Getting the Most Out of Summer

There is a certain irony in the timing of this new sermon series we're beginning this Sunday. It's a series about rest, sabbath, and stuff I mention below. It comes, however, at a time of extreme busyness. At Cedar Hills we're cleaning up after some significant water damage and we have a workday planned (this Saturday at 9 AM - hint, hint) to sort junk and toss stuff into a huge dumpster. Along with the cleanup we're gearing up for Vacation Bible School which starts on June 27th - just a week away. Rest seems out of the question.  Most of us constantly feel that sense of "There's just too much to do!" far too often.

But maybe that's God's point.

There are always more things to do. Sometimes those things press in so urgently that they simply must be done. But life can't be filled with what Charles Hummel calls, "The Tyranny of the Urgent." Not all the time. God knew such things about us when he planned the cycles of the body. He created us to need sleep and for our slice of the world to go dark for a portion of each 24 hours so we would ... stop. He hard-wired us in such a way that those who simply refuse to rest and play will eventually break down. It seems important to God, then, that we get this right.

So even in the middle of urgent things that are pressing in upon you and me, we're going to start this little message series. I hope it helps take away any misplaced guilt about taking time to slow down, rest, worship, remember God, spend time with family. Recharge.  There are many different kinds of retreat or rest are mentioned in the bible. There is the overall concept of Sabbath - which means “cessation” in the Hebrew. There are also great celebrations and feasts, prayer retreats, and other times when people of the bible stopped doing their regular work. This three-part message series will study different rest periods and look at the reasons for them.

So listen to God's wisdom and ... take a break! As if for us personally, the Wall Street Journal has an article today (June 17, 2010) entitled, Why Relaxing is Hard Work. Take a look at it (I snagged their picture - above - too...) and you can even check out their "Are you a workaholic?" quiz linked in the article.  Then, for a little over an hour on Sunday, we'll all simply . . . stop . . . and begin to consider God.
- Curtis

Organic, Natural, No-Fat Jesus (come Sunday to hear why that's a sermon title...)

I'm back. And instead of waxing eloquent about the upcoming sermon this week, I thought I'd tell you a little about my vacation in hopes that, if you haven't yet gotten away, you will be inspired to do so.

First, however, I want to thank Peter Clay for preaching while I was away. This week one person told me, "The sermon was amazing. I enjoy it so much when Peter preaches. Not that you're not good too, but you know what I mean."

Ahem.

I do actually. Peter brings a life-perspective that has feeling and power. So thank you Peter! I haven't gotten my mittens on the sermon files yet, but when I do I'll listen and also post them on our sermon podcast. So check them out next week if you didn't hear him personally.

Back to vacation thoughts....as I mentioned in my post pre-vacation, I had a hard time breaking away. But camping with my girls did the job. We took along a little 2-person raft and went to a spot on the Nehalem River. Beautiful and quite perfect. The most adventurous part of the 3 day trip was sending Malia, Becca and one of their friends down the Nehalem in that raft. Fear not, they wore life vests. The only trouble was

figuring out where I would yank them out down-river. Yes, I should have considered this more before saying bon-voyage. It turned out well despite hacking through thick brush in shorts; being scratched by something in the brush that made my legs feel like red-hot chili peppers (not the singing group) had been rubbed all over my skin. That feeling only lasted about 12 hours. The welts subsided before that. But it was great fun and I doubt the girls will forget it soon. In the middle of my time away, we came back for the CHBC Community BBQ.

Then, during week 2, 14 of us rented a house in Manzanita - Ana's extended family from California. Some days were cool, some warm and sunny, but each one was good. We rested, golfed, kayaked, played volleyball, surfed, and hiked a bit. Ana's brother and I are extraordinary friends, though the family believes we are a pain to be around when we get together. We laughed so hardat times I thought I'd get a hernia. I finished a couple of books I'd been trudging through too. The pics here tell some of the story.

There's something wonderful about getting away. Disengaging allows the mind, soul and body to recharge. Perhaps God was onto something with the Sabbath thing, huh? I find that my ability to engage people meaningfully is restored - and I hope that lasts. I didn't realize, until I was away, that I was a bit fried emotionally. But that's another story....

So that's about it. I'm back, ready for our last VBS day this coming Wednesday (80 F beats last week's 107 F). I'm looking forward to see you all in worship! Oh, and the message is from John 6 where Jesus talks about being "living bread" - we'll try to figure out what that's supposed to mean. See you soon! - Curtis