The end of this leg of the journey (sabbatical) and the start of thenext...

We've reached the end of this part of the journey -- today is the final day of the sabbatical, and there's one word to sum up our feelings:  gratitude!  We're grateful to God for God's many gifts, especially our relationships with God, family, the Peace congregation, and the larger community!  We're grateful for this three month time to experience the three R's of sabbatical:  rest, relationships, and renewal.  We're grateful for Peace Lutheran Church for making this possible!  Leigh and I (John) are excited to return to Tacoma, to the Hilltop neighborhood, and to life and ministry at Peace Lutheran Church.  As we return, we're reflecting on many questions, and I especially invite the people of Peace, who have been on a parallel sabbatical journey, to ask these questions, too:

• What have we learned about the sabbatical theme, "Walking Together in the City:  Growing Healthy Relationships with God, Family, and Community"?  How have we grown?
• What have been the joys and struggles, the highs and lows, of this sabbatical experience?
• How has God strengthened our understanding of our identity as God's children and our calling to use our gifts to serve God in the world?
• What does God hold for us in the future?

Leigh and I look forward to conversations about these and other points of reflection.

Here are some pictures from the last week of our sabbatical:

Here we are in Seattle last weekend with friends Stacy and Diakonda.  What incredible weather!  Leigh and I attended a two-day workshop of the Gottman Institute called "The Art and Science of Love."  It was at the Seattle Center (in the background here).  After one year of marriage, we were strengthened as we talked with each other about principles that undergird strong marriages, grounded in clinical research.  Plus, the workshop was a kind of continuing education for me in my role at the church in premarital counseling and pastoral caring conversations with individuals and couples about relationships and marriage.  It was fun and challenging, and now we have more tools to help our relationship in the future!  I recommend the workshop.  Ask me about it.

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After Seattle, Leigh and I headed to Pacific Beach on the Washington Coast to enjoy the final days of sabbatical reading (for me, about Christian community development), running and walking on the beach, hiking in the Olympics, cooking, and relaxing together.  We stayed in a cabin built by some good friends.  We ended the sabbatical as we started it -- in the beauty of God's creation outside the city.  We started in the mountains at Holden Village.  We ended by the beach.

Lovely Vancouver

The following are pictures from our almost week-long stay in Vancouver, Canada with the family and friends that I (Leigh) lived with for so long!  We ate wonderful food, visited with good friends, and got to enjoy playing, hiking, and running. This was also around the time of our wedding anniversary the time of my move to Tacoma last year, so it was personally meaningful that we are back here again with good friends.  It was a blessing!

Trying to get out the door...

Gilbert at my feet!

Keziah loves John and especially loves to squeeze a good and strong hug!

Here we are eating Korean food with the family I used to live with (l to r: Tim, Keziah, Rosemary, Gil, me, and John).

Smiley faces in the car.

John at the top of Mount Seymour (Vancouver, Burnaby, the Fraser Valley down below).

John with the Burrard Inlet in the background.

Tim, my former housemate, is well known around Vancouver for his awesome salmon dishes!  Pysannky eggs (Ukranian style) that we have dyed over the years are hanging above for the Easter season.

Hanging out at Gil's baseball game at Trout Lake near the house

We took a quick hike to Deep Cove's lookout by way of the Baden Powell Trail.  What a beautiful day!

My former housemate, Johannah and I standing at the top!

Here we are!

All of us!

We are grateful for this long visit and look forward to another.  We also head to Seattle after this and get closer and closer to Tacoma!