November kind-of appeared on my calendar without a warning. With scarcely eight weeks left in the year, and nearly two weeks of holidays still un-claimed I took the opportunity of a Sunday 'off' to disappear for a few days of retreat..
Crieff Hills Retreat center (just outside Morriston/Puslinch/Guelph) was my get-a-way stop for the first two days. Crieff Home Page It provided a great spot for some solitude and introspection in an off-the-beaten-track setting. In addition to a 15k run down the roads one afternoon, I really enjoyed walking the trails on the property on the pine-needle walk-ways.
Day three of my little holiday had me on a roof with Blackhawk construction. Murray called it 'roofing for Jesus' - his own way of naming this voluntary project on the director's house at Hidden Acres (near New Hamburg). While this particular venture in my holiday was anything but introspective, I must say I learned more than a few tricks from the pros when it comes to putting up steal roof. Thanks Murray and Ron for a much more hands-on-component to my vacation!
Day four I attended an MCEC workshop entitled "Money Sanity". Nathan Dugan was co-sponsored by MCEC and Mennonite Foundation to facilitate an all-day workshop on the cool things that can happen when we work from a Share...Save...Spend approach to money management. - that's right, the first word in that progression is indeed 'Share'. Some interesting sociology in the research shows that children who learn early to share their money (donations, gifts, tithes) tend to have higher incomes later in life, possess healthier levels of self-esteem, and generally live richer lives. I'm thinkin even though this was more-or-less a day in my holiday calendar.... its probably one of those resources we'll do well to put to work somewhere in the church programs this year.
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