We're back from Kentucky and still catching up on loss of sleep (at least I am). New Attitude '08 was simply a blast!! We arrived in Louisville around 2:30 Saturday afternoon and hung out til around 7:30. Josh Harris spoke from Jeremiah 15:16 "Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for i am called by your name, O Lord of hosts." He asked the question, "What is your attitude towards God's word, and does it have meaning to your life?" Those were some loaded questions for me. He compared the responses of Josiah, Jehoikim, and Jeremiah to the word of God. Wish i could go into detail, but that would take forever, so there's a brief overview. After the message, we all split up into Community groups. Josh Dowling and Steven Wood were the only other people from our church in my group. That was so fun being with them. Our group leader had us introduce ourselves and share our testimony. It was awesome to hear how the Lord drew each individual to himself in such different ways. After that, we walked to the "Neighborhood" to buy shirts. The Neighborhood was kind of like the Bookstore/Art gallery.
Every night, we would stay up til 2:30, and sometimes 3:00 am playing games, having fellowship in the hotel halls, walking around Louisville, and listen to the Hunts, Gabe, Caleb, Tyler, & Zelos play amazing music together.
I roomed with Jenni Hunt, Melissa Smith and Rachael Myhill. We had a blast and, umm... remember that one night, gals, that we couldn't stop talking and laughing even though we were like DEAD TIRED??? That was definitely ONE of my highlights!!!! I met three girls from Maryland in my community group and hung out with them a little. They were so sweet and we all hit it off right away.
Sunday, Mark Dever taught on "The authority of scripture". That was another amazing message. That afternoon, Al Mohler had a Bible question & answer time. Most of it was too deep for me to understand, but i definitely enjoyed listening as we chewed on yummy chocolate candy Mel and Mag had stuffed in their purses. :) That night C,J. Mahaney spoke on "God's Word and our Feelings" That was another very excellent sermon. I would recommend everyone who missed out on the conference to listen to the messages online. I felt like I simply wanted to sit down and THINK after every one of them. Such good teaching and very full of specific application.
Monday morning Eric Simmons preached and that afternoon and evening, John Piper taught. He was one of my favorite speakers. If I had to briefly describe him, i would say he reminds me of a father who is extremely advanced in wisdom and knowledge and who has a passionate desires for his children to understand the simple truths of God and his Word. He taught on the life of William Tyndale and "Fighting for Faith with God's Word".
The last morning, C.J. Mahaney taught on how we really study the Bible. I took almost 30 pages of notes on the trip and am so excited to review what the Lord has taught me. Even there, the Lord opened my eyes to sins i had grown numb to and was greatly saddened by, but he was so faithful to remind me of his great promises and I am thrilled to seek Him in battling those areas.
We were supposed to arrive back home Tuesday @ around 10:30 PM, but because of bad weather in Newark, where our layover was, Kaitlin Richards, Rachael Liz and I didn't end up getting home til close to 3:30 AM...AAAAAAHHHH!!! We made the most of it and listened to music, wrote in our journals and ate TONS of treats at the airport. Love you girls and had a blast flying with you. It was also so good to see Megan Shaw, Brittany, kerri, Ryan and Julian Bendinelli, and the Shanks. We love you guys.
I truly couldn't pick one thing as my highlight, for it was all one whole highlight for me. I can't wait for next year. Hope you enjoy the pictures.
