I recently just got back from vacation. Let me just say it was awesome. Ten days of getting away with my lovely wife and some friends. Now that I am back, I cannot even tell you how refreshed I feel. As I was sitting back in my office looking at my phone at the pictures of the good times I just had feeling refreshed, I thought of 5 reasons why we NEED to make time to go on vacation and why it is VITAL to our ministry.
Spend time with your family– Ministry can be taxing. We all know that. Summer time is usually when all things are going at full speed. Between the normal services, you have game days, park days, serve projects, summer camp, etc. That is a ton of time away and spending time with students. I got to get away with my wife for 10 days. Mixed in their were friends and family time. It was amazing to have uninterrupted family time. I don’t even know how vital this is for my wife and I. Her top 3 love languages are quality time, quality time, and…you guessed it, quality time. So having that much time to hang out was not only re-energizing me, my wife’s batteries are fully charged. I love that.
Get away from your ministry– Promise, it’s going to still be there when you get back. Getting away is a really good test to see how well you as a leader have delegated authority to your key players that help you run a ministry. When you are gone, not only do you get to get away and relax, it allows others to step up and run the show. I think you would be surprised to see how great that can be.
It’s ok to have fun– Have fun! Really. Since you left the ministry in great hands, you can let your hair down and just enjoy the quality time with your family. Do something you have never done. Do nothing! Read, run, sit by the pool, go on a date with your spouse, go to a nice dinner, stay in the room, go jump off a cliff into a sweet pool of water… point? Have fun. This is your chance to be the student and just enjoy.
Your eyes are hurt– They do. You just don’t realize it because we stare at our phone, tv, computer, emails, blogs, etc. We are making graphic slides for a game, preparing for a message or answering the never-ending emails, now it’s time to turn it off. I turned off my email notifications completely on my phone. First time I ever truly did it. It was amazing to not get that little red circle with the number in it just looking at me. I didn’t even think twice and it was freeing. I was able to pretty much leave my phone in my room the entire day and not even think about it. My wife loved it! I would try it.
It’s healthy– get away for your own sanity! BEing able to do the 4 things listed above is completely healthy for anyone in ministry. I want to last in ministry. I want you to last in ministry. It’s healthy.
Now go plan your vacation if you do not have one already planned.
In a few days I’m going on vacation to Fort Lauderdale, a city in southeast Florida. I plan to spend 2 Sundays there and think it will be great. I have booked a car with Hertz at the airport for the whole vacation because I want to go to other cities in the state Rental24h.com