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[I've decided not to write a seperate post for Monday since it was basically just going home.]
Saturday: I forgot to mention in my Saturday post, the awesome way my day started! Friday night as I lay under the stars on my mattress on the porch of our tent-cabin, I was pondering whether or not I should go to Morning Praise. I felt God tell me to instead take my guitar somewhere and just worship Him by myself, so the next morning (Saturday) I got up after everyone had gone down to Victory Circle and took my guitar to the field above the picnic tables. Part way through my private worship session a guy came to the field and proceeded to read his Bible and pray, and eventually worshiped with me! I finished my little set with the spontaneous prayer song I wrote about a month ago, and he thanked me afterwards & said it was beautiful. It totally made my day! I think God wanted me there specifically for that guy.
Sunday: Anywho, back to Sunday. The morning session was again a workshop, so this time Bryan, Antwon and I went to hear Troy Murphy speak. His message was entitled “Either/Or,” inspired by Soren Kierkegaard’s work of the same name. It was challenging and inspiring indeed. The main point that stuck with me was the concept of being “poured out like a drink offering” [Phil. 2:17-18, 2 Tim. 4:6-8] and the implications that has on our lives. Giving God the “pitcher”of your life and asking Him to pour you out is a call to surrender like no other. I joyfully took inventory of my own life and surrendered my “pitcher” to Him. It’s such a relief to let go! As Troy said, “The only thing you can hold onto is letting go.” Too true.
(The workshop stuck with me the entire following week, and two days after it I wrote a song called “Pour Me Out” that sums up my experience with it. We’ll be playing it at CR this Friday night; I’m so stoked!)
Again, I can’t quite remember exactly what happened in the free time that afternoon, but I know I spent some time with Jess, Melody G, Bryan, Julie, and Maya, and Mel & I had some sweet bonding time. There were milkshakes again too.
Sunday night’s session with Albert Tate was powerful. He is such a passionate preacher! Honestly, the delivery of a message is so important. If the speaker isn’t excited or burdened by a topic, then why should we be? Albert definitely did a fantastic job at getting us involved in what he had to say. He read us the parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) and really drove the point home that it is not okay to pass people by if you are going to follow Jesus. It was very convicting and inspiring.
After the message, silence settled over the whole camp as we set aside an hour for each of us to get away and listen for what God might have to say to us. Our Seven24 group then met afterwards to discuss how we were going to take what we learned down the mountain with us. Since Jim (our pastor) had left early and put me in charge, I had to facilitate the discussion. I now know I need practice in mediating things when passions flare up, to say the least.
My chat group met after the large group meeting and shared what we would need accountability for as a result of that night’s message and the whole weekend. Again we had a great discussion and prayer time.
The rest of the night was rough for me, though it finished with happiness, ie playing music with Bryan in the Blinco Lounge till 3:30 AM; admittedly later than I wanted to go to bed, but I needed it.
Monday: The next morning was leaving day of course. I wasn’t as sad as last year, probably because I was too busy making sure my car was getting packed and everyone had a ride. Last year I felt as though I was leaving a piece of myself on the mountain, a piece that I would not see for a whole year. This year I think I took that piece back with me. I didn’t leave anything but my affections behind, though now even more than last year I can’t wait to go back. I wish I could just live up there, but the world is here, down the mountain, and the world needs Jesus.
Afterward: While we were there I talked to Brandan the staffing guy about working at Forest Home next summer, and this past week I officially decided I am going to do it. I’m going to apply for several positions- worship leader, youth counselor, etc.- so that I’m most likely guaranteed a job. (If I don’t get hired, that’ll be God saying no.) I prayed about it and I feel that it is what God would have me do with my summer, but we’ll see! I’m excited regardless.
Saturday at Briefing was a week ago now, so I figure I should finish these posts. It feels worlds away now that “life” has been happening for the past five days.
Saturday’s morning session was a workshop, which meant that we had a choice as to which speaker we wanted to hear. Bryan, Antwon and I went to Mark Foreman’s workshop entitled “Transformed People Transforming Their World.” Essentially he gave us a summary of what his new book Wholly Jesus is about. “We need to stop letting society tell us how big our Jesus is,” he said. The implications of “unboxing” (my term) Jesus extend from evangelism to recovery & character development to changing the world.
We had some awesome free time after that, which included ping pong, hanging out at the lake, and some famous Forest Home milkshakes. It was a long day so I don’t completely remember everything we did. I just know it was fun. I did write a song though. That I remember.
We (Antwon, James, Tiana, and I) also got to talk to Tucker, guitarist for Urban Rescue, quite a bit, since he is friends with James. It was really inspiring to hear how he & the band view doing music as a career for God, holding it loosely so that if God asked them to stop and do something else, they would. He talked about the awesome opportunities they’ve had to play with Future of Forestry & Phil Wickham, and the surprise of having 500 people show up for their headlining worship concert. (Side note: it’s so weird hearing about Phil Wickham nowadays, because I went to school with him at Calvary Vista back in the day. His older brother was my junior high pastor. Strange when you know people before they’re famous.) I didn’t realize it at the time, but I honestly am very inspired by Urban Rescue. Tucker gave us permission to “burn the heck out of” their CD, which Antwon has done, thus I am proceeding to wear the heck out of it with constant listening.
Albert Tate spoke again at the night session. He talked about dysfunction, and though I don’t remember exactly what he said (because it was the only message of the weekend for which I didn’t take notes), I do know that I finally surrendered to God the dysfunction that had been weighing heaviest on my mind. It was a truly epic night though, with lots of tears shed and truly heartfelt worship. Albert did a good ol’ fashioned altar call for those who were surrendering things, but I didn’t go up (I should have). My chat group was again awesome afterwards, and the night concluded with Coffeehouse (where I sang three songs a-capella) and sleeping under the stars.
(So…I’m pretty sure this post would have been a lot more fun to read had I not written it a week after the events actually occurred. Oh well. Sorry.)
I PROMISE the next posts I write after this will be Saturday, Sunday, and Monday of Briefing 09.
Something is happening to me. It’s sneaking up on me in the most peculiar way. I’m beginning to write songs in my head all the time. I’ll just think of a topic and start singing in my head to a melody that unfolds with each new word that comes to me.
This is an answer to prayer.
I’ve written songs on and off in the past but never had to capability of putting them to an instrument. Now I’m not letting my lack of knowledge or skill with the guitar hold me back; I’m going to write as many songs with G, C, D, Em, A, and Am as I can until I’m absolutely sick of those chords and never want to play them again. And then I’ll put a capo on and write some more.
I mentioned earlier in the week that God totally messed up my plans for my first EP. Part of that messing-up involves the very exciting fact that I won’t be doing all covers on it. It’ll be all my own songs. I’ve written 2 songs since Forest Home and probably have 8 more percolating in my brain. Most of what I will write will not end up on the EP, but my favorites will. I’ll make Youtube videos of the rejects. The good rejects, at least. (Speaking of Youtube videos, soon I’ll be covering Taylor Swift’s “You Belong With Me” and Howie Day’s “Collide.”) It won’t all be worship music, and it won’t all be Christian music (gasp!). Some will be crossover (think Switchfoot songs & Future of Forestry’s “If You Find Her”).
Also, last night I played one of my worship songs at a service for the first time. It was my IHOP-style prayer song, and it was well-received! Praise God. A girl at the service apparently really enjoyed it because she came to me afterwards, and after telling me how beautiful it was and that I was really good (made my heart soar! encouragement is so needed for musicians), she told me she does graphics and album artwork for bands and would love to help me out with my EP! I’m excited to connect with her and see her work.
I can’t believe this is really happening!!! God is too good.
