Burning Lights Tour

     I'm completely overwhelmed by the greatness of this past week. All I could think about was getting back to my computer to tell you all about it! I started my Spring Break exactly a week from today and boy was that a blast. I took a few of my friends to the fish fry at my home parish and completely stuffed my face with some quality Knights of Columbus home cooking. I think we all agreed that there's something about fish fried outside your local Catholic church that just hits the spot. 
     Saturday brought a whole new set of adventures. I, along with two of the greatest Catholic boys you will ever meet, ventured to The Woodlands to go see Chris Tomlin in concert. I had never been to a praise and worship concert outside of the retreat setting, so I was curious to see how this was all going to go down.

     I give the Burning Lights Tour a glowing review. The entire pavilion was full of energy, love, and excitement. The evening started with the beautiful Kari Jobe leading us in some praise and worship. Shortly after, Chris Tomlin took the stage and brought your typical "Jesus Music" to a whole new level. Now, here's what's super cool. After a few songs, Louie Giglio took the stage and preached. For those of you who are not into stuff like this, I completely understand how crazy this sounds. But trust me, this was not your typical dull and boring bible school lesson. He broke open three stories from scripture and proclaimed them in an absolutely phenomenal way. His explanation of the Story of The Prodigal Son is the best I've ever heard! (More on that coming soon). Once again, Chris and Kari both took the stage and finished out the evening. I don't remember the last time I've seen so many people dancing with such joy in public... I'm talking kids as young as 4 years old to men and women in their 70's.

     Obviously, the concert was fun... as they almost always are. But, I could have not thought of any better way to begin my spring break. I knew that on Monday morning, I was going to leave with a group of students on a mission trip for Alternative Spring Break (ASB). Chris' lyrics perfectly prepared my heart for what was to come.

"I feel alive. I come alive. I am alive, on God's great dance floor."

     The world we are surrounded by every day is God's great dance floor. That world is not always pretty. Sometimes it's filled with sadness, destruction, and poverty. But alongside all those negatives, there are a never ending number of positives. When we accept the will and love of God into our lives, no matter the state of the dance floor around us, we become alive. We fill the dance floor with positives. That's what I was about to do on ASB. I was accepting our Father's love and plunging into the dance floor of the diocese of Brownsville. Although the state of this place was unknown to me, I felt alive and ready to accomplish whatever challenges came my way. (Stay tuned for info coming soon about ASB... if I can manage to fit it all into one post!)