andrew dodson

Christmas and New Year’s came and went very quickly for me this year.  One of my least favorite responses to the question, “How are you?” is something to the effect of saying I’ve been busy.  Seems that everyone is busy these days.  But, I can’t remember having a busier December than 2008.  CLS was rockin’, we were preparing and performing Behold the Lamb of God, I had a recording or two to work on, shopping for Christmas, parties to attend, and so on.  It was all very good stuff that I enjoyed, but it wore me out!  It wasn’t until this past New Year’s long weekend that I was able to catch up on rest.

The new year is always exciting.  What’s in store?  I tend to shy away from resolutions, but I do like to come up with mottos for each new year.  This year, I’m thinking “Humility. Faith. Obedience.“  Here’s what’s on my mind:

Humility

This may come as a shock to some, but I have not been blessed with a great amount of humility.  I am well aware of my self-centeredness the majority of the time, and the fact that I can often react like a jerk if a situation isn’t going how I would like.  So, this is an area I’d like to improve this year.  Thinking of others first.  Are their needs being met?  If you’re reading this and thinking, “I can’t wait to see how this plays out,” I would ask for your grace and patience while I try to better myself.  Humbly, of course!

Faith

Such an easy thing to overlook sometimes.  In my self-centeredness, I often forget how utterly dependent I am upon God.  Coupled with faith is trust.  Am I trusting God in every area of my life?  Do I have faith that He will continue working in my life just as He has done to this point?  Faith is a huge topic.  I could write for days on faith.  Not today, though.

Obedience

Bottom line – am I being obedient to God?  Do I do the things He asks and requires of me?  The first step in obedience is digging into the Bible to see what God wants from me.  The next step is putting those things into practice.  I haven’t always been the best at putting them into practice.  I’m hoping I can do a better job of this in 2009.

This inspiration for this motto:

Micah 6:8

8 He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?