“I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. “ John 10:10b
What is your life like? Does it feel abundant, or simply overfilled, overcommitted, and over stressed?
Read the following paragraph and see if you can relate to the feelings expressed:
“I never thought I’d be living this way,” she says. “Somehow I imagined life would be simpler.” She has reached forty, and she thinks she should have her life together by now, but things are just not right. Too few evenings include nourishing suppers shared with loved ones; too many are given over to the demands of paid work or housework, or lost to worry and exhaustion. Her closest friends are spread across several time zones. The old neighbors she entrusted with the house key are gone, and she barely knows the new ones. She finds community here and there, and she volunteers to help out as she can, but she is wary about getting too involved. Showing up at a PTA meeting, she has learned, probably means getting stuck with a fundraising assignment, so increasingly she stays away, in spite of her intense concern about her child and all the others. She does not feel right about this. “This is not how I intended to live my life,” she sighs, turning from one task to the next. (from “Practicing Our Faith: A Way of Life for a Searching People” by Dorothy Bass, p. 1)
How often have you felt like this? Sometimes life seems out of control, or at least very different from we intended. Throughout this summer we will be looking at the themes in Bass’ book, seeing if we can discover, or rediscover, some faith practices that help us make sense of our lives, and give meaning to the way we spend our time and effort from day to day.
Worship with Holy Communion this weekend –
Saturday – 5:00 p.m. in the chapel
Sunday – 8:30 a.m. Traditional Worship
10:00 a.m. Contemporary worship on the church lawn (weather permitting)
Fathers’ Day Lunch follows in Fellowship Hall
Questions for the week:
• How can we live faithfully and with integrity here, where the pace of life is so fast and the patterns are changing all around us?
• Can we conduct our daily lives in ways that help us not just get by, but flourish—as individuals, communities, and as a society, in concert with all creation and in communion with God?
Throughout this summer we will be looking a basic practices of faith that might help us regain some sense of well-being in the midst of the demands and desires of life. For more read Chapters 1, 14 & 15 of “Practicing Our Faith”
Devotions for the week:
Monday – Proverbs 3:25-26; I Peter 3:14-15
When panic and fear threaten to grab hold of my heart, thank you for your promise that I am safe in your keeping.
Tuesday – Psalm 90:16; John 6:29
Jesus help! I get distracted by my own understanding of what is important. Give me the courage to love, and trust the power of your redeeming love.
Wednesday – I Chronicles. 29:9; II Corinthians 8:1-2
Thank you God, for your spirit of abundance. Forgive me I trust the bottom line I can see more than your everlasting care. Fill me to overflowing.
Thursday – Job 5:11; I Corinthians 1:28-29
Thank you Jesus, for lifting me to a safe place today.
Friday – Micah 5:5; Galatians 5:15-16
Jesus, thank you for offering me the gift of peace today.
Saturday – Psalm 71:17; II Timothy 3:14
Keep my heart young and curious that I may learn from you.
