Luavul Part II

If you didn't read the first big post about my recent trip to Luhvul Kentucky, scroll down and check it out: it's labeled Take Three

I left off after Friday, summarizing some of the important teachings, and how they affected me, but I neglected to mention one message, on Friday afternoon. We split into guys and girls groups. The girls learned about modesty and stuff. We learned what's not manly, and any guy who was in Loovl can tell you that the following are NOT manly:

Parakeets,

Leotards,

Bible carrying cases with big long handles,

Little boys in sailor suits,

Skinny guys in tight shirts,

Wearing curlers in your mohawk (honest I didn't!)

Yes, you're right, that's not all we were told. The young guy who was preaching was awesome! He excused his lack of politeness ahead of time, and then lambasted us as a generation for not living as godly men. Again, God spoke through the speaker to show me and many others where we were rebelling against God, and where we weren't giving Him His due. Much of the sermon was based on an old book, "The Godly Man's Picture," which I purchased but haven't begun yet. If it's anything like the sermon, however, I'd give it a recommendation before even reading it!

Anyway, a lot of you are probably quite bored of sermon sumarries - sorry, it's hard to convoy spiritual conviction, enlightenment, and motivation on paper. I know in my writing the social life, physical aspects and stuff are much more lifelike, but you'll just have to take my word for it that the spiritual aspects were even better. The next day's teachings were an exhortation to commit to and be involved in the local church. The main thing I got out of that message, as most of it I'm already following, was that education and subsequently work are not the most important things, as the culture tells us. Really having a close family and church can make a person much happier and more productive in things eternal than making $10,000 more a year somewhere else. The afternoon message spoke again to focus and what really matters. Author Randy Alcorn was the speaker, and exhorted us to live for eternity, not for our lifetimes, and shared how he has been blessed through diabetes and losing an $8.4 million lawsuit - health and money aren't as important as learning to depend on God and living by His grace. Josh Harris closed out with a recap on Sunday morning.

For the Christians out there in blogland, you guys know what a really pumped up worship service is like. Well, each session was more so than the last - and it started out in pretty high gear anyway. I got a real workout twice a day, and really have felt renewed all this week still from some very passionate, powerful worship.

Another side note is the drama team they had - the best I've ever seen at any Christian event. Watching their first sketch was an epiphany for me as an off-again on-again drama team leader: drama is best used in Christian settings, as anywhere else, for comic relief! Too often we try to spiritualize it, and the sketches we put together never get across the point as well as a good speaker can. Kids' ministries are the exception here. But anyway, they both had the whole place in stitches, and took the hard edge off some logistical rules and stuff by putting it into humor. Much better than if a speaker had simply explained that they'd make sure that every small group would not contain too many members of one sex or a bunch of old friends and an outsider, and that cliches and interrogations are discouraged.

So this post is getting way too long... sorry folks. Well for any who endured, good job. I also met some very nice young ladies, but I don't think we'll get into that... no long-term prospects yet anyway. :) I don't see myself running back to Luavl anytime soon... unless some of the restaurants decide to open on the weekend, maybe. That would be quite a change. Or if New Attitude goes back to Loovul next year, in which case I wouldn't be anywhere else in the world. Well, actually there's a good chance of my being overseas... but anyway.