Sabbatical and Creativity

I believe that a part of a sabbatical should be setting aside some time to work on improving creativity,  taking time to tap into parts of the brain that have maybe become dormant due to getting stuck in a rut and doing the same thing over and over.  Today I set aside some time to get the creative juices flowing.  I chose a project that would help me to work through obstacles, build, make connections, placement.  I decided that it would be best to not do this project alone so I brought my 4 year old son along with me.  We not only worked on our creativity but also incorporated team work into the project.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the fruit of our creativity project:

Sabbatical Sandwich

One benefit of the sabbatical is I'm at home and in my kitchen each day at lunch (been doing most of the cooking for our family).  I feed the twins and then feed me.

Here is my recipe for a sabbatical sandwich:

1 sub roll

2 slices of bologna 

2 slices of pepperoni (sandwich size)

2 slices of salami

2 slices of provolone cheese

banana pepper rings

lettuce (I use the spring mix)

Boars Head sub dressing

parmesan cheese

garlic powder

oregano

butter

Slice sub roll in half long ways and then place face down on a cookie sheet and place under broiler to toast the outside of the roll.

Butter inside of the roll and sprinkle with garlic powder, oregano and Parmesan.

Place under the broiler again to toast the inside of the roll with all the goodies on it.

On the bottom of the roll stack bologna, pepperoni, salami and then place provolone on top.

Place under the broiler again to melt the cheese and heat up the meat.

Place lettuce and peppers on top of the cheese.  Pour the Boars Head sub dressing over top of the lettuce.  Place the top of the sub roll on the sandwich and then consume the sandwich.

"A sandwich is a sandwich but a sabbatical sandwich is a meal"

Follow the sandwich with a brisk walk around the neighborhood.

Isaiah 2

A couple verses I'm rolling through my mind as I read through Isaiah during my sabbatical.  These verses bring up some self evaluation questions in my mind:

Is. 2:5

Come, O house of Jacob,

   let us walk in the light of the Lord.

The following verses (6-8) are about how Israel had embraced superstition, witchcraft, joined up with pagans and they had pursued material gain and they are worshipping idols that they had made with their own hands.

How do I walk in the light of the Lord?

Have I embraced things in our culture that aren't pleasing to God?

Am I worshipping idols that I have created and built up in my own life?

Is. 2:23

Stop trusting in man,

    who has but a breath in his nostrils.

Of what account is he?

Who do I trust in ?

Why would I trust so much in men?

Sabbatical Day Two

Took care of the twins.  

"Fred and Wilma" weighed in at the doctors today.  "Wilma" has put on 3lbs and is up to 7.4 and "Fred" is up to 8.3.

Did some laundry.  Cooked supper.  Read chapter 2 of Refuel and Isaiah 1.  

Good relaxing day today.  Looking forward to sleeping tonight.

Isaiah 1

During my sabbatical I'm going to be reading and studying the book of Isaiah.

Isaiah lived between the years of 840 and 420 B.C.  He was the first of the major prophets.  Isaiah's name, yeshayahu,  means "Jehovah Saves".  Tradition says that Isaiah was sawn in two by Manasseh, the king of Judah who reigned after Hezekiah.

Some of the notes I made in the margins:

>4 kings reigned during the vision that Isaiah saw

      -Uzziah

      -Jotham

      -Ahaz

      -Hezekiah

>Verse 3 points out that sometimes animals can be smarter than we are.

>Israel continued to rebel and continued to be disciplined, over and over

>The result of their rebellion

-cities burned

-fields stripped and food stolen by foreigners

-totally desolate

>V. 9 points out the mercy of God.  "Unless the Lord Almighty had left us some survivors we                                                                      would have become like Sodom, we would have been like                                                                    Gomorrah"

>Sacrifice means nothing when you are not in sync with God (v.11-14)

>God was tired of their religious acts and rituals because their hearts were far from him

>God ignores their prayers because of their rebellion

>Some good things we should do today in the church:

-Stop doing wrong

-learn to do right  (I think it's interesting the word "learn" was used)

-Seek justice

-encourage the oppressed

-Defend the cause of the fatherless

-plead the case of the widow

>We have a choice to make.  We can be obedient and be blessed or resistant and rebellious and be devoured.

>"Your rulers are rebels, companions of thieves; they all love bribes and chase after gifts.  They do not defend the cause of the fatherless; the widow's case does not come before them"  Sound like D.C.?

Sabbatical Day One

Day one is about officially over for me.  It's almost 11pm and I'm about to hit the sack, wake up again at 3 and feed babies then go take my friends Byron and Doug back to the airport at 4:30am.  I'm hoping to catch a nap when the babies nap tomorrow.

Today was a very enjoyable day for me.  I got to ride with my family to church for the first time in several years.  We took the twins to church, this was their first public appearance.  I did have to get up and go into the lobby during the sermon because I was feeding "Fred" and he was grunting rather loudly.  It was great to go to church without any responsibility this morning other than get my family their and worship with my church family.  I don't know how many people in churches realize that there are many church staff and volunteers that rarely get to ride to church with their family.  It was great to get to do that today.

Church service was rockin as Exodus led worship in music.  Rick delivered another great sermon from the life of Moses.  I'm enjoying this series.

So day 1 was pretty uneventful.  I look forward to seeing what day 2 has in store for me.