a break from sabbatical...

We are home for a few days, gearing up for a camping trip to Lake Tahoe...except a ravaging fire has brought huge damage and loss to that area, and as I am writing, the fire is still not contained. Sadly, we will not be going to Camp Richardson at Tahoe as planned.

We just returned from a wedding at which I officiated in Southern California, a cruise to the Mexican Riviera (courtesy of Bev's mother) and a week in Palm Springs. All of these were good experiences and we capped it all off with a day with some of the grandchildren in San Luis Obispo and a night at Carmel.

We are three weeks into our thirteen week sabbatical, with lots of fun and exciting things yet to comne. But it is good to be home in our own beds. I sneaked over to my office last night to check my mail and to gaze whimsically at our church facilitiesw. Having not preached the last two weeks I was literally homesick for the pulpit (only a preacher would understand that!)

And we don't have a pulpit...but you get the idea.

So it's off with the trailer for three weeks at Smithwoods RV Park in Felton; a true adventure awaits us since we had never heard of it until we went on line today!

In the meantime, we are grateful for this time God has provided and we are enjoying this mini-break from sabbatical as we get ready for the beautiful outdoors and the nearby Pacific Ocean.

We'll be in touch!

baptism

Sunday following our morning worship service we went outside to baptize three young people. We don't have a baptismal in our sanctuary--hopefully, we will add a portable one to our "wish list"--but we have a large metal container that we have fashioned into a baptismal tank.

Our candidates for baptism included a young teenage girl, a younger teenage boy and a young lady who recently came to Christ. It was meaningful for me to baptize these three young believers who seem serious about their ongoing relationship with Christ and followed in this step of obedience.

The setting was unusual--underneath an outdoor covered extension of our new facilities, surrounded by picnic tables and a congregation anticipating the potluck to follow. About 300-400 were shoulder-to-shoulder trying to get a glimpse of the baptism, some visiting, but others with their eyes and hearts trained on the moment. Baptism is a special moment. It is a moment of celebration for those who have come to know Christ and are making public testimony of that commitment.

Every member of the body of Christ rejoices...and on a day when people joined our church, leadership was prayed for and a picnic fellowship was enjoyed by everyone, the greatest moment of the day for me was the celebration of three young believers moving ahead in their spiritual life as we baptized them.

That, indeed, should be the focus of the church.

sabbatical is here!

A funeral today, a weddng tomorrow, worship on Sunday...and, then, sabbatical!

Today we had a beatiful memorials ervice for Claire, our senior pastor's wife and tomorrow I wil perform a wedding for a recent convert from our church. Although these are very diverse events, the joy about both is that these are Christian--one older, one younger--who are a testimony to Christ because of their love and obedience.

Claire served the Lord for over sixty years; Mark has been a Chistian for a few short years. Claire gave her life in service to the Lord and Mark is beginning to do the same. Both inspire me to be a faithful minister.

As I leave for sabbatical--thirteen weeks worth--I leave with a desire to come back refreshed and renewed for continued ministry for the Lord. People like Claire and Mark make me want to keep going!

NOTE: I will be making entries on my blog page throughout the summer; if you are reading check in with me and let me know!