inspiration

SABBATICAL IN PLYMOUTH

/ joseph elon lillie / Leave a comment

I am finishing this sabbatical with three days in Plymouth MA. Amanda and I have travelled the two hours down for our annual Pastor’s retreat.

These last three days have been real rest and relaxation. We chose to be very flexible with the schedule, not demanding of ourselves, that we attend every service or network opportunity.

After we checked into our rooms at the 1620 House we took a long walk along the shore

We both went to service that night and I stayed for the chat connection afterwards. Amanda really needed the rest so she stayed for a little bit, then headed off to her room.

The next morning we had breakfast at the hotel and met some fellow pastors from Lynnfield MA. Amanda went back to her room to rest while I went on to an interactive service on the abundant life. My conversation group was with our new minister friends from Lynnfield, one of Amanda’s Bible college professors and a missionary from Indonesia.

After that Amanda and I met up for lunch at the Lobster Hut.

We took a turn around The Shoppes and I got some goodies.

Then we took a long walk around the Plymouth Plantation

One of the things that pleased me most was I recognized almost all the vegetables and herbs in the kitchen gardens, even some of the more arcane medicinals. Forest gardening is paying off in knowledge if nothing else.

I have spent long hours in prayer and meditation these past three days trying to encapsulate what I have learned this month.

We will leave this place after communion this morning. I have one more day to sum up all I have heard and seen. That will be tomorrow’s work.

TIMES OF DELIVERANCE

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This morning was my last Sunday of sabbatical. I opted to stay in and watch our church service with guest preacher, Carrie Hackett from home.

During a waiting time in the music portion of the service I received a very strong prophetic message from God. Here is what I sensed

. The days ahead are days of supernatural deliverance! The power of the Spirit is going to begin flowing and moving in even more miraculous ways. Generational and ancient strongholds are about to be overthrown, but the ground is going to be hard won. Only the power of the Spirit will avail, no mortal weapons will do in these battles.

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Do not look for the dramatic , bombastic, instantaneous deliverances that have characterized the places of so many flashy dreams. Look for the move of small stones. Let there be an embracing of steps that bring compounding glory and progressive deliverance. Expect and do not despise the day of small things.

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Rejoice in each advance and encourage each other in every setback. Pray the power over each other continually without ceasing and walk in the Spirit until all that is to be done is done! Inch by inch the ground will be won. Do not be afraid!The center will hold until I call you forth.”

THE PILLARS OF SABBATICAL 2024

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I have said it many times over the course of the last month, and I will say it again a sabbatical is not a vacation.

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It is a shifting of rhythm and perspective in order to get a vision of the road ahead.

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In order for that to happen each sabbatical must come with its own plan and a set of intentional pillars upon which the “vision quest” rests.

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This sabbatical has definitely been different from the last one I participated in. As I look back on it now I see that the pillars have been a bit different and I also see why they had to be different for God’s plan to be carried out during this time.

The first pillar was prayer and Bible study.

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Of course prayer and Bible study was a pillar last time too, but this time I have been led to lay down between five and seven hours of prayer and Bible study most days. I have been reading the Bible cyclically. I am reading Genesis and then the next book of the Bible in order and then Genesis again.

The second pillar was rest breaks.

I attended the Fall Fest in Winchendon.

I went with my kids to Hollis Farms. I took lots of walks and many trips to Starbucks. I ate out quite a few times, and I binge watched The Rings of Power. At the end of this time I am going away to The SNEMN (Southern New England Ministry Network) Pastor’s Retreat on Cape Cod with my daughter Amandal.

The third pillar was new voices.

There were several new voices that spoke into my life this time around. Some of the voices I planned on hearing. Others came as quite a surprise.

The Fourth Pillar was Planning.

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I laid out sermon series, wrote budgets, finished ordination paperwork and even worked on missions methodology this month.

This sabbatical has definitely been more active than my last. I feel more connected to what is going on around me than I did last time, less sequestered. It has been good. It has been productive. It has been marginally relaxing. It has been vastly different than what I thought it would be. But I think that is OK.