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Brian

Looking Back at 2025 – Wrong Answers Only???

Brian

It’s interesting how memory works.

Over the holidays, I did a mental recap of 2025. At the time, I had decided that while 2025 had some good moments, it just wasn’t an overall good year.

The main reason it felt stalled was work. It felt like our church stalled this year, and there were too many steps backwards rather than forwards. And there were other things that were frustrating to me. So I concluded that it just wasn’t a good year.

But it turns out I was wrong.

(To be fair, I did the mental recap while shoveling snow back in Canada for my in-laws so that might also be why I came to the wrong conclusion.)

I checked the data. I scrolled back through my photos to see what I might be forgetting about the year. It turns out there was a lot more good in 2025 than I initially remembered.

  • I met several online friends in person for the first time in Pittsburgh. What had started online had became real friendships, and it was great to connect with people IRL. That mattered more than I expected.
  • At the time, we didn’t have a lot of spare cash for a long summer getaway but we did have some amazing trips, including a visit to the Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum where we had a celebrity sighting; Adam Savage of Mythbusters fame! We also got to see Weird Al Yankovic live at Wolf Trap, one of Josh’s highlights (but not the biggest one).
  • I had the privilege of officiating my nephew’s wedding back in Canada.
  • Late in the year Krista dealt with a basal cell carcinoma diagnosis. We are thankful that it was able to be removed, and that this type of cancer is very rarely metastatic. While going through this isn’t a highlight, the outcome certainly is. I’m very thankful for the outcome.
  • Over Thanksgiving and the holidays, I decided to get a leadership coach. I simply need to be better at leading others and have better outcomes in planning and execution. It was humbling to admit I needed help, but so freeing.

But one of the biggest highlights for me personally???

We received an unexpected financial windfall that changed our future.

  • We paid off all debt excluding our mortgage. Debt free is such an amazing feeling!
  • Josh and I were able to attend Game 6 of the World Series personally in Toronto. (The Jays didn’t win that game or the series, and that still hurts to think about.) We never would have done this without a massive change in our financial situation.
  • We bought a second car without needing a loan.
  • We passed it on by giving to our favorite ministries and “no strings attached” gifts to some friends in ministry. We were blessed and we wanted to share that blessing.
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So maybe I should not make final judgments about an entire year while shoveling snow in Canada.

Looking back, 2025 was not as bad as it initially felt. It held more good than I gave it credit for. And that’s just the photo memories! I’m glad I did a deeper dive into the photo data.

I’m glad I was wrong. Here’s to 2025!

The Maple Leafs look…. good??

Brian

I have been used to seeing the Maple Leafs be completely offensively minded, but this year has been different.

A new GM has started to balance out the defensive needs, all while navigating a very very tight salary cap. It has led to this result:

And what’s more exciting???

At the trade deadline, the Leafs made deals that made them better (to compete with teams like Tampa Bay and Florida in the playoffs), nabbing a center and a defensemen to fill needs.

I’m impressed from the way the team made competitive moves to fill needs in order to try to win now.

While it’s still a long shot, I love how this front office’s philosophy is trying to compile a competitive team for the playoffs. Go Leafs Go!

Happy New Year!

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I’m excited for a new year! For me, it always brings feelings of hope as it’s a natural time to reflect and refocus on what matters. As my friend Kent Edwards says, “You set your priorities, and then your priorities set you.” So this is a great time to reflect on what I’m doing and who I’m becoming!

I like to do 2 things:

  1. Decide my priorities
  2. Plan my priorities

I decide my priorities in 5 relational categories:

  • Relationship with God
  • Relationship with Krista
  • Relationship with Josh
  • Relationship with Friends, Family and Neighbors
  • Relationship with Myself

I’ll choose 1-3 ideas in each of these categories and set SMART goals to hopefully achieve them. For example, here’s my 2025 goals to improve my relationship with Krista.

  • Relationship with Krista
  • 2 date nights a month (at least 1)
  • vacation in October. (I chose this with Krista because we have noticed that the pace of ministry requires a break between September ministry kickoffs, October outreaches, November serving projects and Christmas programming.)

Then, I plan them by getting them on the calendar. If it doesn’t get a time on the calendar, other (and lesser) priorities fill up my week too quickly. I’ll also schedule a regular “check goals” time as well, just to keep them on my radar.

Here’s to a great year!

It’s Over

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As I said on X… Twitter… whatever we’re calling it…

The 2024 season has been….

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brutally bad.

For the first time in a long time, the Blue Jays were sellers at the trade deadline.

It feels like everything has gone wrong, and that’s not entirely true.

Vlad has returned to 2021 form and is crushing the ball again. He is a feared player again. That’s good.

Varsho has been a stellar defender again.

Springer has returned to a semblance of his old self.

But that’s about all we can say that’s good about this season.

There’s a lot that has to go right in 2025 before the impending FA of Bo and Vlad…

Here’s hoping!

Blue Jays are in the postseason!

Brian

I never doubted for a second.

Ahem.

Well, we needed help and some of our key players started to hit (at least a little) at the right time. We got “enough” wins to make it in, while also relying on help from other teams to be the ones chasing us.

So can the Blue Jays actually do it?

My heart says, “why not?” and my brain says, “no way.”

Heart:

  • We’ve got an elite starting staff who have been pitching playoff baseball for the last 2 months. I’d stack Gausman, Bassett, and Berrios against anyone.
  • The bullpen shuts down the other team most of the time.
  • Our defense can save runs in the outfield.

Head:

  • Our inability to hit home runs at home (tin foil hat time on the #nextlevel renovations?) is frustrating to see.
  • The plate discipline disappears in pivotal moments; the pressure of the moment is getting to our players trying to do too much?
  • Our coaching staff can “over manage” at times, and questionable moves in the playoffs have been made in the past (I still don’t want to talk about it.)

I believe a successful postseason run, and a World Series championship lies in the hitting. If Bo (not hitting well at the moment) and Vlad (getting warm but still has forgettable approaches in critical moments) get hot?

I agree with David Schoenfield from ESPN about their path:

Here’s to the post season!