Sabbatical Day 10

Today was a very lazy day. After arriving home on tuesday from a week of traveling and visiting I cleaned out my email, went through the mail that arrived while I was gone, and worked a little on a technology project. I felt it was time to trim my beard because I am starting to resemble Si from Duck Dynasty. I have not been to get my hair cut since late August when I was asked to do a funeral for a family member. I am wondering how much money this is saving me! I looked over the pictures we took while on our trip and will post some on the days that correspond with our activities. While on our trip we traveled to Indiana to see my dad who we were not able to see at christmas. He is doing fine, and enjoys being retired and hunts most every day. The hamlet that he lives in is 17 miles away from the nearest WalMart. We spent the night in Salem, IN and then Alec and I went to Paoli, IN where he snowboarded. After that adventure, we traveled to Farmersburg, IN to visit with my cousins. This is the town where my grandma and mother grew up in, and it takes me back in my mind to hot summer days where we played with our cousins and life seemed to be sooo much simpler. We had a good visit, and got to catch up with everyone. My cousin's granddaughter was sick and her mother said the doctor said she did not have strep throat so no antibiotics. My cousin said she claims she is a carrier because everyone that comes in contact with this 18 month old gets sick. Well true to form, that's where I got my sore throat from. (I jokingly nicknamed the child Mary after Typhoid Mary.) Our visit was fun, and relaxing. While we were there I did some research on family history. (I figure it helps to know where we have come from.) We traveled home on tuesday and part of me did not really want to come back, but things at home needed to be done. (I like visiting the favorite places of my childhood as it reminds me how good my childhood was, where there were very little concerns.) We passed by the cemetery that is the final earthly resting place of my mother, her parents, an aunt i never met, and several great uncles and aunts who gave me many great memories. Passing by this place was bittersweet as I counted the number of funerals I conducted at this place and how many of the people in my life are now no longer physically present with us. Our trip home was uneventful and we made it home in record time just under 11 hours.

Sabbatical Day 9

We headed home after saying good bye to some little ones. Stopped and had lunch on the way and talked about what needed to be done when we arrived back in texas. We made good time and good MPG. We talked about stopping for the night but after discussing it we decided it was better to push and drive straight through since we were only a few hours away and we could catch NCIS on reruns instead of paying for a hotel. We made it home a little after midnight. Overall this first week has been relaxing. For several days we were with out internet so I had to catch up on the blog after we arrived home.

Sabbatical Day 8

Day 8 of the sabbatical and I traveled to the mall to take Alec to do some shopping and I went to a library to do some research. I had been wanting to do some research for a while and this was the opportunity to do just that. Was able to obtain some information that I could only get in person, so this trip and time allowed me to do just that. Alec finished his shopping at the mall, so we headed out to lunch at Fazzoli's but had to make a stop at a pawn shop. We went back and relaxed the rest of the day. We made plans to get ready to hit the road and head back to texas.

Sabbatical Day 7

Made plans last night to go to church today. I woke to the alarm and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and found my eye matted and my throat sore. (I was holding sick child the day before, and she shared her food and illness with me. She also shared the illness with everyone in the house.) So trying to decide what to do about church, and wondering what to do. I was taught or maybe it was more like one repeated guilt trip, when I was younger that you should always be in church on sunday. As a pastor, I even have encouraged and told people to be in church. Here I am as a pastor and what do i do? DO I go to church, not knowing if I was contagious would this be the best thing to do? Then the Holy Spirit spoke to me from a passage in Mark 6. The disciples had been busy and lots of things were happening and they were not able to eat. Here is the scripture: Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest". Mark 6:31 The thought occurred to me that in the busyness of doing I have failed to take time to spend time with Jesus, because I have been busy doing stuff for Jesus. Here is what I needed to do on this sunday, get away and spend time with Jesus. Instead of doing today, or going, it was time to stay right where I was and spend time with Jesus. I did just, read some scripture and spent time reading. Relaxed in a chair with a blanket and visited.

Sabbatical Day 6

Today we got to sleep in and spend time visiting. Made a trip to walmart for some food, and mad white fiesta chicken chili. Did not do much of anything, and we opted to stay in due the weather report of rain, sleet and snow, but as the forecasts go nothing happened.

Sabbatical Day 5

This morning we got up and had breakfast and headed to the ski slopes. The nights sleep at the "Bates Motel" was relaxing and quiet. We made it to the slopes and Alec went snowboarding and I found a warm spot in the lodge to sit and read. Read some emails and comments from friends about my blog, thanks everyone for reading. After a couple of hours, Alec was ready to go, but he enjoyed the snowboarding experience and wants to do try it again. We hit the road, with me driving and Alec soon fell asleep. We drove for about 2 hours and made it to our destination.

Sabbatical Day 4

Well day 4 of the sabbatical and I had made some plans to get up early and travel some more heading to our destination. However, during the night some how my phone became unplugged and the battery was dead, so our waking up and hitting the day suffered a set back. (My son, and traveling companion Alec, must have not fully plugged the phone in after watching a movie on netflix. (I still am one with an unlimited data plan with verizon, so they are going to get a shocker this month.) The later time of waking up was not a serious error, as I realized I have no agenda for the next several weeks, so the extra rest was welcome. I went down to retrieve my bathroom bag from the car, and was shocked to find out it was 17 degrees. Brr, I had to warm up the toothpaste and other things needed for my day in hot water. I enjoyed a fresh hot cup of coffee and it was nice not having to make it. Alec and I enjoyed a nice light breakfast in the hotel lobby, where yogurt and oatmeal were on the menu along with a good passage from 2 Kings 4, where the Shunammite woman gave Elisha a place to stay and then later he raised the lady's deceased child back to life. (Much more on that later, there is much from that passage.) After breakfast we then packed the car for the next leg of the journey. We made a stop in a thrift store looking for winter coats and snow pants or a snow suit for Alec, and struck out. So we headed out on the highway had a great time of discussion about life and the future. He took my phone and began to watch another netflix movie, while i drove, i listened to the GPS to direct my way. Going through some hilly country the GPS kept loosing signal, and the gps cwas continually flashing: GPS SIGNAL LOST. This could have been a real problem if had let it, but when I travel I always make sure I have studied the map or routed the trip on Google Maps, just in case. I never fully rely on technology to guide. As I was thinking about the lost GPS signal, the Holy Spirit impressed on me that at times we come too dependent on circumstances, other people, the latest book or fad to direct us where we are headed just like we become dependent on the GPS or technology to guide us. The problem arises that those things only go far, and times do not address where we at or they just are not strong enough to take us through the journey we are on at the moment. When they drop signal or don't currently address where we are at we begin to panic, mostly out of fear because we don't know where we are headed or the latest thing cannot guide us through. Then the Holy Spirit whispered: If you stay in the word and stay close to God, then you don't need anything else, because then the "I am that I am" will be guiding and being in the word keeps your course charted correctly. (Now i am not down playing good books that help, or listening to the wise teachers, but don't substitute them for being in the WORD.) I became relaxed at that moment because at this time, (A desert type experience for me at the moment, more on that later), if I draw close to God and get close, and stay close I then don't have to get nervous or upset because the path I am traveling is one plotted out by God himself. I find it quite relaxing to know that if I lose touch with the latest writings and teaching I wont get lost, but rather find myself right where God has planned. We arrived at our agreed destination for that part of the day. Spent time visiting attempted another Goodwill for snow pants, or heavy winter coat, but struck out. (I did pick up another Targus laptop bag, brand new with tags, and paid 1/5 of the price for the same item in Walmart. Made a stop for some food at a restaurant that serves square 2" X 2" hamburgers and hit walmart for possible snow pants but struck out. Thermal underwear was discovered, and purchased. We then went back and spent more time visiting. We then decided it was time to head a little further north and hit the road. Not having any time schedule or agenda we discussed if we should stay the night in a cabin or spend the extra money and stay at motel. The choice was obvious, the cabin had no bathroom, that required us to go out and go to another building for restroom and shower facilities, or a motel with full facilities. We made our decision and decided to stay at a motel. Well some would not say this is a motel. This motel is located on a hill, and its like one you see in old movies or would resemble one that could be found on Route 66. All the rooms are located on one level, and have outside entrances. This place is dated, the outside looks like it was built in the late 50's and the inside of the rooms are reminiscent of the 70's paneling and all. There is no indoor pool, no fancy vending machines and no breakfast in the lobby, and you park your car right outside of your room. The keys to the rooms are not the fancy keycard swipe type, but are actual keys, the kind you put in the lock and turn the knob. Alec, my traveling companion and son, says the motel looks likes a place where a murder happened. I think this place looks like it could be used in a B horror film, and I wonder if Norman Bates may be lurking somewhere close. I will post a picture later. The plus side its warm, has inside attached bathrooms, cable and wifi, so we have the right frills, and a unique experience to remember and tell stories about a few years down the road. As i write this the temp is 27 and the forecast calls for low of 22. In the morning we try again for snow pants and then head to the slopes. Yes there will be pictures but don't worry no ski's on these feet. Just in case your wondering I am being vague on purpose when i mention our location, what we are doing and our destinations. My sabbatical is for disconnecting from certain things and reconnecting with the important things of life. If I let out where we are, I don't want to offend anyone by not being able to meet or spend time together. I will post at the end of each time leg of the sabbatical where I/we have been. Feel free to comment or email about anything you read in this blog.

Sabbatical Day 3 Jan 2

Today I arose early, after not sleeping well, to do the final things needed for our departure from the wet cold south, and into the frozen, frigid, and snow covered north. I remember now why I prayed and asked God to let me move south, the cold is something that is hard to take. Made chex mix for the ride, packed a cooler with water, packed a few items for the trip, fueled the car headed north, sent a few emails and submitted the statistical report. As i stated in an earlier post I was not sure I was really looking forward to this time. Today as I traveled with son, he doing the driving and we spent some time discussing issues of the past few months, how we each were doing currently and what the future looks like. Neither of us can agree what the future holds, but we know how we handle things today determine some things in the future. As i watched some netflix on my phone and he listening to the tunes on my ipod nano, (he was driving), I began to contemplate and felt the holy spirit began to speak. I really have a hard time letting down my guard and allow very few to know me. Part of this is out of self preservation, and part is that some may think I am totally bonkers. But today as I looked out upon the dark brown landscape, I felt there is something I need to share. Since there are not many who read this blog, very few will know this, so here goes. I have for the last several years struggled with bouts and sometimes deep pits of depression. There are days I can barely function, and there are days when I have energy to do everything and more. This issue I struggle with has left me at times wondering about my own sanity, and times I feel very angry, and lately has been hard to conceal. During this time I am beginning to recognize how to live daily with this problem. I hope to share more about this as the days go by. This evening my son and I arrived at a Super 8 motel in the frozen north country. Snow on the ground and 22 degrees as we ran from the Steak & Shake and then from the car to the hotel.

Sabbatical Day 2 January 1

I start off the new year by sleeping in and doing very little. Thought I would start off the new year by making brunch for the family and put together an egg casserole, some cinnamon rolls. Read my readings that I will be reading for the first 30 days of this year. I did some laundry and spent some time planning on what to do on this sabbatical. Part of me does not want to be doing this, part of me is ready for this. Tomorrow i hit the road and for a few days will be spending time with my son. We will be traveling to spend time with family and do some winter activities.

Sabbatical Day 1 December 31, 2012

Today began my first official day of a six week sabbatical. Not sure what I will be doing but am taking the time to unwind, do a little writing, unplugging from technology and just waiting to hear from God. I hope to share more details of what I glean from this time.