CCHF: Nashville

 I'm in Nashville, TN for my second CCHF (Christian Community Health Fellowship) conference.




























Community: Jesus style
I don't want to be anywhere else. It's been awesome. Just what I needed in the midst of the Board prep. It seems like I'm getting exponentially more emotional with every breath I take, but I had to fight back tears multiple times today. I think it's because I feel as though I've suppressed the part of my heart that I treasure so much; that is healing for broken people. Healing for broken people is a blanket statement in every sense of the phrase. But, I feel like it's been overshadowed most recently by studying/being preoccupied with boards. Not only for other people, but also for myself. I've forgotten my brokenness has been healed. I've unknowingly placed my desires before the path the Lord has called me too.

The moments that I want to remember:
1- Hearing John Perkins and H. Spees recount the reconciliation they saw in Mississippi. It's what marked the beginning of CCHF.
2- Listening to the stories of two nurses in Grand Rapids who serve and empower the homeless in their city.
3- The powerful words of Psalm 23 that penetrated my heart.

Community: Restaurant Style
Tonight I went to dinner with some friends at a old home turned into a family style restaurant where the menu included: cornbread, homemade peach jam, biscuits, pickled cucumbers and beets, mashed potatoes, fried green tomatoes, turnip greens, fried catfish, fried chicken, ribs, beans, banana pudding, sweet tea...you get the idea. The way it works is as soon as you get there you join a table of people who are already there. The tables are huge. So we had dinner with 3 other groups of people--all at the same table! No cell phones are allowed. And you all share the same dishes which must be passed to the left. So you're asking a complete stranger, who is now a friend, to pass the sweet tea. So cool. Every restaurant should do it. It makes everyone happier. The world would be a better place.