Welcome 2011!

Happy New Year! Happy 2011!

I've taken the last few weeks off from blogging. Initially, it was out of necessity due to time constraints at work (adjusting to a new position on our church staff; end-of-year staff reviews; budget closeout for 2010; etc.) as well as Christmas events (a five-day visit to Knoxville by my brother and his family was a highlight) and well as other planned holiday activities.

But for the past week or so, my "sabbatical" from blogging has been fairly purposeful. Over the past 7-10 days, I've spent very little time online. I've worked my phone only as necessary. Done limited texting. Barely any Facebook. Tweeted only once and that was from a UT Basketball game I was attending with my son.

Why? Because I knew I needed to make the most of my days off work at the end of the year and devote it to family. To take time to shop with my wife; for time to play board games with our sons; for time to play with trains with our youngest son and more time to read with our oldest. It's been time well spent. If you haven't taken a break and focused on your family (or your marriage) lately, might I suggest it's been a great week and a half.

But with the new year, much of my regular schedule begins to crank back up. And with it, I'll begin blogging again. I'll have some thoughts to share about change; some notes from some great talks I've heard; some book reviews to post; and the Great Quotes and Fun on Friday will return.

I'm looking forward to 2011 and I hope you are as well. God bless.