Dear friends,
A number of years ago, I decided to engage in a Lenten practice called "The Examen." It's a simple exercise where, at the end of each day, you spend a few minutes reflecting on the day by asking, "When did I feel closest to God today and when did I feel farthest away? When did I feel most alive, and when did I feel life leaving me?"
I remember one day in particular, a Saturday, when our kids were in elementary school. I got up early, went into the office to finish up a sermon, headed home by mid-morning to do some yard work and then a friend called to invite me to play golf at a local private course I'd long-wanted to play. The problem was I also had a Saturday night service. So to play golf would require a quick clean-up, a quick round, and a drop-in transition at home before heading out to lead the Saturday night service. After the service, I could come home for 7:30pm dinner, a short story time and then to bed. Wisdom somehow prevailed, and I declined the offer, not out of any altruistic motive, but simply because I couldn't put it all together.
That evening, when I engaged in The Examen, asking myself when I felt closest to God that day, one image crystallized in my mind: the hour I spent tossing a baseball with my son in the back yard. Nothing else was even close.
This weekend, we'll talk about how discerning between Karios time - God time, kingdom time, time filled with a palpable sense of the divine, and Chronos time - clock time, task time, get-it-done time. Even more importantly, we'll explore how to respond appropriately when Kairos time breaks in.
I invite you to read this deceptively significant story in preparation. Perhaps you will also notice that the immediately preceding story is all about one who got very busy doing the right thing.
See you Sunday,
Bob Henderson, senior minister | 
