In case you missed it, it’s August. I mean, in case you failed to look at any calendars and avoided anything with the current date on it, it’s August 1.

What?

These days, I feel like I’m just beginning to get to know a month, get familiar and comfortable with it, and boom! it’s gone. I feel like the weeks fly by and days are over before my coffee fully takes effect. I heard something about that happening to old people, but I forget where I heard it from.

But the good news about August 1 is that fall is inching closer and closer. Sure, us Tennesseans still have at least 2 more months of hot sticky stupid hot weather, but crisp breezes and rainbow leaves are on their way.

That means pumpkin spice everything will be coming soon to a Starbucks near you. I might even break out a flannel shirt in the next day or so. Not to wear but to look at it and yearn for flannel weather.

So, happy August, everyone!

We’ve been going through the book of Jonah the past three Sundays at The Church at Avenue South. Probably anyone who has spent sometime as a kid in Sunday School knows how Jonah is the one who got swallowed by the whale (or more accurately, big fish).

Recently, thanks to some good teaching, I’ve come to see the book a little differently. I see now that the main character of this little book isn’t Jonah, but God.

Jonah is an interesting fellow that I can relate to. A lot. When God calls him to Ninevah, he goes in the complete opposite direction, about as far as you can go in the wrong direction.

Even in the belly of that fish, Jonah essentially prays that God will allow him to go back to Jerusalem to give an offering at the temple. He basically says, “Eh, let’s just forget about the whole Ninevah thing. That wasn’t a good idea anyway.”

Jonah’s message of repentance seems to lean more toward God’s judgment than God’s offer of forgiveness. It’s almost like he’d rather see the city destroyed than for the people to change. After the whole town repents, Jonah throws a hissy fit and sulks.

I can take great comfort in the fact that the good that comes from the book comes not from Jonah’s obedience but from God’s faithfulness. I can trust that God can work in me even in my moments of half-hearted obedience and lukewarm worship.

Does that negate the command for me to pursue God wholeheartedly? Not at all. It simply means that I don’t have to be perfect and have my life all together for God to use me where I am.

I’m not the main character in my own life story. God is. The more I recognize and remember that, the more I will be amazed at what God does in and through me.

“Sometimes we experience a terrible dryness in our spiritual life. We feel no desire to pray, don’t experience God’s presence, get bored with worship services, and even think that everything we ever believed about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit is little more than a childhood fairy tale.

Then it is important to realise that most of these feelings and thoughts are just feelings and thoughts, and that the Spirit of God dwells beyond our feelings and thoughts. It is a great grace to be able to experience God’s presence in our feelings and thoughts, but when we don’t, it does not mean that God is absent. It often means that God is calling us to a greater faithfulness. It is precisely in times of spiritual dryness that we must hold on to our spiritual discipline so that we can grow into new intimacy with God” (Henri Nouwen).

Monday is where  the proverbial rubber meets the road. It’s where we reenter the real world after a weekend of relaxation and rest and worship (or maybe for some of us it’s just another day after a weekend of working).

The important thing to remember is that God is greater than our feelings and so is our faith in Him. The joy we are called to transcends feelings.

The key is to trust God and keep doing what you know He’s called you to do. Keep practicing the disciplines of the faith — Bible reading, prayer, meditation, meeting together with other believers.

God will be just as faithful on Monday as He was on Sunday.

Now that is one very chill and relaxed cat.

Sometimes, courage is the determination to keep it going one more day. It may be too tired to roar, but it can still say, “I will try again tomorrow.” Sometimes, the best remedy for a long day is a good night’s rest.

So, take courage, dear heart. Tomorrow will be a fresh start.

The good people at WordPress informed me that yesterday marked 8 years since I signed up for a blog post account  way back on July 25, 2010 and started this wild and wacky journey. 2,927 posts later and I’m still going strong.

They say that time flies when you’re having fun. Or maybe time’s fun when you’re having flies (which seems much more  appropriate in the middle of a hot, humid, and sticky summer in the South.

I’ve had fun. I’ve been amazed often by what comes out when I sit down to write (or more accurately, lie down in bed to write). I’ve been overwhelmed and astonished at the people I would have never guessed who tell me they read my posts. Some days it’s mostly me staring at a screen and having a mental blank.

I’ve probably repeated myself a time or two (or ten), and probably shared some of the same quotes, pictures, and memes more than once. It’s hard to keep track after a while. Plus, sometimes, everyone needs a second reminder of what they probably already know. I know I do.

I don’t take any of you for granted. I truly am grateful and thankful that anyone other than my mother reads these (and I’m thankful for her, too). Sometimes, it’s really me writing these just for me, and if anyone else shares in the experience, that’s sorta like the proverbial icing on the cake. Which you pretty much need if the cake is going to not suck.

To express my thanks, here’s a picture of some very patriotic sheep. You’re welcome.

“We believe that God forgives us our sins; but also that He will not do so unless we forgive other people their sins against us. There is no doubt about the second part of this statement. It is in the Lord’s Prayer; it was emphatically stated by our Lord. If you don’t forgive, you will not be forgiven. No part of His teaching is clearer, and there are no exceptions to it. He doesn’t say that we are to forgive other people’s sins provided they are not too frightful, or provided there are extenuating circumstances, or anything of that sort. We are to forgive them all, however spiteful, however mean, however often they are repeated. If we don’t, we shall be forgiven none of our own” (C. S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory).

My takeaway from tonight’s Kairos message is simple. Jesus plainly stated in Matthew that if you go to the altar with your sacrifice– that is, if you go into worship service– and remember that you have someone you need to forgive or ask forgiveness from, stop what you’re doing, leave that offering, and go make it right with the other person.

The question Chris Brooks left us with– and which I leave you with– is this. Who do you need to forgive? From whom do you need to seek forgiveness? Maybe you need to put down your device and make a call or visit right now.

It comes down to you being the one to make the first move as you remember that God in Jesus made the first move toward reconciliation while we were yet sinners. God forgave a lot more in you than you will ever forgive (or be forgiven by) anyone else.

Forgiveness, as I heard, is opening the prison door of bitterness and anger only to find that the one released is you. Forgiveness means that you no longer swallow the poison of bitterness and hostility, expecting the other person to die.

When you forgive, you are most like Jesus.

Today, I did my usual triathlon hike of Radnor Lake State Park. I started off with the Ganier Ridge Trail, move on to the South Cove Trail, and finished off with the Lake Trail. I hiked for 3 hours, 11 minutes. That might explain the sore feet.

The weather was perfect. I can’t remember the last time it wasn’t stupid hot with ridiculous humidity in late July. It was actually quite pleasant, almost feeling at times like fall with a constant breeze that had just a touch of chill in it.

Exercise is the most underutilized antidepressant. So is nature. Combine the two, and you have one of the more perfect remedies for a stressful day (or in my case, just an excuse to get away from noise pollution for a while).

I didn’t see the usual amount of wildlife, but I did see plenty of beauty. I got more than the allotted amount of steps in for the day. I got my endorphin rush.

Correction: I actually hiked four trails today. I didn’t include the South Lake Trail, but looking at the park map, I see that I hiked that one as well. Good to know.

I believe I’ll sleep good tonight.