As My Season of Sabbatical Approaches...

As my season of sabbatical approaches, I am amazed at the speed of life. Soon, I will embark for multiple weeks of exhaling the busy and inhaling the beauty. I am anticipating -- and just to be honest -- a little bit anxious as well. While being a pastor is not really what gives me value to God, it is who and what He has called me to be. So, I guess you could say "sabbatical takes me away from my appointed post in life." It's always been a mystery to me that The Good Shepherd would ever in a million years call me, the son of a fisherman to feed His flock. Yes, it's a mystery, but a marvelous mystery, for sure. In other words, I like my post as a local pastor. With all of that said, I guess I am a little nervous about sabbatical. But it's a good nervous, because I know God will be magnified in my own life as other distractions are set aside for a while.

So, while I will not be taking time away from God's Presence, I will be vacating my role as Vision Pastor, at least geographically. After I preach a third message in a 3-week series on "Humility" this Sunday morning, my two younger pastor-brothers will join with our family of five for a time of togetherness on Sunday afternoon. Yes, the fourteen of us will spend time just loving on each other and no doubt they will somehow assist in helping me to begin unwinding for my time of rest, refreshment, and refocus.

I'm often asked: "What will you be doing on your sabbatical, Pastor Kerry?" Well, I truly believe for me as a 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week, 365-days-a-year, vigilant, local, shepherd what I really need to be doing more than anything else on my sabbatical is best understood in two words: "creative loafing." I know it sounds like I will actually be "doing nothing" and "doing nothing" doesn't get much acclaim in our world of being busy, however, while "being still and knowing that God is God," may seem like "doing nothing" to those who are propping up our present culture, it is still worthwhile for eternal souls. I have come to know that when it seems we are "doing nothing", our God is really "Doing Something!" Make that "GOD IS REALLY DOING SOMETHING BIG!"

It's Time, my friends!

In closing, a sabbatical for me is a chosen and a given season of once again trusting God totally to be God all by Himself! As my friend, Pastor Joseph wrote: "Trusting God is easy. He's so Trustworthy!"

While I'm unplugging from the pastorate and "doing nothing", my blog will still be my daily place of devotional focus for many days of my journey. So, I invite you take the journey with me if you'd like -- in Spirit of course. :-)

Grateful

Trusting God Totally At All Times

After 51 years of thinking about and dealing with the complexities associated with living on planet earth, I have concluded that "trusting God totally" with every aspect of life is the only way to truly survive.

Even at 51-years-old, I am amazed at how many life-issues confound me in such a way that I cannot "think my way through" them. More and more, I just find myself having to simply and profoundly decide whether or not I will "trust God totally" or not. Will I hold on tightly to the things that confuse me or will I surrender all things, all-the-time, to His care?

I have two thoughts on my mind right now. One of the thoughts is a line from an old hymn of the church, "I Surrender All". The line is "I will ever love and trust Him". My second immediate thought is a verse of Scripture that our family clung to in our faith-building days at Bible college in 1992-1994. The Scripture was and still is 1 Peter 5:7 (NKJV) -- ... casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

Click here: I Cast All My Cares Upon Him Maranatha kids

"GOD KNOWS! GOD CARES!"

Lord, let it be said of me that I trusted You totally at all times!
Grateful