Another Monday...so personal.

The wave is growing

It’s Sunday night. I’m sitting outside by a fire, writing this to you all. I’d love to explain why a crackling fire on a cool night feels like medicine to my soul, but all I really know is this: it slows me down. If you could all gather with me out here on the back patio, here’s what I’d want to share…

These past couple of weeks, Jesus has been incredibly personal to me.

Let me explain.

Not in a “road to Damascus,” blinding-light kind of way, not spiritual fireworks, not holy sprinkles falling from the sky. More like being surprised by grace. More like remembering what goodness feels like. More like hearing a kind word you didn’t know you needed. Being met in prayer. Being steadied by Scripture. Feeling relationally connected again, to God, to others, even to myself.

Quiet, but secure.
Soft, but unmistakably strong, strong in the way a wave gathers its power long before it crests.

I don’t share this to sound holy or to pretend I’m floating through my days with effortless faith. I share it because I know life doesn’t always feel like this. Some of you feel distant right now. Some of you feel disconnected. Some of you are faithfully showing up, but wondering why it feels so quiet… or why the spark that once felt so alive now seems buried somewhere under the weight of real life.

So let me be a voice in the dark tonight, a small spark from this fire beside me, saying this to you with as much honesty as I can:
Jesus is so very personal.
So very near.
So deeply intimate.

Jesus has been speaking into places in me that are surprising, speaking in ways that feel new, fresh, tender. Almost like He’s whispering, “I’m not done being close to you.”

How did I get here?
I’m glad you asked.

Honestly? Desperation.
A few weeks of praying when I didn’t feel anything.
A few mornings when I had nothing to say, I just sat before the Lord anyway.

And consistency. Not perfection, consistency. Small steps. Little obediences. Quiet moments.

And faithful friends…good men who kept pointing me back to Jesus, challenging me, praying with me, reminding me who I am when I’d forgotten.

Katie…oh how she listens to me, allows me to dream, permits me to be frustrated, and stays with me.

And ultimately… Jesus Himself. Because He really is this personal with us. Not because we earn it. Not because we impress Him. But because closeness is simply who He is. Emmanuel, God with us. God who loves to be with… (Is it Advent yet?)

I hope you don’t hear this as “pastor talk.”
I hope it doesn’t feel like Another Monday message to swipe past.

I hope you hear an invitation. A gentle nudge. A reminder that maybe, just maybe, Jesus wants to be far more personal with you than you’ve dared to imagine lately.

He delights in drawing close.
He delights in you.
And He is not far.

If you’ve felt distant…
If you’ve felt disconnected…
If you’ve wondered where to start…

Start here:
“Jesus, be personal with me again.”

He loves to answer prayers like that.

JC. I’m friends with the King.