A few weeks ago Brenda and I were graciously invited to spend a few days at a retreat with many of our Vineyard worship leaders from around the country, in beautiful Cannon Beach, Oregon. What a great week that was!

The place where we were meeting is the same campus that hosts the Ecola Bible school which I attended right after graduating from high school in Dallas, Oregon. It was such a treat for me to visit this place again after so many years.

This was the place I really began to pursue God with my whole heart, the place I wrestled with him about which way my life was to aimed, the place I experienced his kindness and mercy through so many different kinds of people, the place I really began to learn from the scriptures, and the place I fell in love with trying to depict his creation in artistic expressions. As you can tell, this place represents a great number of beginnings in my little life!

We arrived early in the day the retreat was to begin and I headed off right away to Ecola State Park, an absolutely stunning stretch of beach, with my sketchbook and a couple of well sharpened pencils in hand. Seriously, I was almost drooling with anticipation. And the day did not disappoint. Even, and perhaps especially with my friends in tow, it was so great to be back in this scenery, experiencing the wind, the spotty sunshine peaking through the clouds, the long winding and wet road leading to the beach and feeling of putting it all on paper again. Ah, such sweetness!

Throughout the week I occasionally snuck away to get in a few more sketches. Hope you enjoy seeing them as much as I enjoyed doing them!

 

And the time with the Vineyard worship leaders? Well that was just as sweet as theoutdoor experience. We worshipped together, prayed together and for one another, looked at the character of our heavenly Father as revealed in the scriptures, and left that campus very much refueled and recharged to the next part of this great journey.