Over the last couple of months, I’ve had more time for writing thanks to a half-time study leave from my church. It hasn’t been a sabbatical in the sense of rest, but it’s given me time to blog a bit more, to work on projects related to Sacred Pauses: Spiritual Practices for Personal Renewal, to work on a series of sermons for CSS Publishing, and besides, as my dad used to say, “a change is as good as a rest.” Thank you so much to Emmanuel Mennonite Church–I am so blessed by your affirmation and support for this leave.
During this time, one of my projects related to Sacred Pauses is a short video for youth on spiritual disciplines. It’s part of a new curriculum called Claim(ing) Faith from MennoMedia. While I would certainly rather watch a video than be in one (!), it’s a worthwhile project, and it’s been great to work with the multi-talented Dan Loewen. This is a picture from our video shoot, and I hope to be able to share the complete video next week.
For summer, I’ll be blogging just twice a week on Mondays and for Writer Wednesdays, with maybe the occasional random post like this one! I’d love for you to follow along by email, rss feed, or other social media, so you can read at your leisure without missing a post. Have a blessed summer!
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April Yamasaki 
…”A change is as good as a rest”…what a great concept…
I find it’s often true for me, that a change can be a good break, but depending on what it is, change can also be stressful/demanding, so good discernment is key.