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Dear Pali Pres, I must admit, I am really enjoying summertime. Perhaps it has to do with the long, wet, and cold (by LA standards) winter and spring we had this year, but waking up to sunshine and basking in the warm, bright days has been so nice. I know many people in the LA area are enduring excessive heat this summer, which is certainly not fun (and, in some cases, dangerous). But here in the Palisades the sunshine and moderate temperatures have been truly enjoyable. I’ve made it my personal intention, each day this summer, to pause and reflect on this season we are in. It is so important to appreciate the gifts we are given from God, and summer is certainly one of them. I have so many memories from my childhood of summer being the best time of year—playing with friends outside all day, eating loads of ice cream, going swimming, catching fireflies at night, etc. As I enjoy these beautiful summer days, I give thanks for those memories as I also give thanks for the more relaxed nature of life that we enjoy this time of year. I hope you will join me in thanking God for the gift of this season. I recently came across this prayer of thanksgiving for summer from an unknown author. I trust it will speak to your heart as it did mine: Father, Creator of all, thank you for summer! Thank you for the warmth of the sun and the increased daylight. Thank you for the beauty I see all around me and for the opportunity to be outside and enjoy your creation. Thank you for the increased time I have to be with my friends and family, and for the more casual pace of the summer season. Draw me closer to you this summer. Teach me how I can pray, no matter where I am or what I am doing. Warm my soul with the awareness of your presence and light my path with your word and counsel. As I enjoy your creation, create in me a pure heart and a hunger and a thirst for you. Amen. Yours in Christ, Pastor Matt
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