Lego sets come with instructions. The bigger the set, the bigger the book or books. There are step by step instructions of how to build what's on the box. The Bible is the Christian Instruction manual. It is the inspired Word of God that can help us learn more about who God is and who God calls us to be. We learn from the troubles and trials of God's people and learn that the promises of God are ours as well.

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It is August so it is back to backpacks and football games. There is a rhythm to the fall and honestly there is a rhythm to everything in life. Whether it is the back to school routine instead of more laid back days of summer or it is the church year which has high holy seasons as well as ordinary time, or it is your spiritual self that has times of harvest and excitement and other times of rest and reflection. We all go through seasons and we cannot rush them. God walks with us through all these seasons, so look and listen, find what season you are in, and relax, knowing God is with you.

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That space where it is all you can do to take the next step. Flight, fight or freeze has kicked in and you are simply trying to survive the day. Survival mode happens to all of us and it is not where we are at our best. Even when we are in survival mode, God walks with us. God wants to walk through this with us and bring us back to a place of abundant life? Know that God is with you even when you feel lost. God will continue to walk with you as you seek to just take the next step.

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Anne Lamott has been quoted as saying "Grace always bats last." In Ephesians Paul reminds us that grace is a gift of God. It isn't anything we can beg, borrow, or steal. we can't earn it. God gives it. Grace invites us into the story, even if we feel we have messed up - kind of like Laura Buntings "Another book about Bears." We are part of God's story and grace meets us and carries us home.

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As we have watched flooding and wars going on all around the world, it is hard not to fall into despair. But recently I have had opportunities to do things for people that they could not repay - nor did I expect them to. Random acts of kindness used to be a thing, and I think we should bring them back. What random act of kindness can you do to bring joy and love and light to the world?

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In a world in crisis, what is mine to hold? I cannot solve the Middle East, Ukraine, ICE, the floods, so what is mine to hold. The Bible repeatedly tells us not to be anxious but to cast our cares on God. How do we do that? How do we do what we can and let the rest go?

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The news of flash floods in the Texas Hill Country and so many people, including lots of young campers who have died or are yet unaccounted for is heartbreaking. I have spent time in the Texas Hill Country. I have driven past those camps. I have played in the Guadalupe River. The devastation is horrific.

I am also heartbroken because a mother with 2 young girls came looking for help to self-deport. Her husband was arrested by ICE and she is terrified to be split from her girls. All of this is heartbroken, and I have to think the heart of God is broken too.

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I have seen in recent weeks the need for community. We read about community and its importance throughout the Bible. We need others. We need relationship. Community can help support us in times of need, celebrate when we celebrate and weep or mourn with us when we need that too. How can we better be community in the way in which Fred Rogers asked us to be neighbors?

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