I spent last week amongst the tall redwood trees in the Santa Cruz mountains of Northern California.  The camp I was at happens to be one of my favorite places on Earth!  I have so many memories of that place…I attended camp there with my family every summer, I worked on summer staff all through college, and have attended pastor camp there off and on for the last 20 years.

For me this is a place where I am known deeply to the core of who I am.  As a child it was spending time with friends who attended the same week of camp every year.  As a young adult it was the place where I felt my call to ministry and the place where my faith became my own (and no longer my parents.)  As a pastor this has become the place where I am known by peers, supported in my ministry, encouraged in my struggles and loved deeply through friendships that have walked with me in the highs and lows of my life.

This is also a place where I feel the most connected to God.  Sitting amongst the trees, looking towards the heavens.  Listening to the trickle of the stream as it turns into the rush of the waterfall.  Watching the birds and the squirrels as they go about their daily tasks.  All of these things work together to remind me of how great God is – so creative, so powerful, and such an eye for detail. The more time I spent alone with God last week, the more I was reminded of how much God cares for me, even in the smallest of details.

This Sunday we will be taking a look at one of Jesus’ “I am” statements found in John’s Gospel. I am the Good Shepherd, he says, I know my sheep and my sheep know me.  It is an amazing thing to be known.  To have someone not just know your name but to also know your story.  And in knowing your story they also know you deeply and love you unconditionally…this is the Good Shepherd.  Friends, we have a God that knows us, all of us – every part – and still loves us!  We have a God that watches over us, cares for us, and was willing to lay his life down for us!   

I hope you have a place where you are reminded of God’s great love for you.  A place where you can see God’s goodness and experience God’s presence in new and amazing ways.

Blessings,
Pastor Jenni 

I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and my own know me. (John 10:14)