"Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest." Mark 6:31
It has been almost a year since the last time I posted here. A lot has gone on, but looking forward is much more rewarding than trying to summarize the past.
Tonight, I start writing this blog from a Homestead Suites in Denver. No, I didn’t get thrown out of the house, and I didn’t run away. For the fourth time in the last six years, I have the honor of attending a Promise Keepers Men’s Conference this weekend. About a thousand men were there tonight and my brain is already on full overload from the messages I heard. I witnessed about 100 men accept Jesus and the worship band was smokin’ hot. All in all, a great night of worship, discipleship and fellowship in the Lord with a thousand of my brothers. I enjoyed the solitude I had with God. Solitude with God in the middle of a huge crowd? Is that even possible? Absolutely!
You see, this year’s conference is much different for me. In years past, a group of men from my church have made the journey together. Our assembled brotherhood would get together for a few hours before the conference, sit together throughout the conference and spend hours debriefing after the conference. We grew closer as a group and the energy we went back to the church with was amazing. However, as the years have passed, that group of men has grown smaller and smaller. What started as a group of about a dozen men six years ago dwindled to just three of us last year. This year, I am the only member of my church attending. My intent is not to dwell on or examine the reasons for the decline in attendance. The purpose of the history lesson is to show that this year I became a group of one.
Attending the conference solo is a new experience for me. I typically require the reinforcement, peer pressure and security of a large group at these types of events. I’ve had the opportunity to attend similar events by myself and have always found an excuse to not go. Excuses don’t play well in a group of men. And yet here I sit, all by myself with nobody to justify my reasons for not coming or leaving early. I am solo for the conference. While I could be discouraged or upset about this, it has turned out to be a true blessing for me. I say this because I have been able to take this time to solidify my personal relationship with my God. I have used previous conferences to seek some aspect of myself that needs improvement. I have attended PK in the past to be a part of strengthening the brotherhood in our church, growing closer to the men that I serve side-by-side with. This year, it’s different.
It’s different, because amidst all of the energy and shouting and laughing and crying that is unavoidable at a conference like this, I have found myself in that “quiet place” that not only allows me to hang on every word of every message I have experienced, I have found myself going to God. I go to God to understand the message that He is putting in our hearts, and how He wants me to apply that message as I go back into the world. This year, it is not about how I will change, but how I will help others to change.
In the passage above, Mark is looking for us to find a “quiet place.” In life, finding true peace and quiet can be almost impossible. We fill our lives with so many activities and responsibilities that “quiet” only seems to happen when we close our eyes at the end of the night. Our goal should be to find that quiet spiritual place in the midst of all the chaos that surrounds us. Much like I have discovered this weekend, “quiet” is a n attitude. Once we surrender ourselves and listen for the Lord, the noise of the world can disappear in an instant and we can find solace in the quiet spiritual place that is created in its place. If we demand that absolute quiet is required to rest, we run the risk of missing some of the best opportunities to embrace the things that are truly important and demand our full attention. “Quiet” should be more a state of mind and less of an environmental requirement. If you can find the quiet, the rest all falls into place.
These conferences can be controlled pandemonium from a planning perspective. I had to make the hotel reservation, pack an overnight bag, make sure that I got out of work on time, get to the hotel, check in, get to the conference, get back to the hotel, set the alarm to make sure I was on time today (and then oversleep by an hour anyway), grab some breakfast and coffee, get back to the church for the start of day two, and shortly will be making the long trip from Denver back home. In short, a lot of steps that have to fall into place in order to enjoy the weekend. Yet, in spite of all the planning and moving around, I feel more rested than I have in a long time. Why? Because I discovered that spiritual quiet place that gives me rest. I have found what Mark wrote about.
My advice to you today is to make sure you find your own way to the quiet place. Don’t make excuses, don’t allow the world around you to dictate when and where you get there. Life is going on all around me today- I have dealt with job and the world a number of times on a Saturday morning. But I have also found my way to the quiet place. And as I leave this place today, I do so with the understanding of how God plans to use me in the lives of others. Watch out world, because the purpose is clear. I never would have discovered it if I had not taken the time to find solitude in the midst of thousands. You can do the same.
It has been almost a year since the last time I posted here. A lot has gone on, but looking forward is much more rewarding than trying to summarize the past.
Tonight, I start writing this blog from a Homestead Suites in Denver. No, I didn’t get thrown out of the house, and I didn’t run away. For the fourth time in the last six years, I have the honor of attending a Promise Keepers Men’s Conference this weekend. About a thousand men were there tonight and my brain is already on full overload from the messages I heard. I witnessed about 100 men accept Jesus and the worship band was smokin’ hot. All in all, a great night of worship, discipleship and fellowship in the Lord with a thousand of my brothers. I enjoyed the solitude I had with God. Solitude with God in the middle of a huge crowd? Is that even possible? Absolutely!
You see, this year’s conference is much different for me. In years past, a group of men from my church have made the journey together. Our assembled brotherhood would get together for a few hours before the conference, sit together throughout the conference and spend hours debriefing after the conference. We grew closer as a group and the energy we went back to the church with was amazing. However, as the years have passed, that group of men has grown smaller and smaller. What started as a group of about a dozen men six years ago dwindled to just three of us last year. This year, I am the only member of my church attending. My intent is not to dwell on or examine the reasons for the decline in attendance. The purpose of the history lesson is to show that this year I became a group of one.
Attending the conference solo is a new experience for me. I typically require the reinforcement, peer pressure and security of a large group at these types of events. I’ve had the opportunity to attend similar events by myself and have always found an excuse to not go. Excuses don’t play well in a group of men. And yet here I sit, all by myself with nobody to justify my reasons for not coming or leaving early. I am solo for the conference. While I could be discouraged or upset about this, it has turned out to be a true blessing for me. I say this because I have been able to take this time to solidify my personal relationship with my God. I have used previous conferences to seek some aspect of myself that needs improvement. I have attended PK in the past to be a part of strengthening the brotherhood in our church, growing closer to the men that I serve side-by-side with. This year, it’s different.
It’s different, because amidst all of the energy and shouting and laughing and crying that is unavoidable at a conference like this, I have found myself in that “quiet place” that not only allows me to hang on every word of every message I have experienced, I have found myself going to God. I go to God to understand the message that He is putting in our hearts, and how He wants me to apply that message as I go back into the world. This year, it is not about how I will change, but how I will help others to change.
In the passage above, Mark is looking for us to find a “quiet place.” In life, finding true peace and quiet can be almost impossible. We fill our lives with so many activities and responsibilities that “quiet” only seems to happen when we close our eyes at the end of the night. Our goal should be to find that quiet spiritual place in the midst of all the chaos that surrounds us. Much like I have discovered this weekend, “quiet” is a n attitude. Once we surrender ourselves and listen for the Lord, the noise of the world can disappear in an instant and we can find solace in the quiet spiritual place that is created in its place. If we demand that absolute quiet is required to rest, we run the risk of missing some of the best opportunities to embrace the things that are truly important and demand our full attention. “Quiet” should be more a state of mind and less of an environmental requirement. If you can find the quiet, the rest all falls into place.
These conferences can be controlled pandemonium from a planning perspective. I had to make the hotel reservation, pack an overnight bag, make sure that I got out of work on time, get to the hotel, check in, get to the conference, get back to the hotel, set the alarm to make sure I was on time today (and then oversleep by an hour anyway), grab some breakfast and coffee, get back to the church for the start of day two, and shortly will be making the long trip from Denver back home. In short, a lot of steps that have to fall into place in order to enjoy the weekend. Yet, in spite of all the planning and moving around, I feel more rested than I have in a long time. Why? Because I discovered that spiritual quiet place that gives me rest. I have found what Mark wrote about.
My advice to you today is to make sure you find your own way to the quiet place. Don’t make excuses, don’t allow the world around you to dictate when and where you get there. Life is going on all around me today- I have dealt with job and the world a number of times on a Saturday morning. But I have also found my way to the quiet place. And as I leave this place today, I do so with the understanding of how God plans to use me in the lives of others. Watch out world, because the purpose is clear. I never would have discovered it if I had not taken the time to find solitude in the midst of thousands. You can do the same.
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