Joel Quile's Blog

You ever have one of "those days?" No, I'm not talking about one of "those" days, I'm talking about one of the kind of days where the "noise" was nonexistent and "God" was loud and clear." Today was that day.

From 5:00am to 10:00pm God just kept "rattling my cage" and I loved it.

This weekend, U-turn, the student ministry that Kim and I gave so much love to and in return received so much love, is having their annual fall retreat. It is the first fall retreat that we have not been at and it is hard to get used to it. But God is faithful. Below is a letter that we sent to my best friend Mitch to read to the entire group on Saturday night at the candlelight devo.

U-turn,

There is a passage in Acts 17:22-28 that says:

So Paul stood before the Areopagus and said, "Men of Athens, I see that you are very religious in all respects. For as I went around and observed closely your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: 'To an unknown god.' Therefore what you worship without knowing it, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives life and breath and everything to everyone. From one man he made every nation of the human race to inhabit the entire earth, determining their set times and the fixed limits of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope around for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move about and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we too are his offspring.



God knew that we would have to move. We didn't. You didn't. But God did. This has been both excruciating and exciting. Full of pleasure and full of pain. We want you to know that we miss you more than we could put into words (If we were there I'd give it a shot but I don't want Mitch to have to talk for 50 minutes!) We hear great things about U-turn and sometimes things that make us sad. We have heard that some of you are very sad that we are not there. The truth is that tonight is the first candlelight devo in the history of U-turn that is Quile less and yet we want to remind you of another truth. God is there with you. Listen to the words of Luke in Acts 17:27 again ` Did you catch that. "so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far away from each one of us."

U-turn, tonight you have the holy chance to reach out to a holy Jesus by expressing holy love to one another and making holy commitments to a holy God.

Who are you? You are U-turn.

U-turn. Who are you turning too? God.

Right now is not about turning to Kim, or Joel or anyone but Jesus. It never has been and we pray it never will be.

Could it be that God moved us so that you, u-turn, would seek him and reach out to him like never before?

We don't know. But we do know this. While we are not there with you, God most definitely is.

Make this moment about Him. Seek him u-turn. Reach out to him u-turn.

That was all we ever wanted while we were with you. That is still our prayer tonight.

Right now, over 1600 miles away, we are on our knees praying for you this very moment.

God is not far away at all. He is right there with you. Seek him. Reach out for him. Never stop. You will find him.

And only in him do we truly find life.

Our eternal love,

Joel and Kim

.................

This was a great day indeed. Up at 5:00, time with God, journaling up a storm, worked out with Mark, saw Luke, good time in W.E. Class, Wimon went to bat for me, made an "A" on CJ test, had an exciting lunch with Kent, video editing, bake sale help, snuggled with sick Emily (102.1 degree fever), got a hair cut, took Laura to a B-day party, excellent dinner, talked with Todd F, David B, Mitch W, David N, and many more. Prayers with family, relax by the fire, and here I am blogging away!

God is good. Things went really well today. They might not tomorrow. Guess what. . . ?

God will still be good.