Don't Miss This...

Easter 2008

Leslie, Emma, Hannah (my niece), Hope with Lex the Sailor Boy

Sabbatical So Far: Pros and Cons (Mostly Pros!)

What a wonderful way to make a living! I told my Dean last week that I was considering writing an essay on the healing power of the sabbatical. Later....

For now, let me list a few pros and cons.

On the positive side:

• I direct my days. That means the alarm clock is not a threat!
• My mind is being refreshed by the input of both theological writings and great literature.
• I am more rested than I've been in years. Since I am now experiencing the torment of menopausal insomnia/hot flashes, I rarely get an uninterrupted two hours of sleep, let alone 8! But the relaxed schedule allows me to sleep later (say 8:30 or so) and to go at a much more sane pace during the day.
• I get all my work-outs in! And, related to this, my daily wardrobe is very comfortable: long-sleeve t-shirts and work-out pants!
  
• I see my kids at times other than early in the morning and late at night.
• Since Corky doesn't usually have to go to work till mid-morning, I get to spend some time with him in the mornings and not just after 9 pm.
• I occasionally get to see Lex during the day!
• I'm saving lots of money on gas and I have no need to buy any "professional clothes" for Spring!
  

On the negative side:

• I constantly see all the things wrong with my house. The remedy: I just try not to look.
  
• I have developed tendonitis in my left hand (thumb) from holding back the pages of too many books! (Notice how the woman in the Renoir painting is holding the book and imagine the injury she sustained from the repetitive motion of holding the pages in place with her left thumb!) And most people think that the life of an academic has no risk of work-related injury! The remedy: I'm wearing a wrist splint and taking lots of ibuprofen, trying to avoid getting a cortisone shot.
  
• I have more opportunity to "snack" during the day and I'm finding it harder to maintain my weight. The remedy: I'm recording all my calorie intake on a free website called Fitday.
  

The Shack: Where Tragedy Confronts Eternity

I've spent the better part of the evening finishing this book. It was recommended by both Steve Land and Cheryl Johns, and being the good student, I always read what my teachers recommend! They've never led me astray!

William P. Young's novel uses the story of one man's confrontation with his own demons to teach us what it means to be authentically human (hint: it doesn't have anything to do with self-sufficiency!). It is a story that encompasses every parents' nightmare, every theologian's speculations and every follower's questions.

Young's own story (found on the book website) may be intertwined in Mack's but so is yours and so is mine. Eugene Peterson has called this the Pilgrim's Progress for our time". I was reminded more of Hinds' Feet on High Places, but as Papa says to Mack, "Stories about a person willing to exchange their life for another are a golden thread in your world, revealing both your need and my heart."

Blog of Note

What's it like to be a young Methodist campus pastor who is the son of a Muslim father, a Christian mother and married to a woman who is one-half Jewish? Read the stories posted on Firstborn Son and begin to imagine.