reality blog

SABBATICAL DAY 16: AUTUMN SHINES AT THE VICARAGE

/ joseph elon lillie / Leave a comment

One of the things that has made this sabbatical so special is the amount of time I have had to spend at home working, resting and praying fresh vision for the future. The Vicarage is beautiful at this time of year. One of the spiritual exercises I have tried to practice these last sixteen days is to build on the beauty of this little piece of Earth entrusted to me, while being mindful of the wild beauty it already does possess.

I was on the phone with my sister the other day and she suggested that I should photo-document the sights at the Vicarage so that people can see what I am seeing and perhaps they will then understand some of the things I am thinking.

This is my neighbor Sing’s house.

Sing has done such a beautiful job with his yard. It seems always in bloom or full of color. He is someone with a real gift to make the most out of what he has. I hope to grow in that same direction and mindset.

The red maple tree out in back of The Vicarage has broken out into vivid color this week.

One of the projects I want to work on as part of beautifying the Vicarage is cleaning up this side yard and getting some trails cut into the wooded part of the Vicarage property to the left. I know it is too much to do this month, but part of the visioning process this month is to plan the way I want the forest garden to look in the Spring and to decide on the first steps come November.

When the sun shines through the colors of the trees, on these cool autumn mornings, it is hard not to feel hopeful about the future and about the eternal continuation of beauty. I am well aware of the precarious ledge of darkness our world is walking along right now, but in this little corner of the world the sun is shining bright. I know I can not take one day of sunlight for granted.

This leaf strewn pathway is one of the projects I began this summer. It leads out to the vernal brook which is dry most years after June. It reminds me of how much more potential is in this place. It just has to be spoken forth and created.

I am reminded that this season of autumn is quickly passing just like my sabbatical. Soon both will be passed. Then, it will be about beginning the work of bringing the future God has revealed, through this season of abiding, into reality.

WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR THE FUTURE?

SABBATICAL DAY 15: THIS SABBATICAL’S MENTORS

/ joseph elon lillie / 2 Comments

Yesterday was a day of relationship. I talked with my sister in The Netherlands for about an hour and a half. We talked about the calling and how it moves and shifts in our lives creating a never-ending journey that we sometimes flow with and other times struggle with.

Then I went to breakfast with my son-in-law James Franklin, who has helped me out during this sabbatical by preaching for me.

We talked about the word of prophecy for our church Cornerstone.

After that, My son and I took a walk around the greater block of the Vicarage. I told him the history I knew of the schools in town: Old Murdock, Streeter, Poland, Wheeler. As we walked I talked to him about the people I knew in each house: Jack Bowler, the Sweeney’s, the Knocks, The Blacks, Mr. Otto. We noted the dates on many of the historic homes: 1840, 1791. How different was life back then? How different from my life was the life of Capt. Murdock or Morton Converse?

I said before that I had trouble finding mentors to speak into my life for this sabbatical. Maybe I didn’t have trouble. Perhaps I was resisted by God because He had already chosen those individuals who would speak into my life and they were much closer to home than I was willing to look.

The conversations I am having are much more organic than traditional mentorship conversations, but perhaps this time around they are the more resonant for their organic nature. In these conversations I am hearing the echoes of my deepest thoughts, even some of those hidden from me by myself. There are things being called to the surface I was unaware of.

Things like: I am an escapist at heart always trying to distract myself with petty entertainments when questions of legacy and leadership arise; I procrastinate because I have been infected by the spirit of lack that is epidemic in our land; The call is not convenient and it is not comfortable, but it is good for me in my truest self; There is a price to pay for a deeper walk with God and I need to pay that price.

I entered this season a little disappointed, maybe even a little concerned, because I had not been able to find my mentor(s). I know now that God is the One who always had charge of the arrangements for this season and He has chosen His best for me.

HAS GOD EVER SURPRISED YOU WITH A BETTER BEST THAN WHAT YOU THOUGHT WAS BEST?

SABBATICAL DAY 13: The End Part Felt Like a Hallmark Movie

/ joseph elon lillie / 2 Comments

I am just about half way through sabbatical 2024. I have had the privilege of attending three conferences and 10 prayer meetings so far.

HERE ARE SOME OF THE THOUGHTS THAT HAVE STOOD OUT TO ME DURING THE CONFERENCES AND PRAYER MEETINGS:

  1. During this next season, believers must begin to cultivate eternal mindsets and put away worldly mindsets.
  2. The next season will be about deliverance. Like repentance, deliverance is more about what you are moving toward than what you are moving away from. In fact, you will never be delivered until you have a firm vision of what you are getting in place of what you are giving up, and until you believe that what you are getting is better than what you are leaving behind.
Photo by Josh Hild on Pexels.com

3. Our congregation must begin to cultivate an abundance mindset in place of a scarcity mindset.

WHAT YOU THINK DETERMINES WHAT YOU SEE. WHAT YOU SEE DETERMINES WHAT YOU DO. WHAT YOU DO DETERMINES WHAT YOU GET.

REMEMBER YOU ARE WORTHY OF SUCCESS. SUCCESS IS STORED UP BEFORE IT SHOWS UP. LIFE HAPPENS FOR YOU NOT TO YOU. PERSONAL GROWTH EVOLVES INTO ABUNDANCE.

PROCRASTINATION COMES FROM SCARCITY. ANTICIPATION COMES FROM ABUNDANCE.

4. Your conflicts may be the key to unlocking your peace.

5. Life will bring you people and circumstances to reveal to you where you are not free yet.

6. Conflicts start inside our hearts not outside, but we spend most of our time trying to change what’s outside.

I  have also accomplished several personal and ministry goals during this season including:

    Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

    Sermon planning for 2025 and 2026 (though there is a lot more work to do here)

    filling out and sending in my ordination paperwork.

    Photo by Antoni Shkraba on Pexels.com

    Reviewing staff budgets and submitting my personal budget for FY 2025.

    Winterizing the chicken coop (though honestly this was mostly Kristine)

    I removed the air conditioners from the windows at the Vicarage and started planning the steps to winterization. I also started bringing in some herbs for the winter for a window garden and planning the gardens for next year.

    So far I have had one fire to burn brush….there are many more fires to have throughout the winter.

    Yesterday, I took a couple of hours to mix and mingle at Winchendon’s annual Fall Fest. This event made Me feel like I was living in a Hallmark movie.

    Amanda, Joe, Kristine, Sevy and I met up with our friend Paula and her granddaughter Leila and went down to visit the 205 vendors set up on Central St. Fairs are my kryptonite. I can end up buying a lot of things I don’t need, so having strong people around me to curb the buying frenzy is essential.

    The town was mobbed!…milling and seething through the mob was like mixing it up at a family house party. I ran into Denise and her granddaughters who I hadn’t seen since the oldest grandy was probably three (she is now thirteen). I saw Walter and chatted with Andy at the Fidelity Ice Cream cart. I hugged several Rathier children and stopped at the Rathier/ Lambert booth.I checked in with Tamie about her husband Brian who had knee surgery recently, and planned a coffee date with Father Henry when I stopped at The Immaculate Heart Booth. I stopped at Nancy’s fudge booth and caught up a bit with her while earnestly resisting the desire to buy a case of her homemade fudge.

    Actually, as you can see from the picture above, there was plenty to buy. I did well. I tried some of the leftover pies from the pie baking contest when I checked in on my daughter Melanie. I also bought a sourdough pretzel with cheese sauce from her booth (Winchendon Parks and Rec). And…

    I bought these books for a donation to the local library…..and

    this new walking stick to replace the one I lost at Kimball’s Farm.

    What made my heart most glad about this festival, though, were the number of people from our congregation who were working for different town booths our just attending the fall festival. I met some of the members of my son’s Gideons outpost. I saw our friends and neighbors the Ash-Sears family and we said hello to our friends the O’Briens. As I walked up and down the street with my new walking stick..I was struck by the richness and depth of relationship I felt flowing through our little community. I am not sure if the change is in me, in our community or in both of us. All I know is it was a wonderful day in the midst of this wonderful sabbatical.