Author: kyle.timmermann

I am on my very first Helpers of People leave and it has been nothing short of amazing. It has been a tremendous time of renewal, time with my family, blessing others, and being blessed.

Due to my job responsibilities, I spend a great deal of time traveling, thus am away from my family quite often. These two weeks have provided me necessary time at home to spend with my family. My favorite moments of these two weeks have been the mornings; drinking coffee with my wife and watching Peppa Pig with my daughter. Additionally, due to the fabulous weather, I have had the opportunity to take my daughter to the park on several occasions. This has been a true joy.

For my service project, I helped one of DIG’s family members, as well as my wife’s grandmother whose house needed some vital work. Each of these projects left me feeling spiritually rejuvenated. There is just something about working with your hands, in relative solitude, and having time to think. These times are often when my mind is most clear and I feel God’s presence. I am not always as giving as my time as I should be, but this HOP leave just leaves me feeling stumped as to why I can be so selfish with my time. I am grateful beyond words for this opportunity.

I also want to thank all of my co-workers for pulling extra weight these past two weeks. Without the team that we have, these opportunities would not be possible.

To finish up my sabbatical, I did my service project. For this, I felt called to serve my Church, The Well. For those of you that may not know, The Well is a recent church plant that is backed by the Acts 29 ministry. As is typical of these churches, the congregation is overwhelmingly comprised of younger generations, especially college students and young families with small children. Given this demographic, the Church nursery is nearly overrun every Sunday. Thankfully, The Well does have another space that the children’s ministry can expand into; however, it is in need of attention.

Going into my sabbatical I knew that I would be serving at The Well, but given the constant changes in the Church’s needs I was not positive what I would be doing. Given the churches current needs, I was blessed to be able to perform some tender loving care to what will be our new children’s area. I spent my time on my knees painting baseboards, walls, and generally cleaning the space. What I found most rewarding about my project was to have some alone time in our new Children’s area. During my time, I was able to pray for this new Children’s area and the kids that would come through these walls. I prayed for those that would nurture these kids and that they would have the words to bring kids to Jesus. This alone time was certainly fruitful and I hope that both the physical changes I made and the spiritual pleas I made will be evident.

Wrapping up, this sabbatical gave me amazing opportunity to serve, rest, and be with my family. This past month has been more joyous than I could have thought and it was perfectly capped off with my daughter starting to walk yesterday. It was quite an ending to an awesome month!

My sabbatical continues to be an incredible opportunity that has blessed my family and I beyond measure. We are maintaining the slower paced lifestyle and spending more quality time together than we ever have. This has easily been the best part of my sabbatical.
For my book study, I chose to take a deeper dive into the Bible. In the midst of life, I do not find the time I should to take a more comprehensive study of what I read in the Bible. My readings are too often surface level without the depth that is so vital to material growth. Given this, and the time I have available during my sabbatical, more detailed studies were my goal.
To help me through this process, I am using a study guide by Dr. Bill Creasy, called the One Year Bible. While Dr. Creasy is a professing Christian, his study takes a more “history book” approach at understanding the Bible. He creates parallels between various verses, chapters, and books while also clearly displaying the historical narrative. This study has greatly helped me better understand the Bible from both a historical perspective and the application to my life.
I will be doing my service project this next week and look forward to reporting on this.

In anticipation for my sabbatical my wife and I made all kinds of plans to truly enrich this time gifted to me (and my family). Now that I am a couple days into my sabbatical I see that my family has received more out of just slowing down and that time spent intentionally with one another is so good for our souls.
I began my time with a visit down to San Antonio area to visit both of my grandfather’s, they fortunately live close to one another. They were enthralled to spend time with my daughter, Allie and I thoroughly enjoyed time to sit, visit and let the day pass slowly. We also got to eat at some of our favorite places that have many fond memories entwined with good food. As they get older I can’t help but notice each conversation seeming deeper and I find myself eager to soak up these moments that truly are already proving this time to be a gift.
Once we arrived back home it was time to adjust to not having to go into work each morning, not a bad thing to have to “adjust” too! With a little girl who’s just over one, each morning is sweeter than the last. Before sabbatical a typical morning didn’t include much time with her or my wife but now we all enjoy coffee and breakfast together and there’s not a day I’ve taken this for granted. I’ve gifted my wife time alone during the day that she doesn’t normally get much of and made it a point to help around our house and invest in my family and the change of pace has brought me so much clarity and gratitude.
When explaining to others why I’m not at work this month and what plans we have for our time, I routinely hear people so surprised and intrigued. It continues to remind me of how important it is to love what you do and to find something that grows your mind spiritually as well as intellectually. This sabbatical carries so much weight in understanding how we can entwine our work with our spiritual walk and I believe this to be a struggle in our society today. Slowing down doesn’t always come easy for me but I see it everyday refining my ability to comprehend the good that comes from resetting and renewing your mind.
Romans 12:2 “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will.”