NEWS! NEWS! ARLINGTON AVE. CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE: JULY18-22 NEWS! NEWS!

I'm so excited to share some breaking news with you! But first let me back up, and update you on the goings on of the last few months.

Mary and I have been quite the jet-set couple. We've traveled for fun, for family, and for furthering the Kingdom! As many of you know, we spent some time in Hawaii for relaxation, we traveled to Kentucky; first for the service honoring the life and passing of my older brother, John Wesley Lewis, and then a few weeks later for a wonderful family reunion gathering of the Lewis family.

Most recently Mary and I both attended our Nazarene General Assembly, held this year in Orlando, Florida. It just so happens that one of my nephews, my namesake Holland Hayes, lives there in Orlando. So we were able to spend several days with him and his lovely family.

Which brings me to our next adventure... Southern California. This is the news that I am SO very excited to bring to you! In just one week, I will have the wonderful privilege of speaking at Arlington Ave. Church of the Nazarene in Riverside, CA. My long time dear friend, Pastor Jack Eyestone, has invited us to come for a series of renewal services: BEGINNING JULY 18 AND GOING THROUGH JULY 22. Mary will be giving a concert on the night of the 18 and I will be speaking throughout the week. (for directions you can go to www.arlingtonavenuechurch.com) We hope you'll come and be apart of this special event!

Up and Running!

Good morning everybody. It's a delightful day in Yakima. I've been a little slow in getting up and running...but I'm getting there. I actually put myself on Sabbatical, beginning at the end of my Pastoral ministry at West Valley Church in Yakima...meaning...that I determined that I should not preach for three months (100 days) (beginning January 1, 2009) so I could simply be quiet before God, listening, meditating, "scribbling", reading, praying...just waiting, as I sought to draw near to God...anticipating that He would know best what the next chapter would look like in the journey Mary and I are taking.

LOSS - The last 18 months have been a sort of "season of loss" for me...(more on that later - still processing)...with the most recent loss being the loss of my eldest brother, John Wesley Lewis. What a guy...what a loss! There was one exception to my "time away from preaching", and that was the message for my dear brother's funeral, at the request of the family. Several wonderful events occured during the last few months of John's life that allowed us to find a deep peace in placing John in the hands of a loving and graceful God. I wish you could have heard the playing of "taps" at the graveside down in the country. The young airforce gal played so clearly..beautifully...without a flaw. What a powerful moment.

BREAK THE FAST -I will break my "preaching fast" on Good Friday, 101 days after the "fast" began, accepting the invitation to bring the Good Friday message at "The Living Care Center" in Yakima...a large care giving and assisted care home here. I'm looking forward to it.

Be blessed today, and do remember: "God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind." (2Timothy 1:7). htl

PS - Some are asking, "what's LIFESHIFTall about?" We'll talk, soon, about that! htl

Life is Shifting

           Like tectonic plates that shift and cause dramatic changes in the landscape,  the current circumstances of my life have caused considerable movement and shifting.   The transformation is only just beginning...

   As life unfolds and our journey into the unknown becomes clearer, Mary and I will be letting you in on what God is saying to us and doing in us.  We are, in fact, excited about what comes next.  We're learning to embrace the changes and go with the flow...learning how to balance on those shifting plates...

(this photo is of my daughter, Crystal, and me as we shared a cup of coffee the day after my final Sunday at West Valley Church here in Yakima)