REVIEW OF 2006 AND A LOOK TO 2007
Well……it’s New Year’s Day. And we all know what that means. It’s time to take an inventory of how we lived in 2006 and think through some much needed changes for 2007. In other words, it’s time to make a list of New Year’s determinations .Our lists could be long; some will involve a bit of wishful thinking; and few will include some recycled resolutions that weren’t kept last year. But whatever the specifics, everyone agrees on a few key facts: the ball has dropped, last year is history, and the future is brimming with possibilities..
NEW OR IMPROVED DIRECTIONS FOR 2007
List of those Determinations that I kept in 2006
1A Read the Bible with Purpose of Knowing the Lord
2A Continued studies of Biblical Doctrine.
3A Kept up with the Yard Work at our house, the Bakery and at the Temples.
4A Walked from three miles to four miles most days during the week.
5A Read the articles on Monergism.com almost daily.
6A Collected Sports Section of the USA TODAY for the year. (Eric’s help)
7A Selected Bloggers sites viewed weekly. (Oh, about 100 plus).
8A Downloaded articles from the web on subjects of interest. Cataloged them.
9A Kept up with Tiger Woods all year.
10A Read Sermons from MacArthur, Piper, Pritchard.
11A Researched Church Leadership and Ministry.
12A Read selected books on subjects of interest.
SEVERAL UNEXPECTED DIRECTIONS or EVENTS TAKEN IN 2006
1A Preached at First Baptist Church in Altoona, Kansas.
2A In August started "GROW BY LEARNING" Blog.
And posted 114 threads from August 14th to December 30th. .
3A Visited Becky, doing well in Hutchinson, Kansas.
4A Kyle moved to Lexington, Kentucky.
5A Eric getting married to Leslie.
6A Chad becoming General Manager at Holiday Inn in Lexington.
7A Children getting me a MacArthur Study Bible
8A Visited Mom, Ellen and Family in Texas.
SEVERAL DISAPPOINTMENTS IN 2006
1A Not finding a place to minister in a local church.
2A Unable to find a place of service at Bigelow Church
PRAYERFUL DESIRES FOR 2007
1A A greater understanding of the Jesus Christ and His glory
2A A ministry where I could be employed to serve.
3A A better comprehending of the doctrines of the Bible.
4A Learning, and growing daily in the grace and knowledge of the Lord.
5A To be a better husband to my lovely wife Charity.
I truly desire to be able to fulfill the ministry that the Lord has called me to do.
I believe in 2006 that I, to the best of my knowledge tried to the best of my ability to do my best. Maybe I did. But I felt a lot of defeat. In several ways I felt disappointment. One: I am not working., either in the secular or in a church. Somehow I need to do something to accomplish either one.
I kept busy in the spring, and summer mowing lawns at the bakery, and my house and at the Temples’ farm. Nearly every day I was cutting grass, which kept my mind and body busy. Walking for an hour or more each day also was great for me.
Then I logged onto the Internet doing research on a number of doctrinal studies, also on a number of sites that dealt with Church leadership and church ministry. This involved a number of hours each day, when I was not mowing grass, or walking or working out with weights.
My greatest struggle was about ministry. All the effort toward securing a job in ministry have not been fleshed out. I preached in several churches, I sent several résumé to churches, and even went to several churches to check them out. Thus far we have seen all doors shut..
But what has gotten me through all this, is of course the grace of the Lord, the love and encouragement of Charity and my children. Then the work on the Internet has been so good, and then my work on my blog. "GROW BY LEARNING."
I have sent a lot of e mail’s to friends over the year and that has been really encouraging.
Drafted by Charles E. Whisnant 01 01 07 Proof read by Charity Whisnant 01 02 07
