Sweet Retreat
As promised, here is a post with pictures about the Corona Evangelical Free Church College Group Retreat at Catalina Island.
Everybody likes lighthouses. I mean, have you ever given someone a lighthouse calendar only to hear them say, "I hate lighthouses." Didn't think so. I think they inspire personal holiness.
Here's a good group pic from the boatride out there. Billy is not in any of the group pictures because he took all of them.
While we were there two pretty cool ships like this one spent the night in the harbor. As a group we decided to name them. I think we called both of them the "Black Pearl."
Here are the top two reasons I had to go on the retreat: my brother Billy and his fiancee Cory. Aren't they cute?
As it turned out, there were a lot of other good reasons to go on the retreat, especially the teaching from Mark Spanzel, former dean at The Master's College and now on-staff at CEFC. He talked about endurance from the Hebrews warning passages. He reminded us to preach the gospel to ourselves and showed us how the writer of Hebrews warns us to pay close attention to the gospel or we will drift.
For me, the hardest part of retreats like this is coming back. I enjoyed this retreat. I liked being out on an island without having to think about work or homework for a few days. Sometimes coming back to the normal routine does not seem too appealing. However, all retreats do come to an end, but our return to our routines should not be quite normal. We should return to wherever we are differently because of the things we have learned on the retreat. So when my alarm rings at 5AM in the morning, I know that the first thing I have to do is make sure I am fastened to the dock and not drifting. I need to preach the gospel to myself.
That's a wrap on the retreat. Yesterday I bought Keane's new CD, "Under the Iron Sea." I would be tempted to write a review on it, but Bobby has already said everything I would have said in his review. Read it here.
Everybody likes lighthouses. I mean, have you ever given someone a lighthouse calendar only to hear them say, "I hate lighthouses." Didn't think so. I think they inspire personal holiness.
Here's a good group pic from the boatride out there. Billy is not in any of the group pictures because he took all of them.
While we were there two pretty cool ships like this one spent the night in the harbor. As a group we decided to name them. I think we called both of them the "Black Pearl."
Here are the top two reasons I had to go on the retreat: my brother Billy and his fiancee Cory. Aren't they cute?
As it turned out, there were a lot of other good reasons to go on the retreat, especially the teaching from Mark Spanzel, former dean at The Master's College and now on-staff at CEFC. He talked about endurance from the Hebrews warning passages. He reminded us to preach the gospel to ourselves and showed us how the writer of Hebrews warns us to pay close attention to the gospel or we will drift.
For me, the hardest part of retreats like this is coming back. I enjoyed this retreat. I liked being out on an island without having to think about work or homework for a few days. Sometimes coming back to the normal routine does not seem too appealing. However, all retreats do come to an end, but our return to our routines should not be quite normal. We should return to wherever we are differently because of the things we have learned on the retreat. So when my alarm rings at 5AM in the morning, I know that the first thing I have to do is make sure I am fastened to the dock and not drifting. I need to preach the gospel to myself.
That's a wrap on the retreat. Yesterday I bought Keane's new CD, "Under the Iron Sea." I would be tempted to write a review on it, but Bobby has already said everything I would have said in his review. Read it here.
posted by Ben Blakey at 6:34 AM
4 Comments:
Thanks for the sweet pix. Looks like a beautiful place. I especially appreciated your comment about preaching the gospel to ourselves. Speaking truth to ourselves is so important!
Yo Bro!
Sounds like it was a good weekend! That must have been fun hanging with Bill and Cory. I have also enjoyed the teaching of Mark Spansel at retreats for staff at The Master's College. Looking forward to seeing you soon bro!
Of course I am jealous because you got to hear Spack teach. He is the dang man...not to mention that he taught out of Hebrews which is what I am taking the high school students through right now...I wish I could have been there...
DBrown
My heart aches......you got to spend time with the people I love.....darn summer camp ministry!
Post a Comment
<< Home