road trip

i just got back from my trip to pittsburgh with timmy b, mark b, and ben c, a couple days ago. we had a great time - shared many laughs and made many memories. stopping in to see ap on the way down was definitely a highlight.

for me, it was an odd trip to go on. i just resigned from my position of youth pastor and have no desire to go back to being a youth pastor in the near future....so why go to a youth pastor's convention? other than the fact that i had already bought my ticket...i went for the fun times with the guys and the retreat experience that the conference offered. not so much a retreat into solitude, but a retreat away from the ordinary to spend a weekend listening to what God might want to say through the conference. i had a great time. i didn't hear anything profound from God, but it did confirm for me that where i am at now is a good place to be. i had some good moments of rest in the midst of the craziness and was able to spend some much-coveted time with friends.

the highlight of the trip for me came late saturday evening. the four of us went to get some food and drinks at a nearby restaurant/pub and ended up having a wonderfully deep conversation and sharing time. something was said during that time that really hit me and meant much more to me than they had probably intended for it to... i'll be vulnerable here and tell you... they said that i seemed very authentic/genuine. a comment was made that i seemed a much different person than i was in college...in a good way. coming from the year i have spent allowing God to deconstruct and begin rebuilding my faith, this comment was a God moment for me... saying "see, i am doing something in you. you are becoming who i want you to be. it's working!"

that one moment was, for me, worth the entire trip and hundreds of dollars spent. it was so very encouraging for me....just the kind of thing God knew i needed to hear.

so for ben, mark, and timmy...thank you.