So Emily and I got married a few weeks ago! It was an amazing time of celebrating our new life together with family and friends. Thank you to everyone who came out to experience that day with us! We are blessed beyond measure by all of the support and care for us that has been shown in our time dating one another and now as we are joined together.

As we look at August it is a season of change. Time when people are looking towards school starting again for their little ones and the weather is at its hottest. We want to get out and do things but the smoke and the heat often keep us inside. Sometimes that drives people a little nuts. Cabin Fever can set in really quickly and we just want an escape from the feeling of being bound up in our houses. As this feeling starts to set in I want us to consider that it doesn’t just happen with our homes or in this season. We sometimes feel bound up in other places in our lives. We can feel that way at work or with our relationships. Anywhere we spend our time can begin to feel like this if we don’t watch for it. Church too can sometimes feel like a place where we are bound up. We might feel locked in or stuck in our relationship with God. We want to move. We want to grow, we want to explore, and we want to experience something new.

One beautiful thing about this feeling of being bound up is that when it comes to the church, we are. We are bound together in love. Christ has called each one of us to this community for a purpose. To work and grow together in the love of God for the glory of His name and in His Kingdom. As this feeling of cabin fever sets in, don’t run from it. Take time to ask why you might be feeling the way you are and ask if it is because Jesus has something more for you to experience. Ask Him what that experience is and how He wants you to pursue it. Are there others in your community that can help you seek it and grow towards it together? We are called to be working together to carry whatever burdens the Lord has placed on us. No matter where you are, if you are feeling bound up, we can help you grow and move towards the goal that God has in store for you. So, how can we help?