“There is no greater evidence of faith than the virtue of genuine thanksgiving.”
– excerpted from Streams in the Desert

This last weekend I went camping. We camped with six families, twenty kids in all. Minivans were stuffed to the gills with unnecessary “necessities.” We kicked off the summer as so many do…in traffic. We drove to the local mountains to a campsite adjacent to Lake Arrowhead. For the duration of our stay it rained…all day, all night.

We set up our tent at night…in the rain.
We ate our breakfasts, teeth chattering…in the rain.
We scrambled to the bathroom…in the rain.

We have a tent big enough for my whole family. But, only my oldest son was willing to sleep in it with me. Everyone else slept in our minivan. In that first night, having been kept awake by the constant fear that we were going to be washed clear into San Bernadino by a rogue flash flood, and as I swore under my breath that this was the final camping trip the Maguire family would ever take, something dawned on me.

My kids were having a blast. So were the other seventeen kids. They were soaked — every inch of them: shoes, socks, pants, shirts, sweatshirts, all of it, drenched. Every kid in each of the families melted their shoes on the fire attempting to warm their feet. But, not one of them complained. All of the parents stood staring at the fire, wondering why we were there, longing for a better cup of coffee (nice try Starbucks Via). But, the kids were inventing games. They decided to hold a skit/talent show next to our campsite. They played in the tall trees. They hid in the misty fog. They laughed. They were having the time of their lives.

My kids found a thankfulness in plans gone awry. While I found the very bland practice of complaining, the kids discovered the virtue of genuine thanksgiving. They had so much fun in the rain, they believed everything went exactly as we had planned it. So, like any good father, I took credit for their joy and told them they were welcome…and to remove their now melting Nikes from the burning coals of the fire.

So, we’ll camp again. But, not for awhile.

This Sunday, we’ll launch a new series that will be great for inviting friends, especially those who are curious about Jesus, called Listen. I’m looking forward to being with all of you and meeting those you’ve invited.

See you Sunday,

Jeff

Everyday, families face crises and have no safety net to help them in their time of need or a safe place for their kids to stay while they get back on their feet. Join us to see how to get involved, support a host family, or connect with current host families and family friends. For more info, contact Katie, joelandkatie728@gmail.com

Info Meeting
Sun, May 31, 1-3p, Upper Room, lunch provided

Join us as we build a home in Mexico for a family in great need. Bring your kids and friends for this special event to help in construction and fellowship with the locals. To sign up or for more info, contact Derek, dkishida@gmail.com

Sat, May 30, 6a-9p, Tijuana, $40/adults, $20/child under 16 yrs

Come for an afternoon of sunshine and fun with your life group on the lake at Laguna Niguel Regional Park. Bring your sense of adventure (and your Nerf gun…) and enjoy the great outdoors! To RSVP, click here.

Sat, May 30, Jr High Students 10a-4p, 5th Graders 10a-1p, free, Laguna Niguel Regional Park

Join the Men of Mariners as we embark on our Annual Men’s Mountain Retreat at Forest Home Retreat Center in Forest Falls. Click here to register or for more info.

Friday, June 5, 4p – Sunday, June 7, 12p
Forest Home Retreat Center

The church employs a lot of strange words to describe the way we do things. Usually, we rely on redefinitions of common words in hopes that in new contexts they’ll mean fresh things. We use the word “community” as a way to give meaning to the network of relationships that are bound together within the church. Secondarily, community means the neighborhoods where people live. We often use the word “relationship” — singular — to account for the principle governing relationships — plural. We talk about “doing life together” as a catch-all for not being alone. But, it’s a phrase people outside the church seldom use. But, there’s one other word. It’s a word that has meaning in a number of contexts — church, business, military. Yet, it’s meaning, I’m finding, isn’t always crystal clear:

Retreat.

For people in business, it carries with it images of flowcharts, organizational efficiency, paradigm-busting, and synergistic cross-functional-matrix result-driven, time-stamped action items. For the military, a retreat involves an assessment that a given battle cannot continue in the same manner any longer. There have been losses. There have been unexpected challenges. Victory is not lost. But, in order to achieve it, the battle group will need a moment to regather, regroup, and recover before venturing out again. This past week, I was on a retreat.

Some of the pastors from the Mariners network of churches gathered not to re-strategize or re-engage our strategic objectives. Nor, did we gather because we’re losing battles. But, we did retreat. We realize in retreat, that the most effective way our time may be spent is in…building community, harnessing relationship, and realizing that we get to “do life together.” God met us in play…in worship…in meals…in prayer…in laughter and in rest.

I’m excited for all that God is doing in our staff and among our leaders. I am so blessed to be part of such a great family of courageous, servant-hearted staff.

This Sunday, we’ll tackle one of the most courageous and life-altering realities of our present RESET series. I am certain God will do staggering things. It will be a powerful time of reconciliation, restoration, and hope. I’m looking forward to all of what God will do this Sunday.

See you Sunday,

Jeff

If you have any resources that could help us create an incredible weekend away for our High School students, please let us know! Some examples are boats (especially with tubes!), RVs, and houses. If you would like to help play a part in making these weekend camps a reality, contact Jordan, jmaslyn@marinerschurch.org

“Praise our God, all peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard;
he has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping.
For you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver.
You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs.
You let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance.” –Psalm 66:8-12

The book of Psalms comes to us as collection of poetic songs. Many of the Psalms are preceded by written instructions for a music director on how their melody ought to sound. For instance, Psalm 69 starts with “For the director of music. To the tune of ‘Lilies.'” The ninth Psalm, far more morose, begins “To the tune of ‘The Death of the Son.'” This psalm, Psalm 66, begins only as “A song.”

If I knew the tune to the verses listed above, I doubt I could sing them.

It almost sounds like the people — a nameless choir —  are supposed to sing a prayer of thanksgiving for trials that have brought them through a refining process. I’m not entirely sure how silver is refined. But, I’m pretty sure it involves fire and melting. There’s language about prison and burdens. The imagery of being overcome by people who “ride over our heads.” And the song, at least this section, sings:

“…But you brought us to a place of abundance”

I know how to praise God in abundance. I don’t know how to praise God in much else. This psalm is about finding a courageous hope firmly fastened to abundance seen only in retrospect: “you brought (past tense) us to a place of abundance.” Maybe this is why the Bible puts so much emphasis on remembering. God remembers. God gives his people (who are notoriously forgetful) ways to remember him and the abundance into which he’s already led them — even when they don’t see it.

This Sunday is a Sunday to pause and remember. We’ll take communion. We’ll remember what God has done. We’ll tell God’s story through his Word, in song, and in the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. We’ll affirm that while we may not ever understand the trials we face, nor be able to sing praise for “fire and water,” we’ll recall how God poured out his love on the cross to give to us His abundance. That will be worthy of a song, no matter the tune.

See you Sunday,

Jeff