This week, I travelled to Young Life's Lost Canyon to spend Monday afternoon through Wednesday night in "Group Solitude".
We each had our own room and were only allowed to talk during dinner and a short amount of time after each dinner. It was nice to get away from everything and spend time in silence, prayer and rest.
It was also entertaining watching a group of YL staff, normally noted to be a robust group of very social people, try to not talk as we spent time in the same general area.
I took two things from my time;
-I have never felt more happy in where I am with the Lord as I do now. I have often been 'afraid' of silence in the past as I think I've always known that I wasn't really following him.
-I was assured through a very specific incident of God's love.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Friday, January 9, 2009
Pomagranate
We own a rental house that I do the yard work at regularly. About 1 year ago, I had some friends help me do a major cleanup, which included hacking down to nothing a major pomegranate plant in the back yard. We took out everything we could see, but didn't touch the roots.
This week as I was picking some weeds, I noticed something. Not only had the pomegranate tree grown to about 4 feet tall again, but it had fruit on it again!
It got me thinking. As Christians, we concentrate so much on what is above the ground and the fruit that others can see in our lives. Often times we are devastated or suffer great deals of emotional pain or frustration when our fruit is taken away or we are pruned back and it seems like we will never bear fruit again.
What people don't see is the roots, the important part of the plant. I hacked away (with great effort and help) at this plant for some time, but the tree was well rooted and even though I attacked everything that could be seen, the tree was still a tree and without any assistance, it not only grew again, but bore fruit quickly.
If we keep our lives rooted in Christ, we know that no matter what happens to the fruit or if we suffer great setbacks in our ministries or our lives, God will be there to help us grow and bear fruit again. Just like my pomegranate tree.
This week as I was picking some weeds, I noticed something. Not only had the pomegranate tree grown to about 4 feet tall again, but it had fruit on it again!
It got me thinking. As Christians, we concentrate so much on what is above the ground and the fruit that others can see in our lives. Often times we are devastated or suffer great deals of emotional pain or frustration when our fruit is taken away or we are pruned back and it seems like we will never bear fruit again.
What people don't see is the roots, the important part of the plant. I hacked away (with great effort and help) at this plant for some time, but the tree was well rooted and even though I attacked everything that could be seen, the tree was still a tree and without any assistance, it not only grew again, but bore fruit quickly.
If we keep our lives rooted in Christ, we know that no matter what happens to the fruit or if we suffer great setbacks in our ministries or our lives, God will be there to help us grow and bear fruit again. Just like my pomegranate tree.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Lovely visit
Today marked the departure of Rachelle's brother Chad and his family. The cousins are so close in age and I look forward to a lifetime of watching them grow together and continue to be friends.
Our week included the zoo and aquarium, golf and lots and lots of Guitar Hero. Rachelle and Teralynn got into it, which brings my favorite picture of the weekend:
Rockin moms, patient kids. Can you just hear the questions, "When is it my turn mommy?"
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