Happy June!

Even though the official first day of Summer is still a few weeks away.  For those of us in the US Memorial Day weekend typically kicks off summer for most people. So here we are summer of 2022. The world is as “not normal” as it ever or was or as I think we are all learning…any sense of so-called normal was just an illusion.

Navigating through these past few years has been different kinds of hard for each of us.  Jobs have ended or changed, we’ve moved to different cities and states, we’ve grieved the loss of precious family members and friends, we’ve seen mass shootings and witnessed wars being waged…it’s a lot.

And even though for me walking into 2020 my life had already shifted significantly the years prior in a way that some of what was considered the “new normal” had already been implemented in my life.

And my normal has continued to grow deeper these past few years in the realization of what is really essential in my life and allowing those things that aren’t to fall away.

The word normal has been thrown around so much in this past season and the gift can be found in the realization that “normal” does mean needed. And so much of what was our normal was deemed normal by someone and a group of someone. haha

We weren’t created to be “normal” we were designed and created in the image of God and purposed to be imagers of him by loving him with all of our heart, soul, and mind and loving others as we love ourselves.

As humans, we tend to overcomplicate things. When Jesus told us clearly that everything can be summed up in those 2 commandments.

I had intended to just read a couple of verses from Matthew 11 (the message) but in light of what I just shared, I would love to read the whole chapter. And please hang with me… I know it’s harder when someone starts reading something of length and it’s easy to tune out. But I think there is something for us to be reminded of so thanks for focusing on and listening…

When Jesus finished placing this charge before his twelve disciples, he went on to teach and preach in their villages.

2-3 John, meanwhile, had been locked up in prison. When he got wind of what Jesus was doing, he sent his own disciples to ask, “Are you the One we’ve been expecting, or are we still waiting?”

4-6 Jesus told them, “Go back and tell John what’s going on:

The blind see,
The lame walk,
Lepers are cleansed,
The deaf hear,
The dead are raised,
The wretched of the earth learn that God is on their side.

“Is this what you were expecting? Then count yourselves most blessed!”

7-10 When John’s disciples left to report, Jesus started talking to the crowd about John. “What did you expect when you went out to see him in the wild? A weekend camper? Hardly. What then? A sheik in silk pajamas? Not in the wilderness, not by a long shot. What then? A prophet? That’s right, a prophet! Probably the best prophet you’ll ever hear. He is the prophet that Malachi announced when he wrote, ‘I’m sending my prophet ahead of you, to make the road smooth for you.’

11-14 “Let me tell you what’s going on here: No one in history surpasses John the Baptizer, but in the kingdom he prepared you for, the lowliest person is ahead of him. For a long time now people have tried to force themselves into God’s kingdom. But if you read the books of the Prophets and God’s Law closely, you will see them culminate in John, teaming up with him in preparing the way for the Messiah of the kingdom. Looked at in this way, John is the ‘Elijah’ you’ve all been expecting to arrive and introduce the Messiah.

15 “Are you listening to me? Really listening?

16-19 “How can I account for this generation? The people have been like spoiled children whining to their parents, ‘We wanted to skip rope, and you were always too tired; we wanted to talk, but you were always too busy.’ John came fasting and they called him crazy. I came feasting and they called me a boozer, a friend of the misfits. Opinion polls don’t count for much, do they? The proof of the pudding is in the eating.”

20 Next Jesus unleashed on the cities where he had worked the hardest but whose people had responded the least, shrugging their shoulders and going their own way.

21-24 “Doom to you, Chorazin! Doom, Bethsaida! If Tyre and Sidon had seen half of the powerful miracles you have seen, they would have been on their knees in a minute. At Judgment Day they’ll get off easy compared to you. And Capernaum! With all your peacock strutting, you are going to end up in the abyss. If the people of Sodom had had your chances, the city would still be around. At Judgment Day they’ll get off easy compared to you.”

25-26 Abruptly Jesus broke into prayer: “Thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth. You’ve concealed your ways from sophisticates and know-it-alls, but spelled them out clearly to ordinary people. Yes, Father, that’s the way you like to work.”

27 Jesus resumed talking to the people, but now tenderly. “The Father has given me all these things to do and say. This is a unique Father-Son operation, coming out of Father and Son intimacies and knowledge. No one knows the Son the way the Father does, nor the Father the way the Son does. But I’m not keeping it to myself; I’m ready to go over it line by line with anyone willing to listen.

28-30 “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

Is anyone in need of recovery and real rest?  He’s not keeping it a secret how we can live freely and lightly.

And I get that as adults we aren’t given a couple of months off from life for summer break necessarily. 

When I’m referring to summer I’m referring to a state of mind…a time or a feeling that a lot of you listening can relate to and remember. The experience of counting down the last weeks and days of school and feeling like you were going to bust by the end of it all in anticipation for the sweet days of summer.

Maybe it was just the way it was in my family but besides Band Camp when I got older and church camp one week sprinkled in everyone didn’t pack their summers full of all kinds of camps and activities.  Instead, it was packed full of NOTHINGNESS… No agenda, nowhere to be…it was as the last line of that scripture I just read…living lightly and freely.

In no way do I believe the summer months are the only time we can experience this kind of life… absolutely not. These are moments we can experience in Christ at any time…in the midst of the good days and in the midst of uncertainty and tragedy.

So even though this life and freedom are available to us at all times I would love to invite you to join me in leaning into days of living lightly and freely during these summer months.

I’ll be sending out an email every Sunday as well as sharing here on the podcast. So if you aren’t receiving emails you can go to susanbeth.com and sign up there!

I almost forgot… I’ve been working on some fun art pieces for summer with some bright fun colors. Thanks for helping confirm what I was feeling when I did a poll on IG in my stories. Loved seeing your choices and no worries for those of you that weren’t a fan of the orange and hot pink…there’s something for everyone in these summer pieces. I was planning on releasing them on the 21st the first official day of Summer, but I don’t know if I can wait so be on the lookout, haha and those of you on the email list will find out when that happens first!

So here’s what I want to invite you to do…

Get comfy (whatever that means to you)

And get out your journal, a piece of paper whatever you.ve got works!

I want you to write out as many as come to your mind when you think about summertime when you were a kid.

Days with no agenda and filled with lots of time to wonder + wander.

So I’m not talking about listing just big event stuff. I’m talking about all of it. There are books from our family bookshelf that I wanted after my mother passed away and things were being gone through. And the reason certain books stood out to me was that I could remember so many times when I ran out of “things” to play or do that I would walk over to that bookshelf and run my fingers down the rows and across the books. I read every title, seeing every color on the books, and occasionally pulling one out that happen to catch my eye that day.

Take your time and as you write some things I want you to really think about them. Let your mind remember and take in the feelings you felt.

When I think back to my childhood family bookcase  It makes me feel peaceful and like I don’t have a care in the world. Just free time to run my fingers over books ahah

I’m excited about these next few months and can’t wait to hear from you and experience these sweet summer days in some way together.

And you know my hashtag loving self will be using #sheissummertime if you want to join in and that way we can find each other's posts.

Let’s pray!

Father thank you for a world of seasons. And we are so grateful that you are right there with us in each and every one.

I ask that during these next few months of summer we would draw close to you in a fresh way and we would experience fresh freedom and life in our spirits.

We love you and are excited for all that is to come and we are looking to you …always!