This year’s SH Retreat was absolutely one of the best retreats I’ve ever been a part of. God truly answered our prayers by giving us the opportunity to lay down our baggage and cast our cares upon Him. Our teens took Jesus at His word: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” After our weekend together (not to mention the amazing response our church family experienced after worship last Sunday), it’s become evident that God is up to something in this place. I’m so proud of our teens and their commitment to Christ. I’m thankful for David Skidmore sharing his heart and his time with us over the weekend. Some of the highlights included…

– Ann Brady being awarded the first ever MYM Frisbee Deflector Facemask

– The “If Women Ruled the World” Power Point presentation

– Natalie Thompson’s 16th Birthday (Happy B-Day, Natalie!!)

– Japanese Bible Theater

– Having all 4 interns together again

– Weston’s “Shall We Riverdance?”

– Singing “Here in this Place” & allowing the words to collectively minister to us

– Birdie on a Perch

– Saturday night’s Baggage Claim session

– Luke Sellers & friends doing the Chicken Dance

– Hugh Brady’s “Shut ‘er down”

– Sunday morning guy / girl communion time

– Touchdowns by Olivia Petty and Samantha Deep

– David’s honest and powerful message to lay our burdens down

All in all, it was an incredible weekend. I love each of you and I pray that you were as blessed by our time together as I was. Below is a note I received from David re: the weekend. I share it with you.

“Thanks for allowing me to be a part of a great weekend. I was impressed by the bond among you and the honesty within each of you. I was honored and humbled to see all that God is doing in your midst. I left with one thought . . .

Won’t it be great on that day when God realizes that we have been heavy laden for too long and decides to bring history to an end by gathering His angels and saying: ‘Grab a trumpet, take up your position at the gates . . . It’s time to shut her down.’