June 21, 2018
The family and I just returned from sabbatical break to Spain. It was a precious time after 10 solid years of running at a gut-wrenching pace at times. The last two years have been the hardest when you combine a growing church, a church construction project, a home addition, a new baby, and planning a move to Africa. There is not a whole lot of spare time when you start putting the weekly calendar together. The sabbatical break was exactly what we needed as a family to step away from the day-to-day routine and JUST BE together. Some big takeaways from our time:
I don't have enough one-on-one conversations with my kids.
It is a gift to wake up and just think about how to serve your wife and kids all day.
We don't think clearly without adequate time to rest.
We are unable to truly rest unless our community both values and makes a way for rest to happen. (Big thank you to our family at JICC)
Playing with your kids can have more of an effect on them than rigid discipline.
Anna is by far the best friend I have ever had.
Leaving Charleston is going to be harder than we thought.
Our kids travel well and are an incredible evangelistic gift.
Resting teaches dependence on God and others in ways that working harder can't.
Home is a special place that the Lord gifts his children with.
-Russ Bennett