Today I wanted to write to you out of my over flowing gratitude and love for God! I want to shout from a mountain top, write a song or poem, do anything-something to worship The Lord! I feel more alive and in love with Jesus than I have in a long time. The Skate conference we just attended was absolutely incredible and I was reminded over and over about my first love: Jesus. Throughout the week I was repeatedly shown how He saved me and what He saved me from! The most beautiful thing about this conference was worshiping and learning with other pastors and friends that are just like us. They come from the same backgrounds, they work in the same industry, they are honest, and raw, and unpolished. They grew up in and are surrounded by the messiest and dirtiest of life. They are unafraid, unchurched, and unreligious. Their ministries are not church plants or birthed in seminary, but started out of a passion to see their lost friends know and love Jesus. They learn on the job, while trying to reach as many people as they can. They are creative with the limited resources they have and they are so transformed by Christ that they ooze transformation and honesty. They had no airs, wore no neck ties, nor did they have a well packaged three point message. Instead they shared where God was working in their lives, how He was working on their character (something most pastors do not do from the pulpit), they publicly repented of the things that had gone astray in their lives and ministries (also something you don't usually see). They shared about rebellious children, heartache, struggling marriages, and self centeredness. It was unbelievably free and beautiful. I personally was so open to the Holy Spirit and the areas that He desires to work on in me because of the honest and repentant atmosphere at the conference! Buck & I rejoiced in the areas that we know we have been obedient to our calling and repented of the areas that we were following our own ideas. We laughed and cried and were able to get a very clear picture of how faithful God has been in our life and in our ministry. The last day I was overwhelmed with gratitude and praise. Every time I closed my eyes I saw a screen with rolling movie credits that were all the people that have played a role in our lives. All the people that He has used to get us to this point. The list was unfathomable and there were so many people on it. Words do not do it justice.