From the Pastor's Desk (August 2026)
Because of the Lord’s great love, we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail.
They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.~Lamentations 3:22-23
As we work through what we have come to call, the Dog Days of Summer, there are many people who find themselves asking, could there really be such a thing as “too much of a good thing?” As we drag through the hottest and driest days of the summer – and consequently, the year – many who, just a few months ago, couldn’t wait for summer to arrive, now find themselves ready for the next season. For many, vacations are over, and as nice as they were, they were also busy and labor-intensive. People say that they need a vacation from vacation! Some (not all) kids are getting bored and are ready to go back to school. Parents, as much as they love their children, are ready for their kids to go back to school. A third of the summer is almost an illusion as vacation venues start shutting down from their peak season and school starts up again with still almost a month of summer left, according to the calendar. But many are ready for the cooler, moist autumn months with all of the fun fall and winter activities on the horizon.
But then something strange happens. Fall comes, harvest comes, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas come, followed swiftly by the New Year...and even they disappear as quickly as they came. Those fun-filled summer months, all the way through the hustle and bustle of fall fun and holidays, all come to a screeching halt as we get into early January with two and a half months of the dead of winter still ahead, with the fun all over, and it isn’t long until we, once again, long for summer. As much as we may have looked for a change of pace “with all of the fall and winter fun,” were the dog days of summer really that bad? We very quickly wish for them to return.
How many of us have experienced, or are perhaps now experiencing, the dog days of our faith? The joy of finding salvation and life in Jesus, especially the longer we have been Christians, seems to fade. We take Jesus for granted. We seek to be faithful to our calling to share our faith with others, and do our work in the church – all great and important things – but like vacation, we burn out and feel like we need a vacation from even those good things.
Some people even seek other activities and lifestyles that might be contrary to the faith we profess, as Satan tries to tempt us with his version of fun. And then, like the winter, we get to a place where we realize those fun things weren’t so fun, it’s over, and we find ourselves in the dead of winter in our faith.
We are a people who never seem to be satisfied. We love variety, we love options, and we love being able to choose what we think will make us happy. We forget that focusing on God – truly focusing on Him – shows us a God who gives us new mercies and blessings every day – new reasons to be excited about our faith. Yes, maybe we get three sunny days in a row – but what different ways can we experience and enjoy the beauty of God’s creation? Maybe we have some rainy days, but what beautiful flowers and delicious fruits and vegetables come from that water? Yes, life throws us curves, but what neat ways can we wait and watch how God fulfills Romans 8:28 in our lives this time, just as He did all the other times? In all things God works for the good of those who love Him.
Don’t despair if you find yourself in the dog days of your faith, or even a winter. Just as the summer returns, we can be sure that God is standing there with open arms waiting for your return. If you find yourself in that situation, won’t you run into those open arms today? ~Pastor Eric
They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.~Lamentations 3:22-23
As we work through what we have come to call, the Dog Days of Summer, there are many people who find themselves asking, could there really be such a thing as “too much of a good thing?” As we drag through the hottest and driest days of the summer – and consequently, the year – many who, just a few months ago, couldn’t wait for summer to arrive, now find themselves ready for the next season. For many, vacations are over, and as nice as they were, they were also busy and labor-intensive. People say that they need a vacation from vacation! Some (not all) kids are getting bored and are ready to go back to school. Parents, as much as they love their children, are ready for their kids to go back to school. A third of the summer is almost an illusion as vacation venues start shutting down from their peak season and school starts up again with still almost a month of summer left, according to the calendar. But many are ready for the cooler, moist autumn months with all of the fun fall and winter activities on the horizon.
But then something strange happens. Fall comes, harvest comes, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas come, followed swiftly by the New Year...and even they disappear as quickly as they came. Those fun-filled summer months, all the way through the hustle and bustle of fall fun and holidays, all come to a screeching halt as we get into early January with two and a half months of the dead of winter still ahead, with the fun all over, and it isn’t long until we, once again, long for summer. As much as we may have looked for a change of pace “with all of the fall and winter fun,” were the dog days of summer really that bad? We very quickly wish for them to return.
How many of us have experienced, or are perhaps now experiencing, the dog days of our faith? The joy of finding salvation and life in Jesus, especially the longer we have been Christians, seems to fade. We take Jesus for granted. We seek to be faithful to our calling to share our faith with others, and do our work in the church – all great and important things – but like vacation, we burn out and feel like we need a vacation from even those good things.
Some people even seek other activities and lifestyles that might be contrary to the faith we profess, as Satan tries to tempt us with his version of fun. And then, like the winter, we get to a place where we realize those fun things weren’t so fun, it’s over, and we find ourselves in the dead of winter in our faith.
We are a people who never seem to be satisfied. We love variety, we love options, and we love being able to choose what we think will make us happy. We forget that focusing on God – truly focusing on Him – shows us a God who gives us new mercies and blessings every day – new reasons to be excited about our faith. Yes, maybe we get three sunny days in a row – but what different ways can we experience and enjoy the beauty of God’s creation? Maybe we have some rainy days, but what beautiful flowers and delicious fruits and vegetables come from that water? Yes, life throws us curves, but what neat ways can we wait and watch how God fulfills Romans 8:28 in our lives this time, just as He did all the other times? In all things God works for the good of those who love Him.
Don’t despair if you find yourself in the dog days of your faith, or even a winter. Just as the summer returns, we can be sure that God is standing there with open arms waiting for your return. If you find yourself in that situation, won’t you run into those open arms today? ~Pastor Eric
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