Summer Break Is Over.......

Summer break is over….

    Earlier this week as I was walking down Comox Ave I heard it, a leaf crunching beneath a man's foot. The cold wind was reminding me that September is only days away and summer break is over soon. For some people this is really exciting, fall is amazing, and the cold weather is coming. For many people this brings up different emotions, summer is your favorite time of the year, it's full of swimming, traveling, and resting. The thought of fall and cold weather brings up feelings of busyness and stress as the calendar fills. I hope that with intentionality this fall we cannot become too busy, we need to rest.

This Sunday's message will be closely tied to the big idea of rest and the importance of it, and maybe the most important part, the lack of it in our lives. Our culture today is obsessed with speed, calendars are fuller than ever leaving less room for spiritual growth. The amount of extracurricular activities that we enroll ourselves and our kids in is exponentially more than it has been in the past. It's ok to do lots of things and live a full life, the problem is when there's too much that causes you to hurry through life. Dallas Willard says that “Hurry is the great enemy of spiritual life in our day”. 

In the book Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer he lays out four steps to slow down, avoid hurrying, and grow in your spiritual life and I think it's important to share those with you as we head into a busy fall. 

Solitude
For most people the amount of time that we spend totally alone is very little, when we do get alone time we fill it with tv shows, movies, scrolling social media, or whatever else we have available at our fingertips. In order for a healthy spiritual life there needs to be total alone time with God. 

Simplicity 
When our lives are busy and complex it can leave our mind in a foggy state, try your best to keep your calendar simple. Prioritize rest and time for the things that you love. 

Slow
Jesus was slow, we do not see him running anywhere. “To walk with Jesus is to walk at a slow unhurried pace, hurry is the death of prayer and only impedes and spoils our work, never advances it” - Walter Adams 

Sabbath 
When Jesus created the heavens and the earth it took 6 days and the 7th day was for resting. We are commanded to sabbath and take one day every week to rest and spend time with God. God can do more with 6 then you can do with 7, give your time to him. 

I pray that as fall comes, rest and spiritual growth is a priority in our busy lives. 

Pastor Clay