Here's the video that Luke used in his talk Friday night. It's a powerful reminder of how things in life can get between us and God, how we have to fight to change that, and how Jesus will stop at nothing to fight for us.
(Side note: Yes, Luke still cried at the video just posting it here on the blog. Gosh! When am I going to be able to make it through this thing dry eyed?)
That was amazing! We spent 2 days in Becker, MN at a retreat that challenged us to Go Deeper in our relationships with God... it was one of the best trips for Northwood Student Life to date. For those who couldn't make it or those whose memory needs a jump start here's a recap.
Friday Night:
Some fun games to get acquainted and then the first session where some rockin' music gave way to Luke talking about the call to Go Deeper in our relationships with God. We watched a sweet skit about how God fights with us against a lot of the junk in our life. Then we gave time to pray, ask for help, laugh, cry, and in all other ways deal with some of the junk we had. That time went on for almost 4 hours! Dozens of teens finally started to talk about things they had been holding deep inside... healing took place. It was awesome in the truest sense of the word. God Rocks!
Woken up by the youth pastor drumline, teams had to slurp a liter of Mountain Dew through a pipeline of 10 or more straws to earn the right to eat breakfast. What a refreshing way to start the day! Session 2 brought a clip from U-571 and Pastor Blake talking about how going deeper often allows us to stay safe from many threats even though it can feel scary. The challenge was given to make an impact on the world by working to deepen our dependence on God.
The Becker Olympics (congrats to the Purple Team) and some free time for ping-pong, four square, and other craziness. Then the prayer walk, a 12 station guided time to contemplate our inward journey with God and our outward journey to leave an impression on those we interact with. Some worship, and then home.It really was an amazing time and I'm thankful that so many of you were able to make it. There will be more pictures and videos coming this week, along with the stories of those who had significant changes in their life. God's just getting started with this group!
Enough people asked about finding this video we showed yesterday that I decided to post it. Enjoy!
"I knocks da pride outta them!"
Today is the last day to sign up for the Becker Retreat and Spring Blitz before the price goes up. The cost for Becker and Blitz is $20 and $100 respectively, until tomorrow. Then Becker will cost $25 and Blitz will cost $125. So if you're planning on joining us for either of these amazing trips today is the best day to sign up!
If you're not sure if you've been signed up yet, here's the list of people who have signed up.
Becker Retreat (Feb. 8-9) (Sign Up by clicking here)
Andy Moore
Kaycee Clark
Sam VanWalbeek
Katie Clark
Kayla Yahnke
Kyle Knopik
Joe Kraemer
Olivia Benver
Rachel Knopik
Jess Anderson
Dan Anderson
Spring Blitz [sign up by clicking here]
Blake Koppendrayer
Rachel Knopik
Andy Moore
If you see someone who you think should be going and they haven't signed up yet you should call them, write them, telegraph them, send smoke signals, put a letter in a bottle, or hire a sky-writer to tell them "Hurry up! Sign up!" Any questions, just give me a call or e-mail me!
-Luke