"The Year of Following Through" Part 2

2006 is almost over. I've had a little time to stop, take a look back, and sum it all up. These are the big and small moments that made up lessons I learned in 2006. This was the year of following through.

Part 2

After the fun we had at the Florence Edition of New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, I learned two things: first, I should make better plans for next New Year’s Eve, and two, I really should make a better effort at following through.

Following through can look like a lot of different things. For me it meant doing the things I said I would do. It also meant that I needed to set some new goals and work to achieve them. And it also meant doing some things that I knew deep inside I should have been doing all along.

It’s important to note that following through didn’t mean acting on every crazy idea that came to my mind. Even if the crazy ideas were representative of good things. It meant not acting on them until I had counted the cost. (That’s Biblical by the way.) For instance, some friends and I had been discussing the idea of starting a ministry together. Now, that’s a good thing, but, the way we wanted to set it up would have been very inefficient. The good news is that we took the time to research it and count the cost before we jumped in headlong. It was a bittersweet decision. Things didn’t work out to be the perfect image we had dreamed up, but we were still able to minister and work together in some cool ways without having a name or organization over it. Through the process it brought us closer together and made us better people because we learned to seek the Lord in our decisions and trust that His direction is the right direction.

That’s not always an easy thing to grasp. The first two months of 2006 were very hard. I had just finished working with a ministry that took care of booking and promotion for me. God led me to step out and do all of that on my own. I was very excited about the prospect of having a great start to 2006 when my schedule for January and February became disappointingly empty. Now this is my only job, my only income, so if my schedule is empty that means my wallet is empty as well. Oh, I had some questions for God alright. I had stepped out in faith and trusted Him to provide ministry opportunities and there were none in sight. I was frustrated.

On top of having an empty schedule, my Grandmother was sick and not doing very well. Another family issue had placed my infant second cousin in my parent’s care. All of this happened within a three month window. The same three month window that had me stuck at home. Now, you may be putting the picture together in your mind right now as to how God works these things out, but at that point I couldn’t see what was really going on. All I knew then was that I spent a lot of time sitting up through the night with my Grandmother or with my little cousin. My mom, dad, and sister did the same.

In February my Granny passed away. We were very close and it was hard to take. But, my Granny was a believer and is now in Heaven. The entire family was there at her home when it happened. It was another bittersweet moment. I realize now that my schedule was empty for those last months of her life so that I could be there with her and my family. I wouldn’t trade those moments now for anything.

In the Fall my parents officially adopted my second cousin. Austin is now my little brother. I’m glad I got to be home for the first little bit of his life as well. He has brought much joy into our lives. It was amazing to see his life beginning as my Granny’s was ending.

Matt Redman’s song “Blessed be Your Name” really took on new meaning for me. Especially the bridge: “You give and take away, You give and take away, my heart will choose to say blessed be Your name.” I saw that firsthand. I’m glad God has perfect timing. This year God taught me to trust Him even in the hard times. He is good.

to be continued…

The Year of Following Through

Part 1

2006 is almost over. I've had a little time to stop, take a look back, and sum it all up. These are the big and small moments that made up lessons I learned in 2006. This was the year of following through.

It started out innocently enough. I was hanging out with a few close friends last New Year's Eve. We were sipping coffee at our local shop, Rivertown, and making lists. You know, like people do on TV at the end of each year. Lists of top movies, top people, best moments, worst moments, that sort of thing, only with people we actually know. Somehow in the course of the conversation we noted that we had a lot of great ideas, but never really followed through with them. We decided 2006 would be different. In the words of Bo Woody, it would be a year with "a lot less talk and a lot more action."

Later that evening we went out to eat. (I know, coffee should be after the meal, but sometimes we do things backwards in Alabama.) We were discussing how none of us had ever done anything spectacular for New Year's Eve. (This was no exception. Appleby's is pretty slow on New Year's Eve.) So as we were trying to come up with some big plan for Dec 31, 2006, a thought hit me. Why can't we have our own New Year's Rockin' Eve? Why does New York City get to be the only place to count down the end of the year by dropping a giant ball from the top of a tall building? I voiced these questions to the guys. The overwhelming response was "why wait until next year? We still have 2 hours left." Since it was the year of following through, how could I argue?


We put our heads together and came up with a plan. After a mad dash to Wal-Mart, we met back at the Greenlee's house to put everything together. A giant inflatable soccer ball, a roll of twine, packing tape, and battery operated Christmas lights became a New Year's Rockin' Eve countdown ball. We headed downtown to the parking deck and ascended to the top. We wished it was taller. We hung the ball over the side and began the countdown. We prayed the cops wouldn't show up. We rang in the New Year with cheers, high fives, and some snapshots of our creation. The countdown was a great gesture for ringing in the "Year of Following Through."

to be continued...