Some of you may know that Jamie and I have quite a history at Shrine Mont too. In the Fall of 2002 my parents were invited to be guest speakers at the church retreat of a couple teeny tiny churches from the part of Virginia that is not Northern. (Isn't that an egocentric version?) They invited Jamie along to lead worship for the same retreat.
Around that time Jamie and I both knew that we were interested in each other, but we hadn't decided whether to date. So, my parents, who knew about all of this, invited me along so that Jamie and I could have the weekend to discuss what to do. We spent the entire weekend (other than when we were leading worship and talking with the super cool people from the teeny churches) trying to decide whether to date. We sat in the porch chairs and talked. We walked by the lake and talked. We sat by the lake and talked. We sat in the porch chairs again and talked. It was a big decision for us because neither of us had dated before and I thought that it would be a big deal in the church such that it would be especially difficult to go back on. (I think I've heard stories about Angela Minns and Herb McMullan sitting in the kitchen of the Minns' house matchmaking us with each other...while we weren't there, thankfully!)
That Saturday evening my parents took us both out for dinner after the evening session. I guess it was the official grilling by the parents, but I don't think my parents really knew what to do! We sat eating and talking until my dad asked Jamie, "Are your intentions toward my daughter honorable?" LOL. He said "yes", of course! Then my dad pointed to the asparagus left on Jamie's plate and asked, "Are you going to eat your asparagus?" Poor Jamie! Asparagus is his least favorite vegetable, but he choked down the asparagus to please my dad! :) And that was the end of the grilling.
On Sunday, we left the retreat still not knowing what to do. (If you're interested in why it was such a big deal to us, we can talk about that some other time.) Then that night I called Jamie while he was helping out at youth group and told him I wanted him to come over after youth group. He came over as soon as he could, picked me up, and took me to Wendys. On the way there I turned to him and said, "I don't think you've ever actually asked me out." So, when we got to McDonalds he asked me out and I accepted. And it was the beginning of happily ever after! He he. :)
Then, in 2006, our church retreat to Shrine Mont was the very first trip we took as a married couple, other than our honeymoon...and maybe a short trip to Jon and Celeste's house!
And this year (2007), even though it was a crazy time to go to Shrine Mont - we had just arrived back from England the Wednesday before the Friday we had to go to Shrine Mont - it was such an amazing time! The speaker was a pastor from Nairobi Chapel in Kenya, and he brought these amazing musicians from his worship team.
It was such a wonderful weekend of relaxation and worship and teaching.
The main thing that I remember from the teaching is something that the pastor said. He said that as he gets to know Christians from around the world, he realizes that different regions seem to be gifted in different parts of the "love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength" command. He said that we (in the West) are especially good at loving the Lord with all our minds. He and the African people tend to be very good at loving the Lord with all their strength (through dance). And he said that whenever he has been with Asian believers, he sees in them a special gifting for loving the Lord with all their hearts. FASCINATING! And such a good perspective! I think if he hadn't said that I would have struggled with feeling like being encouraged to dance for the Lord, while worthwhile, is not nearly as important as understanding the words we were singing. But because of that perspective, I think I was able to see more clearly how we can both learn from each other - and that understanding is only ONE part of loving the Lord wholly. And that loving Him physically is just as important as loving Him intellectually.
I think Jamie's favorite thing was playing with the Kenyan musicians. He said that he was playing, thinking, "These are probably the best musicians I will ever play with." They were SO good! 
No comments:
Post a Comment