Unless you are sitting close enough to me to use one of these, you won’t hear a peep from me for the next 10 days…
Amber and I are celebrating 10 years of marriage! We need the time off…to quote a mentor, Ed Young Jr., ministry is BRUTIFUL. Its both beautiful and brutal. Time to re-charge is vital.
Its time to dis-connect so that Amber and I can RE-connect. Year one of Revolution Church was the hardest thing we have ever done! I am literally disconnecting…I won’t even be able to check email, texts, calls, etc…even if I wanted to. So don’t waste your time trying to get ahold of me. Anything you see over the next 10 days on facebook / twitter / the blog was scheduled ahead of time through the power of technology!
Below is a great list of a few benefits that Michael Hyatt shared on his blog today to taking a break like we are. Check it out:
Here are at least five benefits of taking a sabbatical. It will give you the opportunity to:
- Recharge physically and emotionally. This is more important than you think. We were made to surge, then rest. It is so important, that it is hard-wired into our biology. This is why we sleep. It is also why God built it into the structure of each week (i.e., six days of work; one day of rest). God even instructed the Israelites to take an entire year off every seven years. We can’t just go, go, go, and expect to function optimally.
- Slow down and enjoy being. God made us human beings, not human doings. You would never know it, looking at modern man. So much of our life is defined by our activities. On our sabbatical, Gail and I loved the opportunity to read, reflect, go for long hikes in the mountains, fish, and just sit and do nothing. In fact, we gave ourselves permission not to be productive. It was difficult at first, but eventually we settled into a new rhythm.
- Reconnect with God. Everything in contemporary culture conspires against the pursuit of the only One who gives meaning to everything else. We can spend our days, lost in the endless flow of distractions and amusements. Over time, our heart becomes slowly buried, disconnected from God and any sense of True North. It was so healthy for us both to read the Bible and other spiritual literature, and spend time in extended prayer.
- Gain clarity on my priorities and goals. I used part of my time away to re-tool my life plan, design a new ideal week, and plan out the next three years. This gave the opportunity to make sure that I was making time for what matters most. In this next season of my life, I am committed to writing, speaking, and mentoring. Those are my three vocational priorities. By actually making them part of my plan—and my calendar—I have a much better chance of staying focused. It also gives me a filter by which to say no to other opportunities that come my way.
- To secure alignment with your spouse. As the prophet Amos asks, “How can two walk together unless they are in agreement?” (see Amos 3:3). The older I get, the more important this is. Although I believe my wife and I can have a positive impact on our own, I also believe in the power of synergy. Together, we have the potential for our combined efforts to be greater than the sum of our individual ones. This is why it is so important for us to be in alignment.
