2024 Year In Review

If I had to sum up 2024 in one word, it would be “revealing.”

The first photo I have of the year is preparing for Redemption’s Tell City office space to be constructed. A long-dormant space later to be revealed as useable space for our staff. A small win this year.

Mid-month sinus surgery revealed that my body is, indeed, mortal. I’m thankful I did it, but I don’t plan to do it again. Unlabored breathing is always good, however.

Bella moved into her first solo apartment after a revealing year, for her, of living with a roommate and being on her own for the first time. A new place — on her own — revealed the gravity of adult responsibilities.

February started with fun as we and some good friends got to see a band (Extreme) I had wanted to see for decades. However, the month would end with a major health scare for my father-in-law, revealing to us how quickly life can turn.

March can’t be properly represented in photos (despite the fun of seeing Jason Isbell again) as a major crisis in our church family ultimately revealed who we really are as a church and as a staff (good). It was a revelation (bad) that wolves can hide in sheep’s clothing, but shepherds must defend the sheep. For me, this event and a revelation about an individual in 2023 were a one-two punch that has taken some time to fully digest and has, if I'm being honest, revealed an anger not fully resolved in my heart and mind.

Late March to mid-April revealed a maturing family with a milestone birthday for Bella, 47 for me, and 19 for Gabi. The day before my birthday, the sun was hidden but was revealed again a few minutes later in a very cool cosmic event.

Staff transitions at work revealed things will always change and people will enter and exit your daily life on an ongoing basis. These changes also revealed to me that sometimes your role will change and you must answer the call by letting go.

The beach revealed the wonder of the natural world, watching a sand crab go about his daily task of digging was a highlight of our trip to Cape San Blas — just Shannon and I this year, revealing that our family dynamics are swiftly changing.

Letting go of three loved guitars revealed that sometimes letting go also means gaining (new guitar in November). 

Family was a common theme of the year, where some things were revealed to us about ourselves as individuals and as a couple. Learning how to see our daughters as grown-ups was a huge revelation this year.

The last quarter of the year brought Shannon’s birthday, a trip to Arizona for me, another medical scare for Shannon’s dad (and another road trip), an election that revealed who we are as a people (but allowed the four of us to vote together for the first time ever), and Gabi’s revelation that her first car brought major adult responsibilities.

A family heirloom banjo and a new guitar brought some musical joy to a year that badly needed it, revealing that God’s grace is a sweet sound sometimes.

Wrapping up the year with Thanksgiving in Georgia and Christmas in Tennessee put a bow on the year with some good family visits.

Some revelations this year were bad, some were terribly difficult, but some were great, too. Shannon and I are as close as we’ve ever been, 26 years into our marriage, we feel settled and content — perhaps for the first time — living in Indiana, and we feel confident that we did the best we could raising our two daughters to be responsible human adults. We are so proud of them and how they are maturing — albeit with an anxiety about them that will, likely, never go away. Additionally, friendships became a revelation for us (introverts) this year and we hold them dear.

God's grace sustained us in 2024 and (good news) is promised to us for 2025. We're going to need it.

The Books I Read In 2024

A few years ago, I set a goal to read at least one book a month as I had allowed my phone, social media, etc. to greatly lessen my ability to stay focused. In 2024, I continued this challenge and read 24 books — an average of two a month. While some were deeply challenging, others were not. I tried to mix in some fiction this year (and already have some fiction on tap for 2025), but mostly read non-fiction works. 

While each photo links to Amazon, I'd urge you, instead, to visit your local bookstore and ask to order any that may interest you. While it may cost more, you help keep the bookstore spirit alive for another day.

Here's what I read with my favorites, listed in order of reading, at the end of the post.

The Year In Music 2024: Favorite Albums & Songs

In the past, I've often taken time at the end of the year to review what I considered to be the best music of the year. Caveat: I can't and don't keep up with everything. This post is me telling you what is the best among the music I actually purchased/downloaded/streamed, in 2024. Links will be for Apple Music, as that is my streaming platform of choice (however, I have physical copies — vinyl and/or CD — of most of these).

Good Reads: "The Church In Dark Times"

Occasionally, I will share about what I've been reading. For November 27 to December 10, 2024, I read this book. If you're so moved, read on.

The Church In Dark Times: Understanding And Resisting The Evil That Seduced The Evangelical Movement by Mike Cosper

Non-Fiction, Philosophy, Religion

Thoughts: In college, I took a class on political philosophy (I ended up minoring in political science and religious studies). It was, bar none, the most challenging class I had in my five years at Middle Tennessee State University. I never felt like I truly understood what was being discussed and I, more or less, hung on for dear life and squeaked out an average grade (more than likely it was a C, though I don't recall exactly what I made). One of the authors we read in the class was German-Jewish philosopher Hannah Arendt — who survived Naziism and, ultimately, became an American citizen.

In The Church In Dark Times, author Mike Cosper (most well known for hosting the Christianity Today podcast The Rise And Fall of Mars Hill) examines Arendt's writings and thoughts to study how people, and more specifically the American evangelical church, keeps falling prey to scandal and evil within its walls. He delves into the story of Seattle's Mars Hill Church a bit, but it doesn't dominate the book either. Mostly, Cosper focuses on ideology and how "the banality of evil," as Arendt describes it, gets unthinking people (read: many of us, if we're being honest) to follow along with evil — whether that be the Holocaust or corrupt church leaders who (spiritually) destroy lives.

Good Reads: "The Road"

Occasionally, I will share about what I've been reading. For November 11-18, 2024, I read this book. If you're so moved, read on.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Fiction, Post-Apocalyptic

Thoughts: Cormac McCarthy's 2006 novel The Road is, quite simply a brilliant piece of writing. The late author had a way of painting vivid portraits of his characters (here, "the man" and "the boy") without being overwrought or heavy-handed. The Road is considered a modern classic by many and, on my second read, I still see why.