I don’t know about your year… but 2018 has flown by in the Marsden house. I transitioned out of a role, and off a staff team, that I had been serving on, for almost 9 years. I jumped into a new and exciting role with a Missions Agency. We drove over 5000 miles to and from the Grand Canyon (so many miles. So many pictures. So worth it). And my wife and I celebrated 20 years of marriage in beautiful New Port, RI.
As a family we participated in 6 shows and 2 summer camps with AUTA. I lost count of how many various school events, local open mic nights, worship events, and various tech freelance gigs I covered. And that’s not counting my final Good Friday and Easter as TD at Kensington. And 20ish Sundays on staff and another dozen as a volunteer.
Oh yeah… And we moved. After all that travel and change, we found out our landlord was selling, so we embarked on a mission to find a new place that better suited our family, fit our budget, and kept school zonings (roughly) the same. Wow!
And for the first time in many years (9 at Kensington’s scale of production, but I’ve lost track for in general), I am not racing into the Christmas season with a Christmas production looming over my head. I’m going to attend service with the family. We’re going to have Christmas dinner. We’re decorating the house. We’re going to Christmas parties. We’re taking it slow.
Don’t get me wrong. I still have 2 shows I’m wrapping this next week. I’ve got some financial prep work for 2019 for Global City and a huge communications initiative we’re starting in the new year. But Christmas feels different when you’re not running at 100 mph.
And so 2019 is almost here. My brain has shifted to prep for next year, mostly. But I’m slowing down, enjoying the moment, and making plans for cocoa by the fire, a bit of family time, and a little Christmas music that I don’t have to produce or direct.
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