Hello Gloria Dei,
We all need places to go and be restored. We all need to hear and heed Jesus’ invitation to find rest. Maybe for you, you find rest at your summer lake home. Maybe it is a hiking trail. Or maybe you find rest simply sitting in your backyard.
One of the places Lorrie and I love to go is Lake Tahoe. We’ll be there for a couple of days in September as we’ll be attending a family wedding in Northern California as well as spending time with Lorrie’s parents in Northern Nevada.
If you’ve ever been to Lake Tahoe, maybe you’ve taken the short, one-mile hike down to a beautiful spot on the water called Emerald Bay. Emerald Bay sits on the southwest corner of the lake and it is our favorite place to go and be restored.
I know this time of year gets a bit chaotic. As another school year begins, many of you parents are busy getting your kids’ schedules all lined up. If you’re a college student, you are getting settled these days into your dorm room or apartment. If you are an educator, you’ve been busy getting ready for students to arrive and classes to start. Our church programming year is set to begin on Rally Weekend, September 12-13.
Yet even as life gets busy, I urge you to take Jesus’ invitation to “Come with Me and Get Some Rest” very seriously. I hope you’ve had some restoration time over the summer. I believe God gives us the stunning beauty of creation to provide sanctuaries for us to stop and listen to God speaking to us.
However, the truth is that you don’t need to go to a river or lake or farm to find rest. You can stop, be quiet, and listen for God’s voice right in your living room or kitchen. God is present with you wherever you go. Find a sanctuary in your daily life to simply be present with God. It is good for your soul. I promise.
See you in worship,
Pastor Tim
P.S. In preparation for this weekend’s worship, please read Exodus 14, as God leads his people out of slavery by crossing the Red Sea.
