Memorial Day is past and we are getting ready to jump into summer with camping, boating, fishing, picnics, and ballgames. There will be the 4th of July celebrations, fireworks, county fairs, and festivals. Many have planned a trip to the mountains or the beaches.

We jump into many things to be refreshed and renewed after the cold days of winter. All of these things are good but sometimes the things we do to refresh and renew ourselves just wear us out. Have you ever seen someone who has come back from a vacation that needs time to recuperate? The planning and excitement leading up to the time to the travel can be exhausting.

We jump into these external things, hoping that they will refresh and renew our internal desire for happiness, peace, and well being. The problem is that many times we try to change an internal dissatisfaction by changing our external surroundings. When I attended AA, one thing we would laugh about was “the geographical cure.” It seems to be human nature to think that a different location will make everything better. What we are looking for comes from the inside, not the outside.

Psalms 119:165: Great peace have those who love Gods’ law, and nothing causes them to stumble. Philemon 1:20; “Yes, brother, let me have joy from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in the Lord. 1 Timothy 6:6; But godliness with contentment is great gain.

Jump into summer and have the time of your life. Those external experiences can be refreshing and renewing if you possess that peace, joy, and contentment that comes from the inside.

Join us at the Gathering Place Wednesday evening at 7 and Sunday morning at 9 and 10:30 as we are refreshed by learning to love God’s law, experiencing the joy of the Lord, and living a life of contentment.