Here is the declaration of sabbatical I posted to Facebook a few days ago. It outlines in detail the start to this journey and is therefore a fitting first post:

Since I began studying at Transylvania University in 2012, I have been working at or beyond forty hours a week at multiple jobs to pay for school and maintain a debt-free status. I have completed through the first half of my junior year in this manner, and it has taken a toll on my mind and body. I am confident that graduating debt-free is in God’s plan for my life, but working that much while balancing school is honestly exhausting. My body and mind need more rest than I have time to give them.

One year ago I began working for a church in Versailles Kentucky called NewDay Community Church. This was an opportunity that randomly came to my attention, and it involves working with the church and its surrounding community (especially teens) to create a safe, positive place to be. There are people of all ages, ethnicities, backgrounds, strengths, and weaknesses that I get to work closely with and share the love of Christ with. This job has quickly become one of my passions, and my skill sets and academic passions are channeled naturally through this as well.

In late October I felt like God was challenging me to take a semester off of school. I was initially apprehensive about this because it didn’t fall within MY plan for my life, and I’ve heard all the statistics about those who leave school and do not return. The more I prayed and listened, however, the more clear it became. I signed the papers at the end of 2014, and I am currently un-enrolled from Transy. It is a scary thing to take a plunge such as this, especially when it goes against that which society thinks is ‘correct.’ I am humbled, however, because my life is not my own; God has a plan for my life that stretches far beyond my wildest dreams, and taking this leap of faith in Him is a very exciting thing.

As an aside, I should interject the events that transpired directly after I committed to this semester off. The youth group I lead at NewDay was started this past summer, and maintained a regular attendance of a handful of teens from its inception up until I made the aforementioned decision. At the youth group meeting following ‘decision day,’ more teens poured into that building than ever before. The group literally quadrupled overnight, and they are ALL still in attendance to this day! Praise God! In that moment, God revealed a small piece of His plan for this shift in my life, and it is an exciting time!

I have created focus points for this ‘sabbatical,’ as I want to make this an intentional time. They are (in no particular order):
1. Focus more time and energy on the church and its people
2. Physically rest
3. Exercise as much as I would like (lack of time has prevented this in the past)
4. Spend more time deep in prayer
5. Spend more time deep in scripture
6. Read for pleasure
7. Write for pleasure
8. Focus on planning my future with Alayna

I am sharing this with you because I want to share the amazing things that God is doing in my life! I covet your prayers in this season, as I blindly walk into His will for my life! The future is wide open to me, but I am so thankful He knows my path.