August 2026
I don’t know about you, but I have a tendency to keep my head down and always look to the next thing. Rarely do I allow the time and space to reflect, praise God for what He’s done, and trace His workings over the course of my life. Personally, I did not grow up in the church… at all. I knew nothing of God’s Word, the Gospel, or my sinfulness. It took the Holy Spirit using Scripture to convict my heart of sin and present the wonderful salvation offered in Jesus to change me. This past June 23, I celebrated my seventh birthday. No-not my physical birthday-but my spiritual one. Looking back over the past seven years is astounding. God has done so many amazing things - and I don’t even know the half of them.
I want to encourage you as our summer comes to a close: Stop, look back, and trace God’s workings in your life, and your family’s life. If it’s hard to see, look harder, look longer. Sometimes it takes time to develop the sort of “sanctified vision” that sees how God is moving. Maybe this means taking out a pen and paper and writing down (yes physically writing down) the blessings that you’ve received. Maybe it means writing down the challenges that God has walked with you through, even if you don’t feel it sometimes. Maybe it’s turning off the TV, putting your phone on “Do Not Disturb” and sitting in silent prayer and contemplation.
The truth is that God is so good. It’s a simple truth, but it never gets old. He does things that we cannot even explain. He does things that we’ll never be aware of until eternity. Romans 8:28 famously says: “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” ALL THINGS - Isn’t that something?
This summer was such an awesome time in our Junior High group. In particular, I look back and praise the Lord for the work He did at Mt. Gilead. It blessed my heart to see so many of our students stand up in front of the camp and declare their faith and how God had been convicting and encouraging them. This is only the beginning for many of them, and a stepping stone for others on their spiritual journey.
I want to encourage you, parents, to consider talking to your student about attending our upcoming fall retreat. It’ll be a camping trip the weekend of Sept 18-20 (details found in the event registration below) and we’ll be focusing solely on the discipline of prayer. I am confident that God will use that weekend to deepen the relationship that many of these students have with Jesus.
I am praying for you all as school is about to kick back into gear - stay rooted in God’s Word, reflect on His goodness regularly, and keep fighting the good fight of faith.
Blessings,
Julian Marcel | Pastor of Junior High | Hessel Church | julian@hessel.org
