Considering I made a point back in 2015 not to ghost people, this post feels a wee bit awkward. Usually I can at least muster up a it’s not you, it’s me (okay, that’s not really what I say, I’m just being cheeky .. didn’t ya miss me?) and then cut it off in what I alway aim to be honoring. Hmm, this is starting to make it sound like I do this a lot. I don’t. Promise.

What I mean to say is this: I’m sorry I left without any word. Or worse off, my last post Moving Abroad: The Journey of Discernment made it seem like you’d be hearing a lot about what would be going on and getting a play-by-play. Nothing worse than the bait and switch and, for that, I apologize.

But here’s some good news: the respite did me good and I am hopeful to get back into the swing of things in 2019. Yes, I am hesitant to state that I will do anything because I haven’t quite followed through in the past, but my intention is to reveal the new and improved S+B 2.0 in the next couple of months.

And with that comes the biggest shift I think I have experienced in the interim:

When I get to the end of my life I want to be able to honestly say that I was a true champion of others. And to facilitate this, my goal is to help you all know, believe, and live out how much God loves you and desires to be in a relationship with you that will, in turn, be sown back into His Kingdom.

Don’t freak out. I’m not any more evangelistic than I was before. I’m not going to be standing on street corners and preaching to strangers. I will keep it within my very small reach as I have been, which is aimed specifically at Christians. The shift is that I have a greater conviction for this desire of my heart and I feel more radical in my personal pursuit of a vision of living a life that serves His purposes.

Where do career, finances, relationships, and health come into play, you may be wondering?

Career

I think how we approach what we do and how we do it is very much altered when we decide to invite God into the process. What do I want to do is a very different conversation than what does God want me to do and how can He use my career to better His Kingdom?

I want us to explore this together. How does God leading our career conversations change things? For me, it not only alters what I do but also how I do it once I get there. And, in case you’re wondering, I am also not going to tell you that everyone needs to go into ministry. In my opinion, every career under the sun is valid in His eyes if He has prompted you to do it for His purposes.

Finances

Money is complicated. It’s a reflection of values; it highlights areas of shame and lack of conviction; it reveals what we put our hope in, for better or worse.

When it comes to money and faith, I think a lot of it looks different than the wisdom of the world. This is where things can get a little dodgy because with faith all sorts of things can happen that a “wise” person would not advise. The widow’s offering in Mark 12:41-44 is a perfect example:

Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.

Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

Safe to say, any secular financial counselor would be advising you to put those pennies into building up an emergency fund not giving it away - aka faithfully sowing into generosity for Kingdom things - when you need it more. Just sayin’.

Relationships

At the end of the day it always comes back to relationships. Our relationship with God. Our relationship with ourselves. Our relationship with others. Understanding that we are loved, what that love looks like, and how we can take that and love others is one of the hardest and most rewarding things we can experience in this life.

Learning how to overcome shame, forgive others and ourselves, and communicate well, among other skills, are vital to living a wholehearted life. Growing in this way, in my humble opinion, is foundational in order to live a life focused on Kingdom things as you need to fully understand how loved you are and what that means for your life before you can do anything else.

Health

Snuck this one in as a new addition to the crew, but it’s certainly an important element that has grown in popularity recently and something I think God is prompting me to add my two cents. According to the internet, there are between three and seven different types of health. For the purposes of 2.0, I’m going to begin by focusing on four of them: Physical, Emotional, Spiritual, and Mental Health.

Let’s be honest, it’s all well and good if you have the dream job, managed your finances well, and have great friends, but it is useless without health. If you become debilitatingly sick, two of the three of those other categories become jeopardized. If you can’t control your emotions, you will inevitably undermine your job and relationships as well and may even utilize your money in a reckless way. If you lose faith in God, then you may have everything you want and still feel a void. And lastly, if your mental health deteriorates, in one way or another it all becomes meaningless and you cannot enjoy it aways.

Previously, health was an unspoken given in the world of focusing on career, finances, and relationships. However, in the spirit of destigmatizing areas of shame in our society I want to make this apart of the rotation and share whatever insights I feel led to share on this subject.

In summary, I am back (crossing my fingers) and feeling excited about all that God has in store for each of you in 2019. My hope for this blog is that it continues to inspire each of you to ask tough questions, reflect upon yourself, and press into God.

To this end, I am excited to announce that in addition to sharing posts about the topics above, I will begin offering one-on-one services where we can have a candid conversations about your particular situation and develop practical steps for realizing your goals regarding your career, finances, relationships, and/or health.

I want to spend more time talk to you about real-life situations where I can channel my experience and perspective in a way to facilitate whatever you are hoping to do on your own. I want to come along side you and champion you into greater freedom.

Happy to be back, friends. Can’t wait to see what 2019 has in store for us!