Are You Convinced?

This weekend I had the privilege of speaking at a Jr. High retreat. There really is no Jr. High group in most churches. They are the "lost" group of the church. Not children, yet not fully high school. Because of this, my friend Łukaś runs a Jr. High retreat called El Dorado four times a year. It is held in the beautiful mountain town of Wisła.

I spoke about the difference between reading a bible verse and FEELING a bible verse and how that can be applied to how we live our lives following Christ.

Romans 8:38-39 was my example. I had one young woman read it, and it was the typical reading of the bible, straight and with no emotion. Then I had her read it with passion! The other girls sat up a bit and started to listen. I then talked about how our lives as followers of Jesus can be the same: just religious reading and mumbling or filled with PASSION and meaning! Are we living our lives mumbling, "for I am convinced", or are we experiencing it with passion? For I AM CONVINCED!" (read passage) I talked about how I "do" AND "experience" in order to follow Christ everyday, not to check thing off of a spiritual "to do" list.

I forgot to take a picture of the time, but these two beautiful young women came up to me later and asked to talk more deeply about what was said. They are not Jr. High, but were helping out. Still, it was incredible to have the discussion! God is working!

We even sang Chris Tomlin's "Blessed Be Your Name" IN POLISH!!! It was wonderful!

Even today in church, there was a spirit of hope and freshness that many felt! I am not sure what is going on.

Today I also announced that I am starting an English conversation bible study. I have 6 young Polish women who want to join!