Wisconsin 2009

Well, I haven't blogged in quite some time. In fact, I momentarily forgot my password. This space in between posts was due to being in Wisconsin at the cabin. My trip actually came as a result of a dream that started last year.

Last summer, I went to Vermont on a retreat with a group from church. A few weeks later, Ben and I went to Wisconsin for a few days at the lake. While in Wisconsin, we went to a little church in a little town. It kind of crossed my mind that it would be great to do a retreat in Wisconsin and also do something for the little church as a sign of hope.

Fast forward to this year and the cabin hosted a retreat - two retreats in fact.

July 10-July 14
Keith and Danielle brought five students from the high school group to the cabin. Some highlights... helping Buzz and Eunice with yard work and other work around the house, leading worship at Argonne UMC, welcoming Crandonite Aaron into our group, spending time focusing on spiritual growth, singing songs at the cabin, getting lost on our hiking trip.

July 15-19
Jenn, Trent, Abby, Jan, Ben, and Britney made the journey up to Crandon. Some highlights... helping Buzz and Eunice with yard work and other work around the house, leading worship at Argonne UMC, road trip through the Upper Peninsula, the rescue operation (including cornhole and catchphrase on the side of the road), Jenn's birthday party (featuring gifts that we made and blueberry pie), Jan's cookies.

I hope to share a few posts on these two trips. Some truly amazing things happened. As I sat down to write this post, a passage came to mind from Colossians.

Colossians 1:9 (The Message)

^9-12Be assured that from the first day we heard of you, we haven't stopped praying for you, asking God to give you wise minds and spirits attuned to his will, and so acquire a thorough understanding of the ways in which God works. We pray that you'll live well for the Master, making him proud of you as you work hard in his orchard. As you learn more and more how God works, you will learn how to do your work. We pray that you'll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us.

I can honestly say that on this trip, I saw glimpses of the ways in which God works. I'd like to share a few of these glimpses in the next few posts:

- Locating a hiking trail

- The gift of cookies

- Bringing people together

- Rescue mission

Take care,

Todd