July 2022 New Horizons

Moms, To-Do Lists, and Getting Things Done

by Judith M. Dinsmore

Target’s home decor aisles are littered with lettered phrases meant to inspire: “Keep Smiling”; “Boss Mom”; “She Believed She Could So She Did.” Imperatives beckon from the best seller rack: Spark Joy , Read This for Inspiration , Create Your Own Calm . Notepads and planners sprout helpfully on endcaps. Easy, fillable shopping lists pop up by the groceries. All coo out to the cart-pushers: oh you frantic, floral-loving mom, you, even you, can Get Things Done. For us believers, both moms and those who care for them, such messaging should be a big deal. The fervor nowadays to get things done is religious, claimed writer Derek Thompson in a much-quoted article from the Atlantic three years ago. Work has become, he said, not so much an ethic as a religion—the “centerpiece of one’s identity and life’s purpose” (“Workism Is Making Americans Miserable,” February 2019). If someone says they are pursuing their passion, it’s probably shorthand for justifying their existence ... Read more

The Christian and Leisure

by Ronald E. Pearce

Leland Ryken has aptly observed that “we feel guilty about our work, and we feel guilty about our leisure. We do not understand either of them very well” ( Work and Leisure in Christian Perspective , 11). Christians need to have a biblical understanding of leisure and work so that we do not feel guilty about either. We need to consider the rightful place of leisure in the Christian life. Certainly, leisure can be pursued as an idol: we can idolize entertainment, desire to be lazy, or even just use our leisure time for selfish purposes. Many in our day violate the Lord’s Day by putting recreation before the duty of public worship of God. Sports or hobbies ought not to keep someone from Sabbath worship with the gathered people of God. But the excesses of sinful indulgence of leisure do not cancel leisure as legitimate for the Christian. What is leisure? A definition of leisure is usually negative: it is “time off” or “free time,” “spare time,” or “vacation.” We should have a more ... Read more

Resting Outdoors

by Mary York

Morning comes early in the mountains. Breezeless trees guard slumbering peaks, glassy lakes reflect the world without a single ripple, and silence fills the spaces between the wildflowers and the granite rocks that have held their posts for a thousand mornings just like this. It’s a morning view far removed from rushed school days and tech-filled vacations. OP elder David Winslow has brought generations of OP young adults to the Sierra Mountains in California for just such a view. He explained, “The motivating idea was to get young people out of their normal urban, entertainment-culture comfort zone into an environment where God’s two ‘books’ could speak without so much distraction: the special revelation of God’s word in morning and evening devotions and the general revelation of God’s creation all day and night.” Fellowship on Foot David and Susan Winslow started leading backpacking trips in 1980. The trips still continue, each made up of roughly fifteen young people from across ... Read more

Report from Eastern Europe

by David P. Nakhla

[Editor’s note: On May 10–18, David Nakhla, OPC Disaster Response Coordinator, and Rich Bout, URCNA Missions Coordinator, traveled to Eastern Europe to gain firsthand knowledge on how to help Reformed churches in Ukraine and refugees from Ukraine. This is Mr. Nakhla’s report for New Horizons .] Five countries (Hungary, Poland, Lithuania, Italy, and Slovakia) visited in nine days working with ten organizations—Rich Bout and I certainly had a whirlwind trip to Eastern Europe seeking to minister to those suffering during this time of war in Ukraine. Our purpose for the trip was to identify and join with ongoing relief ministries of like-minded Christians in order to consider—both prayerfully and knowledgeably—how to utilize the Ukraine Crisis Fund. But what a blessing the trip was also as we were continually made aware of the people of Ukraine’s thankfulness for the love, prayers, and support of Christians from afar. Stories of Survival In Krakow, Poland, we met with several members ... Read more