Top 10 Things I Did During My Sabbatical

Many of you know that, through the month of June, I was on a one-month sabbatical from vocational ministry. I’m very grateful to the people of Oak Hills Church for gifting me in this way, and I took advantage by filling my time with much family-filled lollygagging, loitering, and general lackadaisy.

Everyone asks what I did during the sabbatical, so I thought I would answer with a blog.  So in no particular order, [drum roll] direct from our home office in El Dorado Hills, the Top Ten Things I Did During My Sabbatical:

Number 10.  Worked almost all the way through the original Star Trek series on Netflix.  The new version is digitized and the colors and effects are a bit updated.  And yes, I made my daughter Rachel watch “The Trouble With Tribbles” with me.  Best comment by my kids: “People didn’t really believe in being in shape back in those days, did they?”

Number 9.  Played at a few different churches and concerts with friends, which was a blast. Of note is debuting some of our new songs with ML3 at an outdoor concert in Shingle Springs.  As always, it’s a blast playing with bandmates Chad Jackson on drums and Matt Sawhill on basses.

Number 8.  My birthday was also on a Sunday, and I got the very rare experience of actually sleeping in on a Sunday morning.  “Wow!  That was great!  No wonder everyone shows up late at church!”

Number 7.  Baptized my daughter, Paige, and her BFF, Sami, at our annual Oak Hills River Baptism.  That was awesome.  I am so very proud of the young ladies they are becoming. (For the record, twin sister Rachel was baptized two years ago.)

Number 6.  Began production of a new album, the title of which is still To Be Determined.  Something new I’m trying: I’ve asked a bunch of friends from all over—Washington, Florida, Sacramento, Germany, Canada—to contribute to the album.  They pick the song, record the parts, and submit their music.  And then I compile it and mix it down.  I’m really excited that I have the potential to incorporate a few of my long-distance musician friends into this project.  By the way, the tunes sound great!

Number 5.  Stayed home while my wife went to Arizona for a week of training through Holy Yoga.  She is now a certified yoga instructor, and hopes to start teaching classes by the end of the year.  I’m so very excited for her and what God may have planned for her in this way.  You can check out her website, which will be updated when she has this all set up.

Number 4.  Spent time with extended family for Father’s Day, a few June birthdays, trail hiking, and getting maximum use of our season pass with multiple trips to Beale’s Point (at Folsom Lake).

Number 3.  Root canal.

Number 2.  Finished a book proposal and submitted it to a publisher.  Tentatively titled, Echoes of the Divine, it is a book for non-artists about experiencing God through creation, beauty, and the arts.  If you follow my blog regularly, you’ve gotten a taste of what I’m writing about.  We’ll see if they like it.

Number 1. Went with my honey to an area bed and breakfast to celebrate our anniversary.  The best part of our vacation: Knowing after 25 years of marriage that we are still hopelessly in love.  Second best part: Sleeping in.  It’s amazing just how quiet it can be when you’re not around kids.

[Pics: (1) Paige being baptized by Pastor Kent Carlson and myself at Negro Bar in Folsom (more pics here); (2) Eric, Justin and I hiking up to  Horsetail Falls near Lake Tahoe; (3) Deb and I during our B&B getaway.]

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