Fort Caswell: Revive

Last year at Fort Caswell, Josh Wilson came and led worship for us. He was a huge blessing and such a talented guy. It has been fun to see his ministry and career take off this past year.

And then this year, Revive came and led worship for us. Check them out! They are so much fun! This band is extremely talented and you can see God's hand in their story. It is by no mistake that they have been called to be musicians. They were so cool, too! They hung out at the beach with us, joked around with us. I hope they felt how grateful we were to have them lead worship for us and to just share their lives with us.

I bought their CD's at the retreat and they have been playing in my car non stop since then. I really enjoy "Losers" off of the Tarfalgar St. Album and "You Know" off the Chorus of the Saints Album.

SOOO... go and check them out! And in case you are too lazy... just watch this video of them telling their story (and yes, they are about that funny and awesome in person, too!):

Fort Caswell: Carolina Beach Day

Every Memorial Day since I moved down to NC, I have gone on the Single's Retreat to Fort Caswell. And every year I have had a GREAT time... this year proved no different. :-)


As you know from this post, I spent that Friday night camping at Carolina Beach with the girls. It was such a great time! Well... except for the drunk army men who came over and asked us, "Could we get warm by your fire?" Yea, I am not kidding.


Or the 2 am LOUD music from the people on the other side of us.


We learned that next time we camp on the beach, not to do it on a holiday weekend. They party goers are a little intense.


But, did you know that we had quite the adventure trying to get down to Carolina Beach?

First, we wanted to leave at 7:30 to make sure we got there at a good time (beach spots are at a premium). Well, needless to say we were a little late. Luckily the guys who were driving down with us (and then spending the night at Caswell Beach) were gracious (and running a little late themselves).


THEN, on the way down a nice old man waves us down and says "your car is smoking." Uh-oh.

We pull off the road, and here is the proof:

It looks like we are leaking oil (and that was after a 30 minute stop where the boys are crawling under the car and talking to Amanda's dad). Yikes!


Well, we finally get to the beach. You can drive on the beach... and that is the whole reason we drive Amanda's car. It "has" 4 wheel drive... or so we thought. It never engaged and we get stuck in the sand about 100 feet onto the beach. Again... YIKES!


This time, so young men in their HUGE trucks (one a Toyota truck with a camo Lexus sticker on the back...) pull us out. Again, the guys with us are so gracious. They never once complain. They never once make fun of us. They help us at each step. They exude patience. They drive us to our campsite so we don't have to carry all of our stuff out on foot. AND then they set up the tent for us. Yea- they win. Single ladies, these are guys you date. ;-)


And, no... I didn't get a picture of the truck getting pulled out.


Needless to say, that first day was quite the day. We did enjoy spending the afternoon on the beach and then spending the night on the beach. We ate at Big Daddy's... talk about some GOOD seafood. I was happy -- definitely forgot about all of it.


Jenn Lowther saved us later that night. She had Matt's truck with her and became our 4 wheel drive girl (she did an awesome job)! So, we didn't have to carry all of our stuff back out. It was great! :-) I would do it again... but maybe with a little less stress.


Tomorrow, I'll talk about the actual retreat. It was fun weekend!

Oops

I haven't talked to you in forever!!!

Oh well, welcome to how I function. I am good about blogging daily (or close to it) for about a month, and then, BOOM... I just don't. Story of my life. I am that way about lots of things. Emailing, journaling, etc.

But, I will attempt to get back on track here.

The retreat was really good. I am glad I went. I am not going to say AWESOME... but more because I just don't know people, so it took some time getting used to having to initiate convos, etc. Plus, sometimes I just felt like an outsider looking in. BUT, I am still glad I went. I got to meet people (the only way I will begin not to feel like an outsider), and there was an awesome dance party... plus I just really feel like God taught me a lot.

Most convicting thing... I need to live in the here and now. Not keep looking for what is next. Even though I have claimed to love being here this past year (and I have), I have kept trying to find a way out. But God brought me to Durham/Raleigh for a reason. It is time that I LIVED here until I feel God calling me out. Leon Tucker called this abiding in the land. I need to be Christ to those I work with, build real relationships here, etc. So, I am trying to do that. Not that it has been easy, but I am trying to do that.

Other than that... right now, even though I am attempting to live in the here and now, and enjoy each day for what it is, I do have lots of fun things to count down to:

Florida! Four more days
Joel and Ann Marie's wedding! 20 more days
Harry Potter movie! 36 more days
Harry Potter book! 46 more days
Las Vegas w/ the Fam! 52 more days

And, I am sure there will be other fun things coming up! Yea for summer! I love it.

I'm so Excited!

Tomorrow I am going to the Fort Caswell Retreat with the Singles Group at Providence!

I am soooo excited! I think it will be really, really fun. It will be a good way to meet people... and good way to just feel more like I belong.

But, that has been happening anyway. The other day I went to their Flock Group which is a Bible Study. And I really enjoyed it. I met some really nice girls, Katie and Jill, and I am excited to continue to hang out with them.

Yea for finding people that I feel like could be family!

I am also excited because it has been so long since I have been on a retreat. I am excited to be challenged by God.

Be praying that I am challenged by God, as well as that I would step out of my comfort zone and meet people.