Gniiks htiw GYFO

So, I led worship for the youth group from Oakwood Forest Christian Church (from Kingsport, TN) the weekend of Feb 23rd. It was a ski retreat, and it was pretty cool. I enjoyed it for many reasons, and here are some of my thoughts on the matter:
1. It's nice to see that there are still stars.
2. The utter pain of waking up after an entire day of falling down (snowboarding) does a remarkable job of reminding you that you are still alive.
3. On some songs airdrums sound better than real drums (video soon to come).
4. The joy of life is the shockingly serendipitous things that happen to us.

Let me elaborate.

So Wolf Laurel is about a 4 hour drive from where I live. My wife and I loaded up my humble Chevy Cavelier with our stuff and headed to the mountains. We drove, and drove...then we got some gas. Then we drove again...and drove some more. Then it got dark, and I remembered that in the mountains dark is much more dark than the city. Looking through the car's nicked windshield, my wife and I saw stars. This might not seem like a big deal to you, but it's a really big deal to me. I'm a mountain boy. When I see stars, I see home.

Then we joined up with the group. I met a few of the teens a few years ago, and they're bigger now. Eric has grown into a young man, Wesley has grown into a young giant, April is getting ready for College and Cameron is fortunately still Cameron. (I wouldn't have it any other way)

On Saturday we went snowboarding. I fell down a lot...and fortunately I didn't take anyone with me. (at least no one that I noticed) Sunday morning I woke up with muscles that I never had before. They were all screaming: "How could you do this to me?"

So, so far this blog is exactly the kind of blog that isn't very interesting to read. It's the classic, I got up, did this, did that, kind of blog. I realize that it's choppy, and kind of dull. BUT THAT'S THE POINT! See, life is full of surprises, sensations, ups and downs...but mostly it's filled with the in-between moments, almost mundane, and sometimes unfortunate. How we live today is the serious chance that we have, to do something extraordinary. I mean, seriously take a second and be completely silent. Right now, just stop, close your eyes, take a breath, let the air fill your lungs, let your chest rise, let it fall, do it again. Here is the verdict:

You are alive.

Here is the big picture:
You have a a chance to live life. The seredipity of this moment is that you have this moment. So your vehicle may break down, it might not be the best day at the slopes, you might have a disagreement with a friend (or a stranger), and maybe things don't go your way. But this world as we know it isn't going to last. Jesus is for-real coming back, live for (and abide in Him) because He's the one sure thing.

Anyway.

Until next time my GYFO friends.