I have come to believe that failure in the season of conflict--failure to deal with it, failure to learn from it, failure to move beyond it--prevents entrance into a new season of joy. For that reason alone, I have tried to handle conflict in the best possible way.

Before your feet touch the floor in the morning, put on the full armor of God with which you can quench all the fiery darts of the enemy (see Ephesians 6:13-17). Put on the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, and the readiness of the gospel of peace.

Sometimes we approach joy as if we were taking a pop quiz. The art of joy requires more than one coat of paint.

When my son turned three, TJ graduated from the crib to an actual bed.

1. "I'm too busy!" (Jesus had a packed ministry schedule but he made time to pray.)

2. "I don't know how to do it right." (How about just try talking to God like you would a friend?)

I have been engaged in a study of the second half of Paul's letter to the Ephesians, and, not surprisingly, the themes from that letter have been resonating in my mind over the past few weeks. I have been struck by Paul's emphasis on the importance of love and unity in the local church. On the one hand it's kind of obvious--we need to love the Christians around us--but on the other hand, the personal implications are profound. I've always known that God calls me to love the people I covenant with in my local church, but until now I haven't been quite so aware of the danger of falling out of love.

"For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession." Deuteronomy 7:6 (NIV)

My top recommended book on a biblical theology of worship is David Peterson's Engaging with God. If you're responsible for leading in your church, either as a pastor or a musician, I think you'll serve people more faithfully and biblically if you read it. I go through it every year with my interns and never fail to come away from our discussion times with fresh understanding and inspiration for leading corporate worship.

Leadership, Leadership, Leadership... it seems to be the point of discussion no matter what the subject is. If you turn on SportsCenter you might hear about Tom Brady, Kevin Durant or Kobe Bryant's Leadership. If you turn on any national news station you might hear about the leadership or lack there of, for the Republican candidate hopefuls or President Obama. If you look in your social media streams you will see someone sharing a leadership quote or recommending a leadership book.