Infinite Grace

Infinite Grace 2008

Well, got back from our 3rd annual Women of Faith weekend... and it was amazing as usual.

I only wish I could share more of it with you.

It's always a bit overwhelming to be able to relay every nourishing nugget we are fed there through the Women of Faith 'porch pals'. But, this year, it's especially difficult for me to share because unfortunately, I don't think I actually retained much of it!

Don't get me wrong.

I was blessed every second of the time spent in that arena. And as previously mentioned; I laughed. I cried. And felt God tugging on my heartstrings with each and every single one of those precious speakers and singers.

Unfortunately, however; due to the medication I had decided to start taking Friday (w/out thinking about it), I observed half of the conference through closed eyelids! I could've just curled up and fallen asleep right there in my seat. It didn't occur to me until Sunday that that was probably the reason. (Up until that point, I just figured it was due to the high altitude of our seats!) : )

Thankfully though, I did take a couple of notes during the pre-conference Friday, so I am able to share SOMETHING of the experience with you all. And how it still spoke to me, despite my semi-comatose state... : )


Okay, let's see... my complete notes from Patsy Clairmont (Friday morning)... *drumroll*

1. Condemnation -vs- Conviction
2. "God has not forgotten you."

Tada!!

Okay, now let's see what I picked up from Jan Silvious, later that day... *drumroll*

1. "Do what you can or have to do. And leave the rest to God."
2. "Pray this prayer: 'Lord, I give everything I know of me to everything I know of You.' "

So, there you have it, Folks. My lengthy notes from an entire weekend of amazing speakers. Aren't you glad you had me to attend so I could now impart such wisdom for you on my blog?
Had I known I wouldn't retain the rest of the conference, I might've tried taking notes then, too! But, just trust me. It was an incredible weekend. One that may have momentarily bipassed my mind, but has left definite tracks on my heart. : )

Now, what still managed to speak to me, through my haze of remembrance was this...

No matter how long you wait to actually make the effort to 'pick up where you left off,

God is always there waiting... and on the same page.

~

You know the part I had mentioned from Patsy's being : "Condemnation -vs- Conviction" ? I had just read that same thing in my Priscilla Shirer book "Discerning the Voice of God" Wednesday night of last week. The book I've had since May. I had picked it up in searching for some kind of peace and guidance about being in the housing market, feeling very pressured and overwhelmed by the whole thing. And Priscilla sweetly pointed out that "There's a difference between God's convicting voice and the Enemy's condemning voice. Condemn means to consider something worthy of punishment. Convict means to bring something to light in order to correct it." (Almost verbatim of what Patsy then spoke Friday.)

~

And the part that spoke most to me about my situation: "The Thief's voice, unlike God's voice, threatens and intimidates on the basis of fear: 'If you don't do this, you'll be sorry!' It may order you or try to force you to do things. It is often urgent and pressing, sermonizing and demeaning: 'Do this now! If you wait, all will be lost!' " She reminds me that nowhere in the scriptures does God rush anyone into anything. He'd rather 'patiently and persistently give us clarity before requiring obedience'.

~

Whew!

~

Reading that by Priscilla already made me feel much better, but then to have Ms. Patsy reiterate?... well, every little reinforcement helps.

~

And Patsy's sweet story of how she came about "God has not forgotten you." - well, that was just sweet and very encouraging. (Too long to include here, but I do actually remember that part, so maybe I'll share that one later down the line...) : )

~

Then, Jan Silvious got up to speak and began speaking on the story of Moses, being placed in the basket, and ending up in the Pharoah's palace...

~

On the way into the city Friday morning, Mom and her friend, Pam had just been discussing what they had been going over in their new bible study class on Wednesday mornings... and I bet you can guess what the topic of discussion had been for them... Moses, in the basket, ending up in the Pharoah's palace...

~

On the same page...

~

And her prayer of surrender just struck a real chord with me. And it's a great reminder for when I feel so buried under all my stress.

Oh, yeah. And she stated that modern science has proven that a large % of physical problems start in the mind... I can attest to that, for sure. But, good to know I'm not alone in that. : )

~

Then, Saturday, their guest speaker was Max Lucado. It was a real treat to get to hear him speak. I had only read his books until now, but have always enjoyed them. But, the parable that he had used in demonstrating God's love for us was that of the prodigal son.

~

Before I picked up Priscilla's book last Wednesday, I picked up John MacArthur's "A Tale of Two Sons" Tuesday night after bible study. The more indepth look at the parable of the prodigal son.

~

So, there you go!

~

I may not always be as in-tuned as I'd like to be, but at least I know that when I am plugged in, He's always right there with me! : )

~

And, indeed, He truly does live.

~

And if you ever doubt this, just watch Nicole C. Mullen sign this song while singing it in person. The chills that it brings to your skin and the tears it forms in your eyes will be all the proof you need. : )

Infinite Grace

You know, it's so funny... in "Stepping Up", we just wrapped up going over Psalm 126 - the very scripture that Sheila Walsh used to sum up the Women of Faith conference from last year...

~

I thought of the Psalmist's words in Psalm 126:2: Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy.

~

The 2008 Women of Faith conference in Atlanta is now just 3 days away and I can't wait!

This will be our 3rd year going and every year is just amazing.

You laugh.

You cry.

Sometimes, with Anita or Luci, you laugh until you cry!

Totally, a 'chick' weekend.

: )

But, oh so good for the soul!

And I just found out that Stephanie from over at 'Notes from the Soul' is going, too! How exciting to be able to share in it w/ another blogger! So, I was just wondering if there happened to be any other fellow Women of Faith out there attending WOF in the ATL this weekend?

~

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

Women of Faith Weekend!

What more can you say?... If you've been before, you know what I'm talking about - if you've never experienced it, you cannot begin to imagine it!
We attended last year for the first time and made sure to go again this year, and we have not been disappointed. As a matter of fact, just when you think it doesn't get any better? ...it does!
This year, we were blessed enough here in Atlanta, to have the world-renowned Beth Moore speak for our pre-conference. And that unto itself was worth every penny spent for the entire conference. There is just simply none other like Beth Moore. She spoke Friday from about 9:00 'till 3:30. It was an amazing day with her. She chose 2 Corinthians 1:3-10 to focus on.

God Offers Comfort to All

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer. We are confident that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in the comfort God gives us.
We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us.

She explained that it is better for us to find comfort in the arms of our Father (Divine Comfort) than search for our comfort in earthly things or people. He's the only One Who can fill that need for us completely. He longs to give us comfort, so that we may then, pass along that comfort to others. In other words, you will suffer in this life, but as Christians you will never have to suffer in vain. And in our troubles, we will get to realize just how real He really is.

Friday evening, we came back to the conference for the start of the actual Women of Faith conference. First, Nicole C. Mullen (my new favorite now!) kicked us off with some awesome praise and worship. And then Patsy Clairmont got us warmed up for the speakers. A woman who once suffered tremendously from Agoriphobia, who now speaks to MILLIONS every year and is the spunkiest, most out-going of them all! A living testimony indeed.
The next morning, after some more praise and worhsip, we were welcomed by dramatist Nicole Johnson. We missed her last year, so it was good to get to see her this year. Truly gifted in bringing the scripture to life, and entertaining as well.
After Nicole, was Denise Jackson - wife of country singer Alan Jackson. She was interviewed and spoke to the hardships that she and Alan have been up against and come through by surrending their lives to God.
Ending out that session was my beloved Sheila Walsh. Even after all the wonderful speakers and performers this weekend, I believe she's still my favorite. She went through so much at a young age, and now today, she fills others with the hope and comfort that she's experienced over the years.
After break, we got to come back to the most hilarious woman I have ever seen or heard! Anita Renfroe. Author of "Purse-driven Life" and "If You Can't Lose it, Decorate It", Anita was once a pastor's wife and is now a well-known Christian Comedianne. You just have to see her to know how funny she is... she had us all laughing 'till we cried!
Thirty minutes later, in true woman-style, we were crying sadly along with Carol Kent, whose only son is sentenced in a Florida penitentiary for life with no chance of parole. Unimaginable for any mother, I'm sure. And yet, she holds onto her faith more strongly now than ever before. In fact, she's been told that their family inpsires many in the prison every week when they visit and are seen praying together and actually laughing together.
After lunch was Marilyn Meberg. One of the veteran Women of Faith speakers. She's seasoned. She's wise. She's funny. One of my favorite books, as a matter of fact has been "God at Your Wit's End" by Marilyn.
Then, that afternoon, after yet another break and more good praise and worship by Nicole C. Mullen, we got an encore performance by Nicole Johnson. And then wrapped up with the one and only Luci Swindoll. One of the other veteran speakers, Luci is Charles Swindoll's (Chuck, as she calls him) sister. She is very well-rounded, quite talented, and EXTREMELY down to earth! As she says, when life gets tough just "show up and shut up". :) She said she got that from her brother, but it is definitely in keeping with her personality! She's a riot.
So, as you can well imagine, we had a truly amazing time this weekend. I just wish everyone I know could've experienced it... but there's always NEXT YEAR! And if you've never been, I strongly encourage you to check it out next time. It's a weekend you won't soon forget.

To give you an idea of the conference, here's what Sheila had to say, in part:

"I always find it very inspiring to see every seat taken and every woman joining in to worship God. This year Luci ends her talk with a story about...well I won't give it away as we might not have visited your city yet but it is one of the funniest stories I have ever heard. What makes it even funnier is that Luci can hardly tell it for laughing. On Saturday she had to hold onto a pole at the edge of the stage to stop herself from falling over. I looked around at the crowd many of whom had tears rolling down their cheeks from laughing so hard. I saw my friend who is in a wheelchair and facing fresh health challenges. I saw the young Mom I had talked with on Friday whose baby girl was stillborn four weeks ago. All across the arena there was pain and heartache and yet for just a few moments everyone was able to receive the healing gift of laughter. It is so good to be able to laugh. I thought of the Psalmist's words in Psalm 126:2: Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, 'The LORD has done great things for them.' "

~AMEN!