Well, it's the end of the year. 2023 is mere hours away from being over.
As it comes to a close, I decided to list some of the things I learned this year.
1. I don't have to say "yes" to every stranger who makes demands of my time. Saying "no" is perfectly valid if there is no established relationship. Some people do not respect you or your time. They are simply takers or problem-dumpers... and that gets exhausting very quickly.
2. Communication is important (in marriage, in business, in church, etc). How we say things is as important as what we say.
3. Marriage is a blessing when married to the right woman. Mutual respect, mutual love for each other and a mutual love for Jesus go a long way.
4. I am perfectly fine to slow down and rest in between work-days or after hours. Additional tasks and non-urgent messages will still be waiting for me in the morning... they can wait until then. :-)
5. I learned to simplify life by deleting unnecessary commercial/mass communication inbox messages without opening them.
6. I learned that I enjoy painting for fun on occasion. My wife also discovered painting this year and she enjoys it even more than me.
7. I discovered a new digital piano I really enjoy playing... the Yamaha P125. I have already uploaded several piano videos to my youtube channel using this piano. See my channel here.
8. I learned to turn off the notifications from certain social media platforms. I no longer allow those messages to be sent to my email or to my phone. I shut that option off. It helps me focus and declutter my mind during the day. I may have actually started this practice in the previous year, but it really came to help me in 2023.
9. I learned that the New Testament Book of Revelation has more references to the Old Testament than any other New Testament book. (I counted at least 330 OT references!)
10. I have discovered the joys of being a middle-aged man who has more wisdom than his younger self did. Some of the things concerning relationships and life that were unclear to me in my youth are much clearer now that I am older and more experienced.
11. I reaped the benefit of waiting 13 years to get remarried to the right woman - it was (and is) important to not settle for the wrong person (as I did the first time). Jenny and I got married June 7th 2022 and now we are over 1 1/2 years into the marriage and very happy.
12. I really enjoy being an uncle to my 2 neices (10 and 7 yrs old) and 1 nephew (1 yr old), even if we are far apart most of the year!
13. Spiritual fatherhood: I learned that the years of ministry, Bible instruction, and prayer I poured into my spiritual children at church are really starting to show fruit. One of them has now grown up to be a fine young man who participates on his own free will in various church activities including leadership events. I am very blessed to invest in the young generation.
14. After nearly a decade of ministry to the Christian adult singles (my singles ministry began in July 2014), I learned that this group I lead is still very much needed and appreciated by the singles in our church.
15. After more than 23 years at Church On The GO, I have discovered, with guidance from the Holy Spirit and our lead pastor Stephen Coates, some key topics to teach, such as Historicism, Young Earth Creation, the Melchizedek priesthood, and Kingdom of God Theology.
16. Speaking of Kingdom of God Theology, this is the year it really sunk in for me how central the Kingdom of God is and was to the message of Jesus. I did have an understanding of the Kingdom of God already, but our studies at church this year really helped cement and advance my understanding of this core doctrine of Christ.
17. Having common interests with my wife has really made us best friends as well as lovers. We both love walking, reading, discussing Scripture, playing musical instruments, and playing board games like Scrabble.
18. I learned that a manual I wrote and printed 21 years ago still has relevance today. It was called "Science and the Bible". I originally wrote it to teach a 2 part seminar in the church in 2002. It then got left in a box in my house and forgotten. A church goer recently asked me this year to see if I can find any copies I might have of it. Well I did find one copy of it left. It was dusty and the binding was falling apart. So I scanned the pages, readjusted the alignment, updated the info and resources, and then made it into an online PDF file that anyone can read or download for free on my website. This person at our church then printed it, bound it, and shared it with someone in public recently. They were happy to read it. So my work from 21 years ago is still making a difference today! It was all through the combined work of the Holy Spirit and the members of the Body of Christ.
I am always grateful to the Lord Jesus for His faithfulness to me this year and every year!
Happy New Year!
Pastor Curtis
Assistant Pastor at:
churchonthego.ca in Newmarket ON.
If you would like to read my 39 page manual, please visit my website: curtisjalexander.wordpress.com
and click the download button.
Sun Dec 31 2023 10:32PM Eastern Time.
