“The glory of God is man fully alive.” -Irenaeus

I am transitioning into a new season of life. My family and I are moving from Watertown, South Dakota to Dallas, Texas. It is a bittersweet time. Saying goodbye to a wonderful church family and hello to a whole new adventure.

One of the things I am planning on doing is getting away for a retreat with 2 of my best friends that I first got to know while I was a student at Moody Bible Institute. We have done this kind of trip several times before (men need friends!) but this time I want our time together to be a bit more purposeful.

The question I want my friends and I to answer while we are on our retreat is this, “what would it look like for us to live our next chapter of life fully alive?”

Our culture functions like the “Matrix” and the result is that we end up wasting our days living for superficial happiness and trivialities.

The Matrix is everywhere. It is all around us. Even now in this very room.” -Morpheus

To make it more biblical, the Babylonian culture we are immersed in is slowly, seductively, assimilating all of us to live as if this earth is our home.

“After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was made bright with his glory. And he called out with a mighty voice, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast. For all nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living.” -Revelation 18: 1-3

Don’t we all get into ruts that we know we need to get out of? Boredom. Friendlessness. Apathy. Lack of awe regarding the gospel. Bitterness. Lust. Self-image. Individualism. Materialism. Career obsession. Lifeless, dead religion. Hedonism. On and on…

I am super excited about this retreat and all the time thinking, praying, and reflecting before I even meet up with by buddies.

How about you? What would it look like for you to live the next chapter of your life fully alive?