Our first revival meeting consisted of spending an uplifting evening with Pooh Bear and Tinker Bell. Those are Disney character names our guests, Barry and Mari McGuire, have taken for themselves, and they appropriately capture the childlike nature of their faith and of the revival of the simple, straightforward truth of the gospel they both embody.
It was a revival of the fact that no matter what craziness is going on in the world, God is in control and we can be at peace; that a pandemic can force a fractured family together under the same roof that can create a healing that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise; and that it can take some very difficult things to cause you to surrender your life to God, but in the process, you find out what it means to say along with Jesus, “Not my will, Lord, but yours be done.”
For Barry it’s all about trust. Do we really trust God with our lives? Are we willing to take that risk? Can we surrender the control we think we have over our lives (which we all know deep down we don’t have anyway)? Barry’s stories confirmed, over and over again, that we can.
Barry and Mari in their own words are following the path God has marked out for them (Hebrews 12:1). We each have our own path set by God, and traveling it is not burdensome, because God is with us.
It was a revival of joy. There is laughter in surrender, because it is not up to you or me anymore to come up with what we need to live; it is up to Christ in us.
What was unique about this experience was that Barry and Mari were living out their own revival in our midst. They weren’t talking about something they didn’t live; they were being the something they were talking about. Instead of talking about surrender, they were surrendering. Instead of talking about revival, they were awake. Instead of talking about joy, they were full of infectious joy and laughter. Instead of speaking from head knowledge, they spoke from the heart.
Yes, Barry and Mari are living out their own revival and you and I can do the same. It’s simply about getting back to the basic issues of trust, surrender and simple faith.
Revive us again
Fill each heart with Thy love
May each soul be rekindled with fire from above
Hallelujah, Thine the glory
Hallelujah, Amen
Hallelujah, Thine the glory
Revive us again
William P. Mackay 1837-1885
John Fischer The Catch 
I remember that song in our church songbook and its close to the beginning of the songbook. The words really tell it like it is and what we all can do. Nothing like the basics of a great revival, surrender, and most of all faith. I cannot imagine life without that. Take care, God Bless, and have a great tomorrow.