Why I Take Vacations

I'm a confessed workaholic.  My brain tends to think of ways to do more work, not less.  So, the idea of a vacation from "work" leaves me feeling uneasy and unproductive.  There is always one more phone call that could be made.  One more email that could be sent.  And one more message that could be written.  The thing is, God didn't create us just to produce.  God created us for God’s own pleasure.  The Bible puts it this way in Revelation 4:11

“You created everything, and it is for your pleasure that they exist and were created”

I often forget that God created me not just for what I can "do" but also for the sake of God's own enjoyment.  And if God desires to take enjoyment from my life, I'm guessing it might be good for me to enjoy it as well.  And that just might mean taking a break, a "Sabbath" if you will from work on a regular basis and making time to enjoy myself and the people God has placed around me.

Besides providing joy to God, I'm convinced that taking time to "vacate from work" is important for several other reasons:

1. Vacations remind myself and others that I'm not the Messiah, Jesus is.

Too often, I'm tempted to believe that I have to have the answer for people and their problems, so it's easy to forget to rest or take a break.  This leads to a false sense of importance and builds a ministry that is dependent on me rather than on Jesus.

2. Vacations remind me to trust God, not myself.

When I (or anyone for that matter) work all the time, I end up trusting in my ability to get things done.  Taking a break reminds myself and others that God is where we place our trust.

3. Vacations produce creativity.

I heard Mark Batterson say one time, "A change of pace plus a change of place will often provoke a change of perspective".  It is often on the back side of a vacation or time of rest that I'm best able to hear God speak into my life.

4. Vacations promote health.

Without regular periods of rest and renewal, our bodies deplete their serotonin levels, and the results are burnout, sleeplessness, hypertension, memory loss, decreased learning ability, and depression.

5. Vacations create shared experiences and strengthen relationships.

There is only one way to strengthen relationships, and that's through time together, creating shared experiences.  In place of time, people are tempted to substitute money and manipulation in order to keep relational bonds tight, but both of these are destructive and ultimately damage our relationships.

6. Vacations increase productivity.

Several recent studies have uncovered what God already knew: that time for rest actually increases productivity.  In fact, most research indicates that there is a decreasing level of return the longer we work without rest.

So here are some quick shots from the past week. (Warning: the following post contains pictures of a pastor not just working but having fun, too)

Crafting Clarity: My Favorite Questions for Turning the Page on a New Year

My favorite week of the year is the week between Christmas and New Year. Life slows down. Family is prioritized. And reflection, contemplation, and planning for the year ahead have space to breathe. While I always set aside this week to spend time with family, I’ve also found it a great week to take one day to reflect on the prior year, review my rule of life, and recalibrate my calendar around what I’ve learned.

I’ve found the best way to do this for me is to post up in the corner of a quiet coffee shop with my rule of life, a laptop or notebook, my calendar, and a good playlist (currently mine has lots of Drew Holcomb, Wild Rivers, Judah & the Lion, Penny and Sparrow, and Wilder Woods on repeat). I’ll then review my rule of life, make a few notes about what worked and didn’t work about my application of it over the past year, set a fresh intention around each area I want to recalibrate. Then I’ll reflect on the following questions before wrapping up by applying my work to my calendar for the next year. In all, it takes me about 3 to 4 hours and 2 to 3 cups of coffee.

1. What was my favorite single day/event of the past year? What were my top memories from the past year?

2. What three memories do I want to create in the year ahead?

3. What was the best thing I built, created, or innovated this year?

4. What areas of my life worked best this past year?

5. What areas of my life do I want to improve on in the next year?

6. What new hobby or interest did I develop this year? What hobby or interest do I want to prioritize this year?

7. What was the most important decision I made for myself and our family’s future this year?

8. What lifelong goals did I achieve this year?

9. What was the hardest lesson I learned this year?

10. What was my most humbling experience this year, and what did I learn from it?

11. What am I most grateful for from this past year, and to whom do I need to express gratitude for their help?

12. What do I need to start doing in the new year?

13. What do I need to stop doing in the new year?

14. What are my intentions for the next year? Family intentions? Spiritual intentions? Health intentions? Intentions for Personal Growth? Financial intentions? Vocational intentions?

15. What fears are holding me back from living fully into who God has created and called me to be?

16. If I could make one change in my life right now, what would it be?

Probably no practice has been more helpful to me than this one in staying committed to personal growth and spiritual wholeness over the past decade. It’s been a small investment that has paid big dividends over the long term.

Best Books of 2023

I set a goal to read 52 books this year and finished my 53rd this week. I read several memoirs and biographies this year, more than I would in a typical year. Here’s a quick overview of my favorite reads from the past year and a few that, while they may not have made my favorite list, I’d recommend to you.

Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story

I listened to this one because it was read by the author and included 40 unique recordings of U2 songs. Well worth the listen, as it contains keen insight into Bono’s spiritual formation and a window into the dangers of celebrity culture that has made its way into much of modern ministry culture.

Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away

If you’ve followed my top reading lists in the past, you’ll know I’m a fan of Annie Duke’s writing and research. This is an example of counterintuitive thinking, especially for people who often are told to “just have faith” and to “preserver.” It’s helpful to remember from time to time, that God often called people to quit one thing in order to follow the Spirit fully.

You Are Not Your Own

This is a badly needed message for a culture filled with people “pouring their fluid selves into whatever container the culture offers them at any particular moment.”

All My Knotted-Up Life

The best memoir I’ve read this year. Period.

Strange New World: How Thinkers and Activists Redefined Identity and Sparked the Sexual Revolution

This one will be problematic and frustrating for some and encouraging for others. The bottom line is that ideas have consequences, and those consequences are being lived out before us.

Atomic Habits

Okay, I’m way late to the game on this one, but this is certainly one of the best books on habit formation that I’ve come across and highly recommend it to you.

Unclean: Meditations on Purity, Hospitality, and Mortality

Maybe one of the most important books I’ve read in the past few years. If you’re a church leader, read this book please.

Everything Sad is Untrue

It is another wonderful memoir that I read this year and probably the one I enjoyed the most. The story is told from the first-person perspective of Nayeri’s experience as a childhood refugee, and it works in a way that is just about as perfect as it gets.

Mixed Signals: How Incentives Really Work

I love social psychology books, and this one was especially interesting.

Embracing Rhythms of Work and Rest

I read this one at the recommendation of a reporter interviewing me for a story related to immigration-related concerns in Florida. We got to talking about the practice of sabbath, and she noted that she’d recently picked up Barton’s book at the recommendation of a coworker. It’s an excellent resource for anyone, especially those considering how to create patterns of work and rest in professions with irregular work and rest cycles.

Bullies and Saints: An Honest Look at the Good and Evil of Christian History

This was my book of the year, at least for pastors and those serving in church leadership. Dickson does an excellent job of demonstrating what apologetics needs to look like in today’s culture that is quick to point out the flaws and faults of people of faith.

In Need of Your Patience and Prayers: The Life and Ministry of Hiram F. Reynolds

This is another book that I can’t recommend enough to pastors serving in the Church of the Nazarene. It’s become popular to story our origin back to the work of Phineas Bresee and the founding of the Church of the Nazarene in California, but this is only part of the story, and it neglects to recognize the significant priority of Global Mission in the development of our church. Every Pastor needs to read this book to fully understand our origins, missional priorities, and leadership influences.

Called to the Fire: A Witness for God in Mississippi; the Story of Dr. Charles Johnson

I’ve read this before, but when Chet Bush accepted a call to serve a congregation here in Orlando, I thought it would be good to revisit this important work. If you’re a Nazarene and haven’t read the account of Dr. Charles Johnson’s life, you owe it to yourself and to your brothers and sisters in Christ to pick up a copy.

Managing Leadership Anxiety: Yours and Theirs

The best leadership book I’ve read in the past year. If you’re a leader, do yourself and those you serve a favor and pick it up.