Whoa, Its Been a Week

This may be a random assortment of things since it has been a week since the last entry.

College Retreat (please be patient, this site is still in progress...)

I got back this morning from a weekend retreat with 22 (!) of our college students. We went to Mt. Baker Baptist Camp, stayed in Cooper Lodge with the guys downstairs and the girls upstairs, and a fireplace in the living room. Besides the fact that the guys had three bathrooms and three rooms and the girls having only one bathroom for all of upstairs, the place is just awesome.

Our topic this weekend was The Art of Discerning God's Will. We had some great discussions on what it means to live a discerning life. How do you really know God's voice? What about "open doors" or "fleeces"? How valid is the "blueprint" plan for my life? How does the Spirit prompt us in those specific times of choice? What prohibits a discerning life? Why would I want to live God's will in the first place? Gordon Smith's Listening to God in Times of Choice was a great resource for the weekend.

We tried to go to Mt. Baker to go tubing and sledding, but there was not enough snow. It was actually raining at the top of the mountain, it was that warm. It rained pretty much the whole time we were there, and so some people never left the cabin! We enjoyed a leisurely Saturday afternoon napping and playing games. I think people really got along and bonded with each other. I look forward to future retreats and experiences with the college group.

Halo 2

I agree with Dave about his assessment of Halo 2 - although I haven't gotten the Xbox live kit, yet. I am looking for a communicator set by itself, but have not been able to find one. Anyway, I hear from most people that that is the way to go. In the mean time, I think I must have gotten a bad disc because some of the pictures take about a second to fully materialize when cutting to another scene in the story. Only once have I actually been playing and the screen froze up in a high energy battle. It froze up for a second and then resumed. I don't know what the deal is... Can I take the game back for a new one? (I got it at Walmart - I hear they take anything back.)

Besides that, however, the more I get on in the levels, the better I like the game. I have never been much of a gamer and I don't want to misappropriate my time, but I can see why one of my friends bought the game on Nov. 9 (the day Halo 2 came out - a Tuesday) and had it beat by Thursday. It's fun.

Know God and you will know yourself. Enjoy your week.