A month has passed without the Internet and I am still alive and doing well. I wondered in the beginning if I would be able to stay away from the Internet for 30 days or would I have withdrawal pains?

To be perfectly honest about it, I haven’t been totally "Internet-free." I guess you would call it mostly "Internet-free." The nature of my pastoral ministry is such that there are some things I just have to do each week, but I would estimate that my Internet usage dropped by 80-90% during the last month.

And that's a good thing. The break came at a good time in my personal life and in my pastoral ministry. I managed to finish the manuscript on the Apostles' Creed that had been hanging over my head for some time. It's a wonderful feeling to send a manuscript in, knowing that the editor will have the job of cleaning it up and making it better in every way.

On a personal level, the last 30 days have seen one son go to China, another son return from China, and a third son get ready to go to China in a few weeks. Plus we've had some family members visit from out of town and there have been a few other unexpected events that popped up on our radar screen. I have felt freer than usual to attend to all those things than I did before I took my break.

It's good to be back online. I have a lot of things on my mind that I'm going to be writing about in the next few days. Thanks for your patience and a special thank you to those who wrote some encouraging words during my absence from blogging. Vance Havner once remarked that if we don't come apart and rest for a while, we will simply come apart.

Ponder those wise words because they apply to every part of your life.

To sign up for Pastor Ray's free weekly sermon email list, click here . You can find his daily weblog, online sermons, travel schedule, and other resources at  www.keepbelieving.com . You can write Pastor Ray at  raypritchard@calvarymemorial.com .