Is it time for a face-lift?

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Yes! But not in the way you might be thinking. 

I maintain an honest philosophy about my “face.” I’m sixty-two and I look like it. I’m okay with that. Do I wish I looked like I were younger? Sometimes—but my face tells the truth, and so do I. 

(That said, with full confession, my “hair” isn’t quite as honest as my face. My roots tell the most accurate story on that front!) 

If you have been reading my blog posts for the past decade, you have seen me age. My hope is that you will continue to read them for the next decade too. I don’t want to write for personal attention; I want to write in order to give God the attention and honor he deserves. 

I think aging honestly is a good brand for my ministry. King David said, “So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come” (Psalm 71:18).

My face-lift is coming!!

So, what did I mean when I said it was time for a face-lift? 

I’m excited to tell you! 

I had a big decision to make and I chose to make it slowly. I think it is important to step back and look at life from God’s perspective. We usually live moment to moment in our culture, and sometimes the big picture fades. My dad knew it was time to retire when he was in his early fifties. He took IBM’s downsizing, early-retirement benefits and moved with my mom to Arkansas. They bought a farm, slowed down, and enjoyed their lives together. I always thought that sounded like a great idea.

But I married Jim Denison. “Slow for Jim” means something completely different than retirement. And truthfully, I realize I am different too. Jim and I both feel like King David felt. We “want to proclaim” God’s truth and power to the next generation and to every generation.

That is our calling from God, and our work is how we fulfill that calling. That said, we need to move forward with God’s wisdom and God’s purpose for the days ahead. We want to be the age we are and do what God directs. Changes were needed, and the first thing necessary was a face-lift

My website is going to carry a new look, a new name, a new logo, and a lot of new ways to deliver God’s word to our world!

All of that will be introduced in about a month!

What is needed for the next generation of ministry?

I wish I knew that answer fully, but that isn’t how God usually works. God has an eternal perspective for his direction in our lives. What I do know is that our culture needs wisdom borne of experience and delivered with a faith-filled perspective. 

One of my favorite things about aging is that I have learned a lot from accumulated experience. I became a Christian at a young age and asked Jesus to be the foundation of my life. I’ve been building on that foundation for a lot of years. 

Jesus said, “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock” (Matthew 7:24). For most of my life, I have trusted God’s word as the basis for my life—and that has been my “rock” for the storms, for the joys, and for the other ups and downs of life. I think that is why God called me to be a Bible teacher. I’ve lived the truth found in God’s word for a lot of years now and can speak from a place of experience.

I’ve lived with God’s blessings, his discipline, his direction, and his hope. I’ve been faithful and I’ve lacked faith. I’ve been strong and I’ve been weak. I’ve been confident and I’ve had doubts. I’ve been joyful while sad and peaceful when life became intense. I’ve wanted more and been content with less. I met Jesus in high school, then grew to love him as I aged. 

If you read this blog post each week, you would probably feel similar things about your life as well. Or, maybe you just want to feel that way.

The firm foundation—with a remodeled face

God’s word has been the firm foundation of truth and grace for my life’s experiences. That is why the name of the new website will be called Foundations. It was time to build a website that represented the brand and the purpose. I want to build something that will exist for God’s glory, even for generations to come, or, until Jesus has come back.

I want to stay relevant, yet write and teach with ancient truth. I’m excited to introduce you to the new website soon! I’m excited to share this ministry with all of you. Mostly, I’m excited for the opportunities ahead to share God’s word with every generation.

Our ministry has chosen to give my website a “remodeled face,” and I will be excited to show you those results in about a month. (Remember the new name, Foundations, so you will recognize my posts.) 

I will remain the age that I am and speak with a voice that has experienced the truth of God’s word for a lot of years now. I consider it a great privilege to teach the Bible. I often say that my goal is to help people live a life that God is able to bless. I hope to do that until God blesses me with my home in heaven.

I want to finish like Jesus did

Jesus finished his Sermon on the Mount saying, “Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock” (Matthew 7:24–25).

I want to finish my ministry someday like Jesus finished his great sermon that day. I want people to know how to live life on the firm foundation of biblical truth. I’ve been around for a while now, and I’ve seen a lot in my lifetime.

The teaching of Jesus is our firm foundation, and every generation needs to learn his words. Thank you for joining me each week as each of us works and ministers with that holy calling and witness. 

I’m glad to share this journey of faith with you!

Posted by Janet Denison

Janet Denison teaches others to live an authentic faith through her writing, speaking, and teaching ministry. She blogs weekly at JanetDenison.org and often at ChristianParenting.org. She is also the author of The Songs Tell the Story and Content to Be Good, Called to Be Godly, among other books. Janet and her husband, Dr. Jim Denison, live in Dallas, Texas. When they’re not writing or ministering to others, they enjoy spending time with their grown children and their four still-growing grandchildren.