Sabbatical!

I’m now enjoying my long-awaited sabbatical! Heather and I are in a cabin in the Smoky Mountains near Pigeon Forge, TN. The mountains, trees, wildlife and flowers are beautiful.

View from the cabin

Heather and I have had some awesome hikes to rejuvenate after some long, grueling weeks of work.

Hiking to Chimney Tops in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

It’s a great place to read and catch up on a number of things I’ve had to push off until now. A big priority is preparing for the latter part of the sabbatical…our trip to South Africa. Heather and I’ll be teaching about marriage and family relationships to leaders, members and friends of St. Peter Evangelical Lutheran church in Middleburg, S. Africa. We’ll be leaving behind the knowledge and tools to help them reach out with the perfect love of Jesus long after we return to the U.S. If things go as planned, I’ll be sharing regular updates here. For now…I think it’s time for me to get some much needed rest 😉

My favorite view…just before my eyes close…