2020 in Review

Guys…we did it! We survived! 2020 is now officially over! Let’s all take that big breath and relax. The chaotic year that 2020 had is over, and it’s a time for a change. It’s time for a new beginning, new goals or resolutions, new relationships, and new mentalities. What does that mean? Whatever you want it to. This blog may be a shorter one in comparison to the others, but I want to recap one question I asked earlier in the month on our Facebook page and then tell you what 2021 will be for us, and for me. So, without further ado, let’s jump right into it.

Was 2020 the year that you needed? 

I know some of you may be looking at me with confusion, anger, and frustration. Some of you may be thinking: “Did this guy not know anything that happened last year? I mean we had the pandemic (still do), we dealt with intense racial injustices, we dealt with the elections and the drama that it entailed, among many other things. Obviously, 2020 wasn’t a great year.” I’d agree with you, but that wasn’t the question I asked. Let me break this down.

I understand 2020 sucked. Our ministries shut down on Friday, March 13th, and still have yet to re-open. It’s been a definite frustrating time trying to adapt to the online realm while still trying to maintain a sense of “normalcy.” It’s been frustrating not being able to go out and do things like I normally would like being able to hang out with friends, go to restaurants or the movies, go anywhere without having something covering my face, and much more. I get that it’s been hugely frustrating, but was it needed? Did you need that time to sit at home and attempt to relax? Did you need that time to pick up hobbies you’ve been wanting to for years? Did you need that time to catch up on sleep? Did you need that time to get your life in order? There are many other questions I could ask, but they all center around the same point: Was 2020 the year that you needed?

While I didn’t like much of what 2020 entailed in the world, it was definitely beneficial in many different areas of my life. Being away from my youth and children’s group for almost 10 months now has shown me what priorities our ministries needed to focus on and grow in and what we need to strip away. Being stuck at home for a while gave me the ability to expand this blog site into a much-needed message creating and sharing center for people. It gave me the ability to really dive into strengthening my mental health, which part of it was a result of being in therapy since April. It gave me the ability to expand our ministry in different ways via different social mediums, different content options, different ways to do our current projects, and learn how to implement the proper changes for next year. I speak on that in a minute

So, what’s going to happen in 2021?

I’ve thought about what 2021 is going to mean for me, and for this blog. There’s one word that has popped up a lot in the recent weeks that has come from God and this will be my focus in 2021. The word: Stronger

2021 is going to be the year where I get stronger in many areas of my life. I need to gain strength physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. 2020 showed clarity in those weaknesses and what to prioritize putting my strength into. While I don’t have a full written-out plan on what that means, I also acknowledge that it’s okay that I don’t. I believe it’s a way to grow spiritually in the faith that God will work His wonders and blessings into my life to accomplish what He has set before me. I do have some examples of what that means though.

• To grow physically: I will develop an exercise routine that is manageable and flexible. I will better my hygiene routine as well.
• To grow mentally and emotionally: I will learn the benefits of saying “no” and implement that into my decision-making process. I will learn how to forgive others and myself and let go of what has been forgiven. 
• To grow spiritually: I will starting reading and studying the Bible more frequently. I will keep up on listening to spiritual resources (sermons, podcasts, worship music, etc.) so that I can stay spiritually fed throughout the week. 

All of that is a great start and am glad it’s listed this way because it doesn’t answer the “how”. That, I believe, will be developed as this year progresses and will be something that’s communicated between God and myself. I’m going to try my hardest to rely on Him and communicate with Him so I can make this year my strongest year yet.

So, now you’ve heard about me, but what about the blog? Are there any changes to the blog?

Yes. Not as many as I was going to implement as of now, but there are a few changes that will be coming throughout the year. I’ll talk about them as the year progresses, but here’s what you can expect in the coming month.

• New Name! – I am debuting a brand-new name for this blog this month. The website will remain the same, but because the blog styling switched from more ministry-related items to more scripture/message blogs I thought it made sense. The blog will be titled “The Word in My Life”. The focus is to talk about the Bible has impacted my life through a variety of topics. 
• Donation Center – This is something I’m still thinking about. My focus when I created this blog was to create an outlet for me to talk about things I don’t really get to talk about in my day-to-day life. It was never intended as a for-profit adventure, especially when we made the switch in April and seeing the impact it made for people. I’ll explain more about it when I get officially set-up. 
• Gaming Stream – This is something that may be ready until February, but this is definitely closer to happening. Part of what I’ve done for my ministry work is some gaming content as a way to fellowship together, but there are some restrictions as to what games I can play because it’s a church-affiliated channel. I want to branch out and start my own channel to where I have a little bit more flexibility in what I can offer. 

Some of the possibilities we could be adventuring into this year are as follows:

• Video blogs – these would just be a video/audio version of what the written blogs stated. It would just give people an extra way of listening to the Word. 
• Bible Study Options – I’ve done some live-streams before where I read the Bible and talked about it. I’ve really enjoyed them and have thought about making them an actual part of what I offer, but I’m not sure.
• Other Authors – I’ve thought about reaching out to some people as a way to expand our reach and add some newer content, so we’ll see. This part is nothing further than just thoughts and speculation.

What does 2021 mean for you? Leave your comments down below. I’ll see you next week for our first series of 2021: “God Be Throwin’ Shade”. This is about the things we do all the time that God hates. He actually calls out these seven things that most of us will do sometime in our life. I think it’s time that we learn about these things He throws shade at so that we and shine bright instead of growing shade. Before we leave, I want to leave you with this prayer I wrote as we transitioned to a new year:

Father God,

We are transitioning into a new year in less than 7 hours. A new year often means new beginnings, new resolutions, new relationships, new goals, and more. I give thanks for the strength, faith, and love you’ve given to each and every one of us as we progressed through the trials and tribulations of 2020. Each day brought its own troubles with it, but we remained faithful that you are leading each of us through these storms with your righteous right hand. We thank you for that.

As we start 2021 soon, I pray that we will lean on Your understanding of what you called us to. 2020 has shown us the priorities in our lives and in our world and I pray that in 2021, you show us how to lead our world in Your priorities. Whatever they may be Lord, give the strength, the will, and the wisdom to follow in your plans. We know you will still guide us next year like you did this year, but we want to take action. We want to be Your hands and Your feet on this world, and do the things that You call us to do that are just like in Heaven. I pray that each and every one of us tonight take tomorrow as a time of reflection and preparation. Lord, prepare us for what you need. We’ve seen your work amidst the chaos this year. We know you will do the same work and more in this coming year. We love you. We praise you. We know you’re close. We lift this up to you and so much that remains in our hearts.

In your name, we pray,

Amen.