So last night was pretty crazy.
What began as a small idea to have a few people (20-ish) hang out, have some food, sing some songs, and hear a message turned into a huge event with just over 100 people.
So first of all, thank you so much to everyone who came to The Collective last night. I have never felt so loved, and it is a night that I will never forget.
Thanks to Nate & Jackie Fritzel for letting us use the hangar and encouraging us to do this.
Thanks to everyone who provided food, drinks, and eating utensils.
Thanks to Chad Carpenter for providing the music. You did a phenomenal job.
Thanks to Chason Laing for filming the whole thing.
Thanks to Leah Schwedler and Jessie Fontanelli for arranging and overseeing the chldcare.
Thanks to everyone in our home group for your energy, support, and encouragement. You are like family to us.
And most of all, thanks to Caroline, who is a constant source of love and hope in both good times and bad.
I really don’t know what else to say.
To every person who came to The Collective: You people humble me, and I am so grateful for each and every one of you. As much as I thought and hoped for how things would go last night, all of my expectations were surpassed. There are no words to describe how I feel at this moment.
So what do I do today?
What do you do when you spend six weeks planning something and then, all of a sudden, the thing you were planning is over?
In this situation, I think there is often an impulse to do two things.
First, there is an impulse to evaluate.
This is a good impulse, and it's necessary if there is any desire to do anything else in the future. We want to get better, and we want to deliver the best possible experience for other people.
Second, there is an impulse to begin creating the next thing.
Again, this is a good impulse. We are made to dream and to create, and the fact that we want to keep doing this means that we are still alive.
However, there is a time to stop. This is also an important part of the creation process that I’m still working on.
When we complete a project—regardless of whether or not it went well—we owe it to ourselves and to our loved ones to take a moment and exhale.
At the end of the epic creation poem in the first two chapters of Genesis, we are told that God rested (Genesis 2:2).
But does God get tired? Does God need a cool-down? Or does this statement reveal something about how the universe works?
Perhaps the act of God resting means that there needs to be a moment when we are not creating and are simply enjoying the fruit of what has already been accomplished.
Periodically in the Psalms, you will find the word “Selah” embedded between poetic stanzas. This word is meant to signify a moment of pause—a moment for the poet and the reader to catch their breath and simply take in what has already been spoken.
In between beautiful poems about God and life and reality, the poet says, “Selah.”
We smile. We take a breath. We sit down for a minute.
So that’s what Caroline and I are going to do today.
I’m going to spend some time with my kids.
I’m going to eat some really good food.
I’m going to see the new Thor movie.
I’m going to enjoy life.
And then, on Monday, I’m going to work on the next thing. Because there is more to come.
Stay tuned.
Selah.