Another Chapter

It’s past time that I up-date this rather erratic commentary on my Sabbatical! Despite the very drastic change to my routine, life seems to continue at a breakneck pace. Our family dynamics have completely changed (no, Deb has not left me) with Lane and Chantelle moving to Toronto so Lane can pursue his Masters at Wycliffe Seminary on the UofT campus. They’ve settled in nicely and we’re hoping to check up on them in the not-too distant future! Now Kelly and Sarrah and our two grand-daughters are getting ready to move to Vancouver! We’re still negotiating on whether Kaiya and Rylee should be allowed out of the province! Seriously, we’re excited for them as they make plans to join Keith and Maureen in their church planting venture in Vancouver. But we’ve had so much fun with Kaiya this past year and now we’re just getting acquainted with Rylee so it’s difficult to realize that we’re going to miss significant pieces in those early years of change and discovery! We’re glad that Ryan and Jani are still here in Calgary and we’re trying not to pressure them too much to do their part in replacing Kaiya and Rylee.

My personal focus during these past weeks has been to visit with a number of pastors around the country as well as attending some of their churches and reflect on some of the possible next steps for BVCC. I’ve also experimented with golf courses as a place to reflect and think but I find that I’m much too distracted with my erratic game. Perhaps God is trying to convince me that I should give it up and concentrate on something more predictable like playing the lottery. Last week Debbie and I enjoyed a week of vacation out in Courtney/Comox. This is area where Deb went to High School so we spent considerable time re-connecting with some of her friends and memories, trying new restaurants, and exploring the countryside.

Pretty much everywhere I go people ask me how the Sabbatical is going so let me share my stock answer with all of you who may read this…I tell them that during July and August it just felt like vacation but now that September has arrived it feels really strange to know that everything is ramping up at BV and I’m not there in the middle of it! These next four months will be the hardest as I find myself without my usual routine and focus but still attempting to use my time intentionally.

I have really appreciated the opportunity to re-establish some spiritual disciplines and to read and think. I’m praying that God will use these weeks of “non-productivity” to enrich my soul and rekindle my passion. We continue to pray for the church as the fall begins to unfold…for the staff as they direct the various ministries…for the line-up of speakers, that you would be blessed by their messages…for financial stability going forward, and for an on-going outreach with the good news! -Rick