Ascension retreat
I have enjoyed reading your comments from the last few posts and am thankful for this way of keeping in touch with you. It makes me feel “connected”.
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As usual, we attended the annual retreat in Ardeche, France during the Ascension weekend. This year, all of the speakers were “amateurs”, that is, they were not paid ministers, and boy did they do a good job. Three of the speakers were 20 or younger, (one of them was Son 1), and they all spoke true words without hypocrisy that went right to the heart.
It was late to bed and “early” to rise for the three day stay… Lots of fellowship, sport, study, praise and prayer. Way too much time spent at the table. All in all, a time of renewal.
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As usual, we attended the annual retreat in Ardeche, France during the Ascension weekend. This year, all of the speakers were “amateurs”, that is, they were not paid ministers, and boy did they do a good job. Three of the speakers were 20 or younger, (one of them was Son 1), and they all spoke true words without hypocrisy that went right to the heart.
It was late to bed and “early” to rise for the three day stay… Lots of fellowship, sport, study, praise and prayer. Way too much time spent at the table. All in all, a time of renewal.
May 22nd, 2007 at 1:35 pm
I’ve been out of touch for a week or so. Glad to know this was a special time for you.
It’s interesting that you mentioned the great job the “unpaid” ministers did. I had an encounter last night on my front porch with a couple who takes great issue with paid preachers! More later on that!
May 22nd, 2007 at 3:42 pm
Although tiring I love those times. I’m sure it made you proud to see Son1 preaching the Word.
May 22nd, 2007 at 5:30 pm
Some of the best are amateurs — they seem to do a better job of speaking to the heart because they seem to do a better job at speaking from the heart.
May 22nd, 2007 at 9:43 pm
Wow, Brady, all those years ago, sitting in those MARC classes, did you ever figure that one day you might be celebrating Ascension Day in the Ardeche IN FRANCE with a young son who speaks of God with such honest conviction?
How cool is that? Praise God!!
May 23rd, 2007 at 4:53 am
I’m glad you are refreshed. I often find the most “unprofessionals” can have the most to say.
May 23rd, 2007 at 1:26 pm
Is this the Swiss version of Promise Keepers?
This sounds a lot more like my cup o’ tea.
May 23rd, 2007 at 11:01 pm
Well I wish I was there again, so I could hear Son 1 speak. Maybe you can get him to speak at the College Church in Fresno some day. Last Sunday, one of our young missionaries from China spoke at the College Church. I thought he did an excellent job explaining what it means to be a stranger in a strange land.
To try and answer Mike question. From being at it last year, I would not compare it to Promise Keepers. The atmosphere is a little bit different. At this retreat, families and Christians from different churches come together and have fellowship with one another. You eat, sing, listen to speakers, and break off into groups for discussions. You have break time in which you can hike, fly kites, or anything else you can do with your free time. The interesting thing is to see their excitement for snacks, like Oreos. It is also all in French. There are people that know English besides Brady and his family, but the worship and message are in French. Worship did sound nice in French even though I do not know what they are singing.
May 24th, 2007 at 11:36 am
Thanks, Blake, for stepping up to bat for me there. You did a good job of giving the essential.
Mike: No promise keepers here that I know of. I have not had that experience yet. And you? Are they still doing them?
Well Deb, I hardly remember sitting in any classes. I know I was there, but it is just a blur. However, that does not take away from the joy we’ve had watching our kids grow up in Jesus. We pray it continues and that they grow in love, compassion, joy and spirit in the Lord.
To the rest of you: Thanks for your comments. The weekend was a blessing, though I still end up doing many of the stupid things I was doing before the weekend. Know what I mean?