Day 5 - Youth Ensemble Summer Tour

June 11

Day 5 - Historic Williamsburg

We began the day with a morning devotional about receiving text messages! We respond like the dogs of Pavlov to the chirp of our cell phones, regardless of what else is going on. We discussed the greatest text message we have ever received, the words of God in the Bible. We talked about how important it is to read the Bible on a regular basis, because it shapes our values and changes our lives. We talked about different ways to read the word of God (from front to back is not necessarily the best option). The key is having a system of routine time and place. A very simple start is to read the chapter in Proverbs that corresponds to the date (there are 31 chapters in this book). The scripture passage was from the 119th Psalm where David sings of the love of following God's word.

Following the morning devotion, we headed over to Colonial Williamsburg. Williamsburg was the thriving capital of Virginia when the dream of American freedom and independence was taking shape and the colony was a rich and powerful land stretching west to the Mississippi River and north to the Great Lakes. For 81 formative years, from 1699 to 1780, Williamsburg was the political, cultural, and educational center of what was then the largest, most populous, and most influential of the American colonies. It was here that the fundamental concepts of our republic — responsible leadership, a sense of public service, self-government, and individual liberty — were nurtured under the leadership of patriots such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, George Mason, and Peyton Randolph. What a great experience of American history as we listened to the likes of Patrick Henry, and toured the homes of the governor and courthouse of this revolutionary city. For more information about Colonial Williamsburg, check it out online at www.history.org.

Following our day in this historic place, we returned to the hotel for some pool time and a late dinner of tacos. Jody gave the evening devotional and we all turned in after this long day.

Thy word is a light unto my path, and a lamp unto my feet.