And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness (2 Cor 3:18)

We are just getting back from a great trip in the States visiting family and friends, enjoying great food and even participating in some very memorable events. As soon as we got in to Florida, we spent some time with John's family and it was wonderful. Rita offered to keep Maya with her as we flew quickly out to Denver for a church leadership conference for a few days. Then we drove down to South Florida to see my family and then back up to Orlando for two days of great rest at the beach. We finished off the trip with an incredible reunion in Gainesville celebrating 10 years since we went on the mission team in 1999.

What I wanted to do is share a few of the lessons the I took away from the conference and the time in Florida...

• Do not let fear drive me, "perfect love drives our fear!" If my fears are driving me than the Spirit is not.

(It is difficult for me to not act or react out of fear, mainly fear of what others think of me or even of what I think of myself. Love is so motivating and truly drives out insecurity and fear, not only loving others but also knowing God's love for me.)

• Pray hard, step up, be determined...let the Spirit work in my to make me indignant about unrighteousness

(We had a very inspiring and yet convicting time with some of our spiritual mentors John and Sylvia Reus. These are some of the things that John challenged us with.)

• "NRM" - Never Resign on Monday!

(Danesh George from India did a great lesson and shared this as a little side point to ministers. Sometimes we are just tired and the week before was rough. Monday isn't the right time to bring everything in to question :)

• We are vulnerable when our unity is not a priority...a perfect example of unity/harmony is God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit (not competitive, always in sync)

(Peter Garcia from LA was incredibly open and honest about the difficulties that come about when we are not fighting for unity. Then Arturo from Mexico talked about how the Trinity is a great example to study in order to learn about cooperation and unity)

• Pray always, pray in every meeting...build a prayer culture

(One of the biggest challenges that I think I have seen in church building is maintaining a God-centered church and Christianity. It is so easy for things to veer ever so slightly in a humanistic direction. We must keep God/Jesus/the Spirit as the center and focus of all we do)

• Jesus' best story was his last story...the stories of the past are great, but am I going to stop there or will I keep living my faith?

• Jesus has loved me faithfully, genuinely, consistently, graciously, sacrificially, deeply, patiently and unconditionally...let his love compel me (2 Cor 5:14) compel- holds me tightly together, constrains me, forces me into action

So, these are a few of the lessons that I took away from our trip. There are many more, but I figure we shouldn't try to fix everything all at once. I pray that God will mold us continually and use all of these lessons to make us more like his Son.

Here is the link to the pictures from our trip picasaweb.google.com/kayhoyt/September09Trip