Pepperdine 2011 has come and has now slipped into the sands of time.
Last Sunday afternoon my beloved bride (Tifani Valentine) and I packed our travel gear into our Saturn Vue to begin the long trek to Malibu, CA. Also being our first anniversary as a married couple Tifani and I decided we would have some fun along the way too. Our little Saturn drove through AZ and CA to Palm Springs on Sunday. We spent the night in the Pepper Tree Inn, walked up and down the downtown streets and had a romantic dinner at Riccio's. We sat in the pool and looked at the stars until late at night.
On Monday we journeyed from Palm Springs to the Inn at Venice Beach. Along the way we realized that we had left VERY IMPORTANT materials at the Pepper Tree ... only my presentation!! At Venice we walked to the beach, ate a nice dinner at C & O's Italian eatery. We went back to the beach and watched some Dolphins play in the water.
On Tuesday we arrived at Pepperdine. We got checked into the Towers and Tifani and I walked around taking it all in. We found my classroom in AMB 105. Through the week we were uplifted by amazing singing. Wyane Atkinson led us in worship ... I thought I was before the throne! Tifani and I were challenged in Rick Atchley's classes. We learned about the heart of the matter from Billy Wilson's presentations. And PaLO VErde's own Diane Reminder was on a panel discussion on the Church of Facebook! Way to go Diane!!
My own classes, "The Holy Spirit Unleashed: Robert Richardson, James A. Harding & K. C. Moser," were well attended. The last night I think I had the largest crowd of all ... must have been the subject matter! Steve Wolfgang graced me with his presence in my class too.
One of the great things about the lectures is meeting with old friends and meeting new ones. Tifani and I enjoyed fellowship with Steve Puckett, Matt Dabbs, Cecil Walker, Joshua Jeffery, Jeremy Hoover, Kurt & Sue Burton, Billy McGuiggan and on and on. Tifani and I had the distinct pleasure of visiting with Harry Fox who had attended my class. Fox was a long time missionary to Japan. It was a pure joy to listen to this 90 year old saint wax eloquent about his memories and his joys in the Lord. Tifani and I were blessed.
Each day we spent some time just to ourselves. We walked on the beach nearly everyday. We met with friends for lunch at Dukes. After my evening classes we wandered down to the cafeteria for coffee, pie and fellowship. I do not think there was a single moment at Pepperdine that was not a blessing.
What a way to celebrate our anniversary and our walk with the Lord ... the journey to Malibu. It was and is a pilgrimage of the heart. Thank you Pepperdine. Thank you Jerry Rushford. Thank you God for the blessing you bestow through this wonderful event known as the Pepperdine University Bible Lectureship.
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