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Doing a 2020 Recap

Doing a 2020 Recap title image

Doing a 2020 Recap

This past weekend our church did a service revolving around a 2020 recap. There were a few testimonials of people discussing what they’ve learned from 2020, how the year has been impactful for them, or what God had done for them over the past year. It got me to thinking… “How WOULD I recap this past year?”

One of our yearly Christmas traditions came to mind as I was thinking about this. Each year at Christmas we get each of our kids a Christmas ornament for that year. These ornaments usually reflect an event or milestone or memory from the year. This year as I was shopping for their ornament, I knew I wanted it to be 2020 related but not just referring to all of the COVID-19 stuff as so many of them were. I wanted it to reflect the many, many crazy events that took place during 2020—a kind of a 2020 recap on the ornament.

I ended up settling on a type of word cloud ornament. As I was reading through all of the items listed on the ornament, I found myself saying, “Oh yeah, I forgot about that.” It had things like Kobe Bryant’s death, the Australian fires, travel bans, birthday parades, virtual graduations, virtual meetings, distance learning, of course the whole Coronavirus pandemic themed things (quarantine, panic buying, toilet paper shortage, social distancing, face masks, front line heroes and essential workers, etc.), murder hornets, the Beirut explosion, and BLM protests. (It was missing the whole presidential election fiasco which was odd.) It did seem to sum up events of the year pretty well.

On a personal level

While this was a great 2020 recap of the year’s events, it still wasn’t a very personal reflection of the year. I thought about how my mom often does this in her Christmas or end-of-year letters where she summarizes the whole family’s yearly goings-on. So, I started to make a list (although not completely comprehensive)… Continue reading

Do You Know the Formula for Success?

Learn the 4 part formula for success laid out for us in the Bible. I believe this formula will work in any situation (whether you’re a Christian or not).

Do You Know the Formula For Success?

This post is taken from the Formula for Success page here.


 Joshua 1:5-9 (NLT)

5 No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you.

6 “Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. 7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. 8 Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. 9 This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

I recently had what I like to call an “Aha” or “light bulb” moment (you know—where the light bulb seems to come on in your head and you go “Aha!”).  This is otherwise known as “revelation knowledge”–it’s a fancy way of saying “something really cool that God just showed me!”  I noticed (actually God brought to my attention) something that I’ve never noticed before in this passage in Joshua (passage shown above).  My pastor might call it a “sandwich” of sorts!  The messages in verses 5-8 are restated again in reverse in verses 8-9. Look:

  • v.5 God says–I will be with you
    • v. 6 & 7 God says—Be strong and courageous
      • v. 7 God says—Obey, then you will succeed and prosper
        • v. 8 God says—Study, meditate on and say God’s instructions (His Word)
      • v. 8 God says—Obey, then you will succeed and prosper
    • v. 9 God says—Be strong and courageous
  • v. 9 God says—I am with you

I firmly believe this is a formula for success laid out for us in the Bible.  I believe this formula will work in any situation (whether you’re a Christian or not). 

This is a four-part formula.  There is a central step or component we must complete (the only part that is not repeated) surrounded by or sandwiched by three other things that are crucial to our success.  I like to look at it like a target or a mark for success.  It should be something for which we aim or shoot.

Here are the four components of the target:

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