2 days from now, we will be saying to each other "Happy New Year". It is hard to believe yet another year has passed, and we will soon be in 2009. 5 years ago Tirin was only 6 months old. 10 years ago I met Tiffany at Sam's Club. 15 years ago I was 5 months from graduating from Southwest Baptist in Bolivar. 20 years ago I had just completed my first semester at Wichita State University. 25 years ago I was a freshman in middle school, and our family had lived in Wichita for 5 months. I was days away from receiving Christ but didn't know it! 30 years ago I was nine, and our family had just moved to Goddard, Kansas. 35 years ago I was 4. 4 YEARS OLD! In 5 years Tirin will be 10, and Ethan 7. In 15 years, Tirin will be college-aged, and Ethan ready to graduate from high school. How Time flies!

One month ago, Tirin broke her leg at school. While the initial few days were tiring for her and difficult in many respects, the at-that-time cast (which extended from the bottom of her foot to her hip) will, in two days, become a walking cast. In four weeks, if all goes well, the cast will be gone, and she will be running and having a blast with her friends, with only a distant memory of a cast that, at times, felt so heavy.

The older we get, the more quickly time flies. And all of us have "casts" of some sort. Things we need to shed in the coming year. For some of us (and yes I AM DEFINITELY including myself), a few pounds need to go. For others of us (and once again I am in the mix), some of the debt needs to go. For others of us (and, making the trifecta, once again included), shaking some of the spiritual cobwebs loose will be an important part of our new year. And there is no better time to start than now!

With the challenge on the horizon at BVBC to read through the Word in 2009, I encourage all of us to go after it with gusto, and continue to pursue it all year long. You are a special part of this church family, and of the body of Christ at large. I pray that 2009 is way beyond happy for you and yours, and is filled with His love and joy more than ever before (with broken casts filling the roadsides for all of us). Joyous New Year!