Monday morning. It’s the start of our work week. The dreaded day when life has to return to normal after the weekend. It’s the move back to reality after our weekly mini-vacation. For many, it is truly the repetitive journey from freedom to slavery. It’s when we leave the life we love, the life that we script – full of the activities we enjoy and the people that we want to be around – and move into a world that we would rather not be in. A world that is scripted for us, full of expectations and obligations. And so Monday marches on, another beginning to a life that is half-lived.

I know what Mondays are and I admit, sometimes it’s hard to crawl out of bed. However, I don’t dread them. In fact, I revel in Mondays.

Mondays are when my family, a messy bunch of Jesus followers, begins to live in their identity. It’s when they go into the world to infect it with the heart of our God. It’s when they become Jesus more than ever. It’s when the celebration we had the day before gets applied. It’s when people who have been given an incredible gift offer it to others freely and recklessly.

When Monday morning comes, I often go to the office to grab a notebook and my computer and then head back out the door to one of my favorite coffee shops. It’s my day to study, reflect, pray and it’s my day to be in the community. Sometimes, before I leave, I’ll poke my head into the sanctuary and see a quiet, empty room that was buzzing with people less than 24 hours earlier…and I smile. I know that it’s already beginning. Our small band of Kingdom Warriors are already taking their places. They have been reminded of who they are and who they serve and they are ready. They scatter throughout the city with a greater purpose than to make it through their week just to get to another weekend. No, they long for the week of opportunity in front of them. Opportunity to leave Jesus’ thumbprint in their world. Opportunity to prioritize people. Opportunity to offer what people are dying for and what so many don’t even know they need. Hope. Freedom. Transformation. Forgiveness. And Love.

So, today we are sent out once again. And I’ve got that Monday morning smile!