At the end of time, will we receive the crown of righteousness at the hand of our righteous Lord as a reward for loving His appearing? In our day and age, where is the comfort found in I Thessalonians 4: 17-18? “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” In contrast to this, have we simply made ourselves comfortable in our daily lives, enjoying what prosperity brings us and reveling in what the world gives, rather than in what our relationship with Christ gives?
We were once again blessed with the opportunity and immense privilege of assisting to host the sixth annual Virginia Family Encouragement Weekend. While seeking to serve and encourage fellow believers whom the Lord had brought our way, we continually found ourselves being served and encouraged. Is not this what Christianity in its element ought to look like? We rejoice in how He worked… families and individuals were blessed through fellowship, prayer, sessions, and laughter. Praise the LORD!
~ Portraits, a lasting treasure… a FEW of the precious attendees ~
~ Conference Candids ~
~ The Technical Side of Things ~
“There’s a course that must be finished, there’s a race that must be run.
There’s a mission to accomplish, and a battle to be won!
We’ve been called to take the challenge by God’s might and through His Son;
He will give us grace to complete the race, moving forward, pressing on.
“Toward the hope of our high calling toward the promise we’ve received,
With the strength that we’ve been given, pressing on to victory!
And toward the One who’s run before us, as we lay each weight aside,
‘Til the race is run, ‘til the prize is won, ‘til we reach the finish line, press on!
“There’s a faithful cloud of witnesses who inspire us in our task.
They have fought the fight, they have run the race, they have won the crown at last!
And the lives they’ve lived remind us that though the race at times seems long,
God will give the grace to complete the race, and the courage to press on.
“Toward the hope of our high calling toward the promise we’ve received,
With the strength that we’ve been given, pressing on to victory!
And toward the One who’s run before us, as we lay each weight aside,
‘Til the race is run, ‘til the prize is won, ‘til we reach the finish line,
Press On!”*
*by Brigette Smisor Shevy, Copyright 2004 by THE WILDS. All right reserved.
It is a blessing to hear how the FEW conference went. The pictures are a lot of fun to see. (Amanda and Matthew look so happy!) May the Lord bring lasting fruit in the lives of attendees and bless the labors of the families who host the conference. What a wonderful theme/topic – let us EAGERLY look forward to His appearing and live in light of it!
I looked forward to this post for SO long! Thank you for posting this!
I not only look forward to next year, but also to HIS APPEARING!
Your family did a great job at FEW ministering and encouraging. God bless you for that!
love, Lydia
A wonderful weekend – the Lord truly blessed. I love all the pictures, too!
I love all the pictures – brings back such wonderful memories of a very refreshing and fun-filled weekend! I was especially encouraged by the enthusiasm of your youngest speaker ;-)!