Friday, May 04, 2007

May the Fourth Be With You

Many years ago I was watching a Daffy Duck cartoon and Daffy was in a sword fight. In the middle of the fight, as it looked like he was sure to lose, he suddenly asked the character he was fighting, "What is the date?" The other character looked surprised and confused by the off-the-wall question and said, "It's May the fourth." Daffy looked back at his adversary, pulled up his hood so he looked like Obi Wan Kenobi and said, "Then May the Fourth be with you!"

That was a big moment for me because it supplied me with one joke a year for the rest of my life. I have used it so often with so many different people throughout the years that I now get e-mails every May the 4th from loads of people trying to beat me to the punch. I am writing this on May the fourth...but by the time you read this on the 6th, the old joke will be mothballed away till next year.

As we enter into the summer months we need The Force to be with us. Summer ends up being a whirlwind of events, trips, visitors...vacation quickly gives way to something that is far less than relaxing. That's why our summer retreat is such a great way to start the summer. You still have three weeks to sign up. It's just a day and a night, not a huge commitment, but it is a great opportunity to hear Randy Harris encourage us to allow the Force to be with us through a busy summer. Our Force is something far greater than whatever it was that caused Luke Skywalker and Yoda to levitate in the movies...it is the power of the living God.

In the coming weeks we will use our sermon time to prepare ourselves for our retreat. After that, we will enter into a summer series called “A Summer in the Psalms.” If you have not done so yet, I encourage you to sign up for the retreat and join our family at Springfield as we prepare for a busy but great summer.

Mark

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