Yeah, it's a Big House alright....

Many of you know that music is unbelievably important to me--I have zero musical ability of my own, but God speaks powerfully through songs to me. This past weekend I had the honor of serving on the staff of Houston Presbyterian Cursillo #42, and I could tell hundreds of stories about ways I got to see God work in the staff and participants, but I'm a little tired tonight and besides, a lot of the stories can't be told in full because so many reading this have yet to experience Cursillo for themselves & I want them to have the chance to not know anything ahead of time so they can watch the weekend unfold for themselves. (Hence only a couple pictures actually get posted--pictures that don't give anything away--other than that there are lots of butterflies around which those who know Sophie & I are already aware of since we both went a little crazy looking for butterfly gear when we got home from our participant Cursillo!) However, as I tried thinking about what I could write about my weekend, the lyrics to Audio Adrenaline's song "Big House" will not get out of my head---so I think that is going to be the inspiration for this posting.

"Come and go with me, to my Father's House..."

This weekend, without a doubt, drew all of us into God's presence. The meeting room where most of our worship happened, became holy ground and God showed up. Sometimes the songs were older hymns, reminding us of the thousands of years before us that people have been worshiping the same God we worshiped this weekend. Sometimes the songs were newer and unfamilar to people, but God was very much present in those as well, reminding all of us that even though the chords or sounds of a song might change, the message does not--God is the same for all eternity. And sometimes the songs were just downright fun, silly and a little crazy (hence, "Big House") and God showed up powerfully in those as well--in the joy and laughter on the faces of the staff and participants as we all tried figuring out the hand motions and lyrics!

"It's a big, big house, with lots and lots of room..."

This weekend, we got to see that there is a LOT of room in this house--room for all kinds of people. We had a few folks there this weekend with some physical disabilities and seeing the staff and participants come alongside them and serve them and help them to experience the weekend as much as the rest of us was an unbelievably powerful testimony to the fact that ALL of us are equally loved by our Heavenly Father. We ALL need a place to belong, and we all need to be loved and to have others to love in return.

"There's a big, big table, with lots and lots of food..."

So obviously we eat at Cursillo--it's not a 4 day fasting retreat, but in addition to "real" food, we also were fed spiritual food in abundance. We joined together several times for communion and gathered at the Table to remember the sacrifice Jesus made so that we could approach Him in confidence. The Table is a central part of Cursillo (ok so it's not an official symbol of cursillo, but it may as well be) because of all the incredible connections and conversations that happen around tables during the weekend--in discussion times, at meals, and at communion. And we just got a small taste of the table fellowship that awaits us in Heaven!

"It's a big, big yard, where we can play football..."

(Touchdown!--ok that's for Stuart Smith, I'd never actually seen anyone do that until I met him!)

I realized when I was a participant that the thing missing in my life here at Fuller is play. Sure we do social activities and we have fun, but it is always a "reserved" sort of fun--it isn't filled with absolute joy, sometimes giddyness or sillyness...it's always very much "controlled fun." I had a blast at HPC 40 back in April, but it wasn't until this weekend that I was told by others that my "mask" truly came off. I had an unbelievable time in worship, in playing, in not worrying about what others were thinking....the gift of being completely free in God's presence, even when we're playing or dancing around the room doing hand motions to songs is an unbelievable treasure for all of us who spend our whole lives being "serious" and "responsible" and "in control." Praise God for a little sillyness every now and then!

God did some absolutely incredible things this weekend, and if I was more awake right now I would try to mention a few of them, but I'm quickly loosing my ability to put words together coherently! So you'll have to email me and ask me for more specifics if you want them!

And I wanted to post a couple of pictures but it's not letting me and so I'll try again tomorrow :)