Title? I don't need no stinkin' title!

What David says here really resonates with me. Sometimes I get so tired of the rules, the channels, the structure, the rigidity of the institution of church that I simply want to throw up my hands and walk away. Period. Bureaucracy is not fun in my mind. I hate channels, and committees are making me crazy. What I'd really like is for us to have honest conversations that are straightforward, heartfelt, and merciful. Sometimes I really care about the resolutions and rules we set up, because I see them as a representation of us, and I want them to actually be representative. Other times I feel like I'm stuck in a room with a bunch of rule-mongering Pharisees and I want to stand up, like so many others, and say, "Can we just get on with the business of being the church--living as disciples who act with mercy and claim Christ as their Lord and Savior? Really, is it all that difficult? Won't it all just fall into place if we do that?!"

I guess the CPE version of what I'm saying here is, "I'm tired. I'm worn out. My patience is low, and it makes it really hard to take all of this in stride."

So, I'm taking a vacation. Well, a part of one anyway. I will be preaching at my home church in the middle of it, but hopefully that won't rob me of the fun and relaxation I hope to enjoy otherwise.

And this is coming from me, who takes sabbath weekly, and is pretty rigid and ridiculous with her sabbath rules and boundaries so as not to forsake her "non-work" day. So, I guess the second CPE tidbit here is: PRACTICE SABBATH!!! TAKE A DAY OFF! No work. No work calls. No work reading. No office visit. Nothing related to work. (whether you work in the church or not). Take a sabbath. God orders it for a reason--and it's not so you have another rule to feel guilty about not following, it's so you can preserve your sanity. So, take your day of rest! Religiously.