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.

It’s Monday.

It’s a new day.

It’s a new week.

It’s fresh.

Today started with what I thought was Laura leaving for work. As she walked out I nestled back in to bed for a few more minutes sleep before the last snooze alarm went into its morning routine. A few moments later, due to the fact that the bedroom is next to the driveway, I saw the red glow of brake lights fly by the window and heard the garage door come up. I thought that she must have forgotten something and would probably come in frantic and disheveled. How dare I think the worst. In fact she came home to do quite the contrary.

As I heard the door open to the kitchen from the garage I looked at my phone for the time and then flipped on the lamp by the bed. I then laid there and waited. I knew for sure she would come in. In fact I fully expected her to whisk through the bedroom, grab whatever was forgotten, and head out frantically. However, she walked in calmly, walked over to the bed, and handed me a tiny donut hole. She said, “this is for you.” She had a little twinkle in her eye as she turned and walked slowly back out of the bed room.

I walked in a daze towards the glow of the kitchen. I could see her silhouetted in the light by the counter and her mini-me was standing their with her. She had bought these baked delicacies for work and thought enough of us to come back home, disrupt her day, and love on us. It was beautiful. It spoke volumes to us without her uttering a word. It was what good days are made of.

It was nice…

It felt normal…

It felt new…

It felt fresh…

Yet…it felt familiar…

Now I sit in my office. My stomach is one donut hole fuller now than it was prior to 7:00am. My heart is one random act of kindness fuller than it was prior to today. Things are not perfect, in fact they probably never will be what we deem perfection. However, today I got a little glimpse of the something new, fresh, nice, and familiar. Here is to hoping I live in that and not the other stuff we tend to dwell in.

i have a good friend named shelby.

he and i played music together what seems like eons ago.

he has a new band called minor characters.

they are good.

i like them…

so should you…

We are a global community of activists, imperfectionists and second chancers committed to unleashing radical grace everyday, in every moment, for everyone.

We challenge the common misconceptions about failure and success and stand with those who have hit rock bottom in their personal and professional lives. We are a community that is committed to stretch ourselves in the areas of relational forgiveness, personal transparency and advocate for mercy over judgment.

Founded in 2010, our organization is based in Southern California.

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The message and mission of People of the Second Chance impacts a diverse group of people. We have listed below our target audience and those we intentionally engage.

1. You have survived or are currently going through a personal failure, crisis, addiction or loss.

2. You are a friend, spouse, family member or co-worker that is currently dealing with the ramifications of an individual’s betrayal or failure.

3. You need authentic community so that you can process your fears, hurts, failures and struggles.

4. You have experienced or you are currently seeking a powerful second chance moment that will radically alter your life and mission.

5. You want to boldly fight against a vulture culture that celebrates personal destruction, humiliation and the division of people.

6. You want to grow in the areas of relational and self-forgiveness and refuse to live as a powerless victim.

7.You are looking for a way to leverage your second chance story for a greater purpose to benefit others.

However you could not be more wrong. Even though I do love the occasional picture of woodland goodness, these photos are actually of my good friends Ben and Crystal Woods. I have known this fine looking couple for the better part of 13 years now and have to say that I love them more and more as time goes on. Ben and I spent a brief time of life traveling and playing music, but have spent even more time enjoying life and pouring into each other. While in the frozen tundra of Illinois I got to spend a day taking some rad new pics for my friends and their family. Check em’ out.

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!!!

No wind…

Blue Skies…

Fall colors…

Great family to shoot photos of!!!

The Gotcher’s are one of those families that I know that I will be friends with the rest of my life. Three years ago they commissioned me to take their family photos when I was first starting out in photography and today was our annual moment in time to shoot some more photos of their rockin looking family!!! Here are a few of my favs of the day. To see the rest go to my Flickr and check them out and leave some love.

]]> http://freshairpoetry.com/2010/11/27/the-gotcher-family-2/feed/ 1 http://freshairpoetry.com/2010/11/12/my-favorite-veteran/ http://freshairpoetry.com/2010/11/12/my-favorite-veteran/#comments Fri, 12 Nov 2010 11:42:27 +0000 Trevor http://freshairpoetry.com/?p=2301 Yesterday I got to play golf with my dad. The beauty was that my mom came and rode along too. It was so relaxing. It was the first time in a long time that I got to spend that much time with the two of them at once. It was special too because yesterday was Veteran’s Day and my dad is my favorite veteran. My dad served in the 101st Airborne division in Vietnam. He was a Sargent E-6, was a green beret and earned a purple heart. He fought for my freedoms. He fought for your freedoms. He made our world a better place. It was fitting that yesterday I got a few moments to simply honor my pops. I love him and know if you have met him you do too!!!