Character Retreat and this Sunday
Greetings! Melinda, myself and the interns are far from the mall. There is no cell phone service or high-speed Internet, but there is an awesome atmosphere. Al and Joannie Parsons, our 04-05 youth pastors, have giant hospitality and their beautiful home sits on a stunning 58 acres under starlit skies and surrounded by 2 feet of snow, with 5 inches of fresh. Al got some snowmobiles this year, so we have been tearing up his fields and he has some pretty good hill climbs on his property.
I have had a pretty packed couple of weeks without a lot of rest. When we climbed out of Tanasket and I saw these cattle and horses grazing in snow covered pastures with high mountain trees blanketed in white, my worries went away. It was amazing to literally feel the filling of the Holy Spirit take the anxiety I have been feeling. I was blown away and then blowing some smoke out the tailpipe of my nitrous powered 800 Polaris sealed the deal. In just a few hours I was refreshed in a major way.
The interns did some sledding on one of the hills and were joined by 2005 Quarry Alums T-Low and Justine. It was cool to see them. Intern "Kat" seems to be the fasted on the sled, even over the men. And if she is behind she just crashes them and goes on for the win. Michael Brown tried to stand on a sled and did a head plant at about the speed of sound. OK not that fast, but his lip was fat.
Tonight we began the character retreat. Character is composed of three things: a pure heart, a good conscience and sincere faith. Tonight we dealt with the issue of pride. Looking at what God thinks of pride, it is very ugly and it seems to subtly enter into our world through the littlest things. We had some great conversations and developed some powerful connections between what we have been told and what the Word tells us. Here are the top three: 1) You have heard it said, "Freedom is doing what you want, " But Jesus says, "Freedom is doing what God wants. 2) You have heard it said, "Putting others down elevates you," But Paul says, "Building others up elevates you." 3) You have heard it said, "Telling others of your great deeds will gain respect," but Psalms says, "Glorifying God and telling of His great acts will bring respect.
It is so awesome to see our interns grow. The fruits of the spirit are becoming more and more evident in their lives. Continue to pray for us as we have a full day of food, fun and teaching.
Also, please pray for Keshia, she had to stay back in Monroe. She woke up ill this morning. Also Colby is just getting over the bug this week. In fact, pray right now and plead the protection of Jesus over yourself and your family. Seriously, do it now. No sickness has the right to live in our dwellings, families or our church!
Have a great day. On Sunday we are launching a two week series entitled: PRO-vision. This week we are looking into the aspects of vision in our church. Have you ever wondered what makes TRC tick? Do you ask yourself how to make your life matter? Do you sometimes struggle with worth and self confidence?
The answer is vision and the people of God need to be PRO-vision. Practically speaking, talking about vision should be the most exciting topic in the church. Without vision people perish and with vision people flourish. God had a vision that included you and I and He sent His son for us. God is PRO-Vision!
