It's a little after midnight Monday night into Tuesday morning as I write this post. I find myself quietly thanking God for the past few days. The weekend, God reminded me of His loving purpose through so many people and circumstances that occurred.
My mom has been visiting for a few weeks now. She came up here earlier in the month to celebrate the day I was born, then the day my daughter was born, then stayed through this past weekend to celebrate two other significant events.
Friday was my wedding anniversary. I celebrate that day each year as the second-best decision I've ever made in my life. Choosing to follow Christ was the first. Traci and I celebrated our anniversary with a special meal together earlier in the week, because we shared our anniversary day with friends who are like-minded with us: The Life Bridge Leadership Team.
Friday evening into Saturday morning was a leadership retreat for our team. Finances are tight, so the retreat was in our home with home-cooked meals and treats. We played some games together. We studied Scripture together. We worshiped in song together. We together. We cried together. We prayed together...seeking His will, mind, and heart. We stayed up late. Some stayed overnight.
The next morning I left early to meet with men after God's own heart. We studied more from the book of Nehemiah - reminding ourselves how to rebuild areas of our lives that need to be rebuilt. I left after the Bible study while those men stayed to work on our church building - preparing it for winter.
I returned to my home and leadership retreat, where I watched God begin to paint a picture from the minds and hearts of His Body. I listened to dreams. I watched words being written. I felt His Spirit moving in and through His people.
We parted ways and I went up to the Life Bridge land where two other men were already mowing the grass. The three of us spend a couple hours riding our lawn tractors, walking the land, and sharing a bit of our lives together.
I left and went home, finished Sunday preparations, and fell asleep exhausted.
Sunday brought two services, powerful worship, meaningful teaching from God's Word, and a celebration of God working in and through Life Bridge for 8 years. Following the services, I watched people jumping into action on various ministries to continue His work throughout the day. Connect Cards, finances, web sites, shepherding calls/emails/Facebook messages all took place before a study of God's Word on leadership. Then prayer began for the whole Body.
The prayer hadn't finished when the first College students began arriving. Fun stories and joking around developed into excellent discussion about building confidence (or "Godfidence") in our lives. The relationships and conversation were so good that none of us really wanted to leave. But the room was needed by the next group: Jr. & Sr. High School.
A sizable group of students gathered into a circle for games, food, worship, and a focus on God as well. A good time was had by all. I left while the students were still "Encounter"ing God that evening to go home and edit video from the Sunday Service and make it available to those who missed.
As I was driving home, all I could keep thinking to myself was, "What a great weekend." Sometimes the details of life all just fall into place in such a way that you can see the beauty of the tapestry, you know?
I love our God.
I love the life He has given us.
I love the design He has for our lives.
I love sharing it with people.
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