Dear Friends ~
Summer has officially arrived in this neck of the woods ... complete with cool rainy weather, sweatshirts at the ready, and more cups of hot tea than the iced variety.
Such is the nature of this life God has blessed us with. We never quite know what's coming around the next corner.
But He does.
I love that.
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I often encourage the people in my world to give themselves plenty of grace and space. Those words of tender permission are usually offered as a hopeful option in the midst of crazy schedules or a strength-sapping illness or some kind of event that's sucked the marrow out of their weary bodies and exhausted souls.
As we head off into this fresh new season, may I offer you the same encouragement? My hope is that we'll all make a series of gracious Christ-honoring choices that invite us to say a pleasant 'no, thank you' to routines and expectations that we'd do well in releasing for now.
And in doing so, embracing more of a spacious place to utter a lovely 'yes, please' to opportunities to rest, to reflect, to re-create, to be renewed in all the ways that matter most.
Are you experiencing a huge sigh of relief at the thought?
As we read the Gospels, we find that Jesus took time, even in the midst of the serious demands of ministry, to quietly escape out on a boat or up a mountain to find a still place to be with His Father ... to regroup, to pray, to soak in solitude and silence, to refuel for the enormous tasks that He knew would be coming.
Maybe we'd do well to do the same.
As I tap away here this morning it dawns on me that summertime offers the perfect opportunity to switch gears in my devotional time. I think I'll take a pause from reading through the Bible to simply focus on slowly reading through the Gospels this summer. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John.
I need to be reminded yet again on how to do life and ministry well.
Care to join me?
Linda
P.S.
What would it look like for you to choose grace and space this summer?
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