Today marks the transfer of power in our country.  Every four or eight years, we experience a transition from one president to another.  This occasion has not always gone smoothly, and the man leaving the White House has not always shown humility and grace.  From John Adams to Andrew Johnson, history records numerous transitions where the defeated or outgoing president did not cordially hand over his leadership role.

Perhaps George H. Bush demonstrated one of the most notable acts of grace by a defeated president when he left a personal letter in the presidential desk encouraging and wishing the best for his successor, Bill Clinton.  Bush placed the need for unity in our country above any desire to hang on to power or to get revenge for a defeat.

Releasing your hold on the spotlight or from a position of power is not an easy act.  When you’ve grown accustomed to making the decisions and having a following, you do not easily hand over the mantle for someone else to call the shots.   

We are two weeks into the new year.  How are you doing with your New Year’s resolutions?  Are you celebrating that you’ve gone two weeks without any soft drinks or sweets? Have you maintained that routine of crawling out of bed, lacing up your running shoes, and hitting the treadmill or pavement?  Did you set up your bank account with an automatic transfer so that you could finally start saving money instead of spending every dollar from your paycheck?

What changes have you already noticed?  Do you feel better about yourself?  Have you lost a pound or two?

The next few weeks will determine whether these new resolutions will mark who you are becoming or if they will reveal that once again, January 1 resolutions rarely stick around come February and March.  For a new way of life to stick, the practices you are putting into place will have to last long enough to become new habits.  

While dieting and exercise are important in creating the new you, did you consider addressing any heart habits?  I’ve come to realize the importance of heart change as the basis for any other changes in my life.

Have you ever had a light switch moment or an aha experience?  I’m talking about a time when a new discovery set your life on a different course.  Maybe this awakening led to your career path or choosing a life partner.  Possibly this epiphany interrupted your life as normal and rerouted you to a whole new direction. Or sadly, out of fear of change or need for security, you walked away from this enlightening moment, unwilling to risk where this new path may take you.

Today, Wednesday, January 6, is the Day of Epiphany on the Christian calendar.   I didn’t grow up observing Epiphany.  For the most part, my Christian tradition was limited to two calendar observances:  Christmas and Easter.  The other dates on our church calendar were revivals, singings, and potluck fellowships. When I was introduced to Epiphany, I better understood the Christmas song “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”  Furthermore, I was challenged to allow God to surprise me, to reveal Himself in ways that disrupt my life and call me to see the world the way He sees it.

Happy New Year!

Doesn’t that sound so nice to say and to hear this year?

Happy NEW Year.

Aren’t we all ready to turn the page on 2020?

We are all hoping, praying, and wishing for 2021 to be so much better than what we have experienced this past year. Like a six-year-old racing to the lighted tree on Christmas morning to see her presents, we eagerly toss 2020 aside and sprint into 2021. But before we dash headlong into a new year with the hopes of putting the pain and sorrow of this year behind us, let me challenge you to put on the brakes, to pause for just a minute of reflection.

Did you know that your Christmas tree may reveal something about your personality?  Consider all the choices you make when it comes to choosing and decorating your tree.  First of all:  real or artificial?  If artificial:  pre-lit or strings of lights you place every year?

Or how about the color of the tree?  Every year as a child we brought home a fresh cut Fraser fir for our Christmas tree.  I remember the first time we visited some friends, and they had a white artificial Christmas tree with a spotlight that continuously changed the color on the tree from red to blue to white.  I was astonished.  How fake.  After that night, every time we visited those friends, I noticed the excessive amount of makeup worn by the mother and all the kids decked out in designer clothes.  

How about the ornaments on your tree?  Do you have a themed tree that communicates the importance of order and structure in life while also showing your love for angels or snowmen?

Do you find yourself needing to take either a suitcase or a garbage can with you to the mailbox each day? It is surely a busy time of year for the mail carrier.

Stuffed in my mailbox are bills that remind me that most of my paycheck has already been spent, tons of advertisements from restaurants and stores hoping the Christmas season will bring them some financial relief, and piles of political ads with candidates demeaning their opponents.

But as I filter through the heap of unwanted mail, I find the gold -- Christmas cards.

Martin Luther King Jr once challenged listeners with these words,

“If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”

This year has been one where moving forward has been quite a challenge. There have been many days where I’ve wanted to curl up in ball and just stay on the sofa. Or as another friend bemoaned, “I want to go to sleep and wake up to June 2021 where everyone has been vaccinated and Covid no longer makes the news.”

Will your Thanksgiving Day and dinner be different this year?

I’m not suggesting you’re forgoing the turkey or replacing that delicious dressing…you know the one which the recipe has been passed down through generations… we don’t dare substitute store bought lumpy stuffing for great great grandmas famous dressing.

… But with the Covid numbers spiking maybe you’ve altered your guest list.

With our oldest daughter expecting our first grandchild in December, we’ve cut the number we usually host in our home from 22 down to 7….and the plan for the seven is to gather for dinner outside on our patio.

It will be a different thanksgiving just like it’s been a different summer and a different fall.

It’s Covid’s fault.

Have you found yourself blaming something that doesn’t go right on Covid?

Or – when something goes awry, “Chalk that up to covid” or “Yep, it’s Covid 2020.”

Leigh Anne and I spent time last week in South Florida along with hurricane Eta. Every November, we try to spend a week soaking up the sun and relaxing before the holiday rush. This year we saw more rain and wind than sun. For years to come, we will look back on last week as our 2020 Covid vacation.

Do you wear a Fitbit?

I remember when the Fitbit first came out and people began wearing them to know how many steps they took in a day. Over and over I heard people say, “I just got in my 10,000 steps” or sometimes it was “I’ve got to walk around the room a few more times to get my steps in.”

Fitbits and smartwatches can do so much more than count my steps today.

We now have devices that can monitor heart rate, blood oxygen levels, and sleep patterns.

Fitbit even predicts it will soon have a device that will detect the flu or even a new virus like Covid-19 before you begin showing symptoms.

They note how cool it will be to know you need to quarantine before you even have symptoms. I’d like to see you try to explain that one to your boss.