Passionate Followers

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Popular posts from this blog

Sabbatical Planning

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  I'm BACK!! What a season of ministry this has been! Over the past year, I have talked with many leaders from churches, para-church ministries, and businesses, and many say the same thing: "I'm still recovering from the craziness of the pandemic four years later!" Does this resonate with you? It definitely has for me! While this past year has seen some INCREDIBLE moves of God and great blessings, it was also filled with many challenges, divisions, spiritual attacks, and a lot of weariness. Thankfully, God has given us many spiritual disciplines to help us overcome this weariness in our souls: Sabbath and Sabbatical. In October 2023 the craziness of the pandemic in the life of our church and family finally caught up to me. I was tired. More tired than I had ever been. Every decision in my role at the church felt heavy and filled with doubt. While my spiritual life was deep and I felt very close to God, a nagging voice would speak into my thoughts that it was time to t...
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Wellness Journey Update

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  In early April 2020, I decided to take better care of my health. Actually, the decision was made on January 1st, 2020. It just took me time and a month of lockdown in my basement to get me to do something about it. My focus was to care for myself physically, emotionally/mentally, and spiritually. In the first year of the journey, I saw some significant changes. I dropped nearly 60 pounds of weight, reduced back pain, and began sleeping through the night for the first time in my adult life! I also did some great work with my Christian therapist to strengthen my mental health. I began deepening my walk with Christ through strengthening devotions and intentional mentoring. As I experienced these blessings, my hope was to pass along these blessings to others. I became certified as a DDPY Fitness Level 1 Instructor and a FastTrack coach.  While there were blessings, there were also challenges. Particularly in the area of whether my involvement in particular exercise programs was ...
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The Sabbatical is Over!

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It's over! Four months of rest, reading, relaxing, praying, writing, journaling, sabbathing, fellowshipping—and everything else the Father led me into during this Sabbatical—have come to an end. I've just stepped out of one incredible adventure and into another. Same church family. Same friends. But now with a renewed faith and fresh excitement to serve my church and city! Last week, our family was blessed to spend seven days at a cottage on the Ottawa River, generously offered by a former elder who, nearly 19 years ago, helped send Danielle and me into pastoral ministry. It was a special time to reconnect as a family (which gets harder with adult children!) and to spend some quiet, focused time with God before reentering ministry life. During one of those quiet moments, I made a list of the ways I sensed God working, teaching, and healing during my Sabbatical. In the months ahead, I plan to blog in more detail about how I was challenged and the spiritual growth I experienced. ...
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