I recently traveled to San Francisco for business. I have been to this city more times than I can count and I always love to go there. One of my favorite "touristy" things to do is to ride the cable cars. They are a wonderful contraption and truly an engineering marvel.
With the cable cars, there is a cable that is constantly moving at approximately 9 miles per hour under the street. In order for the car to move along its track, the leverman pulls a lever causing a clamp to reach into the channel in the street and grab the cable. At this point, the car simply comes along for the ride on the cable. It's important to note that the leverman cannot simply pull the lever and let it go. He needs to hold on tight and keep pressure on, otherwise the clamp will slip and the cable car will either not move or even start to roll backwards.
The same can be said about our relationship with Jesus Christ. Christ is always moving in our lives. We must take an active role and hold onto him, though. Especially when the hills get tall, we just hold on tight to our Lord and Savior, otherwise we will either not move forward or we will start to slide backwards.
How do we hold on? Read the Word. Pray. Fellowship with other believers. These are so important to our Christian walk. Jesus is ready to cary us with him up the hills of life. Are you ready to hold on to Him?
Proverbs 3:5-6 says "Trust in the Lord, with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path."
Visit the ABMOPAD website at www.abmopad.org
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Monday, August 4, 2008
Post Retreat Musings
The ABMOPAD 54th Annual Retreat is in the books. The total attendance was 185, down a few from the previous couple of years. The men who were in attendance were fired up and ready to serve, though, so I am not discouraged. We are down to 4 vacancies on the board of managers, which is good news. We had a number more previously and several men stepped up to fill the roles. The search continues to fill the remaining positions, so please be in prayer for that search.
The Civil War church service was well attended for being held during the recreation break. 32 men in all (plus the two of us in the sound booth). The two folks who delivered the service were certainly inspired and talented. The "dulci-jo" was certainly an interesting instrument.
The Kilikpo family was awesome this weekend. I've heard them play countless times, but they are always fresh and exciting. I heard many men talking with them after the Sunday service asking if they were available to come to their home church. I praise God for the ministry of these fine folks!
I can't say enough about Rev. Robert Santilli either. He was engaging, inspirational, humorous and just downright a great guy. His years of service to the Lord are obvious each time he speaks.
Once again, this year, my brother and I did the sound for the retreat sessions. It is something we enjoy doing and it's always challenging and interesting. The unfortunate side effect was that we didn't get a chance to participate in much of anything at the retreat (workshops and recreation for example). The fellowship that we shared with our Brothers (and a few sisters) in Christ was well worth it, though. If I have to give up a softball game and singing in the choir so that 184 other guys can have a great weekend, that is a small sacrifice that I am willing to make without grumbling at all. Praise God that he could use us for this ministry!
Overall, it was a great retreat. Next year we will celebrate the 55th year of retreats. When the board of managers meets in October to discuss the preliminary program, I pray that we will have some fresh ideas and vital programming that will draw even more men. It was suggested during one of the sessions that we try and get 550 men for the 55th retreat. That sounds difficult, but if each man returned with two friends each, we'll make it (with 5 to spare - 185 x 3 = 555). The only problem we'd have is where to put them, but the university said they could let us use the Memorial Auditorium for our sessions (which we've used in the past years). Now THAT is an awesome problem to have.
Please be in prayer for all of the men and boys in our region. We want to be an organization that does more than just an annual retreat. If you have ideas for programs or anything else, please don't be shy - email them to me at webmaster@abmopad.org.
God bless you!
The Civil War church service was well attended for being held during the recreation break. 32 men in all (plus the two of us in the sound booth). The two folks who delivered the service were certainly inspired and talented. The "dulci-jo" was certainly an interesting instrument.
The Kilikpo family was awesome this weekend. I've heard them play countless times, but they are always fresh and exciting. I heard many men talking with them after the Sunday service asking if they were available to come to their home church. I praise God for the ministry of these fine folks!
I can't say enough about Rev. Robert Santilli either. He was engaging, inspirational, humorous and just downright a great guy. His years of service to the Lord are obvious each time he speaks.
Once again, this year, my brother and I did the sound for the retreat sessions. It is something we enjoy doing and it's always challenging and interesting. The unfortunate side effect was that we didn't get a chance to participate in much of anything at the retreat (workshops and recreation for example). The fellowship that we shared with our Brothers (and a few sisters) in Christ was well worth it, though. If I have to give up a softball game and singing in the choir so that 184 other guys can have a great weekend, that is a small sacrifice that I am willing to make without grumbling at all. Praise God that he could use us for this ministry!
Overall, it was a great retreat. Next year we will celebrate the 55th year of retreats. When the board of managers meets in October to discuss the preliminary program, I pray that we will have some fresh ideas and vital programming that will draw even more men. It was suggested during one of the sessions that we try and get 550 men for the 55th retreat. That sounds difficult, but if each man returned with two friends each, we'll make it (with 5 to spare - 185 x 3 = 555). The only problem we'd have is where to put them, but the university said they could let us use the Memorial Auditorium for our sessions (which we've used in the past years). Now THAT is an awesome problem to have.
Please be in prayer for all of the men and boys in our region. We want to be an organization that does more than just an annual retreat. If you have ideas for programs or anything else, please don't be shy - email them to me at webmaster@abmopad.org.
God bless you!
Saturday, August 2, 2008
54th Retreat is under way!
It's Saturday afternoon right now, about 2:30 PM. I'm sitting in the sound booth at Shippensburg University awaiting the next service. This weekend has been very busy and challenging so far, but certainly not without its rewards.
One of the rewarding things is that I've gotten to see a lot of familiar faces that I only see at the retreats. Over 28 years, you meet a few people. A lot of these guys got old, including me.
Last night's speaker was great. He was very dynamic and kept everyone interested. The Kilikpo's did an awesome job, as usual. Overall, I'm glad I made the time to come here this year.
Right now, a group is setting up a "Civil War Church Service" that will kick off in about an hour. I"m not sure what to expect but it seems quite interesting. It would be easy to make fun of these folks, dressed in their period costumes, but I prefer to keep an open mind and approach the service prayerfully. I hope they good a good turnout, as it's being held during the recreation time.
Tonight we will celebrate Communion. It's always a very moving experience at the retreat. What's neat, to me, is that we have around 200 men with different cultural and ethnic backgrounds that all share the same faith in Jesus Christ. This diverse group truly represents what Communion is all about - community - coming together as one. Praise God for his leading!
If you're reading this blog during August 1 - 3 and you are not at the retreat, please know that we miss you and would LOVE for you to come back next year. First Friday in August is the date.
Registration materials will be available on the ABMOPAD website - www.abmopad.org - as soon as possible.
The weekend Penn-Del Tips publications are also available on the ABMOPAD website. Simply click on the Penn-Del Tips link from the homepage.
One of the rewarding things is that I've gotten to see a lot of familiar faces that I only see at the retreats. Over 28 years, you meet a few people. A lot of these guys got old, including me.
Last night's speaker was great. He was very dynamic and kept everyone interested. The Kilikpo's did an awesome job, as usual. Overall, I'm glad I made the time to come here this year.
Right now, a group is setting up a "Civil War Church Service" that will kick off in about an hour. I"m not sure what to expect but it seems quite interesting. It would be easy to make fun of these folks, dressed in their period costumes, but I prefer to keep an open mind and approach the service prayerfully. I hope they good a good turnout, as it's being held during the recreation time.
Tonight we will celebrate Communion. It's always a very moving experience at the retreat. What's neat, to me, is that we have around 200 men with different cultural and ethnic backgrounds that all share the same faith in Jesus Christ. This diverse group truly represents what Communion is all about - community - coming together as one. Praise God for his leading!
If you're reading this blog during August 1 - 3 and you are not at the retreat, please know that we miss you and would LOVE for you to come back next year. First Friday in August is the date.
Registration materials will be available on the ABMOPAD website - www.abmopad.org - as soon as possible.
The weekend Penn-Del Tips publications are also available on the ABMOPAD website. Simply click on the Penn-Del Tips link from the homepage.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
