I'm trying to force myself to fall asleep... in a beautiful house with the beach a few steps from my door. Oh, Chi Alpha beach retreat- I love thee. Before I leave the ocean, I want to make sure that the lessons that I learned here leave with me. Here is a quick recap, possibly foreshadowing some future posts.

In no particular order, here are ten points I am taking away from this weekend.

- I know God, I am known by God, and God knowingly works through me to help others to know Him better.
-  I actually like myself when I'm connected to God and serving Him. Imagine that.
- Loving people sometimes means speaking the truth as much as God has enabled you to, and then leaving them the freedom to [or to not] seek the truth on their own.
- Taking a step back from people's lives is hard for me, but necessary because life has nothing to do with me. There are people that I care about that I need to give room to decide [or not] to seek truth. God is big enough to represent Himself.
- I need to realize that the "[or not]" is actually a possibility. And, that I don't have the power to change someone's decision to not seek or act on the truth.
- He'll do it in His time and His way.... but God does answer prayer and He always fulfills His promises.
-The key is the possessive pronoun. God does not always fulfill His promise the way I interpret that it would be filled.
- I need to continue going deeper in faith, encouraging others to do the same. Whatever the cost, I need to continue walking forward toward the cross.
- Also, I need to figure out who my support network is and where my community is based... for the long term. And, I need to be intentional in that regard.
- God has blessed me with a great friends for this leg of my journey... possibly well beyond.