Monday, February 18, 2008

Session Three Recap

Everyone comes to a moment when God’s grace is not enough, God is not responding and it seems as if the door to Heaven has slammed shut in your face.

When you have stopped to consider God’s enormity, remembered that there’s more going on than you know, that you’ve looked for Him in unexpected places and you’ve check your morality…what’s next?

When God is silent fall back on faith.

You look at tomorrow, realize it’s another day and know God will respond and have hope. Where does that come from? To go from I don’t know where you are God to I believe you!

It’s the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot see.

Faith literally makes no sense…because faith does not come from intelligence and faith does not come from proof. Yet with faith you can’t see the future but you believe in what will happen. You believe He’s there.

A lot of people don’t believe in faith. You can’t touch it or prove it. It’s impossible to scientifically prove God and wrap your head around God. You need to understand what your faith is about.

It’s “following, trusting, holding out a hand to an invisible guide.” - Phillip Yancey

You have to decide – is that going to be enough for you? YOU are going to have to decide for yourself if you’re going to have faith even when nothing has the evidence. You’ll have to take the step over the abyss with no bridge to hold you.

Parents…isn’t this your prayer to have your children own THEIR faith?

Dave told the students that your parents cannot give you this faith. Your church cannot give you this faith. We can’t talk you into this faith. This is your decision. You must decide whether you can pour out your heart like this. This is your deal and you are now old enough to decide.

You have to have faith in the invisible, to a God who is sometimes silent.

Assume you’ve done all you could do again and you still feel like you’re not hearing from God. There’s one thing left…even after all that He still might be silent.

Seriously…what? Still silent! Okay now you’re frustrated, possibly annoyed and READY to hear from him.

It’s courage that let’s you be persistent in prayer and let’s you just wait for an answer.

When God is silent be persistent and learn how to wait, and wait, and wait with His help.

Keep going to God, yelling, SCREAMING!

Jesus tells us it’s okay to pester God, to knock and knock and to pound and pound and yell and yell.

Can you be that persistent in prayer and willing to wait? Even though no one on this earth knows the depth of your pain – can you wait? Do you have the courage?

Check out Isaiah 40:27-31…what do you feel after reading this?

If you wait on God, you will fly, you will soar…

Dave played a song that has been so impactful in his life that he barely could say phrases from the song without tearing up. Here are some of the words…


My words lie still and lifeless as dust upon the sand. I can no longer voice one request or one demand,
My cup of tears is empty. I can no longer cry. My lips have fallen silent. My prayer is but a sigh.
My voice is weak from calling to you both night and day. How long will you be silent? Why do you turn away?
Spirit come and rest your ear upon my heart,
O come and hear my wordless prayer, my silent plea and take them far away from me.
Take them from this heart of mine to the Father’s heart divine.
Speak in tones unknown to man that God may hear and understand.

A Time with a Student

I had a chance to sit down and talk a little while with one of the male students. I was looking to interview a variety of students for the sake of this blog, so he was the first one I talked to. Within the first two minutes, he exposed the struggles in his life to me. Dave's message struck a chord deep within him, and it was something he needed to hear (and wrestle with).

Today at Seven Springs I got a chance to talk with him a little more. Hearing about the situations in his life (life changes, friend changes, social situation changes, etc.) the silence that he felt was palpable. What words could I offer someone that was so deeply crying out for God to only feel the quiet silence greeting him?

There is no easy answer for students who are going through these hard times. But as I reflected on my time with him, I realized that there is a distinct silence in my own life right now. To be able to share that with him meant a lot to me as well. I don't know why God is silent in his life right now, I don't know why God is letting him go through the things he is going through. But I have to believe that God has a reason for it. And I know that he believes that too. He just wishes that God was a little more clear about it.

Dave played this song for us, and it was incredibly powerful.

My Wordless Prayer
My words lie still and lifeless as dust upon the sand,
I can no longer voice one request or demand,

My cup of tears is empty, I can no loner cry,

My lips have fallen silent, my prayer is but a sigh.

Spirit come and rest Your ear upon my heart,

O come and hear my wordless prayer,

my silent plea and take them far away from me.

Take them from this heart of mine to the Father’s heart divine,

Speak in tones unknown to man that God may hear and understand.
My voice is weak from calling to You both night and day.
How long will You be silent? Why do You turn away?
Spirit, come and rest Your ear upon my heart;
Come and hear my wordless prayer,
my silent plea and take them far away from me.
Take them from this heart of mine to the Father’s heart divine.

Speak in tones unknown to man that God may hear and under stand.

Session 3

The final session arrived. This weekend has blown by so quickly, I can hardly believe it!

Dave talked about the last thing that we can do when God is silent. If you have done all of the other steps, sometimes it still isn't enough. What else is there to cling to? What can propel us forward?

The answer is simple: faith. This isn't a cut and dry solution. It isn't a nice and easy answer. It is often times ugly. It is hard. It takes patience and perseverance. Tears and heartaches. Faith isn't grounded in what you can see or touch, but in that which is unseen and unfelt.

Faith isn't something that you can inherit from your parents, from your friends or from your church. It is something that you must wrestle with and make your own. A. W. Tozer notes that the most important thing about a man is what he believes about God. Do you believe that God is there when you cry out of desperation into the silence? Do you believe that God still cares when it feels like no one else does? Do you believe that God's grace is enough when you feel as if it isn't?

What do you do with the dark and ugly times of your life? What do you do with those moments and seasons where your heart feels like it splinters over and over again, and no one is there to help you put the pieces of your life back together? Where is God when you sit quietly at night with no one to hold you and help you through those dark hours of your life? Is He even there? Is He even listening? Does He even care?

Does your faith allow you to ask Him those things? Can you cry out in frustration to God? Does your faith allow you to be real with Him? To be vulnerable? To be yourself? Is your faith strong enough to propel you through a time when your parents get a divorce, or when your spouse cheats on you, or when you lose a loved one?

Faith isn't a romantic concept. It is the gritty bedrock of our relationship with Christ. It is what we can fall back onto when our whole world falls apart all around us and there is nothing left for us but a free fall, or a desperate clinging to our faith. Does your faith offer you thought?

When there is only silence to greet you, you must fall back on your faith and be able to fall back on it time and time again. Faith is not believing in what you have seen. Rather it is believing in what you haven't seen. Or for the sake of this trip: Faith isn't believing in God speaking, it is believing in God when you don't hear Him speaking.

Seven Springs

So the day started out very early yet again. Students rolled out of bed with the distinct lack of sleep evident on their faces. But the early morning hour sleepiness quickly wore off as the time to depart for Seven Springs came upon us. We all piled onto the buses and headed out.

This year I elected to stay inside the lodge and see what that would be like. It was a lot of fun to hang out with the students and play random games. I also got a chance to play "Phase 10" with some guys and Dave Rod. Sadly for Dave, I was able to emerge victorious.

Many of the students decided to go tubing, snow boarding or skiing, and those that did seemed to have a really great time. Even though it started to rain for a while, the slopes appeared to be in great condition for the winter activities.

Watching the students return from the activities was fun as well. Many were really excited about the times they just had, but most of them had the look of sheer exhaustion on their face. A lack of sleep plus skiing or snow boarding definitely wiped many of the students out. Hopefully that m

Untalented / Talent Show

High school. What a wild and crazy time. A time to be goofy, a time to (try to) be cool. A time to have a lot of fun together. And what better culmination for such a time in life than the Untalented / Talent Show.

There were quite a few entries this year. A stand up comedy. A live rendition of Wii Tennis. A live version of Guitar Hero 3. Random oddities by other students. Phenomenal music performances were done. And unusual performances that revolved around ... toast.

The amount of talent that these students possess is absolutely overwhelming (and the amount of untalent that is present is equally underwhelming!). Hearing the laughter about the goofy things, the applause for the amazing things, and the joy to spend time together and enjoy one another's company and talents (or lack thereof in my case!) was a truly encouraging time.

How blessed are we to have such incredible students in this youth group!

Session 2

The second session offered a chance to consider the silence of the Holy One. From the first discussion we were reminded of the importance of keeping our perspective - God is infinite and we are not. Plus there is a world outside of our own that is beyond our understanding, and there are forces at play that we cannot always perceive. These things factor into the silence that we so often experience.

But sometimes that isn't enough. Sometimes we have to approach things in a different fashion. Sometimes God is communicating with us, just not in a way that we had expected. Perhaps He is using a close friend to deliver an important message or idea to us. Perhaps He is calling out to us in the quiet moments of our lives.

Dave talked about the story of Elijah on the mountain. God told Elijah that He would be present at the entrance to the cave that Elijah was hiding in. So Elijah went to the mouth of the cave, only to be greeted by a roaring wind storm that obliterated the face of the mountain. A violent earthquake that shook the ground beneath him. And a wall of fire passed in front of him. But God wasn't in any of these things. He was in a still small whisper that called Elijah out of the cave.

God isn't limited to speaking in one way. Perhaps the reason that we perceive silence is because we have locked God into a single way of answering us. Perhaps He is so much more than that. Do you always communicate with people in the same way? Are you not much more creative than a single form of communication? If that is true of you, would it not also be true of an infinite God that created you?

Dave then touched on a very tricky and sensitive area. It is possible that God is silent in our life because we are being a "selfish pig". Are you cherishing a sin in your heart? What actions are you fostering that you cannot seem to let go? Perhaps you would rather call it a habitual sin. Or look at your prayer life. Do your prayers consist of things for other people, or things for yourself? Are you only asking for things, or are you genuinely trying to get to know our Lord and Savior?

As a perfect fall back, the easiest way to find out how you are really acting is to ask other people. If you have friends that are willing to be honest with you, they will reveal to you much more about yourself than you ever knew (or perhaps cared to know).

The silence may not be as silent as you thought. Are there other channels of communication being used? Is there sin blocking the channels?

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Session Two Recap

Dave started this session with the question: “When you pray how do you expect the answer to come?” There’s usually two expectations of an answer. One being that you’ll get what you ask for in a very clear manner. The other option is a big sudden inspiration from God. But a response is not that conventional and a lot of the time we’re not able or willing to listen to Him.

This brings us to the third way that God responds to our prayers: Look for him in unexpected places and listen for Him in unexpected ways. We might need to adjust how we listen and we’d be surprised at the way He’s speaking.

Dave told the story of Elijah wanting an answer to prayer in a big way. God shows him massive wind, an earthquake and fire and follows all of those dramatic big events with a whisper. Sometimes God doesn’t respond in an earthquake but rather a whisper. The only way you can hear Him is if you’re paying very, very close attention.

This brings up the importance of good moments of solitude and silence. It’s so hard in our fast pass society to sit still for any amount of time. No distractions, just quiet. All of us have packed schedules and have something more to do, a place to be, a person to call, but yet God wants us to have those moments so that we can hear Him when he’s speaking in a calm whisper.

Have you ever had something happen before that made stop and think hmmm…what was that all about? A late night thought that grabs at you from deep within your heart, a friend who calls you out on a difficult situation or that you’re suddenly surrounded by individuals who are loving you like no one else ever has before. You may not recognize Jesus, so pay careful attention. People are brought into your life to walk with you.

Dave shared a powerful song with us from Ronnie Freeman. Here are some of the words of the song:
Who knows how he’ll get a hold of us
Get our attention to prove He is enough
He’ll do and He’ll use whatever He wants
To tell us, I love you
God is speaking, I love you
And though sometimes strange
What could be stronger than God in a manger

The other major point Dave brought up as to why we can’t hear God sometimes is that: what if somehow it’s related to you sin? Dave was afraid of bringing this point up but felt he couldn’t ignore it. You have to be careful with how you interpret this. Dave was referring to persistent patterns of selfishness or persistent non-care for others. It’s the kind of sin that shuts off God. It’s selfish, demanding…”selfish pig” is how Dave referred to it.

If you’re not sure whether you’re acting this way, ask those around you…they’ll tell you. Look at how you pray and see if your prayers are all about you all of the time, that you don’t care about the rest of the world or you are persistently hanging onto sin. If this is the case just come to God and be honest and open with Him. Say, “I’m sorry that I have been so selfish” and listen carefully for God’s response.

Small group times were powerful for many groups after this session. My group went through an entire box of tissue as the discussion wrestled with so many of the struggles they are all going through and waiting for God to show up.

The session ended in worship and these words rang throughout the room…
I need words as wide as the sky
I need a voice that’s bigger than mine
I need a song to sing to You that I’ve yet to find
I need You, I need You

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Can You Hear Us (Session 1)

The session opened with the video clip that shows lots of different pictures of students and leaders. It was really moving to see the way people chose to express how they felt when they sensed that God wasn't present in their lives.

Dave started his talk out with a video clip from Bruce Almighty that tied in perfectly with our video. Bruce is crying out to God for a sign, any sign, that He is listening, or for a sign of what to do. A truck cuts Bruce off and it is laden with signs that say "Stop" or "Yield". He views it as a nuisance, quickly passes the truck, and continues to plead for a sign, completely missing the signs that God places in our life.

He transitioned into talking about people who constantly seem to hurt and suffer, seeking healing and restoration, both physically and relationally. Yet God remains silent in those times. Years of abuse might continue, illness, loss, and pain without a sign that we recognize from God. Where is He in those times? Does He not care about us? There is no easy way to answer all of those questions.

But Dave offered up to things to help keep us in a right state of mind as we wrestle with the uncertainty of God in our lives.

So the big question for the entire weekend is this:
What do you do when God is silent?

Dave offered two suggestions:
1) Consider His enormity
2) Consider that there is so much more going on than we can understand

First, in reference to God's enormity. Dave threw out a fact that was fascinating. If we condensed our galaxy to 80 miles, our solar system would be approximately 2 millimeters across. The enormity of the world that we live in is mind boggling!

To think then that there is a Creator necessitates that He is bigger and more awesome than the whole of creation should bring us humbly to our knees. It should also offer us a comforting thought to know that God is bigger than anything that is plaguing us.

Daniel experienced one of the most interesting stories that can be found in the Bible. One of the angels was sent to him with a message, but was detained by the "Prince of Persia". While we could speculate for the rest of our lives what this means theologically, it seems clear that there is another world outside of our own that we do not fully understand.

The connection between God hearing us and that is simple: we may not get the answer we are looking for because of reasons and extenuating circumstances that we cannot see or grasp.

This translates into an exercise of faith. When we perceive God to be silent, we need to trust that He is still there, still listening, still loving us. And perhaps we need a new way to think about God. He wants us to be real with Him, which includes expressing our frustrations and anger with Him.

Job was the ideal man. He had everything and truly loved the Lord. He was patient, generous and kind. Then, because Satan wanted to test him, God allowed Job to lose everything he had. And Job did not question God, he only said that the Lord gives and the Lord takes away. But finally, once Job began to cry out in frustration to God, God revealed Himself in a terrifying way to Job. He demanded that Job gird himself like a man and answer God's questions. This incredible encounter begins to show us that we truly do not understand all of God's purposes.

But this is no simple exercise in knowledge. This is real, tangible, gut wrenching and heart aching reality. God is silent at times. God doesn't answer prayers the way we want. And God does allow us to suffer.

What do you do when God is silent?

Responses from this Morning's Session

Debbie, Adult Leader
Veteran Winter Retreat Volunteer
"I remember a long time ago at Grace we did a similar series to this one. It change my life. I'm looking to get that life changing thing again and hoping and praying that it does the same for the students. To understand that God can't be put in a box and to hear it at their age. If they can let this sink in it will make their relationship with God awesome!"

Matt, Adult Leader
Rookie Winter Retreat Volunteer
"The message transcends all generations. The depth of the message could be shared with everyone at Grace. It's a good teaser of what's to come and what we can discuss in our small groups. It has so much depth to go deeper in the discussions."

Molly, Student
"The message was easy to understand and will be great for learning more in depth. You always wonder if He hears you. I'm really going to try to understand that there's more than one answer to why you might feel like He's not hearing you."

Chelsea, Student
"Recently I haven't thought about Him being so big. I feel somewhat insignificant with Him being so big but know that I am so important to Him. I've recently had a dry spell in my relationship with Him and am ready to get back and connected again."

Session One Recap

If you haven't viewed the Can You Hear Me video on here check it out! It was very powerful to see how everyone interpreted this phrase into photos. Moving is the one word to describe the feeling in the room when it was shown.

A clip was shown from Bruce Almighty when he's on the bridge yelling at God. He screams, "Smite me all mighty smiter!" and "Someone around here's not doing his job!" Wow! Isn't that how all of us have felt at some time?

So what frustrates you? When do you feel like screaming with fists in the air, punching something or just curling up and crying because you don't understand what God's doing.

As Dave said this morning, you feel as though God won't listen, doesn't seem to listen or doesn't seem to care.

Senior High's theme this year is "Keep your eyes open, watch for His works and be alert for the signs of His presence." But sometimes it feels as though those signs just aren't coming through. Dave made a great reference to how this can feel - "life is full of moments where it feels as though the Divine one has His back turned with His arms crossed."

This is when people tend to walk away from God. Dave set up this retreat as one that the sessions aren’t going to be filled with laughter, but rather it will be intense. How can it not be with this subject and really digging into it?

He laid out the morning session with two answers to this question: “What do you do when God is silent?

1. When God is silent, stop and consider His enormity.
Think about His enormity for a minute...

Dave showed details and the numbers in the solar system. My non-scientific mind could still grasp this graph like images to just how ridiculously large this is. I forget this while looking up from my backyard to the dark light spotted sky. It seems large, but not 200 billion stars large. How can we understand a God who is this enormous? We have to be humble and admit we’ll never understand.

Ugh…for me and I’m sure many others that phrase isn’t the easiest to sit with. It stirs uncomfortableness for those who like the details, to know the background and to feel informed.

2. When God is silent remember there’s more going on than you know.

Dave pointed out with our Western world views how we tend to see what we can touch, see and prove. But yet most of the world thinks differently than this. There is this physical world with a veil between what we see and what the picture of Heaven is like. What does this have to do with God not listening? We're not aware of what is going on beyond the world we’re in. Check out the story of Daniel…he’s fasting and praying for weeks with no response from God. Who would think that when an angel finally shows up he describes the scene of a battle with a demon in which reinforcements are called in to get to Daniel?

This shows how if we pull back the veil and see then maybe when God is silent we’d be a little more humble and at the very least it would sober us up. The world doesn’t revolve around you. Ouch. What person likes to hear that phrase that reminds of you the first time your parents say that? Of when you asked why you didn’t get something you really wanted or weren’t getting the attention you felt like you deserved. God’s working on His own purposes as you sit here. As Dave said, “You have to think big and beyond you.”

So when you’re screaming that prayer with tears of true pain and helplessness, remember when God is silent…

Stop and consider His enormity.

Remember there’s more going on than you know.

Can You Hear Us - The Video

Here is the video that the office staff put together. It is a compilation of students and adult leaders. Enjoy!

One Long Bus Ride

This marks year two for me as an adult volunteer, and I've managed to make it both times to the winter retreat. I was a little better prepared for the chaos that is two hundred plus students swarming Grace, all clamoring to figure out what needs to be done, where they need to go, and who they need to talk to.

The bus ride also presents an interesting challenge. Eight hours of driving to reach our destination in a small space can quickly turn into a nightmare if things go poorly. But by God's provision, everyone seems to get along and be genuinely courteous to each other. Our amazing bus drivers also were very patient with us (can you imagine driving a coach bus with a load full of high school students?).

This trip included two rest stop breaks (20 minutes for 200 or more students is no small feat!), quite a few snacks, and two and a half movies. We watched Ratatouille, which was a fun movie. Next we watched Evan Almighty. While I think they took a very liberal approach to a lot of the concepts, it really helped set the tone for this weekend. Evan keeps looking for an explanation why things were happening the way that they were happening, and God simply kept telling him to keep making the ark. We don't always get the answers that we want. Is that because God isn't answering us, or because we are missing the way God is answering?

The campground sleepily greeted us at two in the morning. We unloaded in the cold and transferred all of our luggage to our respective sleeping locations. Most of us got to bed after three in the morning. Wake up time for many of us was around seven thirty or eight.

Albeit sleepy, there is an urgent sense of excitement among the students. There are wonderful lessons to be learned, friends and memories to make, and life changes to be had at this winter retreat. Pray that God will work in a powerful way!

here and starting to gear up

This is my second Winter Retreat as an adult volunteer and what amazes me each time is how the Senior High staff has organized the process of rest stops. With 230 students descending upon one rest stop at the same time we managed to pull in and out within 20 minutes. I was on the first bus to enter the rest stop and as the doors opened there stood a man and mop. The area looked spotless and his job had been well done. He moved off to the side as we passed him to enter the very clean restrooms (cleanest I’ve ever seen in at a rest area!) and I did not see him again. I can’t imagine what went through his mind as he saw our huge group enter into the hard work he had just done! Hopefully we left it in a good condition.

We need to give a shout out to our bus drivers. When we arrived at the camp there were some areas of ice for them to navigate. They backed up the buses, made it slowly over the ice and got us unloaded. It’s like a football team headed toward the goal line and having an attack play. As each bus backed into the drive area they encouraged each other through the CB and described each move to the bus driver who was backing up. I need this kind of team when parallel parking!

This morning was rough for everyone to wake up. I give such credit to you parents who wake up these teenagers each morning! As I attempted to wake up some of my girls who wanted to shower before the morning I started to whisper, “Wake up,” and realized this approach wasn’t going to work so I had to tap and speak normally. I’m sure this is an every morning occurrence for you parents with more than speaking to wake them up!

On the ride here we watched Evan Almighty. There was one line in the movie that seemed perfect to set up this weekend. Evan is talking to God and he says something to the likes of “This wasn’t in my plan.” God responds by laughing and responding, “Your plan!?”

As we approach this weekend with the Can You Hear Me theme that scene rings in my mind. Why does it seem for so many of us that God isn’t responding to what we’re asking, what we’re wanting to do to serve Him or what we have in OUR plans?

We’re ready to HEAR you this weekend Lord…

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Lord watch over us






Lord, I lift up the Winter Retreat to you. Please watch over us through our travels and while we are there. I pray that you start working in everyone's heart to prepare them for what you have in store. May each one of the names below be drawn closer to you. If someone doesn't know who you are, I ask that their heart will be open to seek you out.



I lift up the following names to your care.......
Kim Ellen Pete Blake Cassie Jonathan Emily Jennifer David Evan Molly Lisa Tyler Phil Andrew Sash John Mike Will Trevor Jessy Sheila Megan Wesley Brittany Madelyn Dane Tyler Nick Lauren Lisa Nicholas Megan Chris Cindy Ki Marcus Mighty Joshua Kelsea Kylie Courtney Luke Allie Lacey Melissa Amanda Kegan Cameron Antonia Corey Josh Shannon Colleen Rebekah Matt Matt Scott Tyler Joe Andrew Anna Jordan Patrick Dean Brittany Doogie Jessica Abigail Ashlyn Andrew Alex Annie Matthew Jackson Derek Matt Hannah Dayna Justin Wesley Molly Michael Christa Matthew Thomas Noah Sandy Jon Chris Chelsea Alisa Sam Lisa Trent Benjamin Rachel Alex Joseph Andrew Mary Jack Chris Bekah Elizabeth Chad Devon Heather Katie Alyssa Eness Taylor Philip Aaron Corbin Emily Sam Nick Mallory Cyrus Susan Jackie Karmen Matthew Austin Jeff John Matt Abby Grace Josh Pat Maya Chris Taylor Tasha Makenzie Andy Isa Alec Cindy Abby Kyle Marc Laura Taylor Jordan Brad Jonathon Justin Grace Katie Austin John Dianne Beth Jordan Hayden Kaitlin Brielle Jordan Jenna Wilson Kelsey Robby Bryan Jamie Natalie J.D. Christiana Brian Nick Kris Mitch Kelsey Dave Brandon Beth Stephanie Christopher Jessica Lauren Chiaki Patrick Avery Liz Kara Debbie Kyle Katie Chris Caleb Micaela Jami Dan Janeen Rebecca Clinton Brooke Evan Johannah Jane Sam Corey Lindsey Sam Christine Chris Harrison Cheyanne Christian Heidi Parisa Chelsea Lindsay Natalie Judy Clayton Marissa Reid Chad Dan Dylan Michelle Brett Jordan Lindsey Stephanie Ben Luke Jess Erica Ashley Rachel Stephanie Tyler Kierstin Olivia Susan Rob Ben Phillip Bill