Passion 2014!

Amazing. Beautiful. Delightful. Excellent. Fantastic. Great. Incredible. Lovely. Marvelous. Remarkable. Splendid. Terrific. Wonderful.

Half of the letters in the alphabet used to describe this past weekend. And if I had more time, I'd spend it in a thesaurus coming up with more words.

It was always a LifeGoal to go to Passion. I'd never heard a bad thing about it, so why not go? Well, first off, it was far off in Atlanta, and then it was pretty expensive for me, so just like with any other thing, I was like "Well, guess it's not for me." But my brother Brian was sending a group from his church and I managed to tag-along (even if the venue changed from Atlanta to Houston).

Best. Decision. EVER.

A lot of first-time experiences went down this past weekend. Outside of never attending Passion, I'd never been to Houston, it was my first time to eat at Mi Tierra in San Antonio, I enjoyed a Texas-shaped waffle (twice), I had Jason's Deli for lunch and I ate at Waffle House for the first time ever (okay, so a lot of these are food-related...fail!). But it was my first time to hear Louie Giglio speak (in person), as well as Francis Chan, Beth Moore and Judah Smith. It was also my first time to see Chris Tomlin, Kristian Stanfill, Capitol Kings, Matt Redman and my all-time favorite Christy Nockels in concert. (I'd seen Hillsong United in concert in Springfield and David Crowder when he came to Abilene a couple years ago.)

But beyond the first-time things, I just saw God at work. Our group ended up one person short, and my sister in law Kim gave the extra ticket to a girl from Idaho who was just sitting in front of the Toyota Center, praying for God to allow her to get inside if it was His will. An awesome story.

I witnessed a generation lift up their voices in the name of God in song--so loud that sometimes, you couldn't tell when the singer stopped singing.

I felt God speaking to my heart and filling me with His presence not just during the music, but the messages. Convicting me, challenging me, telling me that He indeed is enough, which I shared with a stranger named Hannah that I met during our brief Community Time.

I learned about an Iranian woman who risked her life in the name of the Gospel, sharing His Word with others even in the face of an opposing government and the eventual consequences of prison and solitary confinement. And how here in America, we take His word for granted so many times and in so many ways.

I became even more aware of the End It Movement (some college friends had shared it on social media in the past year or two)--how our generation can lift our voice for the voiceless (27 million across the globe) that are held captive in human trafficking and say that enough is enough.

I came to realize that my worship--whether in music or my life--shouldn't be so enclosed and kept in a box. I'm meant to come to my Savior openly (with arms high, heart abandoned and even in dancing, if that's how He leads) and broken, willing to share myself and my deepest fears and desires and concerns with Him just as I am.

I heard how we are on equal standing with God when we receive His salvation and become a new creation in Christ--the saints of the Bible, the leaders at the conference and those around us aren't better than us...we can do as many awesome things (if not more) as they did if we just harness the power of Christ within us. (Francis Chan and Judah Smith)

I cherished the statement that "Gospel math multiplies...anti-Gospel math divides." (Beth Moore)

I was reminded that when we receive Christ, it's like getting a brand new pair of eyes...that when He grabs you, you should be stunned, seared and sent by the Savior and just go all out for Him--wherever that may be. (Louie Giglio, Isaiah 6)

The FANTASTIC group I went with to Passion!

I witnessed a church group that has an intense love for their Father, people and each other...that wants to keep each other accountable in their spiritual walks and are transparent with each other...that truly knows and practices what real church fellowship and community is. They were such a nice group of people that welcomed me to their group, but admittedly, I walked away envious of their camaraderie, because so many churches completely miss the mark of "doing life together" like my brother's church exemplified. 

And now...now I'm trying to figure out any way possible to be able to go to Passion next year as a sponsor.

I'm trying to figure out how I can take what I learned and apply it to my own life--whether at work, at church, or personally.

I'm hoping to cling to the fact that my God is enough for me and that I don't want Him to stop leading me in His everlasting ways because I don't want to live outside of them.

I'm praying more about different aspects in my life because I want to be in tune with the Father.

I'm (sadly) fearing that this unexplainable high that I'm on from this Passion trip is emotion-based, and that in a couple of weeks I'll be back to same ol' me.

I'm desiring to be used by God, even though I don't know how He's going to use me and the fact that He doesn't give me a step-by-step plan book (which He knows I love in every other aspect of life) freaks me out.

I'm listening to my Christy Nockels album that I bought like it's the only one in stock and considering all the possible ways to learn these songs and sing them at church.

And I'm longing for my Savior even more than before. Yes, that could mean that the enemy will work at attacking me, but I just want to be able to remember the amazing messages I heard and the lessons within them, so that I can be part of the generation that desires to proclaim His name and fame.

P.S. I wrote an entirely different account of my trip, which will (hopefully) run in Thursday's edition of the newspaper. Hit me up if you want to read it!

P.P.S. Check out my album on Facebook for all the pictures I took!