Just returned from a great weekend in central Michigan -- Midland, MI at Eagle Ridge Church of God to be exact. I was invited to teach in this weekend's Institute for Servant Leadership (ISL) Doctrinal Track on The Work of the Holy Spirit. I had an awesome time. Check out ISL.•
I drove up on Friday (400 miles in 7 hours), taught Saturday morning 8:30 a.m. until 2:00 p.m., and then drove home.
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Saturday morning my alarm went off at 6:30; I showered, and as I was packing up my room I caught the clock out of my peripheral vision -- 8:15. Oh, okay... 8:15!!!! That meant devotions were half over and I was due to start teaching in only 15 minutes! I grabbed my stuff and ran down the steps to the lobby, where I bumped into Dave and Theresa Wiedrick. Dave is Director for ISL. What time is it? I asked. Theresa answered that it was about 7:30. Big sigh of relief. How did I not notice the clock in my room was an hour off? I had plenty of time to get to class.
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My teaching assignment was, again, The Work of the Holy Spirit. I taught four one-hour sessions: The Journey to Connection (The Spirit's Work in Salvation), The Journey to Wholness (The Spirit's Work in Sanctification), The Journey to Ministry (The Spirit's Work in Spiritual Fruit and Spiritual Gifts), and The Journey to Unity (The Spirit's Work in Relationships).•
To the eight wonderful students in my class: Thank you for showing me the love of Christ in your prayer for me before I started the drive home, as well as in your kind words. It's a kingdom blessing to make new friends. I made eight wonderful new friends in class.
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I enjoyed everything about this weekend, from the teaching to the drive to the great Mexican food from Los Cuatros Amigos restaurant Friday night. I don't often have the experience of taking a long drive by myself, so I had big plans to take along some of my favorite CDs. As I was crossing the Ohio line I realized I hadn't grabbed any, and tentatively looked in my visor CD holder... only two CDs. The first was a Praise & Worship compilation with some great music by Don Moen, Michael W. Smith, Paul Baloche and Robin Mark, along with other artists/worship leaders. The second was Boz Scaggs' Greatest Hits. I came into my musical prime in the 70s; what can I say? As great as those two CDs were, they didn't last seven hours. I found some radio stations, but decided I had to do something for the ride home. As I was heading back south I stopped at a Barnes and Noble and picked up The BeeGee's Greatest Hits. The double CD was marked $20, but all the store's CD's were 40% off (thank you, God), which dropped the price to $12. So I got my groove on to the BeeGees, and especially the pre-disco tracks, like Nights on Broadway and Fanny. Of course, Stayin' Alive ain't no dog either.
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Go ahead and laugh, I just enjoy filling out my 70s classic rock collection, even if some of it is more pop than rock. But the car on the Ohio Turnpike having all the fun? That was me!
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Next weekend I have another invitation to teach. Can't wait!
