Thursday, August 25, 2011

Renewed and Challenged

Last week my husband and I were blessed with the opportunity to attend a spiritual workshop called Polishing the Pulpit. There were over 2000 in attendance throughout the week, and it was a blessing to be surrounded by such a large group of Christians with a unified goal in this life: get to heaven and take as many people with you as possible.

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Throughout the week I was able to hear wonderful lessons from God’s Word ranging from modesty to disciplining children to how to dig deep in the Word to how to mark your Bible to why true science is a Christian’s friend to what it means to love God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind. I was blessed to worship with over 1200 Christians Sunday morning, and to feel a glimpse of what heaven must be like when we sang together. We were able to fellowship with wonderful Christian families, and I am so thankful for their friendships.

The week greatly challenged me, and I’m thankful for the challenge. I need to be a better student of God’s Word; I need to be a better influence to those around me; I need to be a better spouse; I need to be a stronger parent; and I could go on.

(Ladies’ Session)

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During our time there we were able to do a little bit of sightseeing in the Smoky Mountains. It was a beautiful location, and the weather was a wonderful reprieve from the 100 degree temperatures we’ve been having in Texas. I rented a lens for our vacation – the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 lens – and I really enjoyed it. I didn’t want to send it back in! However, I’ve decided that I do not have an eye for landscape photography, and I need to do a lot more practicing. I feel like it should be so easy to take a photo of something that isn’t running away from me (like my toddler), but it is definitely a skill I don’t possess!

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(Cades Cove)

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(Cades Cove)

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(Clingman’s Dome  - the highest point in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park)

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