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Enjoy His teachings this summer  

  How are you spending your summer? Perhaps you are taking your children to play softball, baseball or T-Ball. Maybe you are traveling on vacation. Maybe your time is being spent at the pool or taking your kids to the splash pad in the park. We have lots to do during the summer, but also it seems to slow down. We don’t have to take the kids to school with all the after-school activities during the summer. I love when my kids are out of school, because it seems more relaxing. Sometimes we say to ourselves oh I will work on that in the summer when I have more time. Many times it still doesn’t get done, because ultimately you become busy again.

  Life in the church seems to slow down too because of all the things I mentioned before, but also the church year changes to the teachings of Jesus instead of the festival times of Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter.

  During the summer we begin to read about sending out the Seventy or Seventy-two, but that it is greater than anything that our names are written in heaven.

  We have read the parable of the Good Samaritan this past week and Jesus talking to Mary and Martha this coming week. We begin to learn what it means to be followers of Jesus. We learned at the beginning of the year that Jesus was born, lived a perfect life, died and rose for us forgiving us of our sins. Now as the year turns to the summer we begin to dive into, like our summer pool, how do we live because Jesus has done so much for us. While doing this we hear Jesus teach the law, because people are trying to trick Him or they want to learn what it means to believe in Him. Many people struggle with the law, because they are convicted for not living according to it. However, these days in summer and then all the way to Advent are a gift, like having your kids off school. They are teaching us how to love our neighbor and God.

  Now that we are saved by Jesus’ death and resurrection we can lose the selfishness. We can give to our local food bank, take care of even our enemy, and learn more at the feet of Jesus. We can learn how to pray, learn how to give instead of hoarding things for ourselves, and then learn how God cares for us even more than the animals and fields.

It is such a blessing to have your children at home relaxing and enjoying the fun of the summer.

  It is also wonderful to be blessed to learn what it means to be forgiven followers of Jesus who died and rose for us. Enjoy your time this summer and enjoy being a follower of Jesus as you learn what it means to follow Him.