If you have been in the church office on a Thursday around noon, you may here that I have a “Prayer Meeting” that I attend on Thursday afternoons. You also would learn that “Prayer Meeting” is code for racquetball. Yes, I do play racquetball just about every Thursday afternoon. I play at the YMCA with another pastor. We’ve been playing for about eight years, though if you were to watch us play, you would note that it looks like we just started learning the game. Throughout the week, I attend the “Y” to workout, but it’s only on Thursday I get to play racquetball. On the other days of the week, I work on cardio stuff and light weights for my back and shoulder.

So, when I went out the other morning to tackle some of the weeds around the grounds of where I live, I felt that I was in pretty good shape. The thing is that the muscles used to weed are not exercised in my weekly routine at the “Y”. I spent about an hour and a half weeding and a few hours after that… ohhh did the quad muscles in my legs ache. I don’t squat as a part of my workout at the “Y” and I walked around stiff legged for a few days after the weeding. I thought I was in pretty good shape, but obviously some of my body gets a regular workout and other parts… well, not so.

This awakening to the lack of a “total workout” began to get me thinking about my faith life. I do attend regularly to my faith life. I tend to it on a regular and daily basis. But, am I getting a “total workout” in my weekly faith discipline? Are there some aspects of my faith life that need some attention? Are there parts of my faith discipline that need more regular attention? I encourage you to ask yourself these same questions. As we move into the Fall programming of our church, I want to emphasize that there are many opportunities for you to exercise your faith and continue to grow and be healthy in your faith life.During the “Ministry Fair” I hope you were able to see the many avenues of service opportunity that exist at Mount Zion. Service to God and God’s people is one way to grow in faith and is critical to continuing to develop a whole and healthy faith. There are many opportunities for learning, both as adult and as youth.To learn about church, to be in scripture, to learn of the Lutheran tradition are all helpful ways to continue to develop faith in our weekly disciplines. To worship is to have an opportunity to nurture the faith and our living and dynamic relationship with our Risen Lord.

My hope is that it doesn’t take a “weeding” experience for us to realize just how “out of shape” some aspects of our faith life may be. Please consider the many opportunities there are to grow in faith throughout the week, just not at church, but in the home, work place, public space and schools that we attend. For it is in all these places that we have the opportunity to encounter God and when with each encounter with God, there is growth in faith and the development of a healthy faith life.

In the living hope of our Risen Lord