Spirit West Coast 2008 was amazing! God truly blessed our trip. It began early, before I even left for work on Wednesday. I got a call from Danny and Elaine that they had forgotten the girls' wristbands (basically their whole ticket for the week) and could I please go get them for them! We were the last car to go up so praise the Lord we (Karen and I) had to work and didn't go up with the rest of the group!



This is a picture of Karen driving. Its actually from the trip home but I drove on the way up so I have no pictures of that. We took my car and everything was smooth.

While there we heard a couple of really great speakers, Sean Dunn and David Nasser. Sean spoke on dating in one of his teachings, he was very good with how he addressed it. Really focused a lot on making sure that your relationships start off with a spiritual foundation. He said that if the other person doesn't love Jesus more than you then they are not worth it. In his second teaching he was talking about living a life completely committed to Jesus through truly being set apart in prayer and lifestyle. It was very well delivered and very relevant for youthful ears. He has a book called "The Warrior Way" that I would like to read.



David Nasser came to America with his parents as a child as a refugee from Iran. His family was all Muslim. He talked about his testimony of his journey to salvation and how he was disowned and kicked out of the house after his conversion. He spoke a lot on how for him things were black and white. He was either going to become a Christian and live like one or not. He spoke on how difficult it is for the youth of today who live in a gray and white world where it is difficult to see the need to take a firm stand and live strong for Christ. He was very good and spoke well on the compromise of America without it coming off as negative.

My favorite bands are always based on their heart for God. Usually an awesome band will either have led us in worship or spoken about the meaning of a song.



Building 429 had some amazing hearts for God. The new song, Always, on their new album which is about to be released was absolutely beautiful. I hope the story behind it is in the CD. They truly are passionate about Jesus.

MOI is another one that was a surprise for me. Alicia knows the lead singer, Moi, and suggested I go see them. MOI really is an up and coming worship band that is really beautiful in heart.



Aaron Schust was our discovery last year and this year he did not disappoint! He sings almost all worship and just blesses my heart when he speaks. His focus is all on God!

Newsboys is always a favorite of mine when it comes to worship. They truly have a love for God and it is obvious that they are in the Word and growing. The show was somewhat shorter this time but we still enjoyed it.

Todd Agnew is good. He's not my favorite in style but he spoke before almost every song, explaining why he wrote it and how it touches him. Awesome stuff.



As for the rest I really enjoyed Tobymac and Third Day. They put on a really good show and it is some cool music though not on my top list when it comes to the above criteria. Not that they don't have a heart for God...they just don't really talk about their songs to let you see that heart. But I do enjoy their shows.

There are many more stories, like how I got this picture of the crab. But for now I must go to bed. Just got home tonight and I am TIRED!