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Everything looks a little different for us this summer.  And that’s because we’re going on a great adventure!  In just a few days we will begin driving in a great big circle around the country– over 4,000 miles!

Here’s the deal: I don’t often write about the ups and downs of being the Pastor’s family.  I keep most of those stories private, because many times the stories aren’t mine to share.

We’ve served at our church for almost twelve years now, and many of those days are good days.  We are blessed in too many ways to count and we are deeply grafted into this little town we serve.  But the stakes are high and the demands persistent and sometimes that leaves us feeling very empty.  The daily weight of ministry is heavy and in order to be effective we must be intentional to step back and find some room to breathe.

There’s a constant struggle to balance the care others need and the care we give our family…. some days we get it right and other days we don’t. We’ve known for a few years now that we needed to take an extended amount of time away from ministry to regroup and renew our hearts, but the timing just hasn’t been right.

Until now.

So in a few days, our family will load up our camper and take to the big open road  for six weeks.  It will be time for us to reconnect with one another and recalibrate.  And we are so excited!

We don’t consider this to be just a regular vacation– it’s a Sabbatical. An intentional rest from life.  We are focusing on renewal.  This means we have stacks of books to read and several stops along the way built in to talk to others in ministry, to see how God is working in His church across the country.  We have our hiking shoes and bicycles packed. We will be carving out time to seek God, strengthening our relationships with Him and with one another.  We’re asking Jesus to renew our joy and purposes, to sharpen our gifts in ministry.  Plus, we love a good adventure and this trip will have plenty of that!

As we scramble to cross tasks off our gigantic to-do list, it’s easy to wonder if it’s really worth it.  But there have been so many gentle reminders from Jesus that this is good and right.  Even before we have pulled out, He has been so faithful to encourage our hearts and send us good gifts.

We are asking for your prayers as we embark on this adventure… and we’d love to have you follow along!