The Lord is my light and my salvation—
    whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
    of whom shall I be afraid?

I remain confident of this:
    I will see the goodness of the Lord
    in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord;
    be strong and take heart
    and wait for the Lord. (Psalm 17)

At some point you’d think I would get used to this beautiful time of the year, start to take springtime for granted, and stop constantly talking about it. But that’s not about to happen – certainly not this year. Tuesday afternoon I went on two extra walks with Max just because it is so good for my soul.

Then when we got home we both sat on the front porch for a few minutes, luxuriating in the afternoon.

Monday while playing golf I remarked to Chauncey that sometimes, relaxing on such an amazing afternoon in such a spectacular location, enjoying the company of good people for a good cause, I think about the widespread prevalence of misery in this world and I take pause to talk with God about it. It is especially sad because there seems that there is so much effort invested in causing conflict, and I know that peace does not have to be a far-fetched idea.

So I remain committed to the simple idea of enjoying life as if find it, right in front of me.

I grabbed a couple of photos during our second walk. Just to tell a little of the story of the quiet unassuming beauty that is all around us.

Life is good. Rebekah and I are blessed.

Our grateful response:

But I have to say this, too. A careful reading of the teachings of Jesus tells the story of God’s love and then goes on to invite our grateful response. There is no promise that life will be easy, just wonderful.

The more people, however, who accept this invitation to follow Jesus and to join in with God’s redemptive acts of peace, mercy, goodness, grace, light, justice, love, encouragement etc., the more peaceful life will be for everyone.

Following Jesus just could well be the most radical act of social justice you ever do….

Peace, and more peace – DEREK

Following Jesus just could well be the most radical act of social justice you ever do