Family Week Colorado

We are on our way home – no, I think that is the wrong word; home was more what we just left! – then let me say back to our current residence in California after Family Week West and I am going to try and describe to you what an impacting, wonderful, uniting event this week was. It was hard to leave, we were all milling about reluctant to get in our vehicles and drive away from what had been a most glorious taste of the Kingdom of YHVH dwelling among us. Each mile we drive our hearts yearn with greater and greater intensity to return to that place of intimacy and unity in YHVH with like-minded brethren. The week was definitely a mountain-top experience, but as Oswald Chambers says in “My Utmost for His Highest” we must come down to the demon-possessed valleys and walk out what was revealed to us on the mountain top. Our life is to be a witness of His great love in the “mean” streets among the “mean” people performing our “mean” tasks. (Mean = everyday, average, mundane)


As is common in the Colorado mountains at 7,000 feet altitude in the middle of May the weather was variable – averaging from absolutely freezing to shirt sleeves, shorts and flip-flops. (Some didn’t exchange their flip-flops for socks and shoes even when the rest of us were bundled up with gloves and scarves, jackets and thermal underwear!) About 250 gathered for the week, some rented the camping cabins the Durango Riverside Resort has along the Animas River and others spent the week in motor homes and the really brave ones camped in tents, all of us arranged around a large, white convention tent set up for our meetings; quite similar to the pattern of ancient Israel’s wilderness camp, actually.

We arrived on Friday about 2:00p.m. and began to set things up to be ready for Shabbat, but our efforts kept being hampered by the enthusiastic greetings of friends not seen for awhile, we didn’t mind a bit though, the reunions were joyous! The wedding of Angela and Sam set the tone for the week. Two young people absolutely in love, committed to spend the rest of their lives together – what a picture of us and Messiah – absolutely in Love, and Committed to spend the rest of our lives together! Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready. And it was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. And these are those that have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb and keep the commandments of Yashua.

There were so many highlights of this past week, but I only want to concentrate on one for this posting, in postings to come I will talk about others – it probably would have been best to have made daily updates… but alas, it is what it is. Every morning from 8:30 to 9:30 was the Tabernacle of David. The singers and musicians and dancers gathered and Zach and Brayden led us all in worship. I am neither a singer or dancer or musician but I came every morning and worshipped nonetheless! Zach had been impressed by the Ruach to have this time of worship more like what he imagined it was in David’s Tent. So he put chord progressions up on the overhead and told all the musicians to play these progressions over and over (with embellishments if they were skilled at that) and Brayden picked a psalm and led the singers in singing the words of the psalm. Kyle picked up on the rhythms of the music and led the dancers in appropriate dance movements. It was all very spontaneous and very beautiful! Two of the mornings Steve led the spontaneous prayer during the worship. Let me try and paint a picture for you. The violinists are tuning their violins soon the flutists and mandolin and guitars join them, then 2 budding harpists run up to Steve and ask if they can play the harps this morning, he eagerly shows them the chord progressions for the mornings worship. Joshua is ready to go on the drums and Jonathon is at the keyboard; there is anticipation in the air. The singers are gathered behind Brayden and the dancers are assembled with Kyle, Steve is at the microphone; we are all waiting. Brayden announces that this morning we will be singing Psalm 24 and then Zach finally signals and the musicians begin to play the prescribed chord progressions, and Brayden begins to sing directly out of the psalm. In a moment the singers have picked up the tune and they join Brayden. Kyle quickly leads the dancers into a circle dance of Yemenites, coupes, turns and side steps. It all flows like it has been rehearsed for weeks. The Ruach is so present – then the singers stop singing and the music slows and softens as Steve begins to pray – he starts slowly and then the power of the Ruach begins to flow out of him and suddenly the room is filled with hallelujahs and praises and clapping hands, tears fill the eyes of many and roll unheeded down up-lifted faces. Once again the music picks up and the singers begin another verse of the psalm and the hour continues to build in this manner – singing, music, dancing, prayer - until you are abruptly shocked out of this glorious environment of communing so intimately with the King of Kings as Brayden announces that our time is up. No one wants to leave, but other awesome and enriching things await so we adjourn and eagerly await tomorrow morning’s 8:30 Tabernacle of David with YHVH.

Some said they heard angels singing – I wouldn’t doubt it!