II don’t feel like doing this.

It is 98? outside. I’m getting things cleared off my desk in preparation for heading off to Annual Conference. I’ve got an AD BD meeting tonight. And I am feeling, frankly, uninspired. (And you be honest, too: Were you really looking forward to hauling your Challenge to the beach, kicking back, and enjoying Pastor Mark’s jejune comments?

I thought not. So let’s make a deal. I’ll offer a couple of modest suggestions for your summertime spiritual journey, throw in a couple of internet jokes and let you get back to whatever it is needs doing. Deal?
Pastor Mark’s Serious Summertime Suggestions

Worship the Lord! If 9:30 is too late for your Sunday plans, come by at 8:00. Don’t want to be cooped up inside? Enjoy outdoor worship at 11:30 in the Sonrise Garden.

Keep your pledge up to date! If you’re going away, please take the time to mail your gift to the office. Your giving helps keep your church alive.

Read a book that will lift your spirit! (Good bets include Gilead by Marilynne Robinson; What Jesus Meant by Gary Wills; The Great Divorce by C. S. Lewis; Take This Bread by Sarah Miles; The Collected Stories of Flannery O’Connor.)

Pray every day! Pray for your church, your pastors and staff, one another, our world. Pray just to be with God.

And. . .
Some Summertime Humor (Don’t blame me: You sent these to me!)

Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

Mary Clancy approached Father O'Grady after his Sunday morning service; she was in tears. 'So what's bothering you, dear?' asked the priest. She said, 'Oh, Father, I've got terrible news. My husband passed away last night.'
'Oh, Mary, that's terrible. Tell me, Mary, did he have any last requests?'
She says, 'That he did, Father. . . '
'What did he ask, Mary?' asked Father O’Grady.
'He said, 'Please, Mary, put down that gun. . .'

Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.

The shin bone is a device for finding furniture in a dark room.

A dog walked into a telegram office, took out a blank form and wrote, "Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof." The clerk examined the paper and politely told the dog, "There are only nine words here. You could send another 'Woof' for the same price." "But," the dog replied, "that would make no sense at all."

And on that note, I wish you a safe, happy and blessed summer. Pastor Mark