God… gives us richly all things to enjoy. (1 Timothy 6:17)

by Terry Shanahan, CCCC Northeast Region Minister

Love the family of believers. (1 Peter 2:17)

It is that time of year again: schools let out, Sunday school concludes for the summer, vacations are planned. The Lord shines His face upon the earth and all the world turns green and beautiful. We love summer, don’t we? We love longer days, warm sunshine, possibilities of less toil and more play. Whatever your passion, it is better in the summer.

I love the beach and the lake and the river, and generally the water, however it is found. Here in New England we have a lot of water. In New Hampshire, where I live, we sit on the Atlantic Ocean and boast our 17 miles of coastline. But just eight miles north we have the rocky coastlines of Maine. And eight miles south we have the picturesque coastline of Massachusetts. And then Cape Cod, Rhode Island and Connecticut and so on down the coast. There is a joy in the feel of an ocean breeze on a hot summer day.

Doesn’t that sound wonderful? Most years in July, I travel to an airport and fly far away from the coast and the ocean breezes to be with my CCCC family at the Annual Family Conference. That too is a joy, loving the family of believers, worshipping together, praising God, sharing life with you all.

But great news. This year, you all can come and share my Ocean Breezes. The Annual Family Conference is right in my back yard, so to speak. We will meet as the family of believers from July 21–24. Our Hotel and Conference Center in Warwick, Rhode Island is just a few miles from the Atlantic Ocean. And while the hotel has a great pool, the Atlantic in Rhode Island in July gets all the way up to the 70s — sometimes. Can’t you just smell the salt air and feel the goose-bumps?

So this year you can have it all. We can meet together as a CCCC family, and praise God, and worship Him and see old friends and make new ones, and share life with our brothers and sisters in Christ. AND you can come and share the ocean breezes of the Northeast.

We have been preparing a very special time for you this year. I pray to see many of you there. I hope that you will also stay and enjoy our beautiful New England coast, or the mountains, or the lakes regions, or Berkshires, or Boston, or the Red Sox, or the cape or the islands, or Newport mansions, or the Maine lobsters, or whale watchers, or the golf courses or the “chowdah,” or the (insert your own list).

See you in July.