#Passion2014

What a weekend.

Cody and I left Friday morning with several students from our youth group to make the 8 hour drive down to Houston for Passion 2014. Our church normally takes kids to Atlanta , so we were thankful that it was a shorter trip this year! This was our first experience with Passion, so even though I knew what it was, you still can't know until you're there. 

17,000 18-25 year olds and their leaders in a sold out Toyota Center all with the purpose of worshiping together and learning more about Christ.  It was an incredible sight. (and also, slightly freaky. the first night our seats were as high up as you could be and I had a slight moment of panic about someone attacking the building. I had to believe that we had already been greatly prayed for against attacks, but it was still nerve wracking.) 

It's hard to put into words exactly what an experience like this means: worship lead by Chris Tomlin, Hillsong United, Christy Nockles, David Crowder, and Matt Redman... speaking by Louie Giglio, Francis Chan, Beth Moore and Judah Smith... while none of them act like it, these are big names in the Christian faith and it was a privilege to get to experience an event led by them. 

We came home from Passion and immediately started on house projects while G spent a few more days with grandparents, so I still need time to sit down and process a lot of what we heard, but here's the one thing that sticks out in my mind from the weekend:

During one of the worship sessions, the band transitioned into Whom Shall I Fear. We learned this song over the summer and it's a favorite that we do frequently on Wednesday nights.  Several things had already happened over the weekend that had me emotional already, but this one put me over the edge.  When I focused on the lyrics, the Lord opened my eyes to show me I'd made it through. 

I know who goes before me

 I know who stands behind 

The God of angel armies

Is always by my side

The one who reigns forever

He is a friend of mine

The God of angel armies

Is always by my side

You see, when I first learned this song over the summer, I was so lonely. I'd only been in our new home for a few months and even though everyone knew my name, no one really knew me. I was hurt from not being included in an event with a longtime friend and to top it off, the new friend I had in town who really knew everyone and was so good at helping me meet new people, told me they were going to be moving in just a few short weeks. It was rough and I dealt by crying a lot at night. (poor cody!) These lyrics really stuck with me because a friend is exactly what I was looking for.

Fast forward eight months later, on a trip with some kiddos that I've really grown to love, friends that texted me silly things and "we missed you at mops!" and I finally feel known. And my Friend was so gracious to show me how my tears of sadness have turned into tears of joy.  I have more to think about from the weekend, but that alone was worth the trip! 

Here's a small taste of our worship:

So that's how we spent our Valentine's weekend. Not exactly the most romantic, but as long as I'm with this guy, I wouldn't have it any other way!