As July comes rushing in, I want to ask each of you to take time to cultivate slowness, and to connect to the world around you. We often value speed over slowness. We rush around, texting while we are talking to a dear friend, and sending e-mails while eating (you know you are all guilty of at least one of these!).

Winter can be a great time of personal and spiritual growth, but if you aren’t intentional about the time, you may look up in the spring and realize you spent the entire winter binge-watching Netflix or checking social media on your phone. There are so many ways you can use this time to bring personal growth…