Depth and Intimacy...

Hello, friends!

First of all, thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes! I'm really happy to be 39. God was good to me at 38 and I expect more of the same for this year. 

I'm not really one who celebrates my birthdays much but one of the traditions that I've adopted over the years is having a word or phrase for that year. Since my birthday is so close to the beginning of the yeah, I usually give myself until the my birthday to pick a word or phrase. It's sort of like my New Year's resolution of sorts. Usually, I start thinking about my word for the year in November or December but I'm definitely glad that I waited until my birthday to "lock it in." 

The original plan for this year was for this year's word to be, "Be Prepared." Not only is it the Scout Motto but it also reflected how I wanted the year to go. I found that in 2023, I was doing a LOT of stuff. Between family, work obligations, coaching soccer, leading scouts, and training for triathlons, I was doing all the things but it didn't feel like I was doing them well. The idea of "Be Prepared" was that I wanted to actually prepare for the work ahead of me, not just do it the best I could and hope that it was good enough. That inevitably would have led to me cutting back in some places so I could do fewer things well, which I was OK with. 

However, things changed at Staff Conference. The final afternoon of Staff Conference, there was a time of "impartation." We were asked to ask God what He wanted to impart to us, then have someone pray that blessing over us. While I was listening, I heard the words "depth and intimacy." Those were words I wasn't expecting but words that I gladly had prayed over me. 

As I've reflected on those words from Staff Conference, I think they work really well with my original idea but change it slightly. I still want to do more than just doing the tasks set in front of me. However, instead of focusing on doing the things better, I think that "depth and intimacy" is an invitation to define what that "better" is. What does it mean for me to not just do a task but seek a real connection with whatever task is put in front of me. 

One example that I've been using has been bedtime. The kids always want us to stay in their rooms for a few minutes while they go to sleep. Because I'm trying to be a "good dad," I'll stay in there for a few minutes but I'm not necessarily present. I'm usually playing a game on my phone and waiting for the time to pass so I can get out of the room while still doing my duty. Lately, with this emphasis on depth and intimacy, I've been trying to not just stay in the room but really be there, using the few minutes we have as an opportunity to connect with the kids at the end of the day. It hasn't been perfect (sometimes the kids just need to go to bed!) but it has been good. 

So, here's to a year of depth and intimacy. I'm hoping that this year brings not just lots of stuff being done, but lots of connection with people and Jesus in a real way. 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam