Alaska Here We Come!

I've noticed that many in ministry never take time off for extended vacations. By extended, I mean more than one consecutive week. I've always had two concerns about this:

1. We and our families need extended time together. So many times, kids and spouses of those in ministry burn out and get embittered with God. I think one of the reasons is that they feel the pain of someone close to them being taken from them more than is reasonable. Another reason may be that the 'ministering' time we should be spending to help lead and refresh our family members doesn't get to happen.
2. We are supposed to model to those watching-- within the church and outside the church-- how to live life well and honor the Lord while doing so. Taking appropriate breaks is part of living life well.

Some will say they can't take that amount of time off. If that's your response, I encourage you to re-think how you manage your responsibilities so you can take extended time off. You are not indispensable to the Kingdom work being done in your ministry! The proof of that will be when you're called home to Heaven-- what will happen then?

I wrote an article awhile back that explores this topic in greater detail with some helpful suggestions shared with me by one of the church's greatest leaders, Dr. Ted Engstrom. I encourage you to check it out! It's freely available from our website; just click here!

Someone once said we can't plan on quality time, but we can plan on quantity time during which there may be some quality moments. That's what I try to do... and I hope you do too.

So, tomorrow before dawn my wife and I take off for some extended time in Alaska, Canada, and then playing in our own community with our daughter. We can't wait!