Here I sit…

Week two of my sabbatical is coming to a close. I was really looking forward to this time, but even I did not realize how much I needed it. Let me back up though. Some of you hear the word sabbatical and you think a myriad of things. Some think…

VACATION

NOTHINGNESS

TIME OFF

LAZY

Even though all those things seem to be what we would label “sabbatical” it is so much more than that. This is what I love about my church. At the ten-year mark they give each of our staff members a one month sabbatical. However, this is not a vacation. This is not nothingness. This is not “time off”. It is rest, but is not laziness. This is a time to rest, replenish, and re-energize. In fact there are some requirements on our time of sabbatical. Not a list of rigid rules, but some guidelines in order to make us truly get the most of it.

REQUIREMENTS OF SABBATICAL:

Week 1: You must spend one week at another church simply serving. For me that was a trip to Nashville. Some of my best friends are on staff at one of the best churches in the country there. I love it, because I can go, copy stuff, make coffee, file stuff, love on people, take notes, encourage staff, and simply be a guy helping the church for no other reason than serving the church.

I am not drawing a paycheck from them.

I am not getting any gain other than serving them with the gospel.

I have to tell you that it is one of the best weeks I have had so far on my sabbatical. In fact I was able to get my friend there to take the weekend off, which was the first time in four years that he has had a Sunday off where he was not leading somewhere else. I served him and his family and it was so rich. We unplugged, got in kayaks and spent three hours in the Harpeth River in Tennessee. It was full of resting, replenishing, and re-energizing. It took that week to get me in a state of sabbatical.

Middle of Nowhere: Nashville, TN

Week 2: You must spend a few days in solitude. Solitude looks different for all people. However, one constant remains. You must get still and quiet in order to hear God’s voice in new and fresh ways. I was home from Nashville for a few days to celebrate my wife and daughters birthdays and then I hopped another plane to the North East. I walked off the plane this past Saturday in Boston. It was cool and overcast outside. I got my rental car and started up the coast. An hour later and I was in Manchester, NH. Now being an East Coaster myself it felt as if I was coming home. It was welcoming and full of beauty. There were rolling hills and mountains in the distance. I spent a few days with my good friends Bo and Eric who used to be on staff with us in Texas, but now lead one of the greatest churches in the North East. Everyday since I have been here I have had large chunks of solitude. Simply still and quiet moments. It is amazing when you still yourself how clearly you can hear God.

He has spoken through scripture.

He has spoken through nature.

He has spoken through the quiet.

He has spoken through others.

He has simply spoken…

Today is a full day of solitude. Today is full of writing, reading, and listening.

New Found Lake: Bristol, NH

Week 3 & 4: You can do what you would like. For me…that means going home and hanging with my family. Investing all I can in my wife and daughters. Giving them the full attention that they need from their husband and father. It means resting at home. It is like when you go on vacation and you come home needing a vacation from your vacation. Well, this time I get that. I get to come home and rest after traveling to rest. Sure I look forward to new places. I love the quiet of airplanes, hotel rooms, and the loneliness that sometimes comes with travel. In fact I revel in those moments. However, there is really no place like your own bed, couch, kitchen, patio, family, and surroundings. I actually look more forward to that than I do anything else I have done.

I encourage you…if you are not taking a regular sabbath, you need to. You don’t need a month. In fact Jesus retreated regularly to rest, replenish, and re-energize. It is time that we take back the time that God wants from us and give it to him. It is there and there alone that we hear the still small voice of the Lord.

Twelve hours later and we arrived in the frozen, snow covered tundra of the mid-west.

Yesterday was the perfect day and we headed out in the snow with the girls for what would be a great day of playing and fun. Here are some pics and a video of our day. Hope you enjoy.

20 Things I Love About My Bride

1. A woman of her word
2. Her compassion for those with less…
3. She is an incredible mom
4. I could listen to her laugh all day long
5. She is a woman of the book (scripture)
6. She is OCD…in the best possible way!!!
7. I could get lost in her eyes for days
8. Her spirit is rooted deep in discernment
9. The way she breaths deeply when she sleeps
10. Her ability to bake…I’m just sayin!!!
11. She has a great attention to detail
12. The way she is driven in all things
13. She is immensely creative
14. Her ability to write is second to none
15. She is an unbelievable speaker
16. Her ability to listen before speaking
17. She loves giving gifts more than receiving them
18. Family means the world to her
19. Her ability to be independent yet dependent all at once
20. She is smokin’ hot…you really thought I would leave that out!!! Come on…you should know better!!!