5 Things I Am Looking Forward To In The New Year

As the year winds down and a new one arrives, I review the old year and plan for the new year during the last week. I have high expectations for 2022. I always believe a new year will be the best one I have ever had as long as I continue to grow.

For my 5 Thursday Thoughts, I want to share five things I am excited about in 2022. This list was tough. Not because I could not come up with five things, but I had to choose which five things I was most excited about.

One Single Story

This year, the church I pastor will be reading through the chronological Bible. We are integrating a tremendous amount of content and materials to go along with this year-long series. Every Sunday, we will preach from a text that was a part of the previous week’s readings. Every day we will create a podcast that discusses a passage from that day’s readings. We have journals available that include the reading plan and questions for each day. We have bookmarks and printed reading plans. We also have a dedicated website with all of the content www.onesinglestory.com. I would love for you to participate with us. 

A New Family-Centered Podcast

This one has been on my list for a while, but I am finally getting to it in 2022. Barbara and I created a Facebook group for families in 2020. It is called Marriage, Money, and Making Babies. We want to assist families as much as possible. As a part of that, we will create a video and podcast series that will deal with some of the most critical issues families face. We expect it to launch in February.

A New Book

I never thought I would write a book, but after I published my first book in 2018, I knew there were more that I wanted to write. I currently have two books available, one of which is a devotional. You can get “A Long Walk Back” or the “30 Day Marriage Healing Devotional” with these links. I am currently working on two other books, but I have one already complete and ready for publication in 2022. It is a book of one hundred humorous stories that I have seen or heard in church. Make sure you are on my email list to know when it is released. 

More Family Meals

All of our children are very close to our home now. One of them has been in California for the last three years. He moved home this year. It has allowed all of us to do more impromptu gatherings and dinners than before. We would get together when he was home, but now all of us can get together more easily. Hopefully, we will continue to take advantage of that. 

International Travel

Since February of 2020, I have only been out of the country one time. I went to a pastor’s retreat in Mexico in 2021. I miss mission travel. I miss recreational travel internationally. As the world gets a better handle on Covid and its effects, I look forward to some places I want to travel to be available. I know my wife is looking forward to her annual mission trip this summer. I have some bucket list places on my list and lots of points to use for free flights. I look forward to seeing those new places this year.

What are you looking forward to in 2022? I would love to hear about what you have ahead of you this year.