Giving God a Hand Clap

Thank you thank you thank you for praying for me this weekend! The retreat was absolutely incredible. The group was smaller than the leadership team had hoped for, but it was their very first retreat and those 30 ladies went home full and excited about God invading their lives, homes and women's ministry. It really was a neat thing to be part of. Thanks Michelle and leadership team for allowing me the honor to be part of your retreat. YOU ministered to me.

The speaker, R. was powerful. I was just so encouraged and challenged by her..it really was a joy to serve with her. She is real and passionate about getting into the Word. "Grace" was the topic of the weekend, she did a beautiful job. When she stood to speak, you saw Jesus on her. When a session would end, I was left wanting more! Thank you R. for pouring yourself this weekend. I pray we get to serve together again..

God deserves a standing ovation, He was SO present. It was so powerful to watch walls come down and the Holy Spirit minister to some hurting hearts...

Okay..here are some photos from the weekend!


SO COLD!!! These two were going up Monteagle Mountain..





Isn't this the cutest little thing!



At some point, the church that I was serving, got the idea that Chad was a Dr. This is what we found in our room:


Before we got there, I had told the director that he was not a Dr. and that we had had a good laugh over that one. (When Chad first went off to college he was headed down the road to med school, then realized that he couldn't tolerate the amount of blood he would be forced to deal with, and SMELLS, he has this thing about odors...so he changed his major.)



Friday night...telling the story about ripping the hem out of my pants on Thursday and using safety pins to keep myself together...It seemed like LOTS of us had stuff happen to us last week. All distractions...it wouldn't be long before we realized why. God had quite a weekend planned!

R. speaking on Friday night.


Sometime Saturday...from the way I look probably late in the PM!



THIS IS WHAT WOMEN'S MINISTRY LOOKS LIKE:

Isn't that the most beautiful thing! Thrills my heart....

One of the leadership team giving us very generous gift certificates for a weekend get-away with our husbands.



I have to say thank you to my man. I would not do these sort of events without his blessing, but I COULD NOT do them without him. He turns into my driver, my agent, my sound guy. He reminds me to eat, brushes the lint off of my jacket and gives me the pep talk when I'm 10 minutes from being "on" and I get that "I can't do this, I think I'm going to throw up" look on my face...but most importantly he's my prayer warrior. There is just something about seeing him in the back of the room. Thanks Chadwick for being there for me...I love you.

Memory Verse Challenge #2

It's that time! Time for the second verse of 2009. I want so much to do what God wants and be where He wants me to be. I have been praying this verse for a while.

Isaiah 59:11a (ESV)

"And the LORD will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong."

Lord may we always look for your constant guidance, even in what we see as simple daily tasks. Please satisfy us, only you will do. Strengthen our bodies, minds and souls. We can't take a step without you!

Okay...I'm off to pack! I'm headed to the hills of Tennessee to worship Jesus with a sweet group of ladies.

Talk to you later!!!

Ear Business

My man has been suffering the last few days with this odd feeling in his ears. He describes it as being in an airplane and your ears not popping. I detest that feeling! He says the pressure is driving him crazy.

Last night we paused American Idol and talked a little about some things in front of me right. Things that are pressing, or putting a little pressure on me. I don't mean pressure in a bad way...it's just a heaviness, a pressing in a certain area. A sense of urgency. Or as a friend told me earlier in the week, quit calling it pressure and starting calling it by it's name...it is a calling. Well....okay then.

At one point during our conversation last night I said something to the effect of this heaviness is almost suffocating. I can't even begin to describe it and I'm not quite sure what is going on. Chad's response.."please tell God I've got the message, that you are called to something and yes I know you feel the pressure of His hand because I feel it in my ears. You can tell Him I get it! Please UNSTOP MY EARS!" Of course He was somewhat joking about this.

Right before I went to sleep, I picked up my Oswald Chambers, "My Utmost for His Highest". I read today's devotion last night. It's entitled. "Called of God". The verse is Isaiah 6:8

"Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me."

Here is a little snippet of what I read:

"Many are called, few are chosen,", that is few prove themselves the chosen ones. The chosen ones are those who have come into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ whereby their disposition has been altered and their ears unstopped and they hear the still small voice questioning all the time, "Who will go for us?"

He goes on to say that we often times think that when God calls us to something there is going to be this big show of it. Ummm, not always...very rare in fact. Think of how He called his disciples...it was simply "follow me".

I went to sleep last night thinking and asking God to keep my ears unstopped. I want so badly to hear each word He has for me.

I'm reminded of the the first part of my James memorization..."Be quick to listen..."

God, please keep my ears unstopped. I want to hear you....

I'm sitting here this afternoon with one hundred and one thoughts running through my head. So much to chew on...and yet I am having a hard time forming them into a post. Each time I get started, my cell phone beeps with a new text message. There is some serious Facebook activity going on right now!

Pretty much, all my thoughts can be traced back to one theme. Obedience.

We are barely into this new year and I'm being challenged to live, love and obey in some totally different ways. Ways that just a couple of years ago would have sent me into a tail spin. The heaviness of this is almost suffocating at times. It's what I think about, dream about..pray about...and yet a calmness seems to have covered me.

Several years ago my request of God was that I would come to a place where I did not live unmoved by Him. This year, I have felt this urge to ask Him to move me. Does that make any sense at all?

The girls and I have challenged each other to become "Action Verb Christians" this year, it's time to be a doer of the Word, time to start working this thing out. God has somethings for each of us to do and we are asking Him to show us where to begin. We want to see Him in our every day life, and we want to show Him to someone new every day.

He has given me several opportunities over the last week to once again place my "yes" on the alter. That's scary when you don't know what He's going to ask! But as scary as it is, it is MORE exciting.

So here I am saying publicly...I'm not quite sure what He has in mind or where He's sending me...but for the record...I said yes.

I wasn't supposed to be home tonight...

But I am and that is okay. After a long week it is nice just be home in my comfy clothes playing on the computer. :)

Chloe is playing with a friend down the street for a little while this evening. Emma and Chad are playing the Wii. (She is recovering from the tummy bug and is enjoying having Daddy's undivided attention.)

I am feeling the need to try and make sense of some of the things from the conference I was at this week.

I shared earlier that the topic of fear had been touched on and as HUGE as that was for me, other than Sunday, it was never touched on again. The rest of the conference challenged the way I view something that is personal: money. Oh boy...

I want God to be Lord of everything and every part of my life. My outward actions, my thoughts...and the money he entrusts us with. After this week I can not even say "my" money anymore. Don't get me wrong...the last 2 years have been the shall we say leanest times of our marriage, so please don't think there is a huge amount of money sitting in our bank account just waiting to be given away. There isn't...I wish there was...because I want so bad to help those who are struggling...it's a passion of mine. Anyway...

So Bruce Wilkinson is in the process of writing a new book/teaching series that is entitled "You Were Born for This." Here is a little info from the conference flyer...

We all sense everyone around us needs a miracle—God
wants you today and everyday to bring a miracle of hope, or
a breakthru, or a new lifemap, or a restoration—to give to
people what Jesus gave those around him and promised you
would too—miracles that will glorify God in people’s lives.
Do not settle for less as you love your neighbor—come be
equipped to help others with what Christ wants you to do
uniquely for them.

This series will reveal 7 Keys that result in
predictable miracles as you serve others following the
promises and patterns of the Bible. God isn’t reluctant to
show His power on your behalf—but actually seeks for people
who will live in such a way that they don’t stop His
miraculous power!

Sound good? Well let me tell you..he taught 3 keys in this particular church and I can not wait to get the book and read the others.

Back to the money thing. For almost two years a LOT of my fear has had something to do with money. Not having enough...not being able to meet our needs, much less help another person...you get the idea. I'm sure some of you have the same sort of issues. :)

My thinking and mindset on money had a total and I mean TOTAL transformation this week. I am ashamed to admit this, but there is freedom in confessing so here goes. I realized this week that I had made money and all the emotions that come along with it, an idol. For two years I have told myself..."as Chad grow this business and as money gets better, this would happen or that would happen." Up to this week, as much as I have wanted to help in certain situations, or give to a particular charity...I just could not justify it. And here is the kicker...I would NOT give because I felt what I could give was not a large amount..therefore..not worthy to be given.

Isn't that just like the enemy? To make you believe that what you have isn't good enough? Well he is wrong. WRONG! Bruce shared some practical ways to use the money God has entrusted to you produce some good fruit for our Jesus. Okay here is one...

The God Pocket. The idea is that you set aside a small place in your wallet or purse that you place an amount of money in.(that amount is determined between you and God) As you go out and about your day you ask God to show you who needs it. It may be standing in the line at the grocery store...at the gas station...the waitress that serves you at lunch...or the Doctor's office. God will let you know when to use the God pocket money. The only thing is...you HAVE to make sure and tell the recipent that it's God's money and that He wanted them to have it. You are just the delivery person so make sure you let all the glory go to the giver..and that giver is God. The girls and I are doing this and can't wait for the first time God prompts us to use it!

I'm praying that this one concept shows our family that little is much when God is in it. Our $5, $10 or $20 right now may be HUGE to someone else.

Oh and you know what? Mama Siesta Beth got all up in my face with this same sort of concept today in my Bible study...as tough as that pill was to swallow...I love it when God does this in my life. He really does hear us you know.

Well...this is so much longer than I intended and I'm praying that it makes sense...I'm going to skip proof reading and play Wii with my man. Our last two rounds of golf, I've beat him by like oh...15 strokes! It's so hard to be this good....

Where to start

My mind is spinning. I got home around 11:30 last night and attempted to go to bed but I could not slow my mind down enough! This conference has totally changed my perception on giving, on missions, on how I do life.

There is so much to process and pray about and I'm not quite ready to share all those things yet. There is one thought from the Sunday sessions that have continued to challenge, or better said, stepped all over my toes. It has been an area that I have struggled with for as long as I can remember.

F.E.A.R.

It is quite a stronghold in my life, and while God and I have made progress, it is an area that I continue to feel struggle in. So here is the statement that was made in my face Sunday.

Quit asking God to take away your fear. Start asking Him for courage.

I was then challenged to imagine just what would happen if I stopped living in the land of fear and what if's and got some godly courage and boldness.

(On a sidenote, after I got home last night I decided to check e-mail and wound up reading Fran's blog and guess what her post is about...Fear. She pretty much asked word for word the same question..what would happen if you didn't live in fear. Yes Lord I see the neon arrow on that part of my life.)

When we left Sunday, I honestly thought that I had received what God wanted me to hear and that everything else would be gravy. (Hopefully Boomama's choc. gravy!)

Wrong. Monday and Tuesday evening gave me one of those headaches you get when you are slapped in the face with Truth and it is almost too much to take in. God says "open your mouth and I will fill it with good things." I feel like I was choking trying to digest SO much good stuff so fast. Oh it was good.

I'm still not quite sure what specifically to share here so until that time, I'm just going to say that the last 3 days have been life changing.

Okay, it's time to start school! Have a wonderful day!

Howdy!

Have you recovered? We are finally getting back to normal around here. The girls and I took the tree down today and Chad, bless his heart, carried all the Christmas bins up to the attic. I think he had the hardest part of it all. With the tree down, I got the itch to rearrange our family room. So we did and I love it. I need to purchase a few new candles and it will be finished...for now.. :)

I found my Whispers of Hope daily planner today!!! You don't know what a blessing that is. I bought this planner in San Antonio and have used it for all my stuff, well I USED it until I misplaced it sometime in November. Anyway, I found it today. My heart is happy. I have filled in all my important dates for January and wow...it's busy.

Remember the "doing" thing I told you about in my last post...

I have been waiting for this January for several months! I have the honor of leading worship for women's retreat over in the Memphis area in a couple of weekends. I'm going solo on this and as usual the enemy is attempting to do a number on me. Bronchitis, fear of being on that stage alone, and my personal favorite...what in the world are you going to wear? Yes...I'm serious on that last one. But God once again showed up today as I had $30 in Kohl's cash to use before Saturday. We hit Kohl's, (where God showed up in the Vera Wang section last month) and I found not one, but TWO pair of petite length pants in my size (that I will not tell you!) ON SALE, PLUS a sweater. With my Kohl's cash...I paid next to nothing. So take that you sly enemy...my God is bigger than you...

Back to the seriousness....

For several weeks I felt the urgency to write something original for these ladies I will worship and study with. I had 3 words. I am not kidding you...3 words. I'm all about being intentional in what you speak or sing..but 3 words!?!?!?

After calling in some prayer support, and locking myself in the guest/music/office room..God gave me a few more words and I'm looking forward (and a little nervous) to share this new song with these ladies.

I tell you this to ask you to pray if you think about it...pray for the weekend of the 16th. I feel an extra tug on my heart to pray for the women of this church who want to go, but can't financially see how it will happen..would you join me in praying that God would make a way for those ladies?

This Sunday, Monday and Tuesday Freedom's Call has the awesome opportunity to sit under the teaching of Bruce Wilkinson. Our Bible teacher Jill works for Bruce and they are in Atlanta this week for a conference. "You Were Born For This" is the theme and can I just tell you that I am pumped about this! I'm sure there will be several blog posts over the next few days about this subject. (That has been a a theme that has popped up in my quiet time and other places for about 3 months.)

Well...it's almost 9:00 here..that means it is time for my lovely meds again. Nothing says "H.O.T." like an inhaler and cough medicine. :)