Going on sabbatical

The news is leaking out to a few friends, family & coworkers -- so I'll let it leak out here, too. I'm going to be taking a sabbatical from work starting at the end of this month. At my work (which is our church, for those who don't know), sabbaticals can be granted after 7 years of employment (a milestone I reached in January). A sabbatical in our world is not an extended vacation (in terms of complete flexibility to do nothing or anything you wish), but is instead an extended time away from the office and away from normal work responsibilities, with goals in mind. It's time to spend doing things that are spiritually enriching, restorative, restful, as well as study/research to fuel new ideas for ministry. I'll be going to a retreat center, a conference, reading a lot of books, and generally being restored to come back with renewed energy. We're planning to take vacation at the end of the sabbatical - more about that later.

My coworkers will be getting more info soon, and I'm going to start updating a little blog about it too (which isn't ready yet, but I'll link it when it's fit for consumption). This is a great gift, one which I wish everyone could have.

More to come...