The other side

Well, I must say, its quite different being on the other side of things at a fall retreat. However, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a unique blessing to bring the Word of God to nearly 200 students from UCF, UNF, and USF for the weekend. 

There are many things that stand out about the weekend--but above all is the blessing I received from getting to be in the Word preparing for our time. That may be selfish, but its the truth. When your entrusted w/ a few times to speak, you want to be sure you handle God's Word accurately and honestly. It allowed me extra time in the Scriptures and a fresh look at Jesus. For that, its me thanking these staff and students for serving me. Trust me, it ministered to me far more than a message could ever minister to them. It was me getting to live it out before I ever spoke it out. 

But, all it all, the time did go well. I spoke on Surrender and Eternal Perspective, along w/ a women's time. All three went well. One of my favorite things after speaking is talking to students afterwards about what God is doing in their life. Paper can't capture those moments quite like my heart did. It was clear throughout the weekend God was at work regardless of me being there, and for that I was grateful.

Beyond the speaking time, I was richly blessed. The staff set me up in an amazing suite equipped w/ a Jacuzzi and and living room and relax (not what I was expecting coming to a camp) along w/ some new Cru gear from each of their schools. I was blown away by the card they wrote to me and the time I got to spend w/ each person. It was such a fun weekend.

It is rather different--not being the staff that knows every student, staying up til 4AM playing games, but I wouldn't trade this experience. To be the one that God has purposefully chosen to speak His Word is pretty awesome too. It was a treat to be there. Here's a short article about our time there, covered by UCF.

http://knightnews.com/2012/09/revolution-conference-with-cru-from-ucf-unf-usf/

Blessings