Matthew 18:20: “For where two or three are gathered in my name, I’m there with them.”
This past Monday we wrapped up another annual Family Weekend after having not met since 2019. I, for one, had an amazing time. In fact, it’s now the middle of the week, and I still haven’t recovered fully! If you were able to join us in person or online, I hope you enjoyed yourself and learned some valuable things. If you weren’t able to join us live, the links to every session are included in last Wednesday’s newsletter.
I had a chance to skim through the sessions to refresh my memory about what I had learned last weekend. There were so many takeaways and tidbits of advice that I will be chewing on for weeks. One takeaway for my family right away was the family meeting. The day after returning home, we had our first family meeting and it was fruitful.
Another takeaway from last weekend came during the first session. During Brett’s teaching about parenting, he brought up a slide that said, “slow down. Not living life but racing through it.” The point Brett was making was to remind us to take time to enjoy our families, not simply race through life with them. He asked us, “when was the last time you took time to just be with and enjoy your family?” A few seconds later, he brought up another slide that quoted a book called “The Power of Moments.” The idea was that we need to take time to enjoy and celebrate “moments” with our loved ones (see Brett’s talk here: https://www.youtube.com/live/fvOBc7KH6-s?feature=share&t=1944).
Personally, the weeks leading up to Family Weekend this year were hectic for me. Between responsibilities with my family, work, school, church, or household, I was juggling many different tasks. For me, Family Weekend was a much needed break from the busyness of life. It gave me a chance to pause and enjoy the people around me in the Lifespring community. Of course, that’s part of the beauty of Family Weekend. It’s an opportunity to take time away from the hustle of regular life, and enjoy time with one another and God.
This point became real for me during one moment last weekend. On Monday morning, I had the opportunity to lead worship for intercession at 7am. About a dozen of us gathered that morning to simply spend time seeking God together. As we began to worship, there was a real sense of God’s presence with us. It’s hard to explain, but I think all of us could tell that God was with us that morning in a special way. As we took turns praying, I was reminded of the heart behind intercession at Lifespring. In intercession, we simply gather as a church family to take a moment to seek God together. Like Brett said in his teaching, we slow down to enjoy the people around us and God’s presence with us. The very real presence of God that morning was a powerful reminder of the privilege of praying together. Matthew 18:20 was so true at that moment. The Holy Spirit was there with us as we gathered to spend time together with God.
We hope that you’ll join us next year for Family Weekend 2024! You are also invited to join us in person and online for intercession every week (check our newsletter for those dates). These are great times to gather together and take a moment to seek the Lord as a church family. I look forward to seeing you there!