16 August 2007

More on Moore...

At the close of Beth Moore's pre-conference last Friday, she had us all pair up in twos and turn to each other, hold hands, look into each others' eyes and repeat after her:

My Dear Sister,
The Maker of Heaven and Earth
Has His hand on you.
Don't trade what He has for you
For the comforts of this world.
Let the love of Christ compel you
And infuse you with courage.
God, even God, who created the heavens
Is the One who comforts you.
Whatever you do,
Don't refuse it!
His grace will guard you from bitterness
And Christ will turn your pain
Into Holy Passion.
Pour your life lavishly into others.
Humble yourself and share your hardships
That others may also share your comfort.
Live till you die!
Then live like there's no tomorrow!
For the King enthroned in Heaven
Is worthy of your all.
Now, go, Girl!
For the Father of Mercies
And the God of all comfort
Goes with you.
Bless be God
And bless be you!

To say that it was a bit out of our comfort zones' (which was the whole point of the message!) would be an understatement. But, you know, I think we were all better for it (the other lesson behind the message). As it turned out by our seating, I was paired up with mom's long-time friend, Mellie Watts. And I don't believe it was by accident. Even though I've never really had much opportunity to get to know her, she's just the type of person who makes you feel loved and comfortable around her. And as I understand, was one of my greatest prayer warriors a while back. So, as big a mess as I was by the end of the commissioning (sorry about that, Mellie!) I feel very blessed to have shared that moment with her. And I would just like to thank Mellie for all her support and concern over the past years ~ as well as understanding my dissolving into a weepy mess with the help of Beth Moore!

And thanks to Beth's daughter, Amanda for posting the copy of this for us to be able to keep and look back on!

*I tried to find some sort of link to the song "More Than You'll Ever Know" by Watermark, but couldn't come up with one. But, this post just really brought it to mind and captures the sentiments I feel toward many of the women of faith that I have come to know and love in the last couple of years ~ all of whom I treasure and don't know where I'd be without! (You can actually hear a clip of the song by checking out Watermark's website and in the audio player box, just skip ahead to #5 "More Than You'll Ever Know".) :)
But, here are the lyrics...


More Than You'll Ever Know
Something brought you to my mind today
I thought about the funny ways you make me laugh
And yet I feel like it's ok to cry with you

Something about just being with you
When I leave I feel like I've been with God
And that's the way it ought to be, yeah

Chorus:
'Cause you've been more than a friend to me
You fight off my enemies
'Cause you've spoken the truth over my life

And you'll never know what it means to me
Just to know you've been on your knees for me
Oh, you have blessed my life
More than you'll ever know
Yeah, yeah, yeah,
More than you'll ever know
Yeah, yeah, yeah

You had faith when I had none
You prayed God would bring me a brand new song
When I didn't think I could find the strength to sing
And all the while I've been hoping that I'll
Do the kind of praying for you that you've done for me
And that's the way it ought to be, yeah

Chorus
You have carried me
You have taken on a burden that wasn't your own, yeah
May that blessing return to you
A hundredfold
Oh oh yeah, a hundredfold

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for paying this tribute to one of my dearest friends. We were all a little blubbery by following Beth's lead, but also better (and changed) for it.

Anonymous said...

PS. I keep remebering that Matthew, Mark and Luke all record the time when Jesus took Peter, James and John to a mountaintop and as he prayed, he was transfiuged before them and they saw him in his glory. Peter said, "Lord, it is good for us to be here". I keep saying, "Lord, it was good for me to be there" as I keep reflecting on last weekend.

Anonymous said...

I, too, felt like it wasn't by accident that you were by my side. I knew you, like me, were out of your comfort zone but were, like me, honest and real in your commissioning of me. This weekend was a blessing in so many ways, a big one being getting to hang around with you! My friend is blessed! Thanks for finding the words since we were all wishing we had them.

Michele said...

Jess, you are an excellent writer (must run in the family!). Thank you for that.

Being Transformed said...

I was there last Friday, was it awesome or what! Praise God and thank you for sharing. I was thrilled to find the prayer of committment that we made. Stay the course, God is already moving me way out of my comfort zone!
LF

Lyndy said...

It sounds like you were truly blessed by this event. How lovely and thanks for sharing.

Have a blessed weekend.

Hugs, Lyndy

Dianne said...

I have wanted to read and comment on this, but my laptop keeps pushing me off your page before I can do anything...don't know what's up with that, but I need to find out! I'm on my desktop computer now and am surprised it's working...I need to figure that out!

My friend Leanne was there the other night and posted this prayer on her blog too...'transformed and renewed' is her name above...It's an awesome prayer!

I LOVE that Watermark song! LOVE IT! It brings one specific friend to mind to me, so I bought that CD years ago and gave it to her.

We are SO on the same page, it's not funny! Great post....