JUNE 2023

As a child, I looked forward to three months of Summer. I grew up in an era where summer break from school was June, July, and August. My family usually went on a vacation to Daytona Beach during the month of July. Initially, we stayed in Ormond Beach at a hotel called The Maverick. I remember it having a horse in front and two pools in the back. Surprisingly, I looked on-line and found it still operational. As a teenager, we stayed at the Voyager a couple of years and one year at a place in Ponce Inlet. In addition to our summer vacation, we often took a shorter vacation during the Fall or Winter to Gatlinburg.

Family vacations are important. Once I became a father, I wanted to make sure my family had fond vacation memories. We went to the beach and mountains several times. Disney, however, became my family’s fa-vorite vacation spot. Where does your family like to go on vacation? Do you have a consistent location, or do you travel to new places frequently?

As we enter this time of year, let me encourage you to get away for a few days with your family and make memories. Enjoy time away from work, away from stress, and away from the normal routine of life. Howev-er, once your vacation is over, make a deliberate effort to return to church and resume your service for the Lord at Bethel. We do not have to work very hard to get out of the habit of attending and serving in church. Once we begin to routinely miss corporate worship our walk with the Lord is prone to suffer.

The writer of Hebrews gave us a straight-forward word about the importance of worshipping together cor-porately: Hebrews 10:24-25 24 And let us be concerned about one another in order to promote love and good works, 25 not staying away from our worship meetings, as some habitually do, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day drawing near. We need church, and we need each other. Bethel Baptist Church is a wonderful place full of wonderful people. As we enter Summer, please continue to attend, serve, and support this wonderful church. May the Lord continue to bless Bethel, and may He bless you and your family this Summer.

-Pastor Clint Miller