Challenge

Our pastor (the coolest pastor ever, and I've known quite a few pretty awesome pastors) challenged the congregation to take time to consider our neediness before a sovereign, loving God, and decide on one request we would place before God for this upcoming year.

The jolting part of this exhortation is that this is weirdly similar to an idea I had around Christmas, that we -- Bryan, Elijah (maybe Asher), and I -- should write a prayer request down and pack it away with the Christmas stuff so that next year when we unpack it, we can review those requests and see how God has worked in our lives.

The boys didn't like my idea. Whatever. I'm taking our pastor up on his challenge.

Now, this isn't a list of resolutions that I'm making and then putting into prayer form; that would be my self-sufficiency masquerading as humility and submission. This also isn't a wish list (I hope) of stuff I want. Finally, this was terrifically difficult to come up with, probably more than you would imagine:

My heart's desire is for my family to center itself around the person and Godhead of Christ.
I'd like to see Bryan be baptized, a public demonstration of his faith, and I firmly believe that this one step would guide Elijah closer to baptism.
I want my own heart to thirst and seek hard after God, because in doing so I believe I could stop focusing so much on myself and how I fall short.

I have resolutions and I have goals and I have wishlists for the year and my life, but that is my prayer. That is what I lay at the foot of the throne of Grace and say, Take it. I am unable. You are able. Do as You will.