Often Percieved As Mundane

While rolling into the end of January I have been thinking a lot about life. More specifically what it means to actually be alive in this strange life that we share. I get caught up in the here and now's. I get so wrapped up in being a father, and a husband who is trying to scramble enough money to provide the necessities for my family, I often forget that these things are temporary.
The stress of life can be very consuming at times. I often forget to take a few moments out of my day to thank God for the blessing that I have in my life. I forget that I serve a God with things that have eternal value. I often forget that what I do now, has eternal value.
Since I lost my job last June, I have been working in the service industry. Right now, I am working at my friends restaurant 'The Bistro' as a server. I really like it, but it is hard work and it gets really stressful at times.
 I get depressed because waiting tables isn't something that I find a lot of value in. When I worked at the Juvenile Center, it was easy to see purpose there. Until it closed down, I didn't realize how much identity I found in that job. People would ask me what I did for a living and they would be impressed by my answer.
Nobody is impressed with a 29 year old waiter, but that isn't my point. The point is that I serve a God who is sovereign. I serve a God who's hand was in me getting a job as a counselor and a God who's hand is in me getting a Job waiting tables.
When I really think about my life, I have incredible opportunities to share the love of Christ with people. Not in word, but in deed. Serving others and counting them greater then myself is what Christ asks of us. I get to do that everyday. Its actually a pretty great experience. It is a humbling experience and it is an experience that God has placed me in.
Our identity is not found in our job, our talents, our friends, or our hobbies, it is found in Christ. Tomorrow when I go back to work, I will try to remember that Christ's love lives through us as we fulfill our often perceived mundane tasks, but they are not mundane, they have value that transcends into eternity because Christ love is shown through the simple elements of our lives.

A New, New Year's Resolution

Until now, I have never really liked the idea of a New Year's resolution. I have always had the mindset that one should work to better themselves throughout the whole year. But the more I think about it, the more I find the idea beautiful.
There is something to say about a new year. There is something to say about reflecting on who you are and who you want to be. There is something tremendously appealing about starting fresh, about knowing that your past mistakes have been forgiven and redeemed.
This year, I have taken a lot of time reflecting on  my mistakes, but with that, reflecting on the idea of redemption. I have made a lot of mistakes in my life. If there was a hand basket, I would be traveling straight to hell in it. But I have been redeemed by a God who said that I was worthy of redemption. Not worthy because of something that I have done, but worthy because of him. I am worthy because he see's the righteousness of Christ, not my basket full of mistakes.
I have always loved the sunrise. To me, it is the perfect picture of redemption. Each sunrise, is a fresh start. It is a new beginning of a new day where I no longer have to dwell on past mistakes. Because of redemption, I  can press forward with confidence because my mistakes are no longer counted against me.
This is why my feelings have changed about New Year's resolutions. Because of Christ, I can press forward in who he has made me, and who he is currently making me. I can press forward, because you and I were made with intrinsic value.
My New Year's resolution is this, to press forward in who Christ has made me. Because in that, I will find purpose. In that, I will discover that I have already been made whole.