Kingda Ga. It’s a name that strikes fear in meek mannered DelGrosso’s amusement park lovers, but a name that brings a smile to the face of hardcore rollercoaster-ists. My face had a fearful smile. Josh, my son was just all smile.

One of the great joys of my sabbatical grant is the opportunity to take each of my kids on a one-on-one trip. I let each of the kids choose where they wanted to go and what they wanted to do. Josh knew right away…an amusement park. So he did the research, figured out what park had the most roller coasters, what park had the biggest, tallest, fastest, scariest roller coaster. He settled on Six Flags New Jersey. Home of Kingda Ga.

It’s really a rocket coaster, more so than a roller coaster. Hydraulic motors launch the train from zero to 128 miles per hour in 3.5 seconds. And you need the speed because by the time you have hit full speed, you are going straight up… 456 feet — about 45 stories tall. Then you crest the hill and you head straight down 456 feet! I’m not sure which part was more exciting, zero to 128, straight up, or straight down.

Actually the best part was watching my son. I love it when my kids step forward, exercise a little courage, and take a risk…even when the risk is an amusement park ride. There is just something about overcoming fear. See the reality is everybody experiences fear…courage is not the absence of fear…it is stepping forward in spite of fear. Any fears you need to step into?

I’ll be honest, Josh whupped me when it came to coasters, I think he did about 16! So here are a couple of videos, maybe they’ll inspire you a bit..because if my 12 year old son can do it — no actually if I can do it — maybe you can too. First watch the youtube video of kingda ga. Then watch the video of Josh getting ready to go alone. Three times was enough for me.

One of my sabbatical goals is to read the entire Bible in 16 weeks. A few weeks ago, when I told someone what I was doing, their only response was… “Why?” Sometimes it is best to just savor a verse or two…or maybe spend a few weeks in one book of the Bible, but there is also value in getting the panoramic view. Whenever I take a panoramic view, I notice themes in a new way.

For example did you ever notice how often Jesus abused the sabbath? I mean in the eyes of the religious leaders, the Pharisees. Jesus just couldn’t stop messing with the Pharisees when it came to the Sabbath. It’s like Jesus took every opportunity he could grab to tweak the religious noses of the Pharisees, when it came to the Sabbath. Read more…

Back to catch up on the last few weeks of my sabbatical journey tomorrow… Today is sabbath in Minnesota. The Nold family, minus Sarah, but plus Jenna (Katy’s friend and about as close a part of the family as you can get without being adopted) spent last week in Minnesota at a cabin on a lake. Had a great time — more on that later — but they left me last night and headed back to PA. I’m here for another 12 days, time for some sabbatical solitude.

So today, I went to a worship gathering at one of our conference churches called Eaglebrook. Reminded me a little of Calvary, except a whole lot bigger. Great music, strong emphasis on small group connections, and in the process of going multi-site.

A couple of thoughts occurred to me as I sat there. Read more…

I know it’s probably not a word, but it is what I’m doing. It started with five days, with my wife, at a spiritual retreat in Wisconsin. (This was long before the Favre controversy so Wisconsin was still at rest — by the way, I hope he goes to the Vikings.) An organization called the Pastor’s Retreat Network, offers five day spiritual retreats at a variety of places around the country, and it’s all free! It was an incredibly way to start a sabbatical, great place on a lake, a time of prayer in the prayer chapel,reading, and hanging out with Lynn.

While I was there I read a book by Mark Buchanan, “The Rest of God.” It’s all about the concept of practicing a sabbath lifestyle. If you haven’t read the book, it’s a good read with lots of ponder material, especially if you are struggling with “hurry.” I’m still chewing on some of his sabbath thoughts and I can’t quote the whole book in this post, but let me share this one thought that was helpful.

How do we practice Sabbath? How do we do it? It’s more than time management… Read more…