What it's all about.

So we had fun at "The Fort." Lots of fun. And I think that's important-it builds and strengthens relationships within the ministry.

but that's not the reason for a retreat.

Jeff Eagan, also known as "Ol' Redbeard," and a former member of the band, "Boulder, CO," was our speaker for the weekend. It's always good to hear the message from someone outside the walls of the church to get a fresh perspective.

Jeff's teaching focused on Matthew 22:
34Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:
36"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'[b] 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

He also questioned what it looks like to worship God. So many times when we hear "it's time to worship," or "i'm going to 9am worship," we think about singing songs or attending a church service. Romans 12 calls us to offer our bodies as living sacrifices as a "spiritual act of worship." With every breath and every word we speak, in every interaction with co-workers, people on the street or the idiot in traffic, worship HIM.

On Saturday night, Chris invited us to take 10 minutes and just go outside and LOOK. The moonlight shining off the snow on the bowing evergreen branches, the stars like a thousand headlights in the sky, the air so incredibly clean and brisk it almost hurts to inhale it. How can anyone look at this world and not see HIM?! Even in the frigid north in the middle of winter when everything is dormant, I felt soooo alive. and there it is.
worship is not about ME. it's not about how it makes ME feel. it's not about MY song or MY sacrifice. it's all about being passionately consumed by HIM.

back to love.
Jeff read a story about a guy who couldn't sleep one night so he walked to the local doughnut shop at 3am. There were a couple of "ladies of the night" there talking about business. One mentioned to the other that the next day was her birthday. The other sarcastically said, "what do you want me to do about it? buy you a cake, throw you a party?" She replied, "why should you? i'm going to be 38 and have never had a birthday party." He got an idea. He asked the store owner if these women came into the store every night. They did. So he conspired with the owner to throw the woman a surprise party the following night. They put up decorations and got her a cake with her name in the icing. When she walked in, the was completely overcome by the love of these strangers. She asked through her tears if instead of cutting the cake, she could take it home to savor the moment. After she left, the store owner asked what kind of a church the man came from. He replied, "a church that throws birthday parties for prostitutes at 3 in the morning." The man said, "I don't believe you. If there were such a church, I'd go."

I want to be a part of THAT church too. I want to love others more than myself. I want to stop talking and start doing. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind, and Love your neighbor as yourself."

We retreated and now we've returned. Let's change the world one life at a time...