Summer Vacation Here We Come!

Just posting a short note to let you all know that I'll be logging off and offline for a few weeks. We're going on vacation today and I'm dropping the computer off for some technical assistance, namely, to have the sound card checked.

We're going tenting for nearly a week, spending time visiting family and friends, and staying at my in-laws camp. Should be good. Should be relaxing. Wait! I have three kids! One is four and the other two are infant twins! Are we crazy to be traveling like this! Should maybe think of having my head examined! Nah! Should be alright, right? What could possibly go wrong?

Anyway, once we get back I'll again try and post more on this blog. I've been mildly negligent lately. Not for lack of topics or ideas, but for lack of time. Until later, though, this blog will be empty of fresh input and thoughts.

No More Endless Summers

June was an unbelievably busy month. One piece of evidence of this was that every single Saturday was booked with either a family event or church event of some sort: church picnics, weddings, birthday parties, baby showers. That this is evidence for our busyness shows that our weekends are usually pretty mundane, and if I’m busy then it’s because I’m still working on the sermon for Sunday!

July might well be similar. Along with the fact that my wife is one of our DVBS teachers (which means busy prep this week and busy days next week for her and additional child care for me), we have a couple of church families dealing with serious illness. As difficult as it is to imagine perhaps, there’s a part of me that gets a little tense and whispers a prayer each time the phone rings because it could be someone telling me that a loved one has died.

After DVBS we begin three weeks of vacation, time-off which will involve spending time with family, going tenting, hanging out at my in-laws camp, and, hopefully, getting some relaxing reading done. Of course, given the phone calls I await, our vacation could find itself edited in one way or another—that’s part of what it means to be a pastor.

Once we’re back from vacation, we have just a few weeks before the fall arrives. Strange as it sounds, it sometimes feels like the summer is already over! All our time is essentially spoken for. A time of year that used to stretch into forever now disappears, or so it seems, before you get the chance to enjoy the concept of unscheduled days.

I remember when I was a kid, summer seemed endless. Granted, sometimes I found myself impossibly bored. But there was a part of me that relished that feeling of having days and days of simple relaxing, reading, and a whole lot of nothing to do. It really gave me the sense that there was a definite change involved in the shifting of season besides those due to weather. I experienced time differently. Life wasn’t in as much of a rush as it might normally be.

Without waxing nostalgic too much, a part of me misses that experience. I recall when I could spend hours reading through a stack of deliberately chosen books (admittedly, not everyone’s choice of summer activity). I still have lots of books I would love to pour over thoughtfully, enjoyably, even prayerfully, but rarely do I have time to get to most of them. I miss having more leisurely time.

True, I do get some time like this. But with a family, time alone is a special gift. And with a vocation that could potentially even interrupt vacation time, it can be even harder. A consequence of this is that it can be hard to get that to place of being able to rest even when you are on vacation. Your body might be on vacation, but your mind is a hive of activity, a bundle of thoughts that prevent genuine Sabbath. There is more than one way of being still. Even if I’m physically still, being spiritually and mentally still is a whole other matter. I hope that while I’m on vacation with my family I find myself able to be still in both ways. While I might not have any more endless summers, hopefully I can catch snatches of summer here and there. Like anyone else, I sure could use it.

Vacation: Finale

Our vacation is over. Actually, it was over two days ago. On our last day, Sunday, I must confess it felt strange to be packing for home. I was genuinely sorry, at first, to have reached the end. I'm not completely sure why, because I've always experienced a readiness to return to regular life after vacation. Usually, I'm anxious to get back to normal routine. This year, though, I think I ended up finding it so relaxing that I didn't want it to end! But end it has.

We spent our vacation at my in-laws camp, which along with a number of others, is located on a small lake. My wife, daughter, and I spent nearly two weeks playing games, canoing, BBQing, reading, sitting in the sun and, on occasion, visiting neighbours from other camps. And for a good chunk of our vacation, we were joined by my mother-in-law. On fewer occasions, we were joined by my father-in-law.

So now we're home. The fall is already underway. In less than a month my daughter turns 4. Thanksgiving follows on its heels. A new season of church ministry is up and going. And Christmas, as they say, is just around the corner. Arriving back, it's easy for me to all of a sudden feel overwhelmed with all there is to do. Having been on vacation makes one feel as though you've been out of the loop. There is stuff to catch up on. In light of all this, I hope and pray that I can carry the spirit of rest from vacation into the rest of life.

Vacation: Part Two

Yesterday we got back from our trip to Oasis (Convention Assembly) and our extra day for our anniversary. It was a good time away, and the best part was seeing some old, good friends that I hadn't connected with in awhile. It was also cool that Convention was held at Mount Allison, where I went for my undergrad. I've not gotten back there much since graduating in '95 and it was nice to revisit my old stomping grounds. Our daughter, Ella, was very glad to have us back with her. Though I know she enjoyed staying at her grand-parents very much!

Despite the fact that we were away, had time together, stayed in a bed and breakfast, and enjoyed eating out, this time away was not vacation. Technically, it was work. Going to Convention, while not exactly strenuous, is still part of ministry.

So our real vacation begins yesterday/today. And tomorrow we head off to my in-laws camp for the rest of vacation. Being there means quiet, stillness, reading, sleeping in, playing with my daughter, paying scant attention to my watch, noodling on my guitar, and generally just relaxing. We usually take vacation in late August/early September. It's not as hot, there aren't as many bugs, and it makes a definite break between summer and fall. That said, not sure if we'll do it this way next year or not. We'll see.

I just pray that I can rest as much with my heart and mind as I will, no doubt, with the rest of me. It can be hard to turn off work-thinking. Anyway, I'll not likely be back here for most of the two weeks, if at all. Time to go offline, as it were. See you all when I log back on!

God's talking; are we listening?

Well tomorrow our VBS starts (Vacation Bible School for those uninitiated!). And on Wednesday my wife and I head off to Convention Assembly (now called Oasis). After this, on Saturday evening (also our 6th anniversary), we begin officially our two weeks of vacation which, wonderfully, encompasses three Sundays. The break will be very nice.

I'm going to try to do some more intentional listening to God over these next few weeks. Let's just say that I need some refreshing before a new season of ministry begins in the fall. I'm considering preaching through the Gospel of Mark when I come back. I did this with the Gospel of John a couple of years ago, and I think that going through the life and ministry of Jesus is incredibly valuable and has the effect (or can and should have the effect) of renewing our focus on he who ought to be the focus of all we do and are. It's easy to get sidetracked both in life and in ministry with peripheral matters. But whether this is what I make my preaching about post-vacation is going to be one of the things I'm praying about.

I know there are a couple of other pastors who occasionally drop by this blog, so let me ask you a question: how do you experience God's leading in relation to preaching? How do you seek his leading? What makes it easiest to discern his leading?

And for those of you who aren't pastors, really the same questions could almost apply. I preached today about listening to God -- and specifically focused on the need for stopping long enough to listen; that is, taking sabbath time, whether a full day or not, that involves you, your Bible, and even a pen and journal as a way of engaging and being engaged with God. What makes it easiest for you to discern his voice? I'd especially be interested in the viewpoint of those who aren't pastors on the value and role of listening to sermons in all of this. Do sermons regularly make it easier for you to discern God's leading in your life or do you find that you hear God more clearly through your quiet time? As a pastor, I can sometimes wonder whether what I bring to the pulpit hits or misses and why or why not.

My hope and prayer is that over the next few weeks my ears will become more and more open -- and that I can still my heart and mind long enough to listen! This is definitely something I need to do a lot of before I can do any more talking once I return to the pulpit in September.

Vacation: Part One and a Half

We just got back from a week of vacation on Saturday evening. Though the week was humid and downright wet at times, we still enjoyed our time at the camp. I managed to finish a couple of books -- a rarity these days! -- and we played a couple of new games, Boggle Jr. and Therapy, a few times. As you can probably guess Boggle Jr. is a game we bought for us and our three-year old, while Therapy is purely fun for adults. Once Ella did join us, and she got bored much more quickly than we did! She returned to playing with dinkie cars.

We're no longer on vacation but last night (Sunday night) we arrived at my Mom and Step-Dad's for my Mom's birthday. We definitely wanted to give her a specific surprise gift in person (more on that later!). So we stayed the night too since today is a stat holiday and because I usually take Mondays off anyway. We don't get to see my folks as often so it's nice to visit and have a little more time with them. Even as I type, the rest of them are playing Boggle Jr. together. And in the background is the newest Barenaked Ladies CD, Snacktime, their first kids album. Ella loves it! It's one of those rare kids albums that doesn't exhaust a parent's patience after the first or second listen.

We do have some more vacation time coming right after Baptist Convention Assembly (now called Oasis: Refreshment for the Journey). While this past week was nice, that will be the real vacation; we'll have two weeks that includes three Sundays off. Since the fall will be busy, I know our vacation will be much needed.

One of the things I mentioned to my in-laws while visiting with them this past week at their camp is that in my experience it takes time for vacation to set in. That is, it is easier to be on vacation physically than mentally. While I can be at the camp (or wherever) my mind can sometimes still be on work related matters. This is especially true since the line between ministry and personal faith is not always easy to separate. That's a topic for another time, however. So I pray that I will be able to truly get away: body, heart, mind, and soul. And I'm just grateful for times of rest, when I can take off my watch and kick back. I'm grateful that God has provided us with seasons in more ways than one.

Vacation: Part One

I may post again before the weekend is out but this coming week I'm officially on vacation. So this is just a brief note before a potential week-long absence. If we spend this week's vacation time as we're hoping at my in-laws lake-side camp (rustic but restful!), I will not have access to the internet.

Actually, though, most of my congregation won't even notice that we are on vacation. And that's because it's more of a semi-vacation. That is, I'm preaching this Sunday and next Sunday but taking off in between. So I do have to work on a sermon during vacation but I'll be doing so in more vacation-like settings.

And why would I work my vacation in this way? I have three weeks vacation altogether coming to me and I'll be taking two more weeks off (which will encompass three Sundays) toward the end of August and into the first week of September. Taking three full weeks together wouldn't have worked as well, because, first, we prefer taking vacation in August and early September so that we experience a break between summer and fall. Second, our denomination's annual assembly gathering also happens in late August. In fact, the first night of our second stretch of vacation begins the day this assembly ends. But this means we can't take three straight weeks in August off because this asssembly officially counts as work for me. And, third, it works nicely because the last day of our denominational assembly is also our actual wedding anniversary. And since we're staying in a lovely bed and breakfast for our time at assembly, we booked an additional night for our anniversary. Works out well, especially since at this time our little girl will be with her grandparents!

I like the chance to laze around without too much regard for the clock, taking extra time to read, playing guitar while my daughter sings, hiking, camping, whatever, and that's precisely what vacation is for. I look forward to time with my family that will be largely uninteruppted (I say largely because, of course, we can never anticipate everything). I do have a dream vacation in my mind but it's not one we can really afford at the moment. It's nothing particularly exotic -- just staying in a beachside cottage for a week or two. My in-laws camp has been a mainstay during our vacations ever since we got married, and while I most definitely appreciate it, there are times when I would appreciate more a similar setting that included running water and electicity! Like I said earlier, the camp is rustic!

Anyway, I likely won't be posting again until next weekend or thereafter. I may post tomorrow, but that depends on how quickly sermon prep goes. I also have to choose music for our service. That all comes first. Here's praying that unplugging (in more ways than one!) for a week does me, and my family, some good!