Working with God instead of for God involves a paradigm shift. Moses, Joseph, Joshua, David, and Elijah did it, and of course Jesus did too. Each one of them worked with God on the mission He had them on. They were accomplishing things with God and at His direction. God has placed you uniquely in a workplace with people He loves dearly. He is already working on their hearts, and He'd like you to join Him in loving them, too. They might be difficult to love, and some of them might be almost impossible to love. But God has chosen you to be Him in your workplace. God has chosen you to introduce Jesus to these people He's been working on since the day they were born. This year, decide to work with God on loving the people you work around.

iWork4Him, iWork4Him, iWork4Him, this is the mantra we've been speaking into your life for the last 11 years. It's what we needed to learn. It's the reality we needed to be in touch with. We needed to understand that our work matters to God. We need to understand that our workplace is our place of ministry. We need to understand that our workplace is our mission field, full of lost and hopeless people who need to meet Jesus. It's time to take it to the next level. New Year, new challenge. God wants you to go so much deeper with Him. So we need to switch from iWork4Him to i work with Him. God & you are involved in the details of your daily work life. But we have to invite Him in. It's no longer going to work for Him; it's going to work with Him, right where He is involved in the people's lives around you. Don't miss the uniqueness of this calling.

2024 is bound to be filled with awesome adventures with the Lord. There are so many things to look forward to. What is it that the Lord has placed on your heart to look forward to? I have been praying for years that I could just hear my heavenly father's voice in my daily interactions and my transactions so that no matter what I'm doing, I'm doing it with him. I spent many years working for God, but in 2024, I want to complete the transition to working with God, to seeing where he is at work And working with him at what he is trying to accomplish. I want to notice people before they notice me. I want to love the least of these and be an example for others of what it means to be a great husband, father, and son. Set your sites on 2024 and what God has in store for you. Happy New Year.

What am I looking forward to in 2024? More adventure, more challenges, more time with my kids and grandkids. More time crafting and more time in my garden. I want more time with my mom and maybe some vacation time with Jim. What I know that I'll get in 2024 is more stretching by my heavenly father. I know I will get More time with him because that's what I need. I want 2024 to be the year where I shift my thinking from always completing a to-do list as iWork4Him to resting and abiding in him and listening for his still, small voice as I learn to work with him. What about you? What is your goal for 2024? Will you learn to work with him this next year? Happy New Year!

Coming to the end of 2023, do I have any regrets? No. I learned in 2023 that regrets or shame cannot define my life. Regrets and shame come from the enemy, and that's not how my heavenly father wants me to view my life. Did I make some mistakes? Absolutely. Did I screw up many things? Absolutely. Did I love my wife like Christ loves the church every day? Nope, but I wanted to. Did I love every person God brought before me? Nope, but I wanted to. Did I live my life in a way that pointed people to Jesus? Most of the time. That, to me, is a victory. 2023 will go down in the annals of "Jim's history" as a year where God showed himself not in my activity but in my obedience. Happy New Year!

As I look back on 2023, I see that God used adversity in my life to take me from who I am to who he can use more effectively. He taught me how to wait, he taught me how to abide, and he kept reminding me that I needed to do more resting. I struggle with all these things as Jim and I tried to learn them together, but 2023 will always go down in our lives as a year when we learned just to be with God. When you look back on 2023, what will it remind you of? What was the one thing God was trying to work on in your life all year long? Whatever it is, make sure you learn it so 2024 can be a whole new adventure. Happy New Year!

We are coming up to the new year. Which means we're coming to the end of another year. Are we going to celebrate both or just one or the other? I think we need to do both this week. Today, I want to focus on how God has done amazing things in my life this year. He loved me too much to leave me as I was. He stretched me, he taught me, he loved me, and he guided me. As I come to the end of 2023, I recognize that I'll never be the same guy I was in 2022. I love my Heavenly Father for that, and I can't wait to see what he has for me in 2024. What about you? Are you grateful for 2023 and looking forward to 2024? I know I am. Happy New Year.

It's the last workday before Christmas, and all through the house are Christmas presents wrapped and hidden in closets, hanging out with a mouse. Did you know that some people won't have gifts this Christmas? Not only will they not have presents but they'll also be alone on Christmas day. As you consider your Christmas plans, do they include someone new? Before leaving your workplace today, make sure that nobody you work with will be alone on Christmas day. If you find out somebody will be alone, would you invite them over for Christmas dinner? It could be the most impactful thing you do for 2023. The greatest gift you can give this year to a co-worker may be the gift of your friendship. Wrap that up with a bow and give someone a very Merry Christmas.

You know, I'm not a very good listener. I mean to be a good listener, but I get distracted pretty easily. I find that when I'm not being a very good listener to my wife Martha, she gets frustrated. She would like me to be a good listener all the time. And I would like to be a good listener all the time. I am working on it, but it sure doesn't come easy. Do you know why? Cause I like to TALK! Did you know that being a good listener can be a great gift to somebody? Every day, we work alongside people who are hurting. Some of them are lost and hopeless, too. When we ask them how they're doing, one of the greatest gifts we can give them is to listen to their answer. You can give this gift all year long, but start this week by being a good listener at work. Merry Christmas.

One of the greatest gifts we can give others, is to be present with them. Not give them presents, although everybody loves to get gifts, but to be present with them. So often, we're so busy this time of year; We are too busy for conversations. We're too busy to sit down with people. We spend so much time looking for presents for them that we miss the opportunity to be present with them. Jesus taught us to be present with them. That is the gift they need. Take time to sit down over a cup of coffee, hot chocolate, or, in Jim's case, maybe an eggnog. Being present with people could be one of the greatest Christmas gifts they get this year. Find a way to be present with somebody from work this week, and Merry Christmas.