Hello Friends, I hope that you had a sweet and restful Christmas season with your family and loved ones, and that reflecting on Jesus and all that he is doing in the world made you hopeful for the year to come. I know it did for me! In case you didn't know, the title of the blog is actually a quote from Frederick Nietzsche. But a pastor who I have enjoyed reading the work of, Eugene Peterson, repurposed that quote to describe his summation of the Christian life and specifically the life of a pastor. And it has really been encouraging to me recently. As I think about all that I would like to be able to do for God, I realize that all he asks of me is simply to pick up my cross daily and follow him, a long obedience in the same direction. But this task is not nothing. It is often painful and difficult, but it is also the only way to real life. But another thing I find beautiful about a long obedience in the same direction is that as a pastor friend of mine, Ronnie Worsham, always sa