A Letter...

I went on a retreat with my church this weekend and had a great time. I have to admit that when the announcement was made that we were going to go to the Orange Beach, AL instead of some place near Florence, I was not really excited. To be honest, I really didn't want to go. I just don't get into beaches much. But I committed to go, so I was going to stick to my word. Then I come down with this cold and felt so bad that I still almost backed out. But, I decided to tough it out and go anyway. I'm so glad that I went.

I rode down with my friends Beau Mosley, Josh Weldon, and Whitney Weldon. Beau actually is related to some of my friends from Jasper. Josh's landscaping company does the work at the place I work. Whitney competes for Miss Alabama. This is her last year to do it, because she ages out. We left Friday evening around 5pm, stopped in Prattville and got some dinner, and arrived in Orange Beach around midnight. It was late and I was exausted so I went straight to bed.

Woke up Saturday and had three sessions. One in the morning, one in the afternoon, and then one later on that night. The afternoon session was my favorite. We touched on the topic of when and where we feel closest to God. Ted, our young adult pastor, used Psalm 8 as a reference. We broke down in groups of four and he asked us to read Psalm 8 and rewrite it or say what it means to us. We could do anything, make a song, draw a picture, or just rewrite it. My group chose to keep true to the form of Psalms and kinda make a more modern day letter out of it. I wanted to share what we came up with, because I thought it was awesome. And, it was a lot of fun.

Psalm 8 in the NIV looks like this:

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of you enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You made him ruler over the works of you hands; you put everything under his feet: all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

OK, here's what we wrote. (Remember, in the form of a letter.)

God,

Check it. You rock! Kids praise you and it ticks people off, but they have to shut up and deal with it. When I look around and check out everything in this world, I try to figure out why you would care about me, but you do. You bring me to the same level as those who are hanging out with you in heaven and that is real cool. You created this place and gave me the freedom to do what I want to and for that I praise you. Well, peace out, I'll holla at ya in Chapter 9.

Sincerely,
David

P.S. Sorry about Bathsheba.

All of the groups went around the room and shared what they got out of it. Every group was different. It was a really good retreat. Everyone who went got a whole lot closer and our community of friends is stronger for it.