Sabbatical Top 8's!

Hello, friends! 

We're back. Did you miss us? We missed you. Honestly, as great as Sabbatical was, one thing that I missed was being able to blog here regularly and update y'all on things in life and ministry. 

I haven't figured out if I'm going to Super-Blog the whole 6 months like I did from my last Sabbatical but at the very least, we have a little something for you. 

Here, in no particular order, are Megan and my Top-8's from Sabbatical. You'll notice there were a few overlaps from us, as well as some different takes on the same event. Also, you'll notice that one of us is WAY wordier than the other one. =0).

This is just a taste too, so feel free to drop us a line and ask us any question about any of our Top-8's. 

From Megan:

1. Unearthing themes from Sabbatical: Freedom, Joy, Gratitude.
Freedom: From all of the "shoulds" and allowing God to lead my days, release the undown, and embrace each moment as a gift.
Gratitude: Literally counting gifts each day in a gratitude journal (up to 678 and counting) has helped me give thanks for the big & small ways I see the Lord throughout the day whether in nature, kids, and everyday moments.
Joy: I believe the practice of gratitude has helped unleash joy for me. That's been something I've been praying for for a while. 
2. Trips to Europe & DC - see our previous update for more on that.
3. YMCA Group Fitness Classes. I really loved seeing the same people at classes & exercising in a group setting. I'm wondering how to incorporate that into my new schedule
4. Reading - I read 38 books over Sabbatical. 1/3 of those were around Spiritual Formation & Leadership. My 2 favorite learning books were The Art of Vinemaking by Bette Dickinson & Joyosity by Jenn Whitmer.
5. Unhurried days - of course there were parts that were hurried with getting the kids off to school & managing all of their activities but the 9-4 window was unhurried. Then in the summer time to just be with the kids over the summer 
6.  Respite Foster Care - 5 times over Sabbatical we welcomed kids into our home whose foster parents needed some time away or were going out of state. The time with them ranged from 3-9 days. Our kids were really helpful making the kids feel welcomed and taken care of.
7. Walking - I stopped taking my phone with me on walks which helped me just walk with our dog & enjoy nature without being attached to my phone.
8. Daytime dates with Adam not needing to get a babysitter while the kids were at school. Since he had a Top Golf membership we were able to go there quite a bit.

From Adam:

- Top Golf: When we moved to Omaha, I traded in my golf clubs for a curling broom, so it'd been a while since I'd been golfing properly. Before our Sabbatical started, we went to Top Golf with some coworkers as part of their goodbye celebration and I re-caught the bug. I bought a 6 month membership and very quickly got my money's worth, usually spending between 2-3 hours there 1-2 times a week. Megan and the kids joined me sometimes too. Doing a repeated motion over and over again with an audiobook or podcast in my ear put me in a sort of flow state where I could pray and hear from Jesus.

- Coaching the kids: I've always been involved with the kids' extra curriculars but with added time, I was able to really throw myself into being "coach." I coached Ezra's soccer (#GoBlackWidows) team to it's final undefeated season before breaking up and hopped in on coaching baseball when one of the coach's wife had a baby. I led Thaliea's scout den and got to start coaching Jonah's soccer team too. It was good to be able to connect with each of the kids in their own element.

- World Travels: The trip to Europe was amazing. It was my first time in Europe and it did not disappoint. We saw a lot of old art. Some of it was bigger than I'd expected (David and the Duomo were so impressive!). Some of it was smaller than I'd expected (Mona Lisa, anyone?). All of it was amazing. Traveling on trains and buses with Megan while eating delicious food was a huge highlight. I also fell in love with Lemon Soda, a flavor that I have not quite been able to find back here in the US. 

- Unexpected Travel: Sabbatical was thrown for a loop when my dad had a stroke at the end of January. I've already taken 2 trips out there by myself to help out with another planned in the next few weeks. Thankfully, he's on the road to recovery but the road will be long and hard. The stroke itself wasn't the blessing. However, It has been a joy working with my siblings to help care for my dad and my mom as she supports him. I'm really thankful to have such a great relationship with my siblings.

- The City Bus: When you don't have to work, you can take things a little slower. Which means you can drop your kids off at school, ride the #4 City Bus to the YMCA for a workout and shower, then hop on the same #4 bus that takes you all the way to the Top Golf. From there, you can hit balls for 3 hours, before hopping back on the bus to get back to school in time to pick up the kids. The City Bus is the best.

- Words from Jesus: There were two significant words that I heard from Jesus while on Sabbatical. When we were in Assisi, visiting the hermitage where Saint Francis and Saint Claire spent much of their time, I heard God speak the word FOUNDATIONS to me. As I step into the role of Area Director, I felt God's call to make sure that I wasn't just focusing on results but making sure that the foundations of ministry in Nebraska are solid. The other word I heard on one of my retreat days was SIMPLIFY. I'm someone who can make things overly complicated in order to try to make everything fit. I felt like the call was to discern the best things in ministry and life and simplify to make sure those things are done well.

- Lunch Time at Rose Hill: Given that I had more time on my hands, I was invited by a local youth pastor to volunteer during the lunch hour at the kids' school. Once a week, I would show up, play on the playground with the kids, open a few milk cartons, tie a few shoes, and generally just be another set of helping hands. It was so great seeing the kids at school, watching them interact with their friends, and helping out. Depending on the time of day, I was "Mr. Jonah's dad" "Mr. Thaliea's Dad" or "Mr. Ezra's dad," which was also pretty cool.

- Nebraska Rock: One of the first exercises that we did in Italy was to look for a Rock. Our pilgrimage guide took us up to a fort where St. Francis fought as a young man. She asked us to spend a few minutes thinking about a burden or question that we had and to find a rock to represent that burden or question. My burden was that I wanted to experience the pilgrimage through one of two lenses; either the lens of stepping into a new role as Area Director for Nebraska or a different lens. I asked God to show me a rock that looked like Nebraska if we wanted me to experience the pilgrimage through that lens. Look at the rock I found, just 2 feet from me! God is so good. =0)

Have an excellent day! 

~The Leongs