I am on a sabbatical,  I granted it to myself, in forty years of work this is the first time I have tried it. I decided I would work a half-day and the rest of the day was sabbatical. The reason for this is that I don't think I am able not to do some work most days, I just can't take it. I am better at not working on weekends, but Monday -Friday my insides gnaw at me if I am not producing. This is why I am such a good candidate for a Sabbatical, it reveals so much about me. A sense of wasted time overwhelms me, this is particularly acute when one pasts sixty-there ain't that much time left. Unless you actually believe that eternal life begins when you start following Jesus and then continues forever. Death, hey, that is a bump in the road, so if I choose the practice my faith, time is not a problem. I love George MacDonald's crisp little phrase, " Until death is finished with him." This is in reference to that instant that we pass from this life to the next. It is what William Blake called moving from one room to the next. I don't feel very useful this summer, I sit around, pray, think, contemplate, write some, strategize some, raise some money for important projects, and think about what retirement might be like. I don't think I will be able to retire, it just seems so maddening to have no real purpose apart from walking the dog, playing some golf, visit the family and read novels. What does a prophet do when no one wants to hear from him anymore? I will keep you posted on my sabbatical, it is going to end in a couple of weeks. So far I give myself a "D."