BRX

I just thought I was going to finish up my France posts before I left for Beach Retreat, but here I sit in Gulf Shores, Alabama in a condo on the beach with my pictures all on a computer in Houston. So...

...I now interrupt your regularly-scheduled program to bring you this:

LESSONS LEARNED FROM BEACH RETREAT v2010

1. Times change, but high school drama never does

2. High school students still need someone to remind them to take their medications. In fact, most of them don't even know what they take at what time.

3. Belly flops are back in style. In a big way.

4. So are 80s clothes. I mean, really, if I had to live in this day and age, I just wouldn't be cool because hot orange leggings underneath hot pink mini skirts just aren't for me.

5. Nurses are really just moms with medicine.

6. A favorite question: "So are y'all, like, real nurses?" "Um, yes sweetie. Like, real-life, paid-to-do-it nurses."

7. Girls still chase after boys like they did 12 years ago.

8. Boys still run from girls like they did 12 years ago.

9. High school counselors/leaders have a special place in Heaven just for them. A place with lots of loud music and really energetic people.

10. God is still moving, even in this generation that is so broken and void and they still yearn for Him to fill their hearts with His love.

I love coming to Beach Retreat because not only do I get to use my God-given talent serving young people looking for Him, but I also am touched by the songs, videos, dancing and skits in worship and through the Word that He speaks through the speakers just as much as they are. My heart aches for these young people -- they are hurting; they are suffering; they are lost in a world that distorts the Truth into something that can never fill the black hole of nothingness in their hearts. They are exposed to lies, deception, hatred, scandalous teachings that are transformed and transfigured into something that is pleasing to the ears and eyes. They come because friends ask or because parents force them to and they walk away with questions that have been answered, with a new challenge and perception on life and love. Some will make it to the school year with a burning desire to know God. Some won't. Some will fall right back into the trap that the devil himself has set up for them at home -- families that don't believe; friends that criticize. God, protect their hearts, their eyes, their ears. Consume them with your Holy Spirit and wrap your arms around them. Embrace them with your love and give them the strength and courage and commitment to continue to walk with you. Plant a seed in their hearts that will grow and reap your mercies stowed away just for them.