Nazarene Theological Seminary

I have just a moment to stop and catch my breath.  The past few weeks have been a whirlwind for me.  In the midst of the regular ins and outs of ministry and classes, I got myself in over my head by taking on the planning of a huge event for our church and community.  For the Nazarene Centennial Sunday we decided to have a picnic out on our church property (where our new church building will be built, hopefully in the next year), and to combine this celebration with a community Harvest Fest.  To top it all off we decided to go ahead and have the Groundbreaking Ceremony for the building project that evening as well. 

It was an exciting day and an important one for our church.  We were able to make connections with many people in the community and it was evident that they felt welcomed and enjoyed being with us.  While kids enjoyed bounce houses and wagon train rides and potato sack races, adults from our church engaged visitors in conversation and together we all enjoyed the beauty of God’s creation (the property is heavily treed and the feeling is similar to being in the woods or at a camping site). 

As wonderful as this event was, I sure learned a few lessons about planning this kind of event, from the need to have a committee for planning and sharing responsibility, to the discovery that a mail out to 1,500 people takes a really long time to prepare.  For a couple weeks straight I would work 10-12 hour days and then come home and do 2-3 hours of homework.  The event took place on October 5^th, but I am just now, a week later, able to slow down a little, after last week was spent catching up from ministry duties and class assignments that got brushed aside in the final week of preparation. 

As I sit here, my eyes heavy at 4 in the afternoon, my body and mind still tired from my self-inflicted slave driving, I am realizing the absolute importance of Sabbath, not only as the need to set aside a day or a block of time once a week, but as a lifestyle that comes out of that practice, a rhythm of work and rest, a balance of service/ministry and worship.  This is a challenge that takes discipline and responsible management of time.  It is something I hope to work on throughout the next weeks and months…something I must work or much more than my amount of sleep and energy is going to be lacking.