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While I was on sabbatical, I also took a break from writing for 1 Corinthians 13 Parenting.  I am back posting again today here .  I am writing about perspective and it includes an adorable picture on my daughter, Molly.  Check it out!

This is the final post on my thoughts from Sabbatical.  I have already posted on rest and relationships that occurred during these 3 months.  Today I would like to share reflections from Sabbatical.  Here they are in no particular order: God is good and I am loved .  The words of a new song capture this thought, "You're a good good Father. It's who you are. It's who you are. It's who you are.  And I am loved by you. It's who I am. It's who I am. It's who I am. You're perfect in all of your ways." I Am His-Identity- For many people, what we do defines us.  For pastors, this can especially be true.  So, how would my identity be affected by not going "to work" for 3 months.  Early during my time off, I heard God whisper, "I Am His."  This helped me remind myself throughout these last few months that my identity in Christ is so important. Abiding/Fruit Bearing/Good Works -I am combining all of these because they are related....

Over the next week, I am going to be sharing my thoughts from Sabbatical.  Today's post is on the goal of rest.  When you are a pastor, it is hard to experience rest.  Even though you have days off, there are times when you are on call 24 hours a day. Tragedies happen and needs arise when someone needs you even on your day off.  Or it can be as simple as thinking about church, ministry, or congregation members even when you are "off" work.  I should say that my sabbatical was a "good" sabbatical meaning that I was not asked or required to take time off. After about a week, I realized that I needed some rest.  I was not burnt out or exhausted, but it was good to take a break.  Knowing that ministry and church was going on without me allowed my mind to rest.  It even gave me freedom to dream and ask questions.  Are we doing the most important things?  Why do we do _________? In addition to allowing my mind to rest, my sabbatical ga...

Tomorrow is my first day back at work after my 3 month sabbatical.  It has been a great time of rest, relationships, and reflection.  I plan to write posts about all three of these over the next week.  Today, I am going to list names of people that I am thankful for that impacted my Sabbatical.  All of you were important and I appreciate your part in shaping me spiritually.  If I forgot you, I am so sorry.  In no particular order: Andrew, Jason, Jason, Byron, Robin, Marci, Arnie, Paul, Brandon, Josh, Sarah, Brian, Ken, Mickey, Anne, Matt, Russell, Carl, Paul, Tullian, Hank, Tim, Les, Amy, Juan Carlos, Rita, Carl, Deb, Seth, Hugo, Jack, Felis, Pedro, God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit

Today I return from sabbatical and will be back at Hesston MB Church. It has been a great 3 month sabbatical.  I will be posting some thoughts over the next few days on the blog on rest, relationships, and reflections.  Check back in the coming week! However, I want to say how excited my family is to be back "home" at Hesston MB.  The hardest part of sabbatical was Sunday mornings.  It was nice to have no responsibilities wherever we went, to show up right as worship was beginning, and to leave immediately after church ended.  It was also good to experience other churches in the Hesston area . BUT, it was hard.  My kids were ready to go back to Hesston MB after week 2 in May.  I struggled to get them to church during sabbatical which has not been a problem in 15 years of parenting.  I realized the wisdom of God in encouraging his people to be part of a church body.  Jumping from church to church was not fun.  I don't unders...

Wow!  What a week.  6 of us from Hesston MB Church were in Guatemala from July 9-16.  We were on a "vision trip" to consider the possibility of future long term partnership with a ministry in Guatemala.   If interested on the process to choose Guatemala, we can talk later.  We spent about 3 days at each ministry location learning what they do and their vision for the future.  Our team has not met yet to come up with a proposal for our missions committee, but let me say that both ministry organizations are doing great things and would be a great choice for you personally or for your church.  Below are the links to both ministries. Impact Ministries in Northern Guatemala http://www.impactministriesusa.org/ Eagle's Nest International in Western Guatemala http://www.eaglesnestint.org/index.php Now, I would like to share my personal reflections from my time in Guatemala. Joy-filled worship --Due to travel, we were not able to attend worship on ...

As you know, during my sabbatical, I have been scheduling trips one-on-one with each of my kids.   Molly and I went to World's of Fun in June.  Mackenzie and Megan decided to pass on one-on-one and instead served with me in Guatemala for a week. Today, Mitchell and I are spending the day at Schlitterbahn in Kansas City.  Since it is my son and he does not like pictures, I will probably not be posting as many pictures as I have with the girls.  But I hope to get a few. We hope to be able to ride the world's tallest waterslide.  If you have not heard about it, here is a picture.  I hope we survive!

It has been several days since I have posted anything on the blog.  I was recovering from lack of sleep and a great week in Guatemala.  I hope to post some reflections from Guatemala over the next few days along with my regular posts on hymns, identity in Christ, and promises of God.  So...check back tomorrow for new posts over the next several days. Also, in the next few weeks, I will be posting reflections from my sabbatical which is quickly coming to an end.  On an exciting note:  I submitted my children's book to three publishers today.  I have at least one more that I plan to send to as well.  Pray with me that one of them chooses to publish this book that I am excited to share with others. Have a great rest of the week!

As you read this, I am most likely in the air headed to Guatemala.  A team from Hesston MB Church consisting of Carl and Sharon Weaver, Jared Redding, Megan, Mackenzie & J.L. Martin will be on a mission trip to Guatemala from July 9-16. Below are prayer requests for our trip: Pray for God to prepare our hearts, minds, and bodies for the trip  Safety in travel (plane, cars) to and from the airports on July 9th & July 16th and for travel on Guatemalan roads throughout the trip   Pray for smooth transitions through customs and through airports  Pray for good health before, during, and after the Guatemala Trip  Pray that out of God's great love for us, we would in gratitude serve faithfully & use our gifts to God's glory  Pray for strength, wisdom and energy as we serve & interact with others Pray for both organizations we will serve with: Impact Ministries in Coban & Eagle's Nest in Sololá Pray fo...

We had a great time together at Hollywood Studios & Magic Kingdom for Day 2 & 3. Here are some pictures:

After a quick visit to see Bethany's family in Paris, TN, we arrived in Orlando after 24 hours of driving. Below are some pictures to capture our memories.

In a post on Monday, I mentioned that one of the goals of sabbatical was rest. Another goal was spending time with family. This will happen as we take a 2 week family vacation to visit family in Paris (not that one, but in Tennessee), Walt Disney World, Cocoa Beach and the International Christian Retail Show. In addition, I am taking Megan and Mackenzie on a week long mission trip to Guatemala. Mitchell and Molly get to pick a 24 Hours with dad of their choosing. Below are pictures from Molly's trip to Kansas City to World's of Fun. How was it? I will let Molly tell you.  

Part of my sabbatical includes rest. So, 10 days ago I spent 2 days at Galveston Beach. No writing. No reading. No ministry visits.  No thinking about church.  Just sitting, listening to waves, napping on the beach, playing in the water.  It was wonderful! Here are a few pictures to remind me of the time:

While I was visiting The Village Church in Dallas on sabbatical, they sang this song.  I loved the chorus and it has been coming to mind throughout the day and night.  Be reminded of who God is and who you are as you listen.

On Monday, June 1st, I had the opportunity to talk with Josh Allen, Executive Pastor and Brian Haynes, Lead Pastor of Bay Area First Baptist Church in Houston, Texas.  Many of you might be familiar with Brian Haynes as he is the author of The Legacy Path. We give out this book to parents during our parent/child dedication at Hesston MB Church. I was interested in how the milestones are being implemented in Haynes' new church. In addition, I had questions about curriculum and how milestones strategy affects children's ministry. Here are thoughts from my two conversations: Vision drives specific ministries.  I know this, but it was repeated by both Josh and Brian. Everything they do in children, youth or adult ministry is determined by their vision which is "Bay Area exists to glorify God by making disciples , equipping families , and serving the world  with the Gospel of Jesus Christ." Brian shared that is important to recognize "how" w...

Below you will find the handout I referenced in a previous post.  It is written by Byron Yawn. He shared this during a men's breakfast at CBC Nashville on May 9. I have learned a lot from Byron via his podcast on CBC Nashville and meeting with him and talking theology while on sabbatical.  Thanks to Byron for allowing me to share this with all of you!

My first trip for my sabbatical was to the St. Louis area to visit with Jason Zellmer and Jason Meyer from Peine Ridge Church in Wentzville, MO.  The second visit took me to Community Bible Church in Nashville, TN where I talked with lead pastor, Byron Yawn and also visited friends from Liberate 2015, Arnie & Marci Preheim. Both of these trips were valuable as I learned several things from each location.  Here are a few things I learned: SIMPLE-At Peine Ridge Church, their philosophy of ministry is simple.  They do a few things and seek to do them well.  For example, they do not have Sunday School or age segregated small groups.  This leads to the second things I observed and learned. ALL AGES TOGETHER-Peine Ridge does not separate parents from kids very often.  They do have a ministry for children 5 and under during the worship time.  I was interested in visiting a Peine Family gathering and was both surprised and impressed.  I would make ...

I have been on Sabbatical since May 1st.  In many ways, it is going so fast.  I cannot believe school is out this week.  Here are a few thoughts from recent days at home or from prayer/reflection days: ABIDE-This word continues to be brought to mind. During this time of sabbatical, I want to spend time in relationship with Jesus.  Some days this includes a nap, other days it is reading His Word, sometimes it is showing love to my family, or bike rides while singing songs of praise. I read John 15:1-17 and was amazed at how much Jesus wants to be in relationship with us.  Do you understand? The God who created the world, the Son who lived, died and rose again, the Spirit who raised Christ from the dead, this Triune God wants to be in relationship with you and me.  What a wonderful gift! What should I be DOING?  When you don't go to work from 8-5 each day and do not have meetings to attend, you have some free time.  As a human, my tendency i...

One of the things I am doing on Sabbatical is reading. Surprised? I didn't think so.  I wanted to be reminded of God's Big Story. I want to see God as hero as I read the Bible. So I am reading The Story over the next few months.

This week, I am on my first trip for sabbatical.  I am visiting pastors at churches in Wentzville (near St. Louis) and Nashville.  Below are the two churches I am visiting:     Community Bible Church http://www.cbcnashville.org/ There are three priorities which are at the heart of all we do here at Community Bible Church—God’s Glory, God’s Grace, and God’s Word. The exaltation of the Glory of God in the Cross through the finished work of Christ is the aim of all our ministry. It is our desire and privilege to proclaim the Excellencies of His Grace to the world around us (I Peter 2:9). The Grace of God in Christ Jesus Our Savior has abounded to all those who know Him. We are committed to sharing the mercy of Our Savior’s Sacrifice with all who come through our doors and with all whom we encounter in our community (I Peter 4:10). Submitting all our lives to the Gospel of God’s Redeeming Work , depending upon its power,...