I'm sitting here under a tree, enjoying the only shade I could find. I’m hot, I’m sweaty, I’m thirsty, yet in my mind, I’m thinking, "Wow! What a sweat deal!"

Here I am amongst 70,000 other Christians at Creation Festival Northeast 2009. There’s great music, food, speakers like Joyce Meyer, with reminders of our accountability to each other. There are tables of ministries reaching out to help so many. It’s all good!

This was the 31st year of Creation. The event began under the hands of Pastor Harry Thomas, and Tim Landis. Held on Agape Farm in Mt. Union, PA, Creation Festival is made possible with the help of over 2,400 volunteers, and the whole event could not have been more organized. The staff was so accommodating, and everywhere you looked there was order. I thank all of the volunteers who stood in the hot sun all day directing traffic, and leading everyone to parking. The event would have been a mess without their dedicated service.

There were lots of things going on during the day. The bands started at 10AM, and there was an X-Games area featuring a bungee power jump, a 3-story tall ocean liner slide and a climbing wall. It provided some great downtime for many who were recovering from the late nights.

There was lots of food at the festival. I couldn't resist the funnel cakes, french fries, ice cream, and pizza. If you’re watching your calorie intake, this might be another one of those weekends when you say to yourself, "I’ll start my diet on Monday."

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Creation provided a great experience, but there was certainly some room for improvement. I’ll sum it up in eight words: Port-A- John, infectious disease, stink, stench, stank. It would be nice if next year, before the festival starts, we could get 2,400 volunteers to build a few large bathrooms with flushing toilets, and running water to wash your hands with soap? I will be the first to donate money, and time, towards that!

There were great bands this year and I had the opportunity to see Worth Dying For and Hawk Nelson for the first time. Worth Dying For is a five member band from Modesto, California. They will release their new CD, Love Riot, sometime in 2009. Hawk Nelson, from Peterborough, Ontario, were voted "Favorite New Artist" by CCM Magazine, and won the #1 spot on VH1’s top 20 video countdown with their music video, "The One Thing I Have Left." Both of these bands put on a great performance, and watching their shows gave me a chance to see what the younger crowd is listening to.

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I was pleased to see that there are younger artists dedicated to writing music and lyrics that will catch the ears of the upcoming generation. I saw this on full display while watching BarlowGirl's set. These three sisters captured the attention of so many young girls. I looked out into the crowd and what I saw was admiration for these young women. There was excitement and enthusiasm for this band. The girls in the audience were dancing, singing along with the band and raising their hands to the sky, praising God in their own way. It was very encouraging to witness!

I love Chris Tomlin's music, and watching him play live was better than I could have hoped. It’s no wonder he was awarded "Male Vocalist Of The Year" at the GMA Dove Awards in 2006, 2007 and 2008. He also won "Artist Of The Year" in both 2007 and 2008.

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David Crowder*Band came to Creation Fest from Waco, Texas. I've never seen them live before this weekend and they were very unique, both in appearance and sound. I have four of their songs on my iPod and it's nice to put some faces with their music.

The crowd went CRAZY--and I say that in the biggest sense of the word--for the band Family Force 5. This is an incredibly active band, and they were all over the stage. They kept moving so fast, I expected one of them to fall off the platform. Their energy level was amazing and incredibly entertaining.

The last three bands we covered were Third Day, Casting Crowns and Lincoln Brewster. We also had the pleasure of interviewing each band. We interviewed David Carr (drummer) and Tai Anderson (bass) of Third Day. During the interview, David commented on their new CD, Revelation. He said they had so much riding on it because they’ve been out of the music scene for a long time. They thought they really needed to produce something good, and they’re quite proud of the end product. Their favorite cut off of the CD, "Call My Name," was also the first single released. Tai mentioned to us that coming to Creation is very special to the group. Their first Creation Festival was back in 1996, and that was also the first time they were ever on a tour bus. It was fun to see their excitement while reminiscing about when they first started touring together. What an incredible journey it's been!

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We also had the opportunity to interview Lincoln Brewster. Lincoln mentioned that he realized very early in his career, while touring with Steve Perry, that he felt an emptiness that he wasn’t expecting. He felt he was having no lasting impact on his audience. Then he started leading worship at his church. It was at that point when things started making sense to him, and he realized what he was called to do. He felt playing worship music had eternal consequences, especially when he saw people come to Christ. That was his mission then, and still is today.

Casting Crowns was the last band we interviewed. They were the easiest group of people to talk to. You know that first nice day in spring? The one you’ve waited for all winter long for? The flowers are bright and in bloom, the sky so clear and blue, the grass is the greenest it will be all year? You walk out of your front door, and get that first breath of fresh air. That’s Casting Crowns. Spending time with them was just refreshing. They just love dedicating their lives to serving the Lord with every talent he has given them. I’ve listened to their music for years, and have always been impressed with the exceptional amount of talent in each band member.

My last experience at the event was my best. I was sitting way up on a hill, looking out at the entire valley. It was almost midnight, and during the annual candlelight service, you could see tens of thousands of lit candles. This was one of those memories that I will tuck way back in my mind, recalling it here and there throughout my life. I won’t forget it even when I’m old and have trouble remembering people’s names, birthdays and events in my life. It will bring me back to who I am, and that is a child of God. In spite of our flaws and imperfections, He loves us, He made us and we belong to Him. Pastor Harry asked everyone to lift their arms that night and raise their candles high. I can still see the sign that hung across the top of the stage very clearly. It said "A Tribute to our Creator," and I know God had a smile on his face from ear to ear as he watched his children worship Him together in that moment

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