Whew! We made it up the mountain! Thank you to Todd Davis who braved the traffic and heavy rain. He got us here safely, and for that, we are grateful.
Upon arriving in Tennessee, we stopped and had supper at the best place on earth, Chick-fil-a. Once our bellies were full, we took off to Wal-mart and bought ALL of our groceries for the week. Here is how it happened, the kids were broken up into four team and the chaperones joined in with three of them. They had a budget of $50 each team and a list of groceries that we needed for each day/night. I must say, they did SO GOOD!! To watch them work as a team to make good financial decisions about what they were buying, planning how much to buy to make sure everyone had enough, and to see them keep track of their spending, was nothing short of fun! They asked for help as they needed it and even talked some of us chaperones (not saying names) out of purchasing things that were not necessarily needed or giving up one item to get another that everyone would like and was more affordable. Our assembly line of loading groceries into an already packed van, was quite comical, but we made it!
The kids love our cabin! It is cozy and has a perfect place for worship. The boys have the basement area, which is not your average basement. They have bunk beds and a friendly, competitive game of pool will keep them in fellowship with one another during our down time. The girls have the loft, which has a beautiful view! The chaperones are in the middle, keeping watch and keeping everything rolling.
After unpacking ALL of the groceries and our suitcases, we didn't waste one minute and jumped right into worship. Tonight's lesson was on Psalm 51. We learned how the prophet Nathan confronted David of sin in committing adultery with Bathsheba. In Psalm 51, David is crying out to God for forgiveness. We walked through each portion of the scripture and how it is much aligned to how we come to know Jesus as sinners and how as Christians, we come to seeking repentance when we have sinned. Each youth was laser focused on the lesson. Shout out to Ryan Riffle for answering the most questions right in our little pop quiz questions along the way in learning the background story leading up to Psalm 51! It has been about 3 years since they have heard the story of David and Bathsheba in great detail and yet they still can share what they learned. They are listening parents and they are soaking it in! They really want to know Christ.
Here is what Team One had to say about the blog:
After taking time to reflect on tonight's lesson, we wanted to share Psalm 51:10 "Create in me a clean heart, O God and renew a steadfast spirit within me." This verse teaches of how God shows his children mercy from death and suffering in a life of sin, when a sinner pleads to God for forgiveness He will begin to rebuild their broken hearts. We also learned about the importance of being reborn in Christ, and then having true joy.
Before devotion each night, we join together in song. The worship songs really help us get "pumped up" and open our hearts for the lesson. For those youth that have been on this retreat before, it feels like we are picking up where we left off last summer.
After worship, we challenged them with turning in their cellphones each morning at 9:30 a.m. and not getting them back until after night service. Of course, this was met with some looks of fear and very few "yes!" answers. So we left it at this. On Thursday morning, they are going to hand them over for the day. ALL of them. They can call parents and siblings before morning worship and they will get them back after night worship. If they choose to take the no cellphone challenge ALL week, they will turn them in each morning before morning worship begins and they get them before bed to set their alarm for the next morning. Growing closer to God is the best gift we can receive. It leads to a life of joy and it helps us plant seeds to further his kingdom, which we are called to do. To grow closer, we often need to remove distractions and even the temptation of the distraction. I left it to them. Parents: please know that you can contact them. My cell is 704-616-6625 if you have an emergency or have a concern/question. They are hungry for the word and we want them to be able to focus on what God has for them.
It is 1::45 am and they are still giggling, talking and spending time with each other. This is what retreat is about. Growing closer to God, spending time away from the world and just being kids! Parents, they are safe and they good! Tomorrow morning- we learn about Rahab and her courageous faith.
We love you.
Upon arriving in Tennessee, we stopped and had supper at the best place on earth, Chick-fil-a. Once our bellies were full, we took off to Wal-mart and bought ALL of our groceries for the week. Here is how it happened, the kids were broken up into four team and the chaperones joined in with three of them. They had a budget of $50 each team and a list of groceries that we needed for each day/night. I must say, they did SO GOOD!! To watch them work as a team to make good financial decisions about what they were buying, planning how much to buy to make sure everyone had enough, and to see them keep track of their spending, was nothing short of fun! They asked for help as they needed it and even talked some of us chaperones (not saying names) out of purchasing things that were not necessarily needed or giving up one item to get another that everyone would like and was more affordable. Our assembly line of loading groceries into an already packed van, was quite comical, but we made it!
The kids love our cabin! It is cozy and has a perfect place for worship. The boys have the basement area, which is not your average basement. They have bunk beds and a friendly, competitive game of pool will keep them in fellowship with one another during our down time. The girls have the loft, which has a beautiful view! The chaperones are in the middle, keeping watch and keeping everything rolling.
After unpacking ALL of the groceries and our suitcases, we didn't waste one minute and jumped right into worship. Tonight's lesson was on Psalm 51. We learned how the prophet Nathan confronted David of sin in committing adultery with Bathsheba. In Psalm 51, David is crying out to God for forgiveness. We walked through each portion of the scripture and how it is much aligned to how we come to know Jesus as sinners and how as Christians, we come to seeking repentance when we have sinned. Each youth was laser focused on the lesson. Shout out to Ryan Riffle for answering the most questions right in our little pop quiz questions along the way in learning the background story leading up to Psalm 51! It has been about 3 years since they have heard the story of David and Bathsheba in great detail and yet they still can share what they learned. They are listening parents and they are soaking it in! They really want to know Christ.
Here is what Team One had to say about the blog:
After taking time to reflect on tonight's lesson, we wanted to share Psalm 51:10 "Create in me a clean heart, O God and renew a steadfast spirit within me." This verse teaches of how God shows his children mercy from death and suffering in a life of sin, when a sinner pleads to God for forgiveness He will begin to rebuild their broken hearts. We also learned about the importance of being reborn in Christ, and then having true joy.
Before devotion each night, we join together in song. The worship songs really help us get "pumped up" and open our hearts for the lesson. For those youth that have been on this retreat before, it feels like we are picking up where we left off last summer.
After worship, we challenged them with turning in their cellphones each morning at 9:30 a.m. and not getting them back until after night service. Of course, this was met with some looks of fear and very few "yes!" answers. So we left it at this. On Thursday morning, they are going to hand them over for the day. ALL of them. They can call parents and siblings before morning worship and they will get them back after night worship. If they choose to take the no cellphone challenge ALL week, they will turn them in each morning before morning worship begins and they get them before bed to set their alarm for the next morning. Growing closer to God is the best gift we can receive. It leads to a life of joy and it helps us plant seeds to further his kingdom, which we are called to do. To grow closer, we often need to remove distractions and even the temptation of the distraction. I left it to them. Parents: please know that you can contact them. My cell is 704-616-6625 if you have an emergency or have a concern/question. They are hungry for the word and we want them to be able to focus on what God has for them.
It is 1::45 am and they are still giggling, talking and spending time with each other. This is what retreat is about. Growing closer to God, spending time away from the world and just being kids! Parents, they are safe and they good! Tomorrow morning- we learn about Rahab and her courageous faith.
We love you.