Nashville Day One - A Rekindled Flame

So I finally found some time to sit down at the ol' laptop and catch up on some blogging! I am currently down in Nashville, Tennessee for the National Youth Workers Convention. The NYWC is a conference where tens of thousands of youth workers come together for workshops, worship and relaxation! I very quickly learned after I got here that...

This is exactly what I needed.

I was so in need of having my "spiritual tank" poured into. If you have an empty tank and you are trying to do ministry it will only do more damage. I have been at that point for a while, this could not have come at a better time! This trip has been full of all of the things that make me feel alive: Worship, Traveling, Friendships, The City and something new and exciting!

The day started off interestingly when last night we left Eastern University with snow coming down pretty hard. From that point on we found ourselves in and out of blizzard conditions for the next 14 hours on the road. I have never seen it snow like that in November for as long as I can remember!

Anyway, as soon as we got out of the van we jumped right into the first main session. Session was incredible, we enjoyed an incredible sermon by Francis Chan. He spoke about how he felt burdened by the message of Jesus Christ, a message that was not fun to give, and certainly not popular. He really challenged my view on some of the things we should talk about at church. He was phenomenal.

I then got to rock out and worship with Mercy Me and David Crowder Band! It was so weird seeing them finally after listening to about 100 of their songs for years. After the first song I almost felt my heart say, "I'm BACK." That is a feeling that is hard to explain in words. I also got very close and took some really awesome pics.

A few other highlights of the trip so far:

-Running into an old friend from C.I.Y. who I toured with the summer before last.

-Speaking only Spanish at a Mexican restaurant to the waiter.

-Free Stuff out the wazoo.

-Escaping from the norm for a while.

-Late night Dominoes Pizza delivery.

So all in all, this is going to be a trip of self discovery and spiritual replenishment. I already feel both of those very much so after only one day. God is up to something big, I am excited to see what it may be...