Here we go again...

Mondays are a day when I wish that I could rest from the work that Sundays in a 4 service church requires, but it just doesn't always happen right now. Right now, life away from the church calls for us to have to do other things to make a living and pay the bills, and that always starts again on Mondays. It's a 7 day work week for me right now with no days off!

I remember the days and years when all I did to make a living was work for a local church. Now I look at those as the "Salad Days." It was hard work trying to be a Youth Pastor and a Worship Leader. A full time job no doubt. But the past 3 or 4 months I have gotten to experience that thing I was doing in Illinois for 5 years, where I was working a job outside of the church and trying to put in the required time to also do the job needed for the ministry. Usually 25-30 hours per week. I'm finding that it wears me out, and it's hard to focus on any one thing fully. Honestly, I don't know how anyone can work a full time job and do the work of the ministry effectively for any long period of time. I did do that in Illinois for years, but it burnt me out terribly.

We moved here for a better and less hectic life. Clean mountain air and cheap livin'. A lifestyle that isn't trying to keep up with the Joneses. Living that is more basic. It started off a bit rocky as you've probably seen from earlier posts, but we are settled in after 10 months and trying not to fall into that same trap. I bet a lot of you out there can relate. That whole thing of every year having to make more money just to keep up with the taxes and bills, and then moving to a larger and nicer house every once in a while as your income increases. It's hard to get ahead that way, and it's hard to be truly happy that way. That sort of life causes people to become so materialistic and forget where their provision really comes from. This past year has taught me some life lessons on that subject...More on that in the another post :)