Our family is headed up to NCC’s annual leadership retreat in Falling Waters, WV. I feel like this is one of our most important events of the year. Our staff and zone leaders put a ton of time and energy into planning it and pulling it off. We also pay the way for all of our small group and ministry leaders to get away for 24 hours. We cast some vision. We do some training. And we set the tone for the upcoming year! Lots of vision! Lots of fun!

Every year I get a little nostalgic thinking about how far we’ve come as a church. It is an Ebenezer moment for me: Hitherto the Lord has helped us.

And I’m confident our best days are still ahead of us! In fact, as part of the prayer journal I am keeping this year I write out a verse of the day that I meditate on. Today’s verse was I Peter 1:3: Now we live with a wonderful expectation. Anticipation is such a precious gift from God. I can’t wait to see what God does in 2008.