Greetings Friends,
This summer my family has the opportunity to spend a week at a cabin on Lake Champlain—a place filled with childhood memories of swimming, waterskiing, soccer, and large family meals. It was the center of my summers growing up, and returning there always feels like stepping into peace.
Now, what I look forward to isn’t the activity but the rest: sitting in a chair with a book, watching ducks drift by, and seeing the kids splash in the water. The lake reminds me “the Lord is my Shepherd.”
Has life been difficult for you this year? Has your summer been busy? Does rest feel hard to find?
Our lives rarely offer rest naturally. We stay busy, keep pushing, and even fill vacations with activity. Rest doesn’t just happen—we must choose it. And we have to learn how to receive it.
Psalm 23 tells us the Shepherd doesn’t just guide us—He makes us lie down on green pastures, He leads us beside quiet waters and refreshes our souls. Rest isn’t something we force; it’s something we receive.
As my family rests on the shores of Lake Champlain, my prayer is that we—and you—allow the Shepherd to lead us to calming spaces. Quiet waters. Green pastures. A slower pace.
“The Lord is my Shepherd; I lack nothing.” We only lack when we refuse to let the Shepherd shepherd us.
May you find rest in the Lord this summer.