for our staff team. More peace and connection to Jesus. May your 2019 be filled with "more" too.

Have an excellent day!

~Adam