Well-- Our
10th Look to the Hills conference wrapped up last weekend and what a blessing it was! The theme this year was
Closer. Perhaps I say this every year, but, it really was an amazing time. I remember at one point just standing up there and reminding myself to truly savor the moment-- We were singing "How Great is Our God"... the chorus to that song always gets me anyway, but when I looked out at all the people raising their hands and singing all out for the Lord, I couldn't even sing! As the tears filled my eyes, I just stopped and let it all sink in.... HE alone is worthy of our praise-- and what times of praise we have together at the conference.
One of the featured speakers this year was Lauren Winner, author of
Real Sex, The Naked Truth about Chastity. I have to confess, that I was a little worried that we had taken on a topic a tad too bold for the typical ZOE conference attendee! Yes, we have stretched their comfort zones in the past-- (remember the interpretive dancers?!!)-- but, sex is just not something that we often tackle in a worship setting. I'm proud to say-- I was way off base.
There probably isn't a more vital topic in our world today. When it comes right down to it, our sexual activity-- whether healthy or depraved-- all reflects our interpretation of God-- who, by the way, created sex in the first place! In a loving marriage, the physical bond that a couple shares is but a tiny glimpse of the intimacy we will know with the Father in heaven one day. Sex in its worst, immoral setting, shows our spiritual emptiness and our desperate attempts to fill our desires with anything but God.
We all long to be filled with His love and to feel
closer to Him, and depending on what day of the week it is or how our lives are going, we feel His presence in varying degrees. Mike Cope reminded us that no matter our feelings, He is always there. He used the story of Jacob to cement the point: Jacob literally wrestled with God and forever kept a physical reminder of the encounter. We are the same-- we have our times on the journey where we feel like we are taking a beating, but when the tumult is over, we see that God was right there in the midst of it all. We learn that our scars are lessons learned and that God used them to get us to a better place-- even if we couldn't see it at the time.
One of the best moments this year was Randy's closing talk on Saturday night-- we were all still talking about the next morning-- and laughing! We have all known that Randy is the
best story teller of anyone we know! We can all recite verbatim his "Trip to the Crystal Cathedral" story where the USC marching band shows up after the girl scouts wave the flags and a bird lands on Robert Schuller-- or the classic "Cutting of the Apron Strings" where his Mother finally learns that Randy has come of age. But, we were all interested to see why he was closing the conference-- usually the last night is saved for the "heavy-hitter", and we try to bring the weekend to a powerful close that will be ringing in everyone's ears as they head back to their home churches.
Randy actually began by admitting that he, himself, was also a little shocked to be doing the Saturday night closer. He said he felt that it was a message that God needed him to deliver. He further confessed that intimacy is not his strong suit. In a completely unassuming and transparent way, Randy went on to touch all of us of his struggle with being intimate with God and others. The whole talk was so real and moving. Of course, he also used some wonderful stories to make his point-- the "Bell Bottom Bonfire" and "Softball Sliding Snafu" will most surely be added into the Gill lore we will retell to each other again and again! :)
What a great weekend! God continues to amaze us year after year that we can never really run out of "material" to cover about Him! :)
It was great to see all of you! Thanks for continuing to support the ministry and for being lights for the Lord in your communities from coast to coast. We are blessed by you!
Hello, All! ZOE Weekend is upon us!
