{"id":4163,"date":"2015-07-24T15:50:46","date_gmt":"2015-07-24T20:50:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/pilgrimsroadtrip\/?p=4163"},"modified":"2015-07-24T15:50:46","modified_gmt":"2015-07-24T20:50:46","slug":"puppy-days-of-summer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pilgrimsroadtrip\/2015\/07\/puppy-days-of-summer\/","title":{"rendered":"Puppy Days Of Summer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

We may be in the dog days of summer, but this year\u2019s record rains have made this season more of a wet puppy where I live.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0Though it\u2019s late July, the back-to-school commercials are already saturating the airwaves. Our calendars may tell us a new year starts on January 1, but there is a \u201cnew year\u201d feeling about early September for many of us, isn\u2019t there?<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Recently, I finished edits on my book for NavPress about the calendars that shape our lives. The working title is\u00a0Everyday Eternity: How the Jewish Feasts and Christian Calendar Point Us At Something More<\/em>. The book is scheduled for release next year. It will offer readers a lively devotional background look at each calendar\u2019s key days or seasons, along with information about how and why the church moved from one calendar to the other, and application about what each of our days, both holiday and ordinary day, tell us about how to steward and celebrate the time God has given us.<\/span><\/p>\n

You may be looking ahead to your September \u201cnew year\u201d schedule \u2013 or trying not to think about it yet! In either case, I hope these words from the current introduction to the book are an encouragement to you as you consider how you structure your days:<\/p>\n

\"calendar\"<\/a>In our always-connected digital world, many of us have become accustomed to the idea that we are the architects of our days. We make our appointments and set our schedules, all the while kvetching that we\u2019re just too busy. Our overscheduled lives proclaim to the world and ourselves that really, we\u2019re super-indispensible people. We allow a subtle pride to warp our understanding of our role in God\u2019s story: \u201cLook at my crammed datebook! If others need or want me this much, I must be pretty important.\u201d<\/em>
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And if they don\u2019t, then it\u2019s not a far leap for some of us to believe that maybe our lives don\u2019t matter much.\n

I\u2019d like to suggest that our watches and Day-Timers and Google calendars are not the measure of our worth. We who belong to Jesus understand (at least in our heads) that we are not our own. Our eternal God has given us this slice of eternity, right here and now, in which to live for and with him.<\/p><\/em>\n

In other words, our calendar is the way in which we create intentionality in the way you live the gift of eternal life God has given you through his Son. My prayer for each of us is that we will have ears to hear the rhythm of eternity as we consider the way in which we live each moment and day of our lives.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Many women\u2019s ministry leaders, small group heads, and book club facilitators use the dog days of summer to plan upcoming events. I\u2019d love to be a part of your group\u2019s gathering or retreat. I speak about topics including:<\/span>
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