Last night, Moe & I hooked up with a couple of the guys that I went to the woods of Oregon for a mini-retreat with last March, John F & Tim C. It turns out that what we really needed was some good dessert, so we went to the Cheesecake Factory & attempted to attain an adequate cheesecake intake. I believe that we may have succeeded.

Spending time with friends is fun – it’s especially fun on the heels of hearing Jerry Cook encourage us to emphasize & prioritize our friendships & other relationships – it makes coffee & Oreo cheesecake taste that much better to know that the interactions that are so enjoyable are things that God would want to nurture in me, but also that I would do the same in others. Lots of great discussions on life, family, our kids, PJ our new dog & the church culture (& models) that we’ve been presented with while we’ve been here.

A common point of emphasis for all of us has been the need to know our own identity & who God has made us to be – so that can be lived out. Not knowing & believing in the work that God has done in us, it could feel like we would be pressured to become something else. For Trekkies – kinda like the Borg where they come into a civilization & completely assimilate it, taking a few of the positive aspects of that civilization, but really just creating a legion of nameless, nondescript worker bees to give their lives for the “collective.” I’m not saying that what we’ve seen &/or heard has been bad, but there is a lot of pressure to conform to specific methods of doing/presenting church that would just about kill any semblance of the uniqueness of the masterpiece God’s created each of us to BE… & the way He wants us to live, & love others, through that uniqueness.

We have a couple of sessions today, then will be dismissed to come home at about 1 p.m. We’re both VERY ready to be in Reno… but I believe this was a good time for us – in our personal relationship, & in who & what God wants us to be as well.

Thank you for your prayers throughout this week – See you soon!