Last Thursday

Last Thursday we had a great time hanging out at McAllister Center! We spent some time talking about a time when music changed the way we thought about something, or impacted us in some way. There were a variety of answers to "Boomer Sooner" to the "Wedding March" - I'll let you decide who said what!

Then we spent time listening to 8 songs of very different types of music and rather than just enjoying the beat or repeating the words, we allowed the sensation of the music to enter our minds and fill us with all kinds of emotion and thought. It is interesting how a certain type of music conjures up amazing depth of feeling and associated thoughts to it. This depth reflects the deepness of who we were made to be. We were made amazingly complex and we are thankful to the God who made us that way: able to appreciate such things...to relish them. So, next time you listen to a song, let it move into you and be thankful to the God who made you.

We then spent some time sharing things that were bothering us on paper, anonymously or not and exchanged those with each other to talk to God about them for the next 2wks. It is always a great time to care for each other.

Last, Barbara Mitchell shared with us some of her story as our guest teacher for the night. We have been talking about overvaluing or pursuing things in life and how it destroys us...things like money and success and escapism and sexuality and perfect fitness and religion. Well, this night we talked about overvaluing family and relationships and how even something naturally good like this can destroy if over done. Barbara's daughter-in-law Lisa has been terribly ill for quite some time. She spent so much time worrying about her and her husband, Barbara's son, that she was an absolute nervous wreck. It ruined her ability to live life. She then began to notice, through the help of some friends, that she needed to pursue the MORE - God - and that He could help her live in peace. As she began to talk to Him about this, she began to find that she could love her son and daughter-in-law so much and yet still love God more and pursue Him for their help. This changed her forever and, even though Lisa is still struggling with her health, Barbara is herself again - full of life and joy. It was a real life story of beauty and love. You see, life is not perfect, it is painful, and Barbara readily talked about how hard it was for her to move her primary pursuit from her family to God, but it is so worth it!

We concluded with some homemade Zucchini bread for communion and went our ways!

If you missed the chance to be with us, we hope you will be able to make it next time, 2/19/09 - 6:45-8:00PM at McAllister. Free childcare, as always!