May 24, 2022

Dear friends,

With Dekalb County Schools finishing their school year on Friday, and our lovely preschoolers and families also graduating on Friday, it is officially summertime for many people in our world. As people have asked us about our summer plans, I’ve consistently told them, “not moving.” As I reflect back on last summer, moving consumed almost every aspect of what we did as a family. We were packing, shopping for a home, trying to sell our home, saying goodbye to friends, and meeting new ones; all at the same time. 

So, we are looking forward to a normal summer, but here is the reality, no time is normal. Kids are growing up and changing. Neighborhoods are changing. Events happen in the world and in the church, and the expectation of “normal” is different for everyone you meet. The key is, and this is a lot of what the contemplatives tell us, is to pay attention. Pay attention to your body, your mind, and your soul. Look at it with kindness, as God looks at us, and live into the gift of life given to us. 

This may be a big summer for many of us. This may be the summer we move to college or become empty-nesters. This may be the summer we meet important people in our lives. This may be the summer we lose someone we love. I hope and encourage all of us, to pay attention to ourselves, and one another, so that we do not “check out” for a season. There is so much changing one growing, including God’s church at Embry Hills, and you are invited to be a part of it.

Peace,

Jordan