Joel M Bradshaw

29And immediately he left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.30Now Simon’s mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. 31And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them.–Mark 1

I wanted to thank you for starting your new year with my blog. Usually you’ll find it in your email by 8am Chicago time. I introduced my children last night to the ancient New Year’s Eve family tradition of standing on your front porch banging kitchen pots with mixing spoons and shouting, “HAPPY NEW YEAR!”

And even though I got a slightly later start this morning, I still got up ready to serve. In fact, that was what I told myself. Here was my conversation:

You’re going to get up, step on the scale, let the dogs out, feed and water the dogs, then make your coffee and spend time in the Bible. Today you are going to seek to glorify God in all you think, say, and do. Wife, kids, ministry. This is going to be a year of discipline. Get up and serve!

In our text today, Peter’s mother-in-law was healed by Jesus. Yes, that means Peter was married. And Mark pictured her as immediately serving Jesus.

I had to face my weight scale this morning, but I am motivated to continue. I have some foot pain this morning, but I am going to use this day off to be a blessing to my wife and kids and serve them the best I can. I encourage you to take stock of the various parts of your being this new year. They flow from the inside to the outside.

1. MOTIVATIONS
2. THOUGHTS
3. FEELINGS
4. ATTITUDES
5. WORDS
6. ACTIONS

Yeah, I put ‘motivations’ at your core level deepest within you. I am motivated to serve this year with numbers 2-6. I am motivated to be more disciplined and in doing so seek to bring glory to God. How about you?

Thank you to the many new friends who subscribed to the email list for daily updates. Others of you follow as you see me on Facebook and Instagram. I am grateful for all of you and honored to journey alongside you. Happy New Year! Get up and serve!–JMB