4.10.2008

Retreating in New Hampshire

Last weekend, Greg and I were away at a retreat in Freedom, New Hampshire. (I still have no clue where that is…I think I’ll go mapquest is right now.)
So that’s where we were. The area was quite pretty. The retreat was at a camp on a lake near/in the White Hills, ooops, I mean the White “Mountains”. I admit it was a little depressing to leave Boston’s barely-above-freezing weather last Friday and get out of the car in New Hampshire to snow that was as high as my waist in places! It’s APRIL! Where are the Spring flowers?! Greg and I determined that we could never live in weather like that. Boston is cold enough for us!

The retreat was for Christian college students in New England. I think there were around 200 of them, though that’s a really rough estimate. Greg was asked to lead the worship music and help plan the meeting times with John, one of the pastors at our church in Cambridge. I was privileged to go along for the ride and sing a little here and there as well. We also brought incredible keyboardist, recently engaged Chase, and fellow seminarian, very-soon-to-be-a-daddy percussionist, Bryan. So the five of us from Hope Fellowship Church made the trek together in our little Honda and the big white church van, packed full with our sound equipment. Did you catch that? Kim and four guys. It was quite an entertaining trip for me, to say the least!

Our venue was awesome, and the four of us in the band thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to play together all weekend. The college students’ energy and passion were really encouraging as well. The theme of the weekend was based on Matthew 11:28, and the three meetings were centered around these three key words – Come, Take, Rest. Though all three spoke to me in their own ways, God called me to a deeper commitment to self-sacrificial living during the second meeting – Take. He reminded me that abundant and fulfilling life is not found in selfish living but in laying down my life for others despite the “cost” to me. I remembered a statement I adopted my first year at Baylor nine years ago – “I will go anywhere, do anything, at any cost for the sake of Christ.” I guess I want my life to reflect that more than it is at this point. I definitely feel like I have more limitations on what that can look like now that I’m married and working a more structured job. But God’s not limited by my life circumstances…

Anyway, just wanted to share a little about the weekend since it was such an incredible time for me – musically, spiritually, socially.

1 comment:

Rebecca said...

Hey girl! Can't wait to see pics of your new apt when you have it all dolled up! I enjoyed hearing about your retreat and was thinking how much God's been teaching me some of the same things about self-sacrifice and what that should look like in my life and how much I don't live like that. Anywho, wonder if you've heard the pretty recent song by Steve Fee called Burn for You...here's the chorus - I'll go anywhere
I'll do anything
At any cost for you
My King