  Well, I see Alan has told all the stuff I was going to say.....man, you took my answer! Actually, he's right--it was a very good time.
No mead or any other "enhancements" this time, but we still managed to get through it. :) I'm really looking forward to hearing more from Todd Hunter and the others who spoke at the Search Party thing; what we heard last night was very encouraging. We listened to the talk on the "story" of the gospel not being merely about getting to go to Heaven when we die, but also about getting to live the story of Jesus while we're here. One of the major things I got from the talk was Todd's definition of "believe": to place one's confidence and trust in.
I probably have heard this definition before, but it seemed fresh last night. There's a real tendency to say, "I believe in Jesus" in the same way as we might say, "I believe in gravity," as a head knowledge kind of thing. The real turning point is that heart knowledge of "I put my trust in Jesus, not just in the 'sweet by and by', but every day for all aspects of life.
" I know I have to consciously shake myself sometimes and say, "Hey, wait a minute! Who's side am I on anyway? Oh, yeah, the winning side! " That's not to imply any we vs. them attitude towards people, just towards God vs. Satan. Anyway, the concept of "story" was a good one to hear. Keep 'em coming, Alan! 
