Maple Syrup Days parade 1976 In middle school when I discovered could escape choir three days a week if I signed up for band, it was a no-brainer. Choosing percussion—also a no-brainer. Even today I have only a rudimentary understanding of the notes on the scale, but rhythm I get.
That doesn’t mean I always had the right beat in band—and if three or four of us played at the same time, especially in sixth grade, we rarely played in synch. As our band director often pointed out (with a red face and sharp flicks of his baton), we could lead the whole band astray if we couldn’t keep time.
We’re coming up on a year of Jeff being a full-time pastor. One of the best pieces of advice given by our conference superintendent before Jeff started: have a routine to your week to make sure you have down time. Yeah, we didn’t take that piece of advice; we meant to take it, but the summer seemed shorter than usual. Then fall got a little crazy when we taught at Bethel. Then came Advent. We never got around to establishing a sabbath.
Sundays are out; Saturdays too. Sure, we take parts of days off, but when we finally got away for a couple of days in March, we realized the two of us hadn’t taken an entire day off together since Christmas. Our life looked seriously unbalanced. Morning walks weren't so peaceful and energizing. Work talk, which could even turn into a heated discussion, happened a little too often.
A YouVersion devotional we’ve both done recently (Choosing the Meaningful Over the Urgent) didn’t necessarily have new information, but it was a great reminder:
“…sometimes we don’t know just how much the pace and load of life are stripping away the very essence of who we are—causing us to be irritable and demanding, stealing our creativity and joy, and making life more about doing than being.”
My rhythm has been off for most of the year—or more accurately, I’ve had no rhythm for most of the year! Jeff’s message last week, A Time for Everything? ended by asking us if we’ve found a rhythm for the season of life in which we’re living. Our goal for Jeff’s second year as a pastor: find a rhythm that helps us rediscover our creativity and joy—a new rhythm for this season in life that leads to being and not just doing.
That doesn’t mean I always had the right beat in band—and if three or four of us played at the same time, especially in sixth grade, we rarely played in synch. As our band director often pointed out (with a red face and sharp flicks of his baton), we could lead the whole band astray if we couldn’t keep time.
We’re coming up on a year of Jeff being a full-time pastor. One of the best pieces of advice given by our conference superintendent before Jeff started: have a routine to your week to make sure you have down time. Yeah, we didn’t take that piece of advice; we meant to take it, but the summer seemed shorter than usual. Then fall got a little crazy when we taught at Bethel. Then came Advent. We never got around to establishing a sabbath.
Sundays are out; Saturdays too. Sure, we take parts of days off, but when we finally got away for a couple of days in March, we realized the two of us hadn’t taken an entire day off together since Christmas. Our life looked seriously unbalanced. Morning walks weren't so peaceful and energizing. Work talk, which could even turn into a heated discussion, happened a little too often.
A YouVersion devotional we’ve both done recently (Choosing the Meaningful Over the Urgent) didn’t necessarily have new information, but it was a great reminder:
“…sometimes we don’t know just how much the pace and load of life are stripping away the very essence of who we are—causing us to be irritable and demanding, stealing our creativity and joy, and making life more about doing than being.”
My rhythm has been off for most of the year—or more accurately, I’ve had no rhythm for most of the year! Jeff’s message last week, A Time for Everything? ended by asking us if we’ve found a rhythm for the season of life in which we’re living. Our goal for Jeff’s second year as a pastor: find a rhythm that helps us rediscover our creativity and joy—a new rhythm for this season in life that leads to being and not just doing.
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