Bryan Johnson has one simple goal: to cheat death. And as one of Silicon Valley’s celebrity millionaires, he’ll probably come as close as anyone. He has responded to the problem of mortality by spending two million dollars a year on a personalized anti-aging program from a private care team. Without fail, he wakes up at 4:30am, eats his last meal of the day at 11:00am, and goes to bed at 8:30pm. Each day, among other things, he takes over 100 pills to supplement his regimented diet, undergoes light treatment therapies and completes specialized workouts. He claims to be reverse ageing, and based on his visible transformation from mid-forties-techie-stubble-guy to mid-twenties-Twilight-saga-character, so far, so good.

This week, I took my baby girl out to stargaze for the first time. I pointed out the moon and her tiny mouth fell open in surprise. I turned her slowly around to meet all the stars. Watching the wonder in her eyes, I told her that God’s loving thoughts of her are more than every grain of sand (Psalm 139:17-18). Then I told her what I had learned at Alpha, that for every grain of sand, there are a million stars. And the Creator of all the stars knew all of her days before one of them came to be (Psalm 139:16). Her times are safely in His hands (Psalm 31:15). He loves her with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3)…

In late December 2019, a coworker confided, “I have a good feeling about 2020. It’s going to be a great year.” I remember the way she smiled, eyes bright with hope. I couldn’t help but feel hopeful along with her.

You know what they say about hindsight.

I didn’t have a good feeling about 2024. I didn’t have time to think about it at all, actually. I greeted the new year by sleeping on a recliner in a pediatric hospital room and waking up to my infant daughter’s cries as nurses came to check her vital signs. There were no feelings of hope for the coming year; this month only had room for exhaustion and anxiety as my kids were in and out of medical facilities with one illness after another. I prayed for healing and for peace in the midst of the storm, but honestly, it felt like my prayers got stuck on the ceiling and God was silent.

I didn’t feel hopeful this month. But I still had hope. Let me explain:

I confess: Sometimes I don’t learn from my mistakes, even when the stakes are high.

Last week, my great aunt, an occasional pen pal of mine, came to mind. I should send her a card to let her know I’m praying for her, I thought. But the urgency of daily tasks got in the way and I forgot. On way to church last Sunday, I received the news that she had passed away. I was so sad that the Holy Spirit had given me the nudge to reach out one last time and I had neglected to listen.

My parents where first generation Christians whom the Lord saved out of a life of intemperance and moral license. I was raised in a home where pendulum had swung from license towards legalism and thus drinking alcohol was considered sin. In 8th grade I drank for the first time and by then end of my high school career I was a weekend binge drinker. After meeting Jesus, he empowered me to abstain from alcohol until I was 21 when could enjoy it responsibly and legally. However, 4 days before my 21st birthday God made it abundantly clear that it is outside his will for me to drink. So that evening, I committed to God to finish out the rest of my life as an abstainer.

Last Sunday, Pastor Brent led us through some of the challenging exhortations to pastors in 1 Timothy 3:14-4:16. He asked us to respond to this text by praying for faithfulness, clarity, wisdom, and family protection for our pastors and deacons. The following prayer is based on Scripture and includes the references at the end for further meditation…

Our favorite King’s Cross Church yard sign stood proudly on a corner of Main Street, surrounded by lush grass and pointing to our gathering. We felt it represented us well, with dignity and style. We long for our church to be a “safe place to encounter Jesus,” and we hoped this sign would help usher people into that place.

One day, the sign got run over