Author: Chris Welch

My last day of sabbatical was yesterday, June 30th.  Today, I’ve had some time to reflect on the past 30 days and they were AMAZING!  During the last week of my sabbatical, there were 33 Welch family members who reunited at North Myrtle Beach in SC.  Sounds like a big crowd but it was our smallest gathering in nearly 20 years.  However, it gave me some quality time with sisters, cousins, uncle & aunt, Dad, stepmother and of course, my wife & kids.  Lots of fun, sun, and a big Welch family devotion on Sunday morning which was one of the highlights of the trip.  All of the children under 12 performed a play out of the Bible.  Very sweet and entertaining!

As I think back on the early days of the month until now, my heart swells with gratitude.  People all around me are speechless when I tell them about the opportunity that my company gives its employees.  I want to thank Kris Seale and all the executives who allow the employees of this great, Christian company to spend 30 consecutive days solely focused on our mind, body, and soul.  My mind is strengthened, my body is rested, and my spiritual relationship with the Lord is solid.  THANK YOU!!!

One of my goals for this month is to spend one day with each one of my four children.  With a family of six, rarely, do we get to spend one on one time together.  So I took a day with each one of my children.  Taylor’s (2) day with Dad involved  swimming pool, watching movies, and napping.  Cooper’s (6) day involved soccer, basketball, swimming, and milkshakes.  Logan’s (9) day with Dad included football, basketball, putt putt, and lots of laughs.  My oldest, Emma (11), spent the day with me bowling, basketball, lunch at Chick fil a, hiking, swinging at the park.  One thing that all four children did on their day with Dad was to spend some quality time with folks at the assisted living center known as Spring Arbor of Greensboro.  As a father, it does your heart good to see your children helping others and bringing  joy to older generations.  Each one of my children spent time, shared laughs, shared smiles, and loved on these people.  Each one of my kids had a great attitude and seemed to really enjoy their time there.  I was on the sidelines watching and thanking God for His goodness!

Lots of fun this past week!  This week, great time with family and deepening our relationships with God!

Wow!  What a week!  Let’s start by giving you names of my kids because a lot has happened with each of them.  Emma (11), Logan (almost 9), Cooper (9), Taylor (2).  Taylor and I visited the Arbor Springs, a retirement/assisted living home, and she went from table to table shaking hands, sharing smiles, and dancing.  Her favorite line was holding up two fingers and saying “I’m two!”.  She put more smiles on faces in 2 hours than any adult volunteer working there all day.

Logan played Spring flag football.  During the season, they lost two games and had to play both teams during the playoff run.  They beat the Panthers 26-25 by scoring a TD with only 6 seconds left.  In the semi-final, they beat the Patriots 28-26 in the final seconds of the game (this is a team that had beaten them by 20+ points in the regular season).  Finally, they played an undefeated Redskins game in the final (Logan called it the “Super Bowl”) and won a thriller, scoring then catching an interception in the final 16 seconds of the game, final score was 12-7.  As a parent, this game meant more to me than any Super Bowl that I had ever seen!

Logan is the blonde boy in the middle with dark gray shorts, fifth kid from the left.  My oldest daughter, Emma earned straight A’s for the year, sang a solo part at her 5th grade graduation, and was honored for her role as Vice-President of her school.  Cooper finished Kindergarten and earned excellent grades.  As part of my sabbatical plans, I am spending a full day with each of my kids.  It’s hard to get one on one time with Dad when there are six in the family.  Today, is my day with Cooper.  I’m so excited as it is sure to full of sports, eating, visiting Arbor Springs, a Bible lesson, pool, and having fun!

After six days, I am beginning to settle into the sabbatical mindset.  I am spending more time with family, more time with God, and feeling more relaxed.  My weekend was a bit hectic with Logan’s football games, pool outings, family weekend commitments but the past few days have been more peaceful.  Although I am being asked for a lot of favors, my rest and spiritual focus is starting to take shape.  This morning, I was reflecting on Psalm 40 and a verse struck a cord with me.  Psalm 40:5 (NKJV) “Many, O Lord my God, are Your wonderful works which You have done; And Your thoughts towards us cannot be recounted to You in order; If I were to declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.”  God is thinking of us all the time!  How comforting.  During the past six days, I have continuously thought of my children.  I have spent several hours taking care of our 2 year old, Taylor.  These moments have been precious.  On two different ocassions, I have taken care of her and her best friend down the street.  They are so sweet! 

Taylor is in the pink outfit and her friend, Lilly, is in blue.  Taylor is in my thoughts constantly and my love for her abounds.  Yet, my Heavenly Father thinks of His children more often and loves more deeply.  It absolutely blows my mind!  Taylor and I are on our way to share some smiles, love, and laughter with a group of folks at Arbor Springs, an assisted living home, near our neighborhood.  I can’t wait to see what God has in store for us today!

• Being that my first day of sabbatical fell on a Thursday, it was weird to be working and suddenly stop in the middle of the week for a month. However, I got some much needed rest on my first day. The mid-day nap was awesome and I spent some great quality time with my family.

My second day seems more “productive” as I had a longer time to spend in God’s Word reading about Paul’s charge for us to train ourselves daily in the Scriptures much like a runner training to compete in a race. And I physically got to the gym for weight lifting and ran 2 miles! Plus my doctor’s visit on May 31st revealed that I had gained 13 pounds since last years visit! Well, this is a great time to get my diet back on track. With 4 kids to keep up with, I have to stay healthy. It’s still hard to believe that I have 28 more days but maybe it will sink in by Monday morning when I am not driving down the road to visit a funeral home. God bless!

Welchy aka Chris Welch