Archive Blog (before 2019)

2 Ways Christmas Mobilizes Missional Living ALL YEAR LONG

What’s one of your favorite Christmas memories?  Please comment below.  Every year as a child we were at Grandma and Grandpa’s house full of cousins, aunts and uncles and fun times.  There were no white Christmases, only blue, just because Grandma always played the Elvis Christmas vinyl record on the stereo that was larger than the largest clothes chest you’ve ever seen.  Every year Grandma inevitably  runs out of film for the Polaroid camera (I’m ancient or my Grandma was a hipster).   She stands next to Grandpa and yells “Will you go to the store and get some film?” Grandpa, hard of hearing, always responds with “What did you say?”  Grandma repeats louder.  Grandpa leaves and inevitably, would ALWAYS miss the excitement of bells thumping against the porch followed by a “HO HO HO” and Santa Claus, HIMSELF came to OUR Christmas Eve!  I noticed always wore shoes JUST like my Grandpa!  The excitement faded out and I always would find myself looking at the manger scene to the side of the excitement. This scene imparts two breakthroughs in my life and my daily missional living:

  1. God mobilized His missional living be becoming among us. In fact, on earth, as Jesus, He received a name that describes his missional living to you: “Look! A virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, And they will call him, Emmanuel.” (‭‭Matthew‬ ‭1:23‬ ‭CEB‬‬). Emmanuel means “God with us.”  What love! God went through extreme measure to be with you.  He expresses His love for people He calls out by proclaiming “I am with you”.  God expressed  this to Abraham and Isaiah when He called them into their personal ministry.  Jesus expressed this to you as His disciples the day He commissioned you in your missional living: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20 NASB). This is why we are passionate in Mobilize Ministries to intentionally meet or “be with” people we know in in everyday life replicating the life of Jesus: “The twelve were with Him,” (Luke 8:1)
  2. God mobilized His missional living becoming a baby, the utmost form of vulnerability and weakness.  He was enthroned in Heaven with all praise directed toward Him and incomprehensible power that made heaven, earth and YOU at His fingertips.  Existence does not get any more comfortable than this.  Yet, God mobilized His missional living by subjecting Himself to be what humans view as the weakest, a baby. Wrapped in the weakness of my Cerebral Palsy and old orthopedic metal legged braces, this scene gave me comfort.  God became weak to start His journey to the cross, where yet He’d become weak and vulnerable again: “For He was indeed crucified in weakness”. (2 Corinthians 13:4).
    [tweetable author=”@toddlollar”] God mobilized His missional living to you by becoming weak and vulnerable.  Your weakness and vulnerability through your missional living touches people in your life with the love of Jesus. [/tweetable]
Experience newness is what God has already given you.  You have your life.  Deep, huh?  You have people in your life. [tweetable author=”@toddlollar”]CHRISTmas your missional living every day of the year by being among family and friends intentionally even if it means becoming vulnerable and weak replicating God’s ministry toward you and me.[/tweetable] Please continue the conversation below about specific ways you can Christmas your missional living everyday of the year.

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3 Ways Writing Down Your 2026 Vision Mobilizes You

As we stand on the threshold of 2026, the potential of a new year feels like a blank canvas waiting for a brushstroke. We often keep our dreams tucked away in our hearts, but there is a specific power in the physical act of documentation. When the Lord answered Habakkuk, He gave a command that still resonates today: “write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it” (Habakkuk 2:2). As you prayerfully consider how God wants to move through you this coming year, would you also consider a year-end tax-deductible gift to Mobilize Ministries? Your support helps us “commit to the Lord whatever you do” so that your “plans will succeed” (Proverbs 16:3) as we mobilize missional living together.

This practice of writing has been the cornerstone of my own journey. By documenting the vision God placed in me, I was able to see Weak is the New Strong become a reality, launch the work of Mobilize Ministries, and finish the manuscript for my upcoming book, Mobilize Your Missional Life.

1. Clarity Overcomes Confusion

Writing forces you to distill vague ideas into specific intentions. When the vision is “plain on tablets,” you no longer waste energy wondering what your next step should be; you simply look at the map you’ve drawn in prayer. We are reminded in 1 Corinthians 14:33 that “God is not a God of confusion but of peace,” and when we take the time to “ponder the path of your feet,” as suggested in Proverbs 4:26, all our ways become established in His light.

2. Visibility Inspires Action

The Bible says we write the vision so we can “run.” A goal that stays in your head is a wish, but a goal on paper is a mission. Seeing your 2026 goals daily provides the spiritual adrenaline needed to keep moving when the initial excitement of January fades. We must “run with perseverance the race marked out for us” (Hebrews 12:1), knowing that while “the heart of man plans his way, the Lord establishes his steps” (Proverbs 16:9) through the visible reminders of His calling.

3. Documentation Records God’s Faithfulness

When you write down your vision now, you are creating a record for December 2026. You will be able to look back and see exactly how God provided, opened doors, and empowered your weakness to accomplish His strength. It allows us to “remember the deeds of the Lord” (Psalm 77:11) and provides a tangible way to “tell to the generation to come the praises of the Lord” (Psalm 78:4) by showing exactly where He answered your specific prayers.