I’m not sure what happened but the other morning I woke up at my usual time but it was dark. For about a month the sun was already rising by 5 a.m. but no longer. It’s all downhill from here, you know: days shorter, leaves start to change, kids off to school, Thanksgiving, a few cute snowflakes fall and then … wham! The Polar Vortex comes howling out of Canada to latch onto us and chew away at our souls until our spleens have frostbite. Oh, how I try to hold onto these last few days of summer! Oh, how futile my attempts.

It’s like the book of Ecclesiastics telling us how swift life passes, how meaningless everything is, and that we ought to do something to memorialize each summer like go to the beach or the mountains or whatever because before you know it, you are old and then you are dead. I may have helped the text along a little there, but I’m sure I stayed within the spirit of the writer’s intent.

I read a pastor’s message the other day decrying church members who wander all over creation each summer leaving the church unmanned. I’d say get to church as often as you can, but if you get a chance for some adventure — take it! Live! Inspire the family with sights to be seen and places to be explored. Put as many footprints acrosst his great land as you can. After all, earth is spelled e-ART-h; it’s God’s greatest masterpiece and He loves when we admire His handiwork.

– Pastor Joel Everhart