Over the past few weeks my world has become far busier than I could have imagined. Since moving into our new building, the daily traffic in the office has probably increased 300-400%! Along with that, my counseling calendar has filled up, my time with key leaders has been multiplied, as well as the amount of ministry development that has increased. All of this is AWESOME.

After about 6 weeks of constant increase and busyness, I began to wear out. People close to me know that I love moving 100+MPH all day. But, even for me there comes a breaking point. I realized after this short season of increase, I had not taken sufficient time to renew and recharge. The reality is that you and I, especially leaders/pastors, CANNOT function with out regular renewal and recharge. Eventually it will affect our daily lives and our ministry. I reached that point. This past week I noticed that my sermon was more of a presentation than an opportunity to share the overflow. That set off some major alarms!!!!!

On Monday I finally got in my car, at the behest of my beautiful bride, and went away for the day. I went to a great little historic town nearby and spent the day in disconnect from my regular schedule. I took some great pictures of the town(Such as the one above!), spent time in some great shops, had some good coffee and pastries, spent 3 hours digging into Ezekiel, writing and praying. It was a much-needed day for me. I cannot tell you how much good it did for my soul.

So often pastors get caught up in meeting the needs of the church, they forget to care for themselves. The result is stress, burnout and eventually failure. The people who pay the highest price are our families. They deserve a healthy and spiritually fed husband and father. To be a god steward of my family, God’s church and my life……I need times of renewal and recharge. Jesus did it, and so should we.

Do you take time for rest, renewal and recharging? How often? What do you do?