NO ONE FELL IN THE OCEAN- WINTERFEST 2008

Why didn't anyone tell me that riding in the back of the bus and headbanging for five minutes while singing at the top of my lungs would result in mad amounts of pain in my body on monday morning? Apparantley the down side of a sugar high is not such a happy one!

BUT... we survived an entire weekend together. All 20 students and 6 adults made it to Ocean City and back without any major injuries, criminal charges or illness. (Except Becca. Hope your feeling better!) Through the rain and our leaky bus. Through the 6 hour tour of the U.S. before finally arriving in MD. Through the 30 minute restroom stops. Through the $3 ice cream sandwiches. Through the late night convos. Through the sugar rushes and the carb overload crankiness. Through the metal bar in the couch beds. Through the football game and the scavenger hunt that nearly had us thrown out of Finnigans for good. And through the musical journey home. We survived.

Our survival wasn't based on good food and lots of rest or exercise. It was based on our ability to live together as a family. So we gatherd together for family meals and we met up for family devotions.... we captured Kodak moments (including mama marilyn the gangsta...creepy...)and we met together to worship our father-- God.

This may have been the best year ever as we stood together in the altars with lifted hands and heartfelt prayers. We didn't stand there as individuals. We didn't just stand there lost in the crowd... we stood supporting one another and offering our praise unto God. Even back at our seats we could be found talking to one another about matters of faith, praying together for the deep issues of our lives, and loving one another with words of encouragement and lots of hugs. Everywhere we looked we saw our whole family reaching out to take the hand of brother or sister... without hesitation or fear...3,000 plus people were unified.

Seeing God move in big and visible ways is an awesome thing. Standing and singing with 3,000 other students without music, without movement, without direction from a musician, without anything but humble hearts is a memory that we will never forget. Those times you meet with God are what make Winterfest worth attending-- far more than the scavenger hunts and the swirlies. (eww.)

The best part is that our little family all came home together... and that means that the experience of God's power in Ocean City can come to Freehold with us. We can meet together with 30 people instead of 3,000 and still stand with those lifted hands and with those prayers for the people in our own youth group. And as we practice the presense of God in our family events, we will never be the same and neither will the world around us.

The testimony of my weekend with God is that he did and continues to allow me to be a part of this family-- the outpost family--- and in that I find great joy. Thanks for letting me be a part of your lives and being such a significant part of mine. Now let's have some family discussion on the experiences of the weekend... the good, the bad, the parts you don't understand and what you'll never forget...