| Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “Enjoy the journey by redeeming the time” Our Bible verse for today: “For I know the plans I have for you” – this is the Lord’s declaration – “plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. You will call to me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. “I will be found by you” – this is the Lord’s declaration …” Jeremiah 29:11-14 (CSB) Our thought for today: “Life is a journey, not a destination” I have a little wooden box sitting on my desk, always within my line of sight. The lid is open. On the inside of the lid there’s a compass, intended as a visual reminder for me to give careful thought to the direction I’m headed in. Inside the box there’s a large copper medallion inscribed with the words, “Life is a journey, not a destination.” I need to be reminded of that. More often than not I’m charging through my days accomplishing tasks and checking them off my list. For me, life very much is a destination – a hurried dash from point A to point B, from one task to the next. But living like that takes me out of the moment and causes me to miss so much. Instead of stopping to smell the proverbial roses, I tend to trample them as I’m rushing by. Currently I’m preparing to take three weeks of vacation. It’s the time each year when I seek to unwind, decompress, and rest my heart, mind, soul, and body. Unfortunately, it usually takes a full week or more just to get my mind to stop racing and to get myself to the point that I’m ready to relax. So, this year I’m trying something new. This year I’m spending the two weeks before the vacation even begins to get myself ready to unwind and relax. I’m preparing by slowing down and being more reflective. One way I’m doing that is by rereading Mark Buchanan’s excellent book “The Rest of God: Restoring Your Soul by Restoring Sabbath.” Right at the outset Mark makes it clear that “God gave us the gift of Sabbath – not just as a day, but as an orientation, a way of seeing and knowing.” In other words, more than just being a day set aside to rest and worship, Sabbath is an attitude, an orientation to life – life that is lived in the moment, and life where time is redeemed in meaningful ways for God, for ourselves, and for those we love. This is when we learn to enjoy the journey of life rather than just constantly rushing to yet another destination. As Buchanan wisely notes, “We need a sabbath heart, not just a sabbath day.” This month I would like to explore with you the idea of sabbath being an orientation to all of life; and I want to focus on how that orientation can help us to truly redeem all the moments of life so they can be fully embraced and fully enjoyed. We all need to learn to enjoy the journey of life by redeeming the time – moment by moment. God bless, Pastor Jim |
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