Monday, June 14, 2010

Summer Greeting!

Grace and peace to you, friends! I hope this post finds you well. Currently, I am preparing to be travel to Music and Worship Arts Week at Lake Junaluska, North Carolina. One day, I hope to be able to take a group from AUMC to this tremendous place. Lake Junaluska is a United Methodist Retreat and Conference Center in the Great Smokey Mountains and it is truly stunning! For me, “Lake J” is a thin place: a geographic location where I connect with God quickly.

The ancient Celts called these places where God seemed to be more readily available “thin places.” No one really knows why such places exist. I know I actively look forward to being in a thin place. I anticipate the chance to be in God’s presence in a way that is different from my day-to-day routines. I look long for the chance to pay extra attention to God and to continue to be attentive to Jesus! Do you long for that as well?

Where are the thin places in your life?

I hope that, in the midst of this busy summer season that you will be able to take some time to nurture your relationship with Jesus, to be attentive to him, to listen to what he might be saying to you, and to luxuriate in your relationship with him!

There were patterns in Jesus’ life that we need to appropriate for our lives. Often, Jesus would engage in some prophetic action, some deep engagement with the people and then he would retreat for time with his Father to pray and to renew. We must do this in our own lives as well. Life is too short to live any other way.

Dear friends, take some time this summer to renew your relationship with God! I look forward to worshipping with you this summer and to gearing up for an incredible fall!

Grace and peace,

Joe