First Evangelical Covenant Church

Summer is such a wonderful time of year. I enjoy all the seasons of the year, and each season contains aspects that set it apart from the other seasons. My affinity for summer likely stems from growing up in Washington State (did I hear someone say "God's country"?). I remember as a kid waiting all year for summer. This is probably due to the Seattle metro area being cloudy much of the year. In fact, the annual average of cloudy days is 225 and partly cloudy days is 82. Thus the number of clear sunny skies is 58. Most of these days are during the summer months. It is easy to see why as a child I would anticipate summer's advent. (In defense of my beloved home state annual precipitation is less than that of New York, Miami, Atlanta, and Tulsa to name a few. Seattle only gets two more inches a year than Rockford.)

This summer excites me, but for different reasons. It excites me because of the ministries and leadership of this church.

As spring comes into full bloom I am reminded of what the Bible says about God's creation. Psalm 19:1-4 (niv) says, "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world." In the letter to the Romans, Paul wrote, "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made..." (Romans 1:20 niv). Psalm 104 is another beautiful poem that expresses the wonder of all God's creation.

The book of Genesis tells us that the earth and everything that inhabits it was created by God (Genesis 1-2). Genesis also tells us that seven times God declared what he created was good. (As a side note: in the Bible the number seven represents completion and/or perfection. Thus, God declared creation completely and perfectly good.) Genesis also tells us God's intended purpose for humanity. Genesis 2:15 (niv) states, "The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it."