AUGUST!

My Dear Friends,

As August comes upon us, I am reminded of my last job in the Navy, that of compiling and editing a book of biographies of our Navy chaplains. Among the data that I compiled was the date of the marriage. I didn’t do a thorough “count” for each month of the year, but it was soon evident to me that more weddings occurred in August than in the more traditional month of June.

I’m not sure if there is a universal reason for so many weddings being in August — including the wedding of Carmen Blair and Michael Halley, and Tammy Thompson and Jeffrey Halley — but it may have something to do with back to school in September! That was Carmen’s and my reason.

Reading up on various traditions having to do with the month of August, I remember that all over Europe August is the month of vacations. Our little town of Gaeta, Italy, probably experienced an almost doubling of the population that month! Great memories of this month.

August might be a good month to take a personal inventory of our spiritual life. Activities around the church have been fewer this summer, and September will see us gearing up for lots of ways we can come together and go forth to serve God. But first, before anything else, please pray. From all the literature I have read, there is no wrong way to pray. Write your prayer down. Look up famous prayers, there are many in the Bible. Dr. Google can help you with that search. So while many will be having a vacation in August, maybe we Christians can use this month to strengthen our spiritual life.

One more thing . . . the word “august” is sometimes used to describe a person. To call them “august” is to say that they are distinguished, respected, highly regarded, and well thought of. Each of these are qualities that we Christians ought to demonstrate every day in every way.

God bless you!

Love,
Michael