The Walk...

I am really thankful for the snow today. It is beautiful and the part I love about it is the whiteness of it all and the fact that it softens the sounds around us. I remember working at Princeton early in the mornings during winter and walking across campus, it was so quiet after a snowfall, the sounds muffled out by the snow and the peaceful white flakes floating down. Last night I got in really late from WinterJam which was totally awesome and I will say more about that in a minute but the alarm went off this morning at 6:30 for work and I grunted... Carol said - turn it off you dont have to go to work. I rolled over and woke up 3 hours later. Hey I am getting old you know? I fully enjoy hanging with 23 students and other leaders at a concert but hey - I am there to have my worship game face on and thats what I did. I don't think I sat down hardly at all and seeing 16000+ folks, I wouldn't call them fans, but people with their arms raised, singing, and seeing that just blows my mind and warms my heart. I love those moments when I know God is doing something amazing.

Last night during the opening acts, they called for student ministry leaders to come forth and go to the back room. I grabbed 2 of my students who I fully believe with all my heart that one day - they will be involved in ministry in some capacity. Maybe not student ministry but personal outright, souled out ministry !! We grabbed hands and walked to the back room. There we met NewsBoys and David Crowder who them and a few members of their band thanked us for serving God in our students. They shared with us that our work is the hard in the ditches work as they travel the world singing and praising and helping us do our ministry - long after they leave and go on ahead to the next city impacting that 16000. They both prayed over all of us and we got some neat free stuff on the way out but the thing I remember most is seeing their faces shine knowing they were in a special place. A place much bigger than they were and for those brief moments - I really felt like they were seeing and feeling a vision for their life much bigger than anything they may have planned. Middle school students are all over the place as they try to sort things out and figure out things but a HUGE GOD seed was planted last night and I am praying hard that those seeds produce so much fruit for Gods kingdom in the coming years. One of the parents sent me a facebook message thanking me for taking her daughter back stage. When she came to pick her up - she was talking 100 mph and was all pumped up about meeting the band members, getting a CD and having it signed, to be prayed for and just having a chance to be a part of something to huge and impactful.

You can say that you believe in Christ - you may have all the correct human answers to questions - you can go to a big concert but something happens to a person who has that seed planted and it begins to grow. It changes that person and they begin to believe in bigger things, they see things differently and they have a heart that shows others who they are and what they stand for and believe in.

NewBoys played a song last night that I have forgotten how much I truly love. They were awesome as they finished out the show. The band members were on their individual stages that moved out over the crowd and way up in the air - even the drummer was elevated and tilted and then in a drum solo - the stage he was on spun as he played..... I have never seen anything like that before and it was really totally amazing!