I had the honor of worshiping at Sagemont Church in Houston this weekend for their iLive Women's Conference. It's too early for me to say that it was life-changing, but in a sense, that is what I feel in my spirit. It was truly amazing. I was blessed to be able to go because a dear friend saw that I wanted to go and she surprised me by paying for my registration.
God spoke through each person that got up on the stage, and it felt like it was specific to me. What a sweet God we serve! He loves us so much. He cares about every aspect of our lives.
Christy Nockles is one of my most favorite worship leaders, and to be able to sit in a worship service with her leading was just wonderful. She was so anointed to lead the women in worship this weekend. Many of her songs resonate with me in many ways, but this one particular song just sat in my heart and I couldn't shake the words from it. If you have a couple of minutes, listen to "Be Loved" by Christy Nockles here.
I had never had the privilege of hearing Patsy Clairmont or Jeannette Clift George speak live until this weekend. I've heard snippets of their speaking on the radio, and I've seen books around, but have never read them. However, after hearing them both speak this weekend, I realized I was missing out on some great, godly women. This is what I gained most from them through the Holy Spirit speaking to my heart.
Patsy said we need to "learn how to lean in so we can learn how to listen and communicate with one another and lift each other up." What I gleaned from this is that we don't know who is watching us and taking notes on us. People are always watching us to know how to AND how not to handle things. If we lean in, we can hear and understand their hearts better. This is an area that God is working in me. I am really good at telling everyone all about me, but not so great at leaning in and listening. And, as good as I am about telling everyone all about "me", I'm not a great communicator, meaning I talk a lot without really "saying" a lot. This pricked my heart, and as much as I have grown in this area, I have a lot more growing to do.
While Ms. George was speaking, I can tell you that I literally started crying. Oh how I'd love 10 minutes with her to gain as much wisdom from her as I could. I loved hearing all her stories and watching her "act" out scenes from the bible. But the thing that captured my heart was her testimony of coming back to Christ after walking away for many years of her life. She shared that Romans 12:1-2 is what drew her back to him, and I gotta say it was like a lightbulb went off on the top of my head. Here is how the English Standard Version puts it: I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. I will be writing more about this soon! It's been on my heart lately, and today was just confirmation that it is a subject I need to dive more deeply into. She said this "We don't have to explain God, just demonstrate his goodness and what he is doing in us." I loved that!
Lysa TerKeurst was just on-point throughout her messages. I was totally engaged in her stories, but more importantly, her topics grabbed my attention completely. She spoke on becoming Unglued and conflict on Friday night. Then, on Saturday, "your reaction determines your reach." She spoke on 2 Chronicles 20, the story of King Jehosaphat. Amazing story of resolving yourself to set your eyes on Jesus in the midst of the battle. The battle does not belong to us, it belongs to God. Finally, "The greatest power we have access to is to surrender our hearts to God in Thanksgiving and Worship."
This just sums up what each person spoke about, but really it went deeper than these few words I'm sharing. It was a matter of the heart, and I'm truly grateful that I had the opportunity to experience it! When God speaks, it changes your life!
