Time to …

On March 28, 2010, John Piper, the pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, renowned speaker and author, announced that he was taking an 8 month leave to attend to his life & wife.
His marriage was not failing apart and neither has he been involved in any sin of notoriety. In his words …

“I asked the elders to consider this leave because of a growing sense that my soul, my marriage, my family, and my ministry-pattern need a reality check from the Holy Spirit. On the one hand, I love my Lord, my wife, my five children and their families first and foremost; and I love my work of preaching and writing and leading Bethlehem. I hope the Lord gives me at least five more years as the pastor for preaching and vision at Bethlehem.
Noël and I are rock solid in our commitment to each other, and there is no whiff of unfaithfulness on either side. But, as I told the elders, “rock solid” is not always an emotionally satisfying metaphor, especially to a woman. A rock is not the best image of a woman’s tender companion. In other words, the precious garden of my home needs tending. I want to say to Noël that she is precious to me in a way that, at this point in our 41-year pilgrimage, can be said best by stepping back for a season from virtually all public commitments.” Full text is here
It’s a humbling thought to find out he is taking this leave to nurture his life and marriage all over again. During the period he will be away from all public activity - No book-writing. No sermon preparation or preaching. No blogging. No Twitter. No articles. No reports, No papers. And no speaking engagements.

Reading his words brings a humbling thought to me – I may not have the luxury of taking 8 months out of my daily grind but I sure can take out at least a day every month (or fortnightly) to nurture myself and the relationship that means the most to me. I don’t want to get so busy on the outside that I don’t give attention to the unseen part of me. God, help keep my eyes on the weightier matters of life.

Time to …

On March 28, 2010, John Piper, the pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, renowned speaker and author, announced that he was taking an 8 month leave to attend to his life & wife.
His marriage was not failing apart and neither has he been involved in any sin of notoriety. In his words …
“I asked the elders to consider this leave because of a growing sense that my soul, my marriage, my family, and my ministry-pattern need a reality check from the Holy Spirit. On the one hand, I love my Lord, my wife, my five children and their families first and foremost; and I love my work of preaching and writing and leading Bethlehem. I hope the Lord gives me at least five more years as the pastor for preaching and vision at Bethlehem.
Noël and I are rock solid in our commitment to each other, and there is no whiff of unfaithfulness on either side. But, as I told the elders, “rock solid” is not always an emotionally satisfying metaphor, especially to a woman. A rock is not the best image of a woman’s tender companion. In other words, the precious garden of my home needs tending. I want to say to Noël that she is precious to me in a way that, at this point in our 41-year pilgrimage, can be said best by stepping back for a season from virtually all public commitments.” Full text is here
It’s a humbling thought to find out he is taking this leave to nurture his life and marriage all over again. During the period he will be away from all public activity - No book-writing. No sermon preparation or preaching. No blogging. No Twitter. No articles. No reports, No papers. And no speaking engagements.
Reading his words brings a humbling thought to me – I may not have the luxury of taking 8 months out of my daily grind but I sure can take out at least a day every month (or fortnightly) to nurture myself and the relationship that means the most to me. I don’t want to get so busy on the outside that I don’t give attention to the unseen part of me. God, help keep my eyes on the weightier matters of life.

Time to …

On March 28, 2010, John Piper, the pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, renowned speaker and author, announced that he was taking an 8 month leave to attend to his life & wife.
His marriage was not failing apart and neither has he been involved in any sin of notoriety. In his words …
“I asked the elders to consider this leave because of a growing sense that my soul, my marriage, my family, and my ministry-pattern need a reality check from the Holy Spirit. On the one hand, I love my Lord, my wife, my five children and their families first and foremost; and I love my work of preaching and writing and leading Bethlehem. I hope the Lord gives me at least five more years as the pastor for preaching and vision at Bethlehem.
Noël and I are rock solid in our commitment to each other, and there is no whiff of unfaithfulness on either side. But, as I told the elders, “rock solid” is not always an emotionally satisfying metaphor, especially to a woman. A rock is not the best image of a woman’s tender companion. In other words, the precious garden of my home needs tending. I want to say to Noël that she is precious to me in a way that, at this point in our 41-year pilgrimage, can be said best by stepping back for a season from virtually all public commitments.” Full text is here
It’s a humbling thought to find out he is taking this leave to nurture his life and marriage all over again. During the period he will be away from all public activity - No book-writing. No sermon preparation or preaching. No blogging. No Twitter. No articles. No reports, No papers. And no speaking engagements.
Reading his words brings a humbling thought to me – I may not have the luxury of taking 8 months out of my daily grind but I sure can take out at least a day every month (or fortnightly) to nurture myself and the relationship that means the most to me. I don’t want to get so busy on the outside that I don’t give attention to the unseen part of me. God, help keep my eyes on the weightier matters of life.