You make beautiful things

Well...I'm back! It was an amazing week in Louisville Kentucky at the LIFE conference of 2010. I absolutely loved it, and to write a blog talking about every little thing I loved would...well...take a very long time. So I'll do my best to touch on the subject!

First off, it was a BLAST. The activity hall was filled with dozens and dozens of things to do. I especially loved the soccer cages, the punching and jousting moonwalks, and just about everything in there was awesome...I didn't even get around to doing it all! The pre-sessions were tons of fun. We did a choreographed dance that we did at the baseball game, which was tons of fun. There was tons of good music played while everyone danced, waiting for the session to start.

I also saw some amazing bands. Hawk Nelson was definitely the most fun to watch. I had the privileged of being right up against the stage. Reached up, and Jason (the lead singer) fist bumped with me, he got up right in our faces, and we crowd surfed him. People would throw things on stage, and Jason would wear it...except for the pants someone threw, which was rather humorous. I've never seen someone so engaging with the crowd, it was so much fun!

I also saw Kutless. This was actually the band I was looking most forward to seeing...however it turned out disappointing. We went to a baseball game (we were originally going to six flags...but six flags closed down, sadly) and Kutless played in the OUTFIELD. We weren't even allowed to be on the field with them. So it was hard when we could hardly see them...and it was also 100 degrees outside. Along with all of this, the heat put the instruments out of tune, and was hard to hear the guitar and vocals.

Trace Bundy was amazing, and I got to be super close to him, even had a picture with him. There were other small bands and acts that were cool to see on stage. I got the signatures of all the bands...I think that covers the entertainment aspect!

The main part of LIFE: God! Each morning and night there were sessions. Speakers such as Francis Chan and Derwin Gray spoke. I was moved by their powerful messages that God spoke through them. They were not only inspiring, but hilarious! There were seminars in the afternoons that you could choose to go to. There were several choices, each with different topics for people to meet their spiritual desires. It was very hard to get into seminars because there were 6500 kids trying to get to them.

There were several things that stuck out to me...in a message by Francis Chan, he at one point brought out his daughter, a cute ten year old, and held her. He stood there and looked around, and then asked, "Is this what your prayer life looks like?". Are you clinging on to God? Are you holding around his neck? If you let go, who knows what happens. Never let go of God, is what I got from that. I need to hold on to him, hug him around the neck. He asked us a question in a latter message, "Do you really want to give up everything God offers for FRUIT?" FRUIT! That's all the world is. It rots, and dies. You eat it, and it's gone. We often ridicule Adam and Eve for doing this...but we do it just as easily every day!

Derwin Gray spoke so powerfully in his messages. In one of the seminars he talked about doubt. He said something I didn't expect, and that "doubt" can be our friend. It can make our faith stronger. I struggle with doubt often...but I have to realize, God speaks the loudest when he is silent. Faith in God cannot be based on emotions. It must be based on a choice. Our feelings don't determine the presence of God.

The worship was amazing. While songs often were repeated a lot, which disappointed me, there is nothing like worshiping God amongst 6500 other teenagers. God was truly present, as we all humbly and honestly worshiped God. One of the more powerful songs sang "You make beautiful things, you make beautiful things out of the dust, you make beautiful things, you make beautiful things out of us". That line stuck me so hard, almost as hard as the bass of the drums did standing next to the stage, as I stood there hands held high. God is beautiful, and makes beautiful things. I need to live my life to the fullest extent for his glory. When that many people are earnestly singing to God, there's only one thing that could make it more amazing, and that is with glowsticks.



Another thing that was unforgettable was the "Project Experience". We walked through this "tour" which allowed us to see the darkness of the world. Facts that we don't want to know. 1 child dies of starvation every 5 seconds. In thailand 10-12 year old girls service men 10-30 times a day. Right next to this, 12 billion dollars is spent on pornography in the United States, and 30 billion dollars was spent on ice cream last year...when the cost to cure world hunger is 135 billion dollars. This walk through the sufferings of other people's lives was a wake up call to how lucky I am. Even living in Mongolia when I witness people's hard lives, I hadn't seen everything.

That was such an amazing experience...and was beautiful. The whole week was beautiful. I spent it with awesome friends, awesome youth leaders, and an awesome God. I never want to forget it, and I pray the memories will stay in my head forever.