If you’ve ever been to a concert you probably remember that sweet moment when the singer or band stopped singing and the crowd continued the song all by themselves. Everyone united as one and shouted each sentence with serious passion and joy. Well, these are my favorite kind of moments.
This past weekend I went with my youth group on our Winter retreat and I got to experience this goodness and let me tell you, God showed up in that room. The worship band played this song, Set A Fire, by the United Pursuit and here are the lyrics that captivated me —
“No place I’d rather be
No place I’d rather be
No place I’d rather be
Than here in Your Love,
Here in Your Love.”
As we sang this verse over and over the instruments and band died out. The raw sound of students ages 11-18 filled the air. In a room filled with diversity, only one thing was being expressed, and that was the desire to be full of God’s ultimate Love over everything else. After a day of running, playing, and embracing the nonstop rain, I sensed God in a pure and refreshing way. In a world that sometimes seems dark and difficult, there are groups of people like my youth group that are gathering to praise the One who put everything into action. This generation is banding together to proclaim a Love far greater than anything society has to offer. That excites me more than anything!! I want nothing more than to help build a world that strives to rest in the Lord’s Love above all, and that is happening right here in front of me in Dripping Springs, Texas.
Moving forward from the weekend, I didn’t come home with a “camp high” or anything. In fact, I feel fairly the same as I did before I left. But one thing is different, and that is my prayer as I take on the week. I pray that God makes sweet moments like that in worship into something much greater, whatever it might be. What started there is hopefully not over, and I pray that each person present doesn’t take God’s constant Love for granted, because I know I do sometimes.
There is truly no place I would rather be than bound in complete Love, despite my shortcomings.
As I’m sitting here writing this, I’m unsure how all of my thoughts are supposed to fit together into a simple blog post. This whole blogging-about-what-God-is-teaching-me is a lot harder than I anticipated. But in the end, I pray that I passed on some hope and encouragement. In a world of uncertainty, there are kids simply singing their hearts out in pursuit of a God that is so good and powerful. It doesn’t take a big concert or catchy beats to broaden your view of God, instead it’s all about the moment and what He does through it.
Here’s the link to the song I was referring to– give it a listen and let me know if you like it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dfcp3innRk
UPDATE ON FUNDRAISING: Tshirt sales have gone so well! I am nearly out of medium and large sizes but I have PLENTY of smalls left. They are $20 each. Please let me know if you or someone you know is interested in a size small. I can mail it if you live outside of Austin. if you wish to make a direct donation, click the orange “DONATE” button at the top of this page and it will direct you from there to make a contribution. If you ever have any questions or simply want to know more about the World Race, let me know. I LOOOOVVVEE hanging out with all of you beautiful people! Have a great week!
Much love,
Emily
