You are the giver of life and all that it brings, a life in which every breath we take is a gift from you. During this summer season, we inhale the beautiful summer air, and we exhale our anxieties, worries, doubts and fears as we find refreshment and renewal in you.

You are the air we breathe.   We thank you, God, for the touch of the wind and the delight of the breeze, for times to ponder and rest in the midst of your creation, for times to peer into the sunset and stand in awe, breathing deeper and deeper, and in doing so realizing the power of your presence with us.  We thank you for the long days when we truly embrace the words of the psalmist who reminds us that from the rising of the sun to its setting, your name shall be praised

You are the one with us in all times and places. We thank you for opportunities to travel and visit with friends, family, and brothers and sisters in other countries. It is our joy to learn from one another, to live together and to seek that which brings unity, reconciliation and justice. We thank you that in other lands and places we get a greater sense of who you are, and that through your people we experience your presence.

You are the joy giver.  We thank you for camps, vacation Bible schools, summer programs, and mission trips.  We give thanks for laughter and learning, for new relationships and aha moments, for swimming and amusement parks, for vacations and opportunities to serve.

You are the great physician. We pray for people who long for healing, who seek reconciliation, who search for answers.  We pray for people who are suffering from poverty, desiring that they will seek your loving arms of protection, mercy and healing.

You have poured out your Spirit upon us so that we may dream dreams and see visions. Help us in the quietness of summer days to imagine what could be, to hope for what may be on the horizon for autumn, to embrace times to ponder and think, and to be awed by your power to enliven us and stir creatively within us.

You are our yesterday, today and tomorrow. Thank you for being present, real and at the center of our daily lives.

Amen.