Two months of being totally out of the loop from those whom you serve in ministry or your work place can be a long time.  Eight weeks ago my last blog was that I would disappear from the blogosphere and engage in a healthy Sabbath rest.  It has been an excellent God time, rest time, journal time, training time, reading time, prayer time, centering time and listening time.  I do not regret one single day other than a few unexpected distractions.  Thank you for your patience and allowing me to take this time away.  The following are some of the things I learned or rediscovered on this sabbatical:

• Sabbaths are vital and spoken into our lives here on earth by our heavenly Father.  They are God’s answer to self-depletion.
• I rediscovered and was forced to face how much of my life is connected to my work, how much I think about it, worry about personal situations and pray for those I serve.
• I am not the answer.
• It was refreshing for my Father to gently work me through areas of repentance.
• It became necessary to push through areas of distraction.
• How easy and natural abandonment, rejection and un-forgiveness are while how supernatural is the cross, forgiveness and the depth of God’s love and acceptance.
• How natural fathering/mothering impedes or enhances spiritual fathering/mothering.

There were more areas of a personal nature vital to my own self-discovery, personal wholeness and deepening faith.  Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made to benefit people, and not people to benefit the Sabbath.  And I, the Son of Man, am master even of the Sabbath.”  (Mark 2:27, 28 NLT)  Thank you, Jesus, for being Lord of my Sabbath.