I'd Rather Have Jesus

This weekend I attended my 4th ACTS retreat with my church. It was my third time to serve on team, and I feel like I personally got more out of this retreat than any other that I have ever been on. I was reading in a book that was given to me after my first retreat called "Coming Down the Mountain" by Thomas Hart. This morning it said that it would be a while until I see the effects of the retreat. I found this humorous because even though there were results from my first retreats, I never really took the time to take inventory on the new me that had resulted from them. Sitting in adoration this weekend before the retreat started, I started taking that inventory. How had I changed? Had I at all??? Well, I came to the conclusion that YES I had changed since my first retreat, but the progress had been slow, and in fact it was still happening. This weekend I learned so much about who I want to be and how far I have come in my spiritual journey. For those of you that are local (and you know who you are) please consider attending an ACTS retreat in the future. I know the next one that is being held is in September 2009 for the women and this April for the men. I can't stress enough how much I have changed, and so I found this hymn on another blog that I frequent, and so I would like to share it with you. This is where I am in my faith journey, and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

I'd rather have Jesus than silver or gold;
I'd rather be His than have riches untold;
I'd rather have Jesus than houses or lands,
I'd rather be led by His nail-pierced hand.

I'd rather have Jesus than men’s applause;
I'd rather be faithful to His dear cause;
I'd rather have Jesus than world-wide fame,
I'd rather be true to His holy name.

He's fairer than lilies of rarest bloom;
He's sweeter than honey from out of the comb;
He's all that my hungering spirit needs,
I'd rather have Jesus and let Him lead.

Than to be a king of a vast domain
Or be held in sin's dread sway,
I'd rather have Jesus than anything
This world affords today.

-Lyrics by Rhea F. Miller