Over the last couple of days I have been trying to take all that I have written in four journals, all that I have read in over a couple of dozens of books, all the whispers and promptings I have sensed from God during my three months sabbatical and compact it down into just a few pages.  I am trying to make a list of the highlights and the learnings and the leadings from this past summer.  It isn’t an easy task.  But I want to be able to share these with the Lakeside community next weekend as part of Welcome Back Sunday.  I made a first attempt at this a week or so ago and I shared those findings with some of the staff at Lakeside over the past week and there seemed to be a sense of anticipation and enthusiasm about what I shared.  At least that is what I want to believe I sensed.  But that took over an hour or so and it would be too much for a Sunday morning. 

I sat down yesterday morning and tried to put together a framework for what I wanted to share next weekend.  For about three ours I tried to bring a summary of the summer into a message like format.  When I was done I had the “skeleton” of what I want to share and I will attempt to put the “flesh” on that skeleton next week.  I will simply share some personal moments – some key verses – some promptings and whispers and then close by answering two key questions I asked myself earlier this summer and have been answering all summer long.  I felt very comfortable when I was done.  It was like I had finished the sabbatical.  It was complete.  Although I have a few days left (3) and I will be visiting one more church tomorrow (that will make 14 I visited this summer), I feel like it is a done deal and I am preparing myself to re-enter back into a ministry and people that I love and care for deeply.

This has been a summer where I have had a chance to discover more about myself and to detail some changes that I want to make to my character and to the way I relate and interact with people.  It has been a summer where I have been able to step out of the day to day challenges of ministry and to stand back and have an overall look at who we are, who God is calling us to be, what He wants us to do and where He wants us to go.  As I have said a few times lately, I believe the best days of ministry and impact for Lakeside are ahead of us and God is going to use all of us partnering together to make a huge difference in our community and around the world. 

So I am ready to go – ready to re-enter – ready for the next leg of the journey.  This is going to be my last “sabbatical entry” but I am going to diligently blog as much or more than I did this summer.  I am going to share things that I am reading and studying from the Bible. trends that I see in our culture. things that I am reading on a daily basis,  many personal thoughts and feelings and any definitive whispers and promptings that I an sensing God is giving me.  I hope that you will continue to read my blog.  In fact, I think the best entries are yet to come.  Stay tuned.  The next entry will be Tuesday.  Thanks for sharing the journey with me this summer.  God bless.